Farmers markets are popping up in all around the country and many people are buying shares in CSAs for the season. But even with all the talk about eating locally and community supported agriculture, the USDA is warning of a coming shortage of farmers. Farmers and ranchers in the country are aging and there aren’t enough people going into the field to replace them. So the USDA is trying to encourage more young people to pick agricultural careers. This hour we’ll talk about young farmers and the rewards and challenges of the farming life. Our guests are KATHLEEN MERRIGAN, Deputy Secretary for the USDA, and JENNIFER BRODSKY, Managing Director of the Longview Center for Agriculture which educates and supports new farmers. We’ll also hear from two Pennsylvania farmers — vegetable farmer JOHN GOOD, of Quiet Creek Herb Farm, and livestock farmer PHILIP LANDIS, of Sweet Stem Farm.
We’d like to highlight a beautiful event that was hosted by the Hillside Farm team and our community partners Pastor Mike and Liz Evans of Word Walking Empowerment Ministries. Held in the stunning backyard of the Evans’ fellowship, we had a great turnout of Chester residents, many of whom are part of Beyond the Walls or RESULTS Academic Academy (Two great education programs run through Pastor Mike).
A few days prior to the event, Helen Nadel and Jessica Cummings led a successful cooking workshop with some members of Beyond the Walls at their “Wellness Wednesday” meeting, and it was great to see so many of the same attendees return on the 29th to learn more about how to join the CSA this year.
Thanks to the help of Hillside staff and committee members, we cooked up a delicious free potluck meal for a great turnout of new Hillside Farm supporters and members. Event pictures will be featured in our next newsletter, and we hope to host more community meal events in our continued outreach to new neighborhoods.
Thank you again to everyone who cooked a dish!
Check out this interesting article, and note the awesome photos of the roasting facility at One Village Coffee. (buy OVC coffee at Longview!)
Did you know that Media, PA, was the first Fair Trade Town in America as of July 8, 2006?
Check out what it means at http://www.fairtradetownsusa.org, and be sure to stop by Hillside Farm (http://greenerpartners.org/farms/media-chester.php) at the Media Farmer’s Market (http://mediafarmersmarket.com) this summer, beginning May 10.
Yesterday was the first pick-up for CSA members at our Montgomery County Farm Hub, the Longview Center for Agriculture. Though early season shares were small, members could choose between baby beets with juicy greens, sweet carrots, Hakurei turnips, sage, red Russian kale, rosy radishes, and head lettuces like flashy troutsback romaine! There were also pick-your-own garlic chives in the Education Garden.
Though not a new enterprise for members of the Longview farm crew, running a CSA is a first for many of us here, and for our members as well. Throughout the season we’ll be featuring the musings of Angela Flores, a first-time CSA member. We welcome her voice to our blog! What follows are her own words…
Hey there. My name is Angela and I’m originally from Iowa. No, I didn’t grow up on a farm. But there were a number of farmers and gardeners in my extended family. Not to mention, during the summer you could always find a farmer selling fresh produce out of the back of his truck. For me, fresh produce takes me back to my childhood, back home. I love the idea of having my own garden, but my foray into gardening was less than successful. When the weeds weren’t taking over the garden, the ground hog, who lives under the shed, was helping herself. My weakness for fuzzy critters and lack of time means no garden for me.
When I first read about CSAs, I was intrigued. The author was complaining about having too many turnips and how every CSA member she knew had a “problem” vegetable. I love to cook and I watch a lot of Food Network, so surely I could overcome any “problem” vegetable. A CSA share could be the play-at-home version of Chopped, but without the time limit. A CSA would also allow me to have fresh produce, in more varieties than I could ever grow in my back yard. I was sold.
However, my husband, GJ, is from South Texas. When we met, his vegetable repertoire consisted of iceberg lettuce and canned corn. While living with me has expanded his palate, when I first mentioned joining a CSA, he looked at me like I had three heads.
I am not sure whether it is his favorite saying that “A happy wife is a happy life” or the fact that I agreed to buying an entire steer (that’s a story for another day), but he agreed that we could sign up for a CSA. A full share. For the two of us.
But with one condition. GJ’s biggest concern is having all the lovely produce end up in the trash. So, we bought some books. We are slowly gathering canning equipment and clearing out our upright freezer. We dusted off the food dehydrator, which up to this point has only been used to make beef jerky (Did I mention he’s from Texas?). I remind him that we will eat vegetables and he has to keep an open mind. Our friends and neighbors have been warned – we will be giving them stuff.
And so begins my chronicle of our adventures in produce. What we are cooking, canning, freezing, or giving away. Which vegetables I have been looking forward to; hello, kohlrabi! Which vegetables we are worrying about; I am looking at you, eggplant. And how much extra fruit we are buying. Bring on the first mystery basket! I’m game.
It’s not too late to grab a copy of Wendell Berry’s “Bringing it to the Table” and join me at Longview on May 6 for a discussion. The book is a collection of Berry’s writings on food and agriculture, spanning five decades. A must-read for anyone interested in learning about mindful, responsible eating.
Visit www.greenerpartners.org to register. (Book Club is free!)
Join the Community in a benefit for Greener Partners Community Supported Shares (CSS). The Swarthmore Co-op will be hosting live music, dancing and serving Spanish Tapas to all who register for this fundraiser. Please help support Greener Partners Non-Profit Organization by purchasing a ticket. Click the link below for more information.
Friday, April 27th, 7pm-11pm.
Connecting communities through food, farms, and education.
Through our projects and programs we seek to:
- Increase and strengthen public access to fresh, seasonal and local food.
- Train new farmers in resilient farming techniques and to achieve success in the growing local food economy.
- Educate people of all ages about the origins of their food and empower them to create healthy communities.
Greener Partners is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Welcome our 2012 interns Brian, Andrew and Alicia.
Andrew comes from Lansdale , PA. Brian comes all the way from Ohio and Alicia is here from Oneida,NY. They started this past Monday and have been busy pruning blackberries, trellessing peas, thinning seedlings and digging irrigation trenches. It’s going to be a great season!
