As more people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, they’re finding decreasing food miles can make an immediate impact. There’s a simple way to focus on eating local- cooking up a 100 mile meal!

Whatever lens you look at local food through- food miles, local economy, food waste, ecology, soil health, humane animal care, climate crisis, community building, nutritional content or simply TASTE- local food wins. Hands Down. Hands in the ground.  

Let’s savor the ideas of “Growing Your Own + Knowing Your Farmer” as a two tined approach to digging in and eating more local.

Forks in the Dirt

By the Numbers

Figuring out food miles can be a little shocking at first. It is estimated the average item you pick up from any grocery store has traveled around 1,500 miles before you find it on a shelf. Think of different common foods you buy if you pick up around the Twin Cities Metro Area:

• Raspberries from Mexico- 2,000 miles
• Garlic from China- 5,000 miles
  (90% of garlic comes from China)
• Oranges from Florida- 1,800 miles
• Avocados from California- 2,000 miles

Now do that for each item.
Every time you shop.
You can see how quickly just the food miles add up.

In Hope Jahren’s 2020 book, The Story of More: “How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here” she talks about the many ways we have accelerated climate change. She lists buying locally, along with driving less and opting for less meat as solid options for living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Local Location

Did you know Minnesota’s in-state food systems offer ample ways to bring together entire meals from under a 100-mile circumference? We are truly blessed to experience the best of both worlds; thriving urban areas with top shelf art, medical and educational resources while nestled right up to lush farmland.

Our unique location, coupled with a meaningful resurgence of small scale family farms have recently opened up even more local food options. There is all this food surrounding us just waiting for us to dig in!

Digging In

There’s no better time to start practicing the 100 Mile Meal than at the Holidays. When you’re taking extra time and care to serve family favorites it make sense to show the love not only to those gathering at the table with you, but also to the land that grew the food. Your local food purchases also show that love to those that grew the food.

Farmers Markets

The White Bear Lake Winter Farmers Markets are a great way to gather hyper-local foods for your family- especially those holiday meals. We’re partnering with 20 different local farmers and craft food producers to bring you options for everything from the turkey, to the potatoes and apple pie! With monthly markets in November, December and January we bring local food into the winter even here in Minnesota. Even during Covid we’re finding ways to gather together, safely distanced to bring our neighbors good real food. Follow the Facebook Event for up to date information.

Choosing Local Food

I believe strongly that adding in more small-scale family farms can have a lasting impact on so many of our ecological and economic issues. For more information, check out my Local Food for Thought article. If you’d like to get a peek into my local food journey’s winding road, check out Springing into Local Food.

You could also take the pledge at Local Food is Essential. This is a campaign in MN + WI giving people resources on why + how to buy local.

If you’re interested in a step by step overview of Minnesota Local food practices, you should check out “Local Food: Where to Find it, How to Buy it”. Developed by MISA in cooperation with our many partner organizations and beautifully designed by the Renewing the Countryside folks, this book steps you through everything from finding a nearby farmers’ market, ordering through a network of nearby farmers, to freezing summer produce for winter eating.

I’ll also give a shout out to MN GROWN for all they do to promote access to local food, and to support our farmers. They have a great searchable online database for farmers markets, or search by product.

As we gear up for the holiday season, please consider thinking more about the food miles attached to what’s on your menu. I bet you’ll be able to taste (and feel) the difference at the table.

If you have favorite ways to eat more local food, let me know – there’s always more to learn on the back country roads of eating local.

Dig In,

Michelle

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The second annual BearPower Harvest Party will feature FREE small bites crafted by local chefs from local food. We’re pairing delicious food with family activities and eco-friendly information.

This is your chance to celebrate community grown food! Join us 12-3pm on Sunday, September 22, 2019. The event will take place at the White Bear Area YMCA Community Gardens, at 2100 Orchard Lane behind the YMCA building. We’ll be serving food until we run out, so join the party early. We’ll be inside the YMCA if the weather is really bad, so this is a rain or shine event!

Follow the Harvest Party
Facebook Event
for Updates and Fun!

Local Food 

Much of the produce was grown in local community Gardens. Our own WBL School District (Central, Lakeaires, Matoska and Oneka) the WBL Health Partners Clinic Garden, Tamarack Nature Center Garden and the YMCA Community Gardens are all sharing produce for the event. Local organic farm, All Good Organics, will again be donating lots of organic grown goodness to round out our garden harvests.

Local Chefs

Chefs Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants and Peggy Doran of Margaux’s Table are donating their time and talents to turn the food into tasty meals. They’ere even inviting a few lucky kids to help them prep food before the party starts! Contact me directly if you are interested in helping the chefs too. Local fall veggies will delight your taste buds; think Fall soup + rustic salad… but the exact recipes will have to wait as the chefs see what produce rolls in the day before!

In addition to the veggies, BearPower has brought more community goodness together. Pine Tree Apple Orchard and the White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf are teaming up again to hand out apples and raise awareness of local hunger issues and how you can help. Farmers Market favorite, Great Harvest Bread Company, is donating bread to use in the small bites that will be served. All Good Organics will be on site to talk about organic farming and will likely have something delicious to give away!

Activities

The YMCA will be holding a few Kids’ Fitness classes in the garden. The White Bear Lake Seed Library will be giving seed saving demonstrations and information on their organization, housed in our downtown public library. BearPower is bringing family fun with giant yard games and ways to make healthy eating and activities a part of your routine. Everyone’s favorite carrot, Chomp, will be on site to get kids pumped about living healthy.

