It’s Alive! Plant Sale was resurrected this week and we will be open tomorrow, Saturday, from 9-Noon at the Warehouse 3435 Stanford Dr NE
Not a ton of tomatoes this year, but some great melons, squash, and greens.
A super fun and tasty week for dinner recipes:
One Pan Roasted Chicken (& veggies)
Comfort Carrot Soup
Baked Cornbread with Veggies and Chorizo Links
I am going to let you in on a little secret; the healthy food system of the future will be based in emotion and not facts. I can tell you about carbon footprints, cancer rates, life cycles of earthworms, and maybe even how many Silver Minnows have been saved because of Organic farming. But you will probably fall asleep halfway through my soap box rant.
For the most part, facts are pretty boring and do not excite consumer behavior. I know that political junkies (several of them are family members of mine) will say that facts are very important. And in some circles they are, but facts seldom influence consumers. The goal for healthy food advocates is to help consumers make better choices. Education (facts) plays a part, but the education must be rooted in something more emotional in order for the facts to “stick.” So if you follow me for a moment here we will look at how emotions can create a healthy lifestyle.
Maybe the easiest way to think about this is through a sports team analogy. You/we love a team not because we read the statistics and say “Man, I really like this team’s shooting percentage.” At some time or another we have a personal experience with a team that helps to build a bond with them. Maybe your grandpa sat you on his lap as you watched an exciting game or maybe a player gave you a high-5. The point is that it was through a personal experience that each fan had that made them love that team. So how do we translate that same feeling into the world of fresh food?
Study after study show the same findings with making healthier food choices as a society. You have to either a) be an integral part of growing the food, or b) be an integral part of making the food. Sorry, but opening the freezer and throwing a frozen hockey puck called lasagna into the microwave does not count as making the food. It needs to be more than that.
We have to be involved in the magic that our food really is. Personally, I love when a seed breaks its dormancy and you see 2 tiny leaves emerging from the soil. Well, unless those leaves are a weed seed, then I don’t get quite as mushy. But the seed springing to life is pretty darn incredible.
I feel that same sense of awe when I see a loaf of bread baking in the oven or microscopic yeasts chewing through fresh apple juice to make hard cider. There is something special at work. These everyday occurrences in the natural world are the closest that we can get to being surrounded by magic. And so the more processed foods that we eat and the less time that we spend in the kitchen, we rob ourselves of the ability to be amazed.
Seeing this estrangement and inherently sensing this void that has become common place in our society, I would like to try and do something to help turn the tides. We cannot change everyone, but we can start with dozens and then expand the reach from there.
So when it came time to hire a new face around here this spring, I knew that we needed someone who could grow plants. But I also wanted someone who could help connect our members to all of this magic that we surround ourselves with daily. And who better to help teach our members than a teacher. We are happy to have Michelle join our farm team to help keep the plants green and launch some big ideas.
So without further ado, I am really excited to announce the rebirth of our Farm Camp. What better way to get our kiddos involved with cooking and growing food than a camp designed strictly for cooking and growing food?
To begin with, we are going to offer 3 weeks of camps and fill in more weeks as demand grows. The camps are designed for kids from 3rd grade to 8th grade. We also will need some high school volunteers if you have or know of anyone who might be interested. Camp weeks will be June 5th, July 10th, and July 31st. The will run from 9am-3pm. Lunch provided!
Each week will be unique and different if you are interested in attending multiple weeks. Cost will be $300 per week with some following deductions. If you are a current customer of the farm, save $25 per kiddo. If you have multiple kiddos or want to sign up for multiple weeks, save another $25. You can sign up now on the web site if you’re interested.
Farmer Monte