Toddler Tuesday

"I help you cook, I help you cwean up!"

100 Mile Monday

Today we talk CSA's. We already have one for meat- in about 4 weeks our first shipment will arrive! I've been looking into fruit and veggies CSA's and have found one that we can afford. BUT the group only has X number of shares and the old members have first dibs, so I am waiting for the group leader to email me saying newbies can sign up. It's more stressful that preschool application time! Which is saying a lot since there was a woman who got on the registration line for a good preschool in our area at 3:30 pm the DAY BEFORE registration started. IN THE SNOW! That woman was not me; I refuse to buy into the preschool insanity. Ok I'm too poor to buy into the preschool insanity.. but anyway back to CSA discussions.

I had found a group farm in New Jersey that looked it had promise. They have wheat, they have eggs, they have chickens and beans! They also have a really interesting take on food production, here are some excerpts from my correspondence with them:

"Basically, we are looking extensively at the true cost of growing real, alive, organic food in New Jersey, given the context of our current economic system and cost of living. We are finding that the cost of living and farming makes it virtually prohibitive for farmers to start up in NJ without being subsidized by and off-farm job or some other source of funds. We live and work within an economic system that does not accurately reflect all the wide-ranging costs of growing and shipping food and that can, therefore, offer fairly cheap food, even organic. We see this trend affecting most authentic small businesses, especially artisans--but really everyone from auto mechanics to farmers.

It is our goal to be able to feed thirty people 'fully' in within three years (2013). Both my partner and I have extensive organic and Biodynamic farming experience and a passion for creating a farm in partnership with nature. We want to grow food that nourishes people on all levels-body, mind, heart, spirit. We are attracting people who want to support the development of a truly sustainable farm and community from the ground up."

Sounds great right? Sounds like it would be worth a drive to New Jersey every week with the kids right? (its really not that far only about 10 miles and 10 dollar bridge toll) But then I read the rest of the email. Where prices got discussed. This farm is fully run on membership money including the farmers' salary of $21,00 a year. How the heck are they living on $42,000 a year (there are two people who run the farm) was my first question...The members contribute $8,000 a year per person per year. They also charge for children (though it is much less and on a case by case basis). It works out to $160 a week. There was a lot of stuff about the different levels of membership that I was slightly confused about, specifically that some members sign up as individuals but share their share with family- "Foundation members usually sign up as a family and Supporting members might have one member of the household join. While they pick up the amount food they need per week as an individual, of course they share it with their families."

So my question here is what is they system for pickup? Is there a system of everyone gets what they need or gets however much they want? I as an individual may only need one potato but if I am sharing with the family I really need 3 (ok 4 since the baby eats them too)...

You can also join on a trial basis for $500 a month for a minimum of 3 months.

As much as this farm sounds like it would be a one stop shopping experience I can't justify the cost at this time. We don't spend $160 each week for food- we spend that maybe every 2 weeks or longer. So even though this farm would bring us back to the land, and give us almost complete control over where our food is coming from the cost is out of our reach. Even if the hubby had not been laid off it would be out of our reach. So is it only the single, upper class, childless people who can truly afford to eat with a conscious? Something I'm pondering as we go...

no farmer's market report today as it was too cold to get there.

Toddler Tuesday

Not quite a toddler, heck not even a rolling over baby yet, but the toddler said "Make Jude a picture on the computer." So here he is. I think this picture highlights the resemblance to my dad.

100 Mile Monday

Went to the market today sans children. Much easier to scout out prices with no children straining for the playground and cider donuts. Today I found a butter supplier! There is an older gentleman who sells a variety of items; mainly eggs and soups and some cheese. He made sure I knew he did the canning. "These are my jars, and they are all $8.00. Not a wife or a lady friend's jars, my jars." I was mostly interested in his butter as we are running low on our Costco supply, and because I am a sucker for good butter. I have been known to spend more money than necessary on KerryGold butter at our local greengrocer...

From this older man I bought a jar of pasta sauce for 8 bucks. I passed on the butter because we didn't need it yet, but I bought the sauce because we got into a conversation about canning, and his happy chickens and food in general; I felt bad about walking away empty handed but I wasn't paying $4.50 for a dozen eggs! I figure we will need the pasta sauce soon enough...

So today's haul bought 5 blue potatoes, 5 creamy red potatoes (and I don't mean little red potatoes for boiling, I mean red fleshed potatoes for making pink mashed potatoes) and 3 thick carrots from the potato lady. I don't remember the name of the farm but I will write it down next week. The potato lady is in her 50's and didn't grow up on a farm. In fact she divorced her first husband because he "just didn't get good food- he wouldn't eat blue potatoes because they were blue!"

Grand total on my potato haul? 5 bucks

I also bought a jar of apple cider molasses for $7.00. I like molasses and am intrigued by the apple cider base. I am not opening this jar though until our store bought runs out, and since the seller had only 3 jars left I figured I should get it while it was possible. I also bought black currant apple cider for $3.00

What else? oh 4 kaiser rolls for $2.00 and oyster mushrooms for 2 meals at $7.00 (they were 8 bucks per half pound)

Grand total of the Farmer's market trip? $32.00....The food should last us just under two weeks even with Jude starting solid food.

Toddler Tuesday

"Pwincess Wock Star...OOOOH YEAH!"

100 Mile Monday

Over the weekend I had some discussion about 100 mile meat with my foodie brother. He argued that we are paying too much for our meat, while I argue that the same cuts that we will be getting from the farm are more expensive in the grocery store. He said we are shopping in the wrong stores. That is part of the problem, we have to go to more than one store to do our shopping. Part of this 100 mile madness is to grow more aware of where we are in the chain of consumerism. In short (as my sister put it) we are willing to pay to know where our food is coming from. Plus even though my brother is probably right about our meat supply, it is worth it in the long run because it is going to be delivered right to my door.

Our neighborhood does not have great grocery stores. One which is in walking distance has food delivered in unmarked scary looking box trucks; and while we do go to this grocery store to buy some specialty items we don't do the bulk of our shopping there. We also go to this grocery store to watch the frogs and turtles and fish swim around in the big tanks that make up the seafood section. We don't buy meat here. I don't like the way the meat looks and I don't like that the butcher's apron is dirty from him moving boxes in and out of the store.

There is another market that is a drive away. This store is great for European items as it used to be an Italian import store. The still make their own butter, some cheeses, and tons of pasta on site. In the summer there is a plenitude of garden fresh tomatoes from the store owner's own backyard, and you can buy homemade sauce as well. The rest of the year the produce section is severely lacking, and the meat section is ok, but expensive for what we eat. The store still caters mainly to an older Italian clientele, who as far as I can tell eat only thin sliced chicken cutlets, the occasional steak and lots of sausages. Plus there is no parking lot.

And then there is what Joe calls "the fruit store". This is where we go to get our produce. Which again is hit or miss. Plus the store is always insanely crowded (unless you go right after sundown on friday evenings, but then the place is picked over).

And Costco. Can't forget Costco. What do we buy at Costco? Juiceboxes, animal crackers, sometimes meat if it looks nice, pretzels. Basically the snacks of toddlerhood. And baking supplies!

Toddler Tuesday