Pelé & Pickles

I've been a bit distracted from the food business, what with all the soccer and kittens and the dyke marches and hot days that require dipping in lakes, streams, baby pools, and oceans.

Yes, we've trapped some kittens at the Beacon train station that need homes, so if you know anybody interested and responsible, please have them email wintergreenscsa@gmail.com. The three we've caught so far are all boys, all super playful and sweet.

One of the rescued kittens we're trying to find a home for got named Pelé. I was obsessed with Pelé as a kid, since my #1 soccer team was green and I was #10. Alas, I wasn't great at the sport. (I was obsessed with Muhammad Ali, too, but never inspired to take up boxing.) I'm not much of a sports follower, since I think they're much nicer to participate in than to watch on tv, but the World Cup is an exception. I was proud to be sitting under a magazine cover of Pelé while watching Ghana knock out the U.S. Thank goodness we had vuvuzelas, because we would have otherwise been unheard in that sweaty little bar of people chanting "U.S.A.". Rooting for other countries elicits funny responses from people: the Brazil flag hung outside our house got our neighbor to immediately put our her U.S. flag. She's not interested in soccer, only patriotism.
wintergreens is struggling to figure out its future (it's cool to be transparent about this, right?), since running a food biz or org these days is challenging. Other handmade food biz people talk about how amazingly time-consuming and expensive it is to do, and it's true, it is. It's outrageous! I shouldn't have, but I bought a huge watermelon this weekend that, of course, was shipped from far south, since our watermelons won't be ripe for a long time. All that shipping and handling, and all the effort to grow that melon, and it only cost $2.99. And it's one of those creepy seedless kind, so you can't even save the seeds to plant next year. How are small food producers to deal with this? It's hard for me to resist my frugal impulses, even, with all the information about food systems I have, and while in the middle of a struggle to promote food-done-right. Exhibit A: cheapo seedless watermelon from far away.

I looked at the wares of Brooklyn pickle makers Brooklyn Brine and McClure's in Whole Foods in the city. I support what they're doing, but would I have to can or vaccuum pack my pickles (kill off half of their good qualities) and sell them for $11 a jar to make it? To many, that price tag would be laughable.
Thinking about all this is a bummer. And I read this dumpster diver's blog and think that if I were truly brave I'd cut out some of my (personal, not business) costs this way. Back in college, when Dunkin Donuts instructed their employees to dump bleach on the donuts they threw away so that the homeless people wouldn't eat them, my friend invited all the neighborhood homeless people to the shop an hour before closing, gave them all the donuts, and served free coffee. She was fired, so her good deed and hard work doing outreach went unrewarded. How do you make good work rewarding enough that you get to continue it?

So let's just say I've been happy to be in kitten land and soccer land, and plot how and when I'll get to the beach. I have to get back to work though, so help me find these kitties homes, and send your hot tips for how to survive in the handmade food business.

I promise, new recipes, tales of prison food, and much more coming soon.

No animals harmed in the making of this relief effort.

Attention wintergreens members, Hudson Valley Compassion groupies, arm wrestlers, roller derbyists, farmers, activists, quilters, queers, country singers, chefs, hairstylists, veterinarians, cyclists, bloggers, and craft queens:

We're putting together a fundraiser for 2 groups doing good disaster relief work* in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake. We need your help:
1 - getting the word out
2 - baking, cooking, or making small artworks for the sale
3 - working the event
4 - coming and buying stuff

In solidarity with other Vegan Bake Sales for Haiti, ours, too, is a Vegan Bake Sale. But my pickles are better than my cookies, so we'll be deviating a bit and also catering to customers who yen for salt, salsa, or spring rolls. And there's one more way our bake sale is a little unusual. Since it'll be taking place during Beacon's Second Saturday artwalk, it made sense to ask all our artist and crafty friends to donate small works, which will be made available at the sale. (Nothing priced over $20, please, and please, no animal products. The point is to help some without hurting others.)