The WBL schools will have a table about their gardens, and teachers on site to talk about schoolyard gardens. Ramsey County Master Gardeners will be available for your gardening Q&A. Forks in the Dirt will have a table about the impact of eating local, getting kids in the garden and gardening tips. Our local WBL PD will be there as well with ideas for staying safe while out and about.

Event Grew from Love

This event grew from long-time Health Partners physician, Dr. Elsa Keeler, and her commitment to growing healthy families. Dr. Keeler is taking a leave of absence while working hard to fight cancer.

Let’s take some time to celebrate all we’ve grown this season! Hope to see you there… you don’t get to vote unless you sample

Can. Not. Wait. to Dig In to this!!
Michelle

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This bill would make grant money available to stakeholders in all stages of the food system. It has the potential to make the local food system flow more naturally from local farmer to local school kids. The $2 million in grant money would be available to different cogs within the local food chain.

Sign The Farm To School Petition HERE

Farmers would be able to apply for technical assistance to help them cut through some of the red tape in selling to schools (there is a LOT). Schools would be able to apply for reimbursement in working with purchasing from individual farms, transportation and packaging costs. There’s even a portion that would be available for school gardens and agricultural education related to local foods.

From the Ground Up

 “This seems like a great opportunity to connect local food supplies with kids in our community. Programs like this do our kids a great service in understanding the food supply chain and how we access those resources,” says principal John Leininger. Leininger is at Matoska International Elementary School in White Bear Lake, which has started a small gardening program on site.

“This bill could be really helpful for schools to implement or increase their farm to school offerings, with school credited recipes and other pre-done marketing templates without having to reinvent the wheel with our already limited resources,” said Bridget Lehn, MBA, RD, Nutrition Services Coordinator for White Bear Lake Area Schools, referring to the state level “Farm to School Coordinator” position that is part of the bill.

Local Food Hub, The Good Acre, which works directly with local farmers says, “We 100% support it!” and for good reason. They’ve seen first-hand how farmers working with similar programs have grown and flourished.

Local Food Impact

School lunches reach more kids than any restaurant or monthly supplemental programs can. There is a social aspect as well; kids that see other kids eating fresh fruits and veggies at the lunch table next to them are more likely to try the same things. It should be noted that the funds they are proposing would be for local produce as well as meat and dairy products. 

According to the National Farm to School Network, every dollar invested in farm to school programs generates $2.16 to the local economy. Kids get more nutritious foods, farmers can make ends meet, and a few more

“This bill is good for local farmers. It’s good for our children, and it’s good for local economies too,” said Rep. Todd Lippert, DFL-Northfield, who sponsored the bill along with Sen. Michael Goggin, R-Red Wing.

Your Voice Matters

A similar bill made it through the house and senate committees in 2017, but ultimately wasn’t included in a final spending bill. So, if you think the health of our kids and our local economy is worthwhile, let your representatives know that you support this bill by calling or emailing them today!

Find your representative by clicking HERE.

thank you

Here’s the MPR Story Link, and the Winona Daily News coverage for further information.

I usually focus on what we can do individually to impact our Food System. But, when we have a chance to do something collectively to help our kids AND local farmers I needed to share it with you all.
I’m really curious, what do you think about Farm to School initiatives?

Dig In,
Michelle

The post Minnesota Farm to School Bill appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

This Harvest Party grew from the BearPower organization. White Bear Lake is lucky to have the efforts and talents of this group of dedicated people. They’re working to bring healthy living to our community in so many different ways.

I’ve been digging into coordinating this BearPower Harvest Party with the BearPower team and loving finding the best of the best to help celebrate community grown food. We’ve brought together the cream of the crop local chefs to prepare all that lovingly grown food. Add to that a great mix of activities to take over our White Bear Area YMCA gardens for the day and you’ve got a can’t miss event! We’ve got FREE food,  games,  information, samples and activities to get you growing your love of good food!

More Information by clicking on the -> Facebook Event Page

The Details:

Sunday Sept 23rd @12:00-3:00PM
White Bear Area YMCA Community Garden
2100 Orchard Lane, White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Indoors @ the YMCA if raining

Harvest Party Food

Tamarack Nature Center Gardens

All the food at the harvest Party was grown in local community gardens, including WBL district schools, HealthPartners White Bear Lake Clinic, Tamarack Nature Center, and the YMCA community gardens! 5 of the beds growing food for the event are part of the awesome local initiative, “Giving Gardens“. Making sure we have enough food to fill in the gaps, All Good Organics local farm has pledged to donate from their recent harvests as well!

Chef Challenge

A chef challenge meal, created from all the locally grown food will be served starting at noon. We’ll keep serving until every last veggie has been eaten. If there’s simply too much food, extras will go the White Bear Area Food Shelf.

The food service will include some freshly made soups and grilled veggies. Huge thanks to  local chefs, Ben Pratt of Ingredients Café + The Burger Bar and Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants, who will be creating tasty creations with all the veggies we throw at them! I can’t wait to see what they come up with

Vote for your favorite food on your way out!

Glen Oliphant of United Methodist Church, WBL with freshly harvested potatoes and herbs to go into the breads!

Bread baked by White Bear Lake United Methodist Church in their Community Bread Oven during a community bread bake on Saturday will also be donated. Ciabatta and Focaccia were mentioned when I was talking with one of the bakers! Our garden-grown herbs and potatoes will be used in making the breads.

Nancy Jacobson with some freshly harvested apples!

Pine Tree Apple Orchard is donating crates of freshly picked apples for the event as well. The apples will be handed out by volunteers from the White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf. Please think about making a monetary donation to the food shelf to help make sure all our neighbors have access to good food!

