As I drove my kids to school the other morning, it made me smile because in that short two mile stretch I pass by Ted and Peggy's apple orchard (Apple Lane), Rosa's strawberry stand (where she sells corn, tomatoes, blueberries and raspberries as well), Fred's place where we get the most amazing peaches and pears, and Tiffany who sells avocados. Just past the turn off for school we can pick our own raspberries and blackberries at the Morrell's, get different apple varieties from the Dittmar's and someone new has joined the bounty with a sign out for plums. And then there's the grapes. We are in the middle of wine country here!
Right now I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver, a nonfiction book about a family trying to grow their own fruits and vegetables and eat only locally produced food. And I'm realizing how lucky we are every September to have this incredible farmer's market of friends and neighbors.
Knowing where your food comes from is becoming a rare thing in this country. Kingsolver's thesis, if you will, is that our food system is based on petroleum because so much is transported across the country, exported to other countries and imported back to us.
For two years I was in charge of the lunch program at my kids' school along with my friend Dana. (Trust me, the lunch lady jokes knew no end in my household!) As "lunch ladies," Dana and I worked hard to make sure the kids were getting fresh, healthy food and we tried to provide local produce with every meal. Dana took things one step further: she revived the school garden. That small connection to food, growing things and then tasting what they'd created, made a huge impact on those kids. Mine were always excited to bring home what they'd grown so we could use it in a meal.
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| Sorting dirt to mix with straw and water to build a cob house. |
This past spring she helped the sixth grade class build a cob house that will serve as a greenhouse for starting seedlings this year. Those kids got dirty. Really dirty. For a few, this was traumatizing. Seriously. But what a science lesson they got from that project!
Not everyone can make as huge an impact as Dana. But we can all make more of a conscious effort to support our local economies by eating food that's raised right where we live. Trust me, the rewards are delicious.
19 comments:
I love the variety and voice of your blog! I'm visiting from the Blog BBQ. Solvang sounds like a beautiful place! I grew up in WA state, and I miss the bounty of produce there. Thank you for sharing!
I love homegrown foods! It's a lot of hardwork, esp in New England with rocky soil. But there's nothing like fresh from the garden tomatoes!
Great post but...you're making me hungry! Have a lovely weekend :) - Stasia
This is heartening to hear how these kids are getting in touch with the planet. They will carry that knowledge into their adult lives and make a difference.
I try to buy my produce at the farmer's market and healthfood store, where the food is local and organic. Yes, I pay a bit more, but everything is more flavorful and I'm doing my small bit to help our struggling Earth.
Thanks for this post, Sherrie.
That's so awesome! I would've loved doing that as a kid. I'm sure my kids would love something like that too. Awesome!
You are WAY lucky! Why would you not eat local fruit/veggies if at all possible? I only wish we could have a garden.
We have a farmer's market right down the road that we visit.
Great advice. We have ton's of farmer's markets near by..and the pears...delish!
hi miss sherrie! that was a cool post. it got my mouth watering for all those neat fruits. we go to the farmers market lots and mostly we get that organic stuff. my brother does most of the cooking and hes real big on fresh stuff. our cousin tonys wife cathy has a garden and she give us lots of good veggies. all her salads are made from stuff in her garden.
...smiles from lenny
Hi Sherrie! I'm coming from Karen's BBQ too - what great fun this is!
Your community sounds amazing. I love that you're connecting kids to the food they eat by growing it themselves. Very cool.
What a great post, Sherrie. I love to go to the farmer's market all summer. You're right - we should help out local sellers, especially now. :-)
I heard Barbara Kingsolver when she was on tour for that book. She and her husband did a whole presentation, it was very interesting. Great idea to have a school garden.
This post made me hungry for FRESH fruits and vegetables!
Trying to figure out where a Farmer's Market is near by.....
Can't decide if I want to run into the kitchen and start cooking or hop a plane to Solvang and start eating those yummy fruits!
I am a huge fan of the eat local movement. Also the grow your own and preserve it movement. Is that a movement, or just something my mom and mother in law did? Anyway, I have 4 qts. of watermelon rind soaking in salt water on my counter, tomorrow to become watermelon pickles. Funny because I'm currently reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. She's a brilliant writer but I'm having a hard time getting into it. I bet I'd like this non fiction book of hers better.
You know, I've always wondered, Sherrie, but this post has convinced me. You are really Wonder Woman and you live in Heaven.
:o)
Have a wonderful evening!
Great post! We have a veg. garden...It really is nice knowing where they come from. :) And they sure taste better when they come fresh from the garden.
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