Blogging/Tweeting Flavors

Someone at Flavors asked about this blog. It's been an interesting learning experience. We don't have access to the Internet at Hartford High School where the event is being held. I'm posting updates to Twitter from there (you can read these posts by following @mstonervt on Twitter or following it via Twitter search on #vtflavors).

There are three of us blogging: Diana Jih, a Dartmouth student and Vital Communities volunteer; Moira Gehring, a gardener and writer from Woodstock; and me. To write and post blog entries, we need to go back into White River Junction where we have wifi access. Diana and I are currently sitting in the Vital Communities Office; Moira headed to the Tuckerbox. That's Diana in the photo.

We'll head back to the high school for more of Flavors momentarily....

Old Friends, New Skills

Catching up with Nora from Sunrise Farms reminded me why I consider myself so lucky to have gone to school in New England for the brief four years I've spent here. The obvious celebration of community as exemplified by Vital Communities and the wonderful people who work here tirelessly to support it like Melissa, Debbie, and Lisa come together each year in this high school gymnasium to meet again after time apart similar to a high school semester break.

Nora learned about weaving this winter during the off season at Sunrise. Her table held yarn and fabrics from her farm made from lessons learned off the farm. New CSA shareholders and equally hungry piglets and sheep await her now since spring is here. I visited a friend's weaving factory in Maine during the last spring break I'll ever have here in New England before I head out to live in new places. Flavors of the Valley and any reunions with most of the people in that gymnasium confirm my belief that one of the best things about journeys and trips away from home are new friends who becomes old friends that serve as notes from new homes once you leave them eventually.

Jam Off

Verne from Gizmo's Pickled Plus unassumingly offered me various uniquely made jams and pickles including sour babies cucumbers (serving suggestion, very New English, next to maple syrup and homemade donuts), golden onion pickles with celery seed, and two jams made with carrot: an orange marmalade featuring carrots and cherries and a bagel spread with carrots and pineapple. Little did he know that while talking with me behind his own tray of ribbons and jam awards and encouraging me to Facebook friend his daughter turned famous South African model that I was an award-winning jam maker as well.

I struggled with the desire or ostentation to proffer this knowledge to an expertly seasoned veteran. My own Hull House Soup Kitchen Best Savory Jam 2008 carrot-ginger jam recipe hushed in my head.

The truth did eventually come out though a humble omission after trying his amazing jams.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HAVING YOUR LAND FARMED?

One of the most challenging aspects of farming in Vermont and New Hampshire is the cost of land. It's a barrier for aspiring farmers and a planning consideration for existing farmers who need to consider the transfer of a farm property. At the same time, it's also an opportunity for landowners who are interested in having their land farmed.

Located in Keene, New Hampshire, Land for Good provides coaching and assistance to landowners, farmers and aspiring farmers. According to Bob Bernstein, who started this nonprofit with Craig Oshkello and Kathy Ruhf, "There's a lot of opportunity for both farmers and landowners, but the biggest obstacle for most folks is putting together a plan."

Their website address is www.landforgood.org. You can contact Land for Good at 603-357-1600 or info@landforgood.org.

Farms with CSAs

Before Flavors of the Valley got really crowded, I walked around checking out some of the farmers at the event. I'm guessing that there are about a dozen farms offering CSAs.

I was able to talk to some of them. One thing I learned is that if you want to sign up for a CSA with any of the farmers here, you'd better do it soon. Most CSAs are almost filled--many expect to fill their CSAs by the end of the day.

Here's a quick run-down on what I learned:

Laura and Kevin Channell from Your Farm said that their CSA is filled up. The Channells do a seasonal CSA--they sell "credits" that members can redeem at the farm or at the markets where they sell. They harvest winter vegetables that they sell at the Norwich Winter Market; members who have leftover credits at the end of the season can use them for vegetables at the market. Laura told me, "We have a number of workplaces that are CSA members, including Hypertherm and the Tuck School."

Killdeer Farm's CSA is also close to capacity. CSA members buy a "line of credit" that they can use at the Killdeer Farm stand in Norwich or use at the farm. And Killdeer Farm is on Twitter now, so members can learn about what's fresh. Follow them @KilldeerFarm to learn when the farm is open for strawberry picking and what's fresh at the farm stand. Killdeer Farm does events form members and opens its pick-your-own strawberry beds to members first. (That's Chadd Mills and Scott Woolsey from Killdeer in the photo above.)

Blue Ox Farm, Enfield, NH, is selling onions and parsnips today and still has CSA shares available. Steve Fulton said that he won't be at the Norwich Market this year; CSA members can pick up at the farm or in Lebanon. He also sells to the Coop.

Jinny Cleland from Four Springs Farm has been offering CSA shares since 1991. She's offered an egg option in the past; this year, she's adding fruit to her CSA shares. The farm is certified organic and she is willing to work out a variety of delivery and drop off options.

Sunrise Farm from Hartford has just a few shares left. The shares run for 22 weeks; members pick up at the farm.

Willing Hands: Few But Capable

Between stuffing myself with both hands full of delicious samples, I take a break to chat with Willing Hands. The day to day work they do impresses me so immensely. The ambitious delivery service of food each day to a community requiring a delivery service because of how remote residences are can always use more hands and volunteers.

We chatted about how delicious the bread at the bakery in Norwich where I work is and how they would love to pick up more food from other willing businesses if only they had more donors and the capacity to make more pick-ups and drop-offs. They work closely with The Haven as well which first educated me to the easily ignored hunger and food insecurity issues in the Upper Valley due to its relative invisibility vis-a-vis hunger in large cities with more apparent homeless populations and shelters, soup kitchens, etc. It was great and important to see Willing Hands presence at Flavors of the Valley.

Definitely contact Willing Hands or The Haven to add yourself to the few but capable people working to fight hunger. (see www.willinghandsinc.org or contact info@willinghandsinc.org)

Great Variety at Flavors This Year

I always enjoy the variety at Flavors of the Valley--the range of producers, publishers, greenhouses, nonprofits, restaurants. Add to that the hundreds of people who will visit their stands, taste their food, pick up a bit of literature, make a connection. It's a small glimpse into how complex our food system really is.

This graphic, created by the Vital Communities staff and posted in the room where we're blogging, tells part of the story. What this event is about for me is helping to make those many links in the food chain apparent: how interconnected we all are.

It seems more and more important to make these connections with each other and with real food grown by real people. We need to shift our values around food, to appreciate the fact that really good food is seldom cheap. And to buy real food, grown by real people who need to make a decent living, will probably cost more than we've been spending for an inferior product.

I grew up in a place where quantity was valued over quality. I've learned to appreciate a different perspective. I want to eat better food, to know the people who raise it and how they raise it. I appreciate the fact that in the Upper Valley--and in New Hampshire and Vermont--we can buy directly from farmers who take care in what they produce. It's always great to see so many at Flavors of the Valley.