It is so amazing to be able to say that ALL the veggies were grown and/or donated by community members!

Harvest Party Activities

We’ve got a little something for everyone during the Harvest Party!

Chomp at an earlier YMCA Garden Event

BearPower ‘larger than life’ games and the famous carrot mascot, “Chomp” will be perusing the party ready for photos.

Insect Hotel We will be group building a “beneficial bug hotel” Stop by to add your mark and help pollinate our YMCA gardens!

Beets from the YMCA gardens

White Bear Lake Schools will have a table, highlighting the gardens and gardeners (mostly kids) that grew food for the event!

The YMCA will have information on renting a garden bed in the gardens next season. We will also be handing out a limited number of strawberry plants that YMCA Summer Power kids helped propagate!

Sunflowers in the YMCA garden

White Bear Lake Seed Library will be doing Seed Saving Demos with plants growing in the gardens. Take home Seeds to get your garden growing next year! We’ll be working with sunflower and marigold seeds to name a few!

Ramsey County Master Gardeners will be onsite ready for your questions, and info on getting the most out of your Fall garden, and how to prepare it for Winter.

Health Partners Health Club will be onsite with info on eating healthy and demos.

All Good Organics farmer will be onsite with info on growing organic and a few surprises. This farm has dedicated to fill in produce that we need to round out the harvest party meal.

Butch and Kris from All Good Organics

Keeping it Local

As YMCA Community Garden coordinator, I’m wearing a few hats during this event, I’ll be onsite with a Forks in the Dirt information table about the impact of eating local and samples to share!

I LOVE how this whole event began; a well-loved local doctor, Elsa Keeler, had a vision to bring families together over locally grown healthy food. Just look what that one well rooted idea has become!

Staying True to Doing Good

Hanging with some of the YMCA garden Club kids

One of the reasons I started blogging was to highlight all the good that is happening around us.

Forks in the Dirt’s motto is “Crossing paths with Farmers, Food and Doing Good”

And with this event, I got to be part of making that good happen. I have learned so much about our community and how strongly we believe in AND follow through with showing up for one another. It makes me proud to be part of this community

The amount and diversity of Community Gardens in our area truly amazes me. It really is a testament to people wanting to be more connected to the food they eat, and the land they inhabit. If you are interested in joining any of the local community gardens, read my earlier blog post all about our local gardens!

Can’t wait to Dig into some good food and good conversations- hope to see you there!

Michelle

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Seed are life.

Yet many seeds and plants that have populated the planet for eons are at risk of disappearing because they don’t fit the corporate farming model. It is estimated that 75% of plant diversity has been lost over the last century. That’s where Seed Savers Exchange comes in.

Seed Savers Exchange

First- I want to give a shout out to the Seed Savers Exchange for their 2018 Summer Conference at Heritage Farm. I’m still buzzing with all the new information I brought home. I had to share some of what I learned with you all!

They’ve built a vibrant community of dedicated volunteers and staff, all starting with co-founders Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy in 1975. I was lucky enough to meander through Diane’s gardens with her at the beginning of the weekend.

Today, the 890-acre Heritage Farm in Decorah, Iowa grows over 20,000 plant species and has 13,000 members. Meeting some of these wonderful members and staff at their annual conference has increased both my understanding of seed saving and my excitement for it.  I mean with an onsite Seed Swap with people from all over- how could I not get more excited!?!

Plus, plant people are the best people!

If you garden, you’ve likely already benefited from the work of Seed Savers Exchange staff, volunteers and members. There are treasure troves of information on their site and at the store- visit online or in person, often!

Heirloom vs Hybrid Seeds

Patience with Nature

One thing to keep in mind when starting to save seeds is the at we’re really just helping nature along. Waiting long enough for Mother Nature to do her work is a big part of the initial learning curve. …Both waiting for the seed to be ripe enough on the plant and waiting long enough for the seed to be dry enough to put into storage!

In general, plants will tell you when their seeds are ready. They give you signs, like color changes or simply starting to fall off the plant.

Not all seeds are as showy with their seed ripeness, which brings me to Heritage Farm Field crew Leader, Rochelle’s advice, “spend a little time learning about the plant you are saving seeds from. Each crop has some specific information on how to work with it- but don’t be afraid to mess up. There are so many easy plants to start with.”

Wise words from a wise woman (who also really likes driving the farm)!

 Should we save our Own
or Buy from Seed Savers Exchange?

BOTH!

Yes, we can all save the Easy To Save Seeds at home. There are many beautiful books on seed saving, and I’ve got an article on the easiest to save for home gardeners.

Seed Savers Exchange also has a great person-to-person way to keep these home saved seed lines open. They call it “The Exchange” and it is a community of gardeners and seed stewards, sharing and swapping unique varieties you might not find anywhere else. The Yearbook is the printed edition of the Exchange, the gardener-to-gardener seed swap. Printed annually since 1975, the Yearbook is an unrivaled source of unique seeds, grown by home gardeners across the world. The SSE houses around 20,000 varieties at their headquarters.

Participants in the Exchange have saved thousands of rare heirlooms from extinction by connecting with new seed stewards to carry on seed saving traditions to the next generation. Many of the heirlooms that have entered the marketplace in recent years were shared here first, and many more heirlooms are still only found in the gardens of this community.

The Exchange works to keep biodiversity strong and garden traditions thriving. To give you an idea, they have over 8,400 listing for tomatoes. So this is a true non-profit. Actually, as one of the staff said, “we’re one of the few groups who actually want to go out of business. If enough people save enough seed and replant it- we won’t need to exist.”

And that spirit runs through everything they do. They even invite other seed companies to their events, talk about true community.

