Farm To Table:
Discover Community Farms
In most communities in North America and beyond, you’ll find community supported farms and gardens. Also known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Growing in popularity, this concept took root in the 1960’s in Germany, Switzerland and Japan in response to concerns about urbanization and food safety but didn’t move into North America until 1984. In North America, there are about 13,000 such farms, 12,549 of them in the US alone (as of 2007). With our desire to become better connected to the earth, and to our food it is no surprise that getting involved with farming is on the rise. These types of farms are one method of accessing fresh food that offers an interesting alternative to simply shopping for it.
If movies like ‘Food Inc.‘ and the Jamie Oliver ‘Food Revolution‘ TV show, champions of the fresh food movement have stirred this is a great way for you to get better acquainted with food. By getting more involved with your local farms, farmers and locally grown produce, you become part of the solution for yourself and others. There is something so empowering, intriguing and romantic about getting this close to our food. Participating in community farming is especially great for so many reasons. Perhaps you live in an urban area and 
are unable to grow a garden yourself or just want to support the local food growers. Once you taste the incredible flavor of fresh garden food, it will awaken your taste buds like never before.
Another great benefit is the pathway it provides to bring us closer to the earth and support fresh food growth and distribution in your area. There are farms that allow you to buy in for a year or a season and select a bin of produce weekly and your bounty is either picked up or delivered. Some of the community gardens allow you to select your garden spot and grow what you want and come and tend to it. Participating in community supported agriculture is a great way
to be assured of eating what’s in season, actively support farmers and a super way to introduce kids (if you have any) to gardening and to get them to see exactly where food comes from. There are many different varieties indigenous to the area where you live and you get to see this all with your own eyes. There is a great sense if adventure in going to collect your fresh produce, meeting the farmer, smelling the earth and being in the presence of a farm. It is simply good for the soul.
04-2010
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Book: Community Farms |
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iPhone App: Produce Guide-Fruits, Vegetables, Flashcards and Nutrition |
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Find A CSA:
USA: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ UK: http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/about/csa/index.cfm |
History of the Egg, Easter Eggs & Fabergé
Since the dawn of time, eggs have been celebrated. They are symbols of fertility, new life and creation. Ever wonder how a hen lays eggs? Starting around the age of 18 to 20 weeks a healthy chicken will lay around one egg a day. It takes about 26 hours to lay an egg. She does not need a rooster to lay them; eggs are produced in response to daylight patterns. A fertilized egg will hatch, unfertilized eggs, don’t. Take a virtual visit to an English organic chicken farm.
Ever Wonder Why A Hen Cackles? The Story Behind the Hen’s Cackle
Wild chickens are actually forest animals and they live in small groups called flocks, scratching the dirt and foraging for food. The group wanders away in the undergrowth while one hen sits on the nest to lay her egg. The hen’s cackle serves to reconnect her with the group as if she was yelling “where are you?”. The cock (with the other hens) answers “here we are!”
Easter Eggs
Eggs historically were considered a springtime food, however now, an essential seasonless food and heavily used in our culinary creations. The spring equinox was traditionally celebrated in ancient Celtic cultures with gifts of re-dyed eggs. The eggs were shared at a meal after which the shells were crushed in a ritual to drive away winter. Over time, this practice became more refined and nobility used the last days of winter, decorating eggs to give to their King. These springtime eggs wer
e all the rage in the French court by the 16th century, many of the eggs were decorated by the celebrated artists of the day.
Fabergé Eggs
This tradition reached new heights in the court of the Czar of Russia that saw the court jeweler Carl Fabergé, making these pieces of art made out of gold, porcelain and crystal. Take a virtual visit to see some of these stunning creations!
03-2010
Adopt An Olive Tree
Food lovers Jason Gibb and Cathy Rogers set up Nudo in 2005 after buying and restoring an abandoned 21 acre olive grove in Italy’s Le Marche. Their website reads, “Nudo is an olive grove. And part of it can be yours.” What an appealing offer! You can adopt a tree and get what the tree produces for a year. Imagine having your own olive oil. There are a variety of trees that produce different tastes of olive oil. Or, you can just buy some olive oil already produced including flavored varieties like stone ground lemon, Sicilian chilli and mandarin orange
02/2010
Related Articles:
Meet a Farmer: Grass Fed Beef | Rediscovering Bread | Adopt an Olive Tree | Chocolate Growers | Movie: Food Inc.