Yes, a quilted bowl makes sense.
Yes, a CD of your music is great.
Yes, your homemade granola is superb.

Do whatever you do best! To make donations, leave a comment here about what you're bringing, and drop it off between 5 and 6 on the day of the sale. Or, contact wintergreenscsa@gmail.com.

The "Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti: Sweets, Savories, and Still-lifes" will take place Saturday, Feb. 13th at 6 pm, Zora Dora's Paleta Shop, 201 Main Street, Beacon, NY.

All proceeds go to relief workers, Food for Life, and animal rescue group, Sodopreca, both on the ground in Haiti.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

*After witnessing a rich and large "relief organization" giving out New Testaments to Katrina survivors before drinking water was available, we're serious about researching the right groups to support.

Produce Prices

Like gas prices, prices in the grocery store are going up. I spent $100 on produce today. A hundred dollars! And I didn't need a cart to get my bags out of the store.

There were several things I didn't buy because of the price. One single head of organic cauliflower was $5. I'm still flabbergasted.

This is why it's exciting that summer C.S.A. seasons are starting soon. At my farm, the weekly take is more than I carry, and I've only spent about $20 per week.

I can't wait to be eating only what's in season, and not worrying so much over my wallet while I'm doing it. Thank the lucky stars for C.S.A.s! (Better yet, join one to be sure small farms survive.)

Wild Food

People are confused about and intimidated by wild food. We've been an agricultural society for a long time, and that makes it difficult to comprehend great food growing without attention, even though all food was once wild. There are a few exceptions, such as truffle mushrooms, which people know are rare and valued.

Trusted sources for food varies for different people: for some it is a supermarket they are familiar with, for some, health food stores, and for a growing number of people, local farms and home gardens.

When I told my family I had gone out harvesting rhubarb from along the railroad tracks, each had their own reaction.

To my mother, who hails from an agricultural community in North Dakota, it sounded uncontrolled. She wondered (reasonably) if chemicals were sprayed there. Would this rhubarb be safe? DANGEROUS.

My father was a skilled gardener and forager as a child in West Virginia. To him, this rhubarb was appealing as free, fresh food. He wistfully reported that he would no longer recognize the wild plants that used to make up many of his meals. FREE.

My sister in California considers herself a foodie. If "foodie" means "eats anything," then she truly is. She likes the sound of wild rhubarb, too, assuming that it will have stronger flavor than its cultivated cousins. She doesn't remember particularly loving rhubarb's tartness, but she likes the word "wildfood," much like she likes "biodynamic" and "probiotic." FANCY.Two out of three people in my family (test group!) thought my newly harvested rhubarb sounded like good food. Why, then, has no-one in Beacon harvested this huge amount of rhubarb?

I grew up eating out of grocery stores. When I first saw a carrot growing, I pulled it up to confirm that it was, indeed, a carrot, then stuck it back in the hole thinking it could continue on. I've only learned about various wild foods in recent years, and only because of a shift in my own focus. I moved into a house that is host to black walnuts, mulberries, and blackberries. I joined a C.S.A., and my eating became much more locally focused. I've never been a fantastic gardener, and so what comes easily, naturally, makes me all the more grateful.

I think that nobody is harvesting that rhubarb because most people aren't even seeing it.

Now that I'm concerning myself with local food, and the local lack of food (hunger), wild food is that much more important. If you're at all open to it, I suggest taking a look around. (A little guide doesn't hurt, either!)

Thanks to Pickle Girl for the rhubarb picture.

Veggie-Cycle

There's a new online service that's very much like Freecycle, except for produce. (If you haven't heard of Freecycle, it's fabulous when spring cleaning.)

Veggie Trader was inspired by a lemon tree that didn't get picked. People with fruit, veggies, nuts, etc., that they can't or know they won't use, can list it on Veggie Trader, sell it, give it away, or trade it for something they will use. Their hope is that the service will help us all use our collective resources better.