If you’re looking for a more local and small-scale way to start seed swapping check out you local Seed Library!

 Seed Storage

This is one place I could get MUCH better as I am saving way more seed varieties this year. It is recommended to store seeds in a cool dark place. And usually in a glass jar or plastic bag. Air tight containers will hold seeds viable for longer, you just need to make sure they are fully dried out before sealing it to avoid growing mold instead of more food

For the last decade or so, I mostly keep my home saved seeds in paper bags or paper envelopes in a cool dark area. Sometimes clear glass jars too.

Seed Saving Next Steps

• Check out the Seed Savers Exchange website for more online tips.  
• Look into MN SEED project for native plant seeds
• Read my other seed saving blogs:
  Seed Saving : Annual Flowers
  Seed Saving: Vegetables
• Our local White Bear Lake Seed Library, is housed in the downtown library and gives ‘seed saving talks’ quite frequently.

Once you get the hang of it, Lee Buttala, former ED of SSE suggested, “try to grow a few plants dedicated for seeds. Many plants grow in such a way that you can’t use them for both eating and seed saving.”

I hope I’ve inspired you to start saving your own seeds!  Like most things in life getting started is the hardest part- so please ask for help! Ask me- or find another local seed saver, there is such a great community of people working to ensure diversity in seeds.

Off to collect some calendula seeds… and dig into some of the amazing food ripening in my gardens!

Dig In!
Michelle

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Here’s a quick(ish) look into why I believe taking the extra effort to eat local pays off in dividends larger than we can measure.

Nothing beats sun ripened home grown tomatoes!

Local Food Tastes Better 

Fresh + local food just tastes better. Exhibit A> The Tomato. Homegrown varieties will leave you smiling as you savor the layers of flavor that drip off the sun warmed juices. The store bought, often packaged version of tomatoes  we get up North in winter are pale pink, mealy, styrofoam imposters. Don’t even get me started on eggs

Nutritional Value

Food loses nutrients after it is harvested- up to 30% in three short days! Being able to pick a salad out of my garden or buy from a farmer that harvested earlier that day means more nutritional ‘bang’ for my buck or my work than buying food that was shipped across the country. Not to mention food flown/shipped here from another continent before it was ripe.

Lower Carbon Footprint

Next generation of Costas Farm Family helping you get your dose of daily veggies.

Local food (obviously) doesn’t travel as far- so it doesn’t have all those packaging + transportation costs that come with food traveling on average 1,500-4,000 miles, such as; gas, (trucks/trains/planes, drivers, health insurance, middle management, CAFO Operators…) There’s A LOT of info on the internet back and forth about this issue. You can make numbers say anything you want depending on what slice of the pie (strawberry thank you) you look at. I have to say that if people spend a Saturday morning buying a bunch of fresh veggies from local farms, or digging in their gardens, I have a hard time seeing that as a loss. (PS- buy produce in bulk when you go, bring reusable bags, or heck, just read more of my tips on shopping Farmers Market. )

Local Economy Boost

Small scale farmers put it all on the line each year, not knowing what the weather, banks or pests + critters will do. Go ahead, thank a farmer today! When the food you eat comes from closer to home, the money put into growing that food stays closer to home too.  The Shop Local movement is strong on many fronts and local food is leading the way! Restaurants are jumping on the local food bandwagon too. Some Twin Cities area restaurants are having wonderful results.  Also, there is a whole lifting of the community that happens when people truly support local that is hard to quantify, but easy to feel.

Lower Food Waste

Between keeping chickens +composting we throw away very little food.

From farm to table over 40% of the food grown in the US is wasted.  Just thrown away, in a land fill. Where the food will decompose in an anaerobic environment, releasing more carbon dioxide, worsening climate change. Unless you don’t believe in that sort of thing. Processing food, transporting food and ‘picture perfect’ grocery store demands all add to that high percentage of waste. But we each play a large role in that as well…

In 2018, more than 63 million tons of food waste was generated from residential, commercial, and institutional sectors, with 4.1 percent diverted from landfills and combustion facilities for composting.
-EPA website

When we spend more on locally grown food, whether apples, bacon, eggs or broccoli, we are more likely to make sure we use it or preserve it (freezers are awesome, people). We simply value local food more and if that helps decrease food waste I’d say that’s a pretty good place to start.

Building Better Soil

Thank you Farmer Josh! …of Turnip Rock Farm, his wife runs Cosmic Wheel Creamery on the farm as well.

I know you probably don’t think about the state of your local soil, but your small family farmers sure do. When they live on the land they farm, they tend to the land differently than corporate farms. The rise of organic farming and intensive rotational grazing is a sign that people are starting to taste the difference, and man is it delicious!

The first time I ever tasted real butter I was with my father’s family in Switzerland, eating butter that had been made from cows that ate from the alpine pastures just up the mountain… it was the most amazing butter EVER, and it was a major AH-HA moment for me!

Soil is the stuff that sustains life on this planet- along a million other parts of this beautiful ecological web. But is the soil is depleted and contaminated it won’t matter how much good water and sun beckon plants. Without fertile soil, plants won’t produce.

Skip the Herbicides + Pesticides + Fungicides

I like knowing what is in my food. Way back in 1987 the EPA considered 60% of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides carcinogenic. The numbers waver after that, I wonder why. Big chemical companies (YES I’m talking to you MONSANTO & DUPONT, and all the other mega-agri companies listed HERE , are out to sell more product, not grow good food.  Children are also more susceptible to these toxins in their food as their bodies are still developing.  If you’ve ever cringed because you got that chemical taste in our mouth because you didn’t wash your conventionally grown (heavily sprayed) apple off well enough you know what I mean.

