CSA Bounty

After a couple of weeks of being a slacker after vacation, I made it back to the garden to put in a few hours and pick up some of the most recent harvest. There was a selection:

I helped myself to one of these

I didn't take that huge one, but the one I ended up with is a lot bigger than what you generally find at the store. I also took one of these:

Zuccini (yes, I took the big one). And this too:

Giant Cucumber, which I did take. And check out those curly ones. You certainly don't see that at the store!

So, the CSA program to which I belong is obviously awesome. For $50 per year and with at least 25 hours worth of work, I'll be receiving fresh produce until well into November. And with summer veggies the likