Go For The Real Deal: Producer Operated Farmers' Markets

by Jas Faulkner

How much do you trust the people who supply the grocery store you support or the kitchen manager of your favorite restaurant to provide food that is safe?  

In a very telling incident, food journalist Michael Pollan visited a farmer who grew potatoes for McDonald's french fries.  During the interview, Pollan asked the farmer if he fed the potatoes to his own family and the answer was an emphatic, No!' The farmer grew his own organic spuds to feed his own clan.  Later in the story, Michael asked for a drink of water and was warned away from filling his glass at the tap.  The farmer's wife explained that the local water was full of pesticides and they bought bottled water to drink.

That was a sad example of a farmer knowing his or her food, and also knowing that he didn't want to eat it. It brings up an interesting question of  how well the people behind the tables at farmer's markets know their produce. Can they tell you where the seeds came from or whether their stock was exposed to chemicals that might remain not only on t he outside of the fruits and vegetables, but have permeated the flesh?  Did those potatoes come from a county away?  A time zone away?  Did they come from another continent altogether?

Once upon a time...

 A farmers' market was exactly what the title suggested.  It was a place where people who grew fruits and vegetables or raised animals for meat could sell what they raised. The advantage was one of both quality and trust. There was a greater sense of accountability on the part of the producers and customers knew that they had a responsibility to support farmers if they wanted to buy food that was locally produced by people they trusted. This worked well because most metropolitan areas were surrounded by farmland. There were enough farmers to feed everyone who cared enough to maintain a locally centered food economy.

As more people moved to the city and the land surrounding those urban areas was devoted to housing, people got comfortable with the idea of buying everything they ate from large corporate producers who created factory-perfect food-like stuff that could come from anywhere. Zero plotline development and the loss of connection to family traditions such as the household kitchen garden cause people to lose a sense of what it meant to eat with the seasons.  The demand for shipped in produce grew and with it, the loss of seasonal eating except for certain holidays.

Over time, people began to miss the feel of buying from a farmers' market, so they sought out places where they hoped to buy fresh, in-season produce.  One thing many of these shoppers didn't think to ask was: "Where did it come from?"


Not All Farmers' Markets Are Equal

A farmers' market is a farmers marker is a farmers market?  Right?  Well, on the surface, that might be true.  The open air ambiance, the smell-of-the-week of whatever is in season, the atmosphere that makes it feel more like a large outdoor party; these are all things that draw people to farmers markets.

So what is the difference and why does it matter?


There are two different kinds of farmers' markets.  The first is the  traditional market where farmers sell what they raise.  The second, and sadly more common in many urban areas, is really more of a reseller's marketplace.  these people often go to food wholesalers and buy large lots of produce.  In some rare cases, they might know the person they are buying from without ever actually seeing where their wares come from.

When you buy from a market that allows resellers,  you run the risk of buying food that might have been raised in less than ideal circumstances. Do you or they know exactly what into the items you're considering for your pantry?  Chances are the person behind the cash box knows exactly as much as you do, which is nothing or pretty close to it. Is that a risk you want to take?

Know Your Farmer
Traditional farmers' markets are worth the investment of time and money.  Eating locally means you are more likely to eat in season and eat in a way that will contribute to your overall good health.  It means that you have the confidence of knowledge and the power to make your own choices about what you put into your body.  It means that you help keep the local economy robust and  food sources close by which is a smart, sustainable way to feed your community.

Most important of all, know your farmers means that you are buying from people who are selling you the same things they are feeding their own families. They get  your support of their hopes and dreams and you get the benefit of years of agricultural education, family experience, and strong personal values that go into organic family farming.

So the next time you think about visiting a farmers' market, look, ask, and make informed choices. Your local farmers will thank you for it!