Late season harvest of kale was the sweetest yet!

Healthy Food = Healthy People

Which brings us back to how food tastes.  The better tasting the food, the more we eat. Foods like kale, Brussel sprouts and broccoli taste a million times (2nd grader approved math) better when fresh.  We all know we need to eat more fresh fruits and veggies. If we want to get the next generation moving in the right direction, offering them delicious food is a good place to start.

My oldest excited for his first bite of home grown celery

I want to get our next generation (my kids included) more connected to where their food comes from. Planting a seed and working with the earth to help it become food is not just a hipster trend- it is the way humans survive.

Local food- growing it and/or finding farmers who grow it is a passion of mine. And I’m still far from fully local (because bananas, olives, chocolate, Chipotle etc.). We’re all busy with daily life, and we’re all at different places on the food path. We also all choose our food at least three times a day (aren’t we lucky!). So if we all chose a few things to grow on our own, or buy local it would, over time swell to a sea change that would be felt over all the land. And really, I want this land to be here to feed my kids’ grandkids healthy food too.

But mostly, I just like digging in the dirt, eating good food and meeting farmers

Just remember, Food Should Taste Good and if it doesn’t it’s time to ask ‘why not’?

I hope we can keep Digging In to local food, one meal at a time- together.

Michelle

The post Local Food For Thought appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

Ringing in 2018!

Let’s Celebrate One Year of Forks in the Dirt!

Looking back over the first year of sharing food stories and info with whoever would listen- I had to stop and say THANK YOU! Thanks for making me so happy I took that leap of faith!!

I’ve learned more than I could have imagined; about growing food, farmers, food systems and building websites- but I also had a chance to distill what is important to me. I got to hang out with dozens of farmers on lovingly cared for land. I got to eat my way through a delicious summer and ate mostly locally grown (home preserved) food all winter.

Karin Costa helping my boys get their weekly sweet corn fix!

Officially, my website had 4,469 reads and lots of engagement over the many different posts on the blog, Facebook and Instagram… again, thanks for showing up!

*Some* of the topics covered:
Composting, Community Gardens, Farmers,  CSA’s, Planting Tips, Farmers Market Shopping Tips, Farm + Food Events, Raising Backyard Chickens, Pollinators, Food Hubs, Foraging,  Healthy Eating Recipes + Canning Recipes, Food Shelves, Growing for Food Shelves, the first ever Winter WBL Farmers Market and our WBL Seed Library– wheee!

All Good Organics Farmers Butch and Kris

I hope you’ve been able to learn and grow with me along the way.  That’s exactly why I started Forks in the Dirt; I wanted to dig in and see what I could cultivate in myself to become a better steward of the many resources I have. I am thankful for being able to devote time and energy to figuring out paths to good food; from seed, soil, farmer, market, pantry to table- I love every step of the journey!

I’ve learned how to preserve a few more of the veggies, I’m growing more food at home this season and learning to compost better. I’m developing relationships with local farmers who care for their land and the food they grow there, which in turn means they care for the people that eat it.

I’m also more dedicated than ever to the two food shelves I get to spend time with, and the people who depend on these places in uncertain times.

Being the Veggie Pusher at the Merrick food shelf in Woodland Hills Church

I’m also more aware that I partake of the same food privileges most middle class and ‘above’ white folks in Minnesota enjoy. I get to be choosy.

“I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant” –Ohh I miss you, Prince

But today in Minnesota 1 in 10 people face hunger. I see moving towards a solution to this hunger tied to leveling out food systems. It’s just not right that in 2017, we have 40% food waste and at the same time 41.2 million food insecure Americans.

Coming face to face with the differences in food shelves in suburban vs. urban areas has opened my eyes to how food justice issues sit down to dinner near me on the daily.

Lotsa lemon balm

After one year of being more conscious of food in general I buy  better quality foods in hopes of supporting local farm families and decreasing food miles + food waste.  Don’t get me wrong, I still but plenty from regular grocery stores, I have two growing boys and a ‘meat and potatoes’ husband. But we grow a LOT of potatoes and nearly all of the red meat they eat is from venison my husband has hunted with his bow and processed himself. Small steps do add up!

My Littlest Garden Helper

And there is such JOY in working with Mother Nature, seeing my kids tend their garden spaces, knowing where my food came from. It all means more when you feel connected to the food you eat. I think it is this connection to our food that will motivate more people to find better solutions to sustainability issues we ALL face.

Without going into a full on rant…

These are a few of the reasons I plan to continue gathering info and sharing with you. On the heels of Earth Day 2018 and the cusp of another growing season I’m renewing my commitment to digging in to make our food more sustainable, more enjoyable, more meaningful.

I am so proud of what I’ve been able to share, and the small impacts I’ve made on neighbors and farmers. Lots of little changes add up to big changes, so I want to ask you:

 What food changes will you make this year? Will you share them with me?

Making changes in my gardens

Let’s keep digging in and finding ways to keep moving towards full food integrity.

CHEERS, and thanks for joining me on the path!

Michelle

The post One Year of Digging In! appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

“We connect and strengthen farmers, food makers, and communities through good food.”

This is the place you can learn how to make kimchi, pick up a farm share with locally made add-ons, attend a beginning farmers conference, volunteer in a hoop house or find your child’s school lunch staff kicking up their culinary skills. Full circle!

There is also a contagious positivity running through those artfully slanted walls that makes it all gel.