Have two cabbages and no potatoes? You know what to do.

wintergreens Accepts Food Stamps

Today is officially a good day, since we officially became eligible to receive Food Stamps. The federal food stamp program is now called S.N.A.P. (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and will require a different payment schedule than listed here on the wintergreens site. If you are a part of the SNAP program and you'd like to participate in wintergreens CSA, just contact us and we'll set it up!
wintergreenscsa@gmail.com.

We expect to work with area farms and help them move toward accepting SNAP too.

If you don't know whether you're eligible or not, check the Hunger Action Network. (One in every five New Yorkers is eligible!)

Oh, it's a jolly, well-fed day!

The Price of Great Food

**2009-2010 MEMBERSHIP IS FULL. YOU CAN CONTACT US AT WINTERGREENSCSA@GMAIL.COM IF YOU WANT TO BE PLACED ON A WAITING LIST.**
Everybody knows that cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. What people don't always realize is that often cooking at home produces better food, more suited to your tastes, too.

It's a similar situation with local foods. They're cheaper because there has been no transportation and often no packaging, and they taste better because they're fresher, and harvested in season.

That said, you'd be nuts to not join wintergreens, and keep the local eating going all year long! We're focused on our community, and making sure that everyone has access to great food. After all, we're neighbors, and we're all in this crazy economic crash together.

Prices for the 2009-2010 season are:

• $315 for a GOOD SEED share
  
• $240 for a regular share
  
• $75 for a GOOD SEED donation

Share fees are due prior to the start of the distribution season. If you cannot pay in advance, please contact us at wintergreenscsa@gmail.com to make an alternative arrangement. We accept food stamps.

A share comes to $20 per distribution. A Good Seeds share is only a few dollars more per distribution. If you are able to be one of our Good Seeds, please consider doing so. wintergreens will use these funds to help subsidize shares for those in Beacon who cannot afford them.

Good Seeds will be honored in various ways: businesses will be thanked on our website and at our events, individuals will receive extras in their distribution when available. Everyone will have the peace of mind of knowing our community will be well fed all winter long.

**To pay with food stamps/SNAP, contact us: wintergreenscsa@gmail.com

Candy & Cigarettes

When times are hard economically, we turn to sweets and cigarettes for comfort. Neither is good for the pocketbook, and neither is particularly good for our bodies, either.No time like the present to ally with local food growers so that we can all save money, and have some healthful veggies to eat when we're burnt out on candy.
In the meantime, I'll take a candy cigarette.

SAD: The Standard American Diet

A seventy-five pound box of food was dropped on my porch recently. It must have been a food bank distribution, dropped on the wrong porch by accident. It was a lot of food, which is great, of course, for people who are having trouble paying their food bill. However, the great bulk of the food was pasta, sugar (confectioner), and corn starch. There was also baking soda, tea bags, soy sauce, barley, and one can of beans. But more than fifty pounds of pasta and sugar.

I had a boss once who ate what she called "white food" when she was depressed. White bread, egg or tuna salad, cream soup, crackers. Chicken or the egg? Was her diet making her more depressed? Would she have felt better sooner if she'd chosen broccoli and brightly colored fruit?

There are plenty of nutrition studies that show that colorful, fresh food is better for you. But it's true that it many cases, it is also more expensive. That is one reason that buying from local farmers, leaving Whole Foods out of the equation, can both save you money and keep you eating healthier.We'll be doing some shopping trips soon to compare the prices between a bag of food from wintergreens, and a bag of food from local groceries. I'll make you a wager we come out significantly cheaper. (No shipping! Minimal or no packaging!)

I overheard a teen today saying "There's nothing to eat near my house, there are only grocery stores." I think she meant that there aren't any pizza joints or chinese take-outs where she lives. Many people have a similar problem, but different: only grocery stores, no FARMS. Fortunately, in the Hudson Valley, we don't have this problem.

*wintergreens is applying to be able to accept Food Stamps. Everyone should have access to great food, and the health and happiness it can bring.