Feeding Ourselves, Each Other

by Jas Faulkner 

During a conversation about the division between acts that are sacred and profane, the act of feeding oneself and others was something that quite surprisingly had the room divided. The profane folks saw the enterprise as something purely physical, for them it came down to the mundane business of  manufacturing and distributing fuel for the human animal. The profane folks were incredibly prosaic about it.  Food goes in, people stay alive at least and are productive at best. I couldn't help but wonder if their response to Soylent Green would have been a shrug and a mumbled response about it being less messy than composting.

The other side, which in the interest of disclosure, included me, saw things a little differently. The practical aspects are undeniable.  In order for it to really work in the long run, there has to be something deeper at work, an awareness of how truly interconnected we are.  This starts with the people who raise our food and continues through those who carry out its distribution and preparation. Beyond the obvious requirements of healthy soil, safe water, and hard work, the not so obvious components are knowledge, trust, and the recognition that we are nurturing, respecting and supporting each other at every step in the process.

Over the course of the season, I have written about the need to know your food sources and the importance of understanding the nature of how they produce what you put on the table.  Now I would like to talk about the table itself.  I'll offer this precis:  Nothing I'm going to say is particularly new.  The subject has been approached by thinkers and observers as diverse as Thomas Merton, John Robbins, Rose Nader, Ward Goodenough, Francis Moore, Lappe, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Deb Duchon, Tony Campolo, Jane Goodall, Matthew Fox, Michael Pollan, Marion Cunningham...I could go on for at least a page worth of names.  Let's just say I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.

All of those people recognized how important the act of feeding yourself and your family could be. It is fueling the body.  It is also a promise we give to ourselves and each other that we are caring enough to do what is right and what is best when we make choices about food.  Preparation should be a continuing learning experience for both ourselves and if we share a home with someone, the people we live with. Mindfulness about preparation means respecting the sacrifices that go into the ingredients you use. If you eat meat, it is the recognition of the life that was sacrificed to provide that protein. For everything, it is gratitude to the farmers who decide to make a professional  life borne of either family tradition or an innate dedication to the discipline.

As hard as it can be at times, really as hard as it has been for North American families since the post-war boom of the 1940s', we need to extend that to a shared time around the table. If the act of choice and preparation are bound in trust, the culmination of that is the meal itself.  So much of our consumption happens when we are on the run.  Even if we spend quiet time in the early morning making sure we are prepared to meet mealtimes with healthy food throughout the say, there is still the need for the community of the table. Sharing food is a big part of it, but it is also where we share more of ourselves.

The meal together, whether it is in the morning before we go meet the day or as we close ourselves in for the night is the time when we all get to know each other all over again.  As we are touched by the world, we grow and change.  To miss out on that shared time without television, without outside distractions, is to miss out on those developments, small and large that make us who we are at every age.  We are bonded by what we share when we are most vulnerable,and that is when we settle in and open up to those closest to us.

So much of what we do is segregated by age, interests and other ways we identify ourselves that the communal table should be a daily thing instead of a rare, special happenstance. Think of it as voting everyone back on to the island. It's as easy as passing the peas and listening.

Living Clean and Green

by Jas Faulkner

My writing for ENFM is usually oriented towards news features as opposed to a confessional style.  However, I am making an exception after getting a very interesting personal message via Facebook.

The letter writer in question wanted to know what my family eats, how we eat, and how we afford to eat the way we do.  They had been to the East Nashville Farmers Market and the Turnip Truck and Whole Foods and had seen the cost of a can of soup and a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs and from their standpoint, it looked like a prohibitively expensive may to manage a home kitchen.

I thought about her letter the other day when I was at Publix to refill one of our water jugs.  I realized I'd left my cash at home and decided to buy something at the store and just get some cash with my purchase.How hard would it be to buy something useful at Publix?  It used to be my go-to for all manner of green, sustainable products for the household pantry.