I stumbled upon this powerhouse operation online while looking up local CSA’s. Turns out Community Supported Agriculture is the perfect term for part of what happens here, but The Good Acre goes way beyond the traditional CSA.

What is a Food Hub Anyway?

Farm Share Packing Day

A food hub, as defined by the USDA, is “a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products.”

The thing that the USDA missed in its definition is the community that takes root around an initiative like this. There are farmers who would not be making it if it weren’t for TGA. In 2016 around 65,000 pounds of food moved through the facility. That’s 65,000 pounds of food that traveled significantly less than the average 1,500 miles. Hello lowered carbon footprint.

Food Hubs like TGA aren’t prolific, and that may be in part because for now, they rarely turn a profit. They are often funded in part by donations, grants and in the case of TGA- significant support from the Pohlad Family Foundation.

There’s so much shaking at TGA on any given day, that’s it’s easy to overlook one of the ways they bring good food to the community. So, let’s break down how they put the mission into action.

Cala Farms

Farmers:
The Good Acre has a dedicated staff member to do farm visits and help with things from building soil fertility to crop planning for the items TGA has contracted to buy.  Staying up to date on the latest farm safety protocol and working with wholesalers on behalf of the farmers they partner with is another piece of the pie. Another thing that shows TGA’s support to making lasting change in the local food system is:

Grower Support Specialist, David VanEeckhout
“He’s been an organic farmer for over 20 years and helps our farmers implement sustainable and organic practices on their farm that will help them with pest management, soil fertility, and more.”

Photo credit: The Good Acre

They also tend three hoop houses of varying sizes and strengths as testing grounds for farmers interested in growing some seasonally-extended crops. They are used for instructional purposes, and supply berries, ginger, peppers and tomatoes to local food makers such as Chow Girls and You Betcha Kimchi.

Galen and crew brewing Kimchi

Storage:
They have both dry storage, cooler and freezer storage spaces available for rent. This type of space is hard to come by,  which Galen Kanazawa, of Fierce Ferments,can attest to that, “The Good acre offered us affordable and convenient storage space. Being able to make as much as we need to with no space limitations enabled us to scale up to a warehouse distribution level of business. Additionally, they helped us gain a higher profile by getting our name out there in front of some bigger accounts that we otherwise likely wouldn’t have noticed us.”

Photo credit: The Good Acre

Farm Share:
The new TGA CSA, Power in numbers. Simply pooling farmers produce and offering it up in a carefully curated box each week is another way TGA connects local community with the local good food. Because they work with a variety of ‘often’ organic farms you can expect to see up to 70 varieties of produce over the course of the season this year! Because of their close relationships with many local makers (like produce from their farmers, then made in their kitchens) they are able to offer some great “add-ons” to their farm share as well- like fresh eggs, bread, kombucha, kimchi and the like. More info HERE.

Sound like the perfect option for you? Sign up for their 18 week Farm Share HERE!

Wholesale:
TGA works with wholesale accounts in hopes the good food coming through their doors is spread wide and far. They work with a handful of local wholesalers, and increasingly, schools and hospitals, YAY! *we still have a long way to go on bringing this into the mainstream*

White Bear Lake Schools kitchen staff perfecting their roasting skills. Photo credit: The Good Acre

This hit close to home when I realized TGA had directly effected my kid’s lunchroom. Turns out TGA worked with our local White Bear Lake school district’s kitchen staff on how to cook with the local produce they are procuring through their wholesale program. “The Good Acre currently works with over a dozen area school districts, all of which have the opportunity to bring their Nutrition Service staff members in for training on scratch cooking techniques and development of healthy recipes scaled up for the lunch line and suited to kids tastes”, offers Nikki Warner, TGA marketing manager. A food hub that can offer locally grown produce and training on how to prepare it really is a win/win for our schools and our kids. This awesome service is funded by the USDA Farm to School Grant TGA was awarded in 2017. Keep it coming!

I’m jumping up on my soap box now:
This is such a great way to start that sea change in moving towards making local food systems sustainable. When we ask for healthier, local foods on our children’s lunch menus it has an effect that takes root. A child may be offered that food for a first time, or know the food and get others excited about it. Of course kids are always going to get excited for sweets, but they do get excited for brussel sprouts too- when they taste good. I love that TGA is there for the full circle from working with the farmers, the wholesalers and the kitchen staff to implement real change in the way our kids view food. I’m jumping back down now.

“We believe that the more that we can connect local makers to our network of growers, the more equitable, vibrant and resilient our local food system will be.”  The Good Acre website

Making Mushroom Jerky!

Commercial Kitchen: Rental
With Food safety laws as they stand, if you’re going to sell food in a store you need to make it in a commercial kitchen. Which is good for public health, but bad for start-up companies. Introducing the shared space commercial kitchen. These kind of ‘rentable’ kitchens are popping up in more places all over the country, there’s even a website, Food Corridor, that connects makers with kitchen space. These spaces give small companies, like ProCured Mushroom Jerky  a chance to break into the local wholesale and institutional markets. TGA currently rents this space out to 15 different makers every month. If you’re interested in adding your name to the growing list of renters- find more info HERE.

Commercial Kitchen: Classes

Ready to make my own yogurt thanks to Iman Mefleh of You Bethca Kimchi

I just took my first TGA class, a DIY yogurt class and I have to tell you the instructor made us all feel right at home in that stainless steel kitchen.  I’ve gone to some other cooking classes before and this felt more approachable and laid back- but with so many great tips and tricks thrown in there by Iman Mefleh of You Bethca Kimchi that is was worth every penny. Julia Cohen, the Culinary Support Specialist, is pumped about the wide variety of offerings in their kitchen, “We offer cooking classes truly ‘for the people’, our classes are approachable and our instructors are some of the best around.”

I was really impressed with how much information I walked away with for a very reasonable price. They offer tons of classes, on everything from Pho to kitchen skills ‘boot camp’. The best place to keep up with their class offerings is their TGA Facebook page. I can’t wait to go back and try something else new. If you become addicted to their classes, they have a Cooks Club membership that saves you money on multiple classes and gets you some awesome perks. For now, I’m excited I know what to do with the extra whey in my yogurt!

Maker to Market:
You guys, this program makes me so happy. It’s genius in its simplicity- and beautiful in its heart.  From the website:  “Lakewinds Food Co-op and The Good Acre have partnered under a shared purpose: bring new and diverse slow food products to the world as we strengthen our food community as a whole. We help independent food makers hit the ground running. We source ingredients from small, local, and disadvantaged farmers to cultivate our local food economy. And we give consumers amazing new choices at shelf. It’s a win-win-win.”

From Senoras de Salsa,to Caldo Foods sauces and spices, the results are delicious!

They are currently accepting applications for the 2^nd Maker to Market! More info HERE.

mix and match fingerlings

Bringing  Food + Community Full Circle
This is one lean, mean food systems machine. Nestled into the east side of the Twin Cities Metro, and across the street from some U of MN test fields, TGA add such value to the food we eat, the farmers in our midst and the future of food systems.

Implementing the “Frost Mob” was another way I tried to get involved this past year. Interested in helping local farmers quickly gather crops threatened by unexpected frosts? Or maybe you’re interested in volunteering in another way? You can let their spunky marketing manager, Nikki Warner know by emailing her.

In so many ways they are doing the heavy lifting of laying a solid foundation. They’re working to make small farms viable thanks to the Pohlad Family Foundation, some large grants and individual donations. They hope to be self sufficient, and what will help that to happen is for us consumers to vote with our dollars. You’ve heard that before, but we can use our dollars not only to buy from local farmers via Farm Shares and  farmers markets,  but the larger food movers, the wholesale food side– like restaurants, school lunch programs, hospitals and other institutional wholesale opportunities.

Asking where your food comes from is a Good place to start.

I am a huge proponent of the Farmers Market and CSA (or TGA’s Farm Share) but thinking about making small farms secure far into the future we’ll need to do more than buy a few tomatoes from a few of them every week; we need to find a way for local to be necessary – not a luxury.

I can’t wait to Dig In to making my own yogurt. Thank you to The Good Acre for  doing Good Work!

Michelle

The post The Good Acre: Full Circle Food Hub appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

The WBL Winter Farmers Market:  December 9  
10am – 2pm at Tamarack Nature Center

So many local people and groups have made this event a success even before the first shopper sips hot cider or scores a squash…

BearPower, The  “community-wide movement helping White Bear Lake area families eat well and be active”.  I applied for one of their Ambassador Grants and wouldn’t you know it, they saw the value in holding a local foods winter market.  They agreed it was one way to help people eat healthier, less processed foods a little longer in to the ‘off season’ and inspire more home cooked meals along the way.  Big thanks to Julia of BearPower, who was always encouraging and dependable.

Then, of course there are the farmers & food producers (listed and linked below) who know their customers well enough to know they’d be supported at this market. But some didn’t know me, or even where the market was going to be at first. They took a chance and committed to the event.

Pine Tree Apple Orchard,  wanted to come and sell cider and pies, but couldn’t stretch their staff to make it work (because serving their orchard store customers had to come first) and was almost lost to the market.

But, once our White Bear Area Food Shelf committed to having volunteers available to help serve up cider, Pine Tree generously agreed to donate cider instead, giving the Food Shelf a chance to bring in donations.  Please consider making a stop out to Pine Tree for one their amazing apple pies!

Tamarack Nature Center Building in Summer

Tamarack Nature Center made renting the facility easy as pie! (I’m obviously still thinking of Pine Tree’s apple pies) Thank you Joyce and Marcy! What a perfect location for a health focused farmers market. The building is just right and there are miles of walking trails right out the door!

KaytJoyceDesign …and then to make it all look legit, I wrangled a White Bear Lake newcomer, Kayt. She whipped up a logo that wowed us all!! I mean, let’s look at this logo again

Is it just me, or are you all feeling the Christmas spirit too?!?

…and we haven’t even gotten to talk about the food yet!!

I’ve had so much fun (and learned so much) hand picking this unique blend of top notch local vendors. You’ll find small start-ups to established family farms. It was my goal to gather an intimate, yet well-rounded group of local foods to shop, and I think we’re there

Our Local Farmers & Producers:

All Good Organics: variety of winter storage vegetables, frozen summer vegetables, homemade canned items, eggs

Dahl Hobbie Farm: jellies, jams, raw honey, chutney

Douville Bakery: quick breads, pastries, granola, trail mix, maple syrup

Eichtens: variety of locally sourced and crafted cheeses

Gilbertson Farm: humanely raised beef and pork, variety of variety of winter storage vegetables

Great Harvest: yeast breads, rolls, scones

Ingredients Café: scratch made butternut & apple puree, and tomato basil soups

Olive Branch Oil & Spce Company: olive oil and vinegar blends, spice blends

Weeds Greens: micro greens, fresh herbs, baby greens

As if you needed more incentive to come and shop after that list, BearPower is giving away reusable bags to the first 100 shoppers!

There’s a little something for the kids too- Chomp the BearPower Carrot mascot will be walking the market giving out high fives and photo ops.

 So get ready to sip some cider, shop local and walk (off that extra pastry you couldn’t turn down) all in one place.