The produce section was my first stop.  What was in season was trucked in from another part of the continent, sometimes another part of the hemisphere.  If it wasn't, it was something my family grew or we bought from a local farmer.  Bread and pastries?  We bake our own. As for the middle of the store, we usually follow the advice given by Michael Pollan and Chicago Chef, Rick Bayless and keep to the periphery of the store as much as possible. When I did venture down a given aisle, I found that what they had to offer was either something we bought from a family owned, fair trade, or local producer (cereal, staples for baking, oil, crackers) or it was something we already made ourselves (nut butters, mayonnaise, most of our pickles and relishes).  I finally settled on a block of organic cheese, took  my change and got my water.

You might be reading this and thinking, "The woman walked all over a Publix and acted like my nine-year-old in front of our semi-filled refrigerator on a Thursday after a Saturday grocery run.  What DO you eat? Tofu and lawn clippings?

The truth might surprise you. While I am not completely meat-free (yet), meals at my house consist of a starch, a protein and vegetables.  I know. How exotic.  Here are some other facts about how we live:  There is little in my household that is processed and has more than five ingredients.  One of the goals everyone in the household keeps when shopping is to avoid foods with more than five ingredients or ingredients that would not be recognizable to most great-grandmothers as a food item or a pantry staple.  What meat remains, our dairy, our eggs, our produce, are all local.  We dehydrate, can, and freeze our surplus as a hedge against high prices in the winter.  We use as much of everything as we can. .  All food waste is composted or fed to animals who live in the small wooded area behind the house. Putting out the trash for us usually consists of one small bag a week for the people who are contracted by the city, a box of glass bottles and a plastic storage box of paper,boxes and recyclable plastics for a private recycling company.

One final fact:  Our monthly food bill averages around three hundred and fifty dollars a month.

Want to know more?  Here are some websites that have served as valuable resources for us.  We recommend the books and magazines attached to these sites as well and encourage you show your support for these individuals and organizations by buying what they publish.

Michael Pollan's Website                       Food Politics - Marion Nestle's Website

 Mother Earth News                              Grit

Urban Farm Online                                Earth 911

ReadyMade                                          Instructables

Slow Food International                        Rodale

Is A CSA Right For You?

by Jas Faulkner

writer's note:  Apologies to readers who might want to see what a share looks like.  The image application for Blogger isn't working.  Check out the links at the end of the article to get a look at examples of each farm's share.  Better yet, come to ENFM and take a look at the boxes and baskets that are picked up each week by happy subscribers.

You see them every time you visit the market, those people walking to their cars or pedaling home, happy as clams.  They're bearing boxes or baskets that would make Martha Stewart fling herself across her perfectly appointed four-poster and weep bitter tears at the perfection that defies all of her lifestyle maven's logic.  What is the cause of all of that peacock-strutting to the parking lot?  Only one thing could incite that kind of feeling: picking up a weekly share from one of the CSAs at East Nashville Farmers Market.

What is a CSA?
CSA stands for Community Shared (or Supported) Agriculture.  They offer consumers a chance to buy a share in dedicated crops that are delivered on a weekly or biweekly basis.  Most farms offer subscriptions that run from late Spring to mid- to late Autumn. Some farms offer Winter CSAs, which are usually shorter and provide whatever produce is available in the cooler months.  The average share per delivery is around a half bushel of fruits and vegetables.

The costs can vary, but you can expect to pay four hundred to eight hundred dollars per subscription depending on the duration and frequency of deliveries.  If paying that much money at once brings on a case of sticker shock, look for farms that offer early subscription discounts and installment plans. Keep in mind that upfront economy might cost you later on in terms of time, convenience, and gas. Some lower cost CSAs require a commitment to helping with the labor or actually driving to the farm or a designated participant's home to pick up your share. If you're in doubt, be bold about asking for the details regarding delivery and whether you'll be picking tomatoes or waiting in line to assemble your box or basket.

Why should I get a CSA?
I can give you four good reasons.  Siddown.  You're going to like this.

• Quality - Buying a CSA means you know your pantry is going to be filled with fresh, beautiful produce that was grown fairly close to where you live. The person who hands you your share every week is more than likely the person who grew it and picked it.  They take pride in what they sell and frankly, the nature of the business is that you're supporting them and they're feeding you.  It doesn't get more personal than that. 