See you on December 9^th!

No really, I’ll be there too!

I’ll be ready to talk all things local food: backyard chickens, composting, raised garden beds, seed saving, growing your own, preserving your own, and/or finding the best local food resources. I’ve even got a fun little basket of my garden grown goodies to raffle off!

My mission in getting this winter market (and my website) together is to help us ALL make healthier, more sustainable food choices- one step at a time.  One key point I learned early on was that I can’t grow it all. It is also way more fun, tasty and inspiring to eat what other local farmers grow. It feels more natural, being part of the cycle of food. We all have a place in the food system.

There I am with Betty, one of my four girls.

I began cultivating relationships with local farmers long before I decided to start the blog and social media spaces last spring. My love of growing good food and buying local stems from growing up in my parent’s gardens, on the north side of White Bear Lake.

As newlyweds we raised chickens, but had to send off our hens to a friend’s farm when we found our new home in White Bear Lake. But I still wanted chickens… So, in April of 2016 I worked with City Council member, Bill Walsh and the great city staff, to change the city’s ordinance- allowing for raising backyard hens. Here’s the link to finding out more about backyard Hens in WBL .

Join me as I explore the many paths to eating healthy local foods. You can subscribe (in the  sidebar) to get new blog posts or follow the White Bear Lake Winter Farmers Market Facebook event page to see more vendor information.

There really is something special about “bloom where you’re planted”– I believe that truth holds for “eat from where you’re planted” too.

Can’t wait to Dig In to all the food I’ll be bringing home from the market- wonder what I’ll make first!?!

Michelle

*Bring cash, as not all vendors take credit cards!*

The post A Winter Farmers Market is Coming to Town! appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

My front stoop this year- laden with pumpkins and squash

I love pumpkins!
Carving pumpkins.
Eating pumpkin treats.
Slurping pumpkin soup.
Crunching pumpkin seeds.

And I am not alone.

You guys: Americans really love pumpkins.

By best estimates in a finder.com article:  154,000,000 Americans planned on carving pumpkins this year! Whoa, that’s a lot of fruit on our front stoops. (Yes, pumpkin is technically a fruit.) Which equals close to a billion pounds of pumpkin!

Everyone loves carving pumpkins!

Let’s deal with the aftermath of our slaughtered Halloween pumpkins responsibly, and preferably before they’re all moldy and gross (we’ve all been there right?)

This is one of those times when, if we each do a little, it will make a big impact!

Don’t forget, all these pumpkins will come back to haunt us year after year… if we don’t use them well

Let’s break down some options.

Do NOT throw pumpkin into your garbage!

Think about the extra greenhouse gasses emitted by adding 154,000,000 pumpkins to landfills across our country. Spooky. Some landfills have taken measures to capture the methane emitted by the organic matter, a step in the right direction, but far from any finish line.

Here’s my PSA for my Minnesota readers:
“MN State law prohibits leaves, grass clippings, brush and other plant material from being mixed with your trash.”

What to do with Your Carved Pumpkins

• When you’re carving pumpkins, be sure to Roast the Pumpkin Seeds!
• Roast and eat them- they’re great in curries.
• Puree roasted pumpkin for soups or  freeze for baking.
• Add them to your existing compost pile, (I do love some good composting). Chopping up into small pieces first is recommended.
• Bring the carved pumpkins to the County Yard Waste sites.  Map of Ramsey County locations HERE.
• You can also cut up the pumpkin into pieces and leave out for wildlife.  In our case we leave some out for our chickens!
• Make Dog Treats with the pumpkin puree (there are tons of great recipes)
• Donate to Food Shelf
• Feed Farm Animals

Some Farmer’s markets collect the ‘used’ pumpkins for feeding animals, or for bringing back to add to their farm’s compost pile.

Some grocery stores collect the carved pumpkins, usually in connection to a farmer that hauls them back for animal feed or compost. (Kowalski’s Market in White Bear Lake used to do this, if enough of us call do you think they’d bring it back?!?).

Do you know of any local drop sites? Share with me and I’ll share here!

Just Eat It

If you didn’t slice into that beauty yet, roast the whole thing…

Even though these “carving pumpkins” or Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins have been grown for size, shape, smooth bright orange skin, and their handle like stems more than flavor they are still totally worth cooking up.

You can roast it whole, or slice in chunks and roast in the oven, (after saving the seeds) and use the puree in soups, smoothie and baking recipes. So much better than the store bought canned stuff! Making pumpkin puree is as easy as cooking or roasting it, then pureeing in a blender.

And then you can make my favorite Pumpkin Spice Cake!

Roasted Pumpkin Soup with onion and thyme

I will admit, pie pumpkins are more dense and sweeter, but I am a waste not want not kind of gal.

Looking for a more flavorful variety to grow and/or eat try next year? Try ‘Sugar Pie’, ‘Autumn Frost’, or even Kabocha varieties. Seeds available from many online seed companies! Yum.

The Seedy Side

When you’re carving pumpkins, be sure to Roast the Pumpkin Seeds!

I love roasted pumpkin seeds for snacking. Favorite Tip* boil  the seeds in salt water for a few hours (or up to a day) before roasting*. There are also ‘naked’ seeds or hull-less varieties you can grow (like the Kakai sold HERE).

…Or just save some of the seeds for planting your own pumpkins next spring!

Think of it as your treat to the earth to give back what it already put into growing your Halloween carving pumpkin.

Hopefully this takes some of the scary out of Halloween clean up.  What do you do with your old Jack O’ Lanterns once you’re done carving pumpkins?

Dig In!

Michelle

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