• Well-being - Eating produce that is locally grown means eating plants that have adapted to the soil conditions and climate of your part of the world.  It also means eating with the seasons.  While most ongoing studies are still inclusive, there is strong evidence suggesting mental and physical benefits to eating in tune with your environment.
• Cost - Remember that sticker price that seemed so big at the start of the article?  Do the math.  If you break down the cost based on the weight of your average share, it comes to around two dollars per pound.  Try getting that much produce for the same price at your local market.
• It's the right thing to do - Supporting family farming in your area keeps agrarian culture alive for another generation.  By enabling local farmers to stay in business, you also help protect scarily dwindling arable land from disappearing and the ecosystems they support along with it. 

Is this right for me?
Could be.  Do you like vegetables?  Have you been trying to find some way to structure your kitchen management that will help you eat a healthier diet?  Do you like the idea of preparing fresh meals?  Are you the least bit adventurous when it comes to trying new things?  If you answered, "yes" to those questions, the CSA pickup will be a bright spot in your week.

However...and there's always a however, isn't there?  If you're a picky eater who has been known to throw out produce once it starts looking like a lab culture, you might want to continue buying your veggies a la carte.  A share means just what it says, a share of whatever the farm produces that week.  Finding out there is an eggplant nestled among your greens and a half-dozen of the prettiest peppers and tomatoes you've ever seen means you have to be a sport. The fat purple guy is going home with you.  The upside is you might get motivated to learn how to make a killer baba ganoush.

Where do I sign up?
Many of the Spring and Summer CSAs are already underway and few (if any) allow for midseason additions to their subscription lists. It's not too late to look into Autumn shares and get into the loop for next year. For more information, take some virtual trips to the farms that provide CSA deliveries to the ENFM.

• Produce CSAs
• Delvin Farms
• Flying S Farms
• Paradise Produce

• Meat CSAs
• Peaceful Pastures
• Westwind Farms

 

Locally Bred and Locally Fed

A happy cow grazes at West Wind Farms.

According to a Reuters-NPR poll, meat is the item most often cited as being a cause for concern when it comes to food safety. Over the past fifteen years, phrases that were not part of food talk as we know it were suddenly being muttered with the same kind of fear that poxes and polio held for our great- and great-great-grandparents.  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and other scary but often misunderstood terms gave names to the fear that can come with being so separated from the sources of our food.

For many, it became a zero sum sort of problem, with the only workable solution being the eradication of meat from the pantry.  What many Nashvillians don't realize is that there are alternatives to buying meat from livestock that is fed and processed in environments that compromise the safety and quality of our food supply. Local farmers, many of whom are regular vendors at the ENFM, provide a wide range of meat that is much safer and frankly, tastier than the meat offered by local chain supermarkets.

Hatcher Family Dairy introduced ground
beef  to their product line last week.

How do you know what's right for you?  Here's a quick rundown of some of the terms you might encounter:

grass fed -This means that the animal was allowed to graze on grass until it was time to be processed.

grass finished - grass finished livestock are allowed to graze in a pasture right up until they are slaughtered

organic -  this designation meets USDA standards for all organic foods

grain fed/vegetarian fed - these animals are not fed anything that contains animal byproducts.

Peaceful Pastures offers soap and wool
as well as meat products. 

Aside from the wide variety of meats available: chicken, pork, beef, lamb and goat; the members of the ENFM who specialize in the stuff that moos, quacks, oinks and clucks also offer products you might not expect.  Check out the websites below for more information.

Hatcher Family Dairy: ground beef, butter, milk, cream, ice cream

Peaceful Pastures: beef, chicken, pork, goat, lamb, duck, sausage, wool, soap, eggs, CSA available

West Wind Farms:  beef, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, cheese, pet food, produce, CSA available.

Over the course of the summer, we will be talking with each of these vendors to find out more about what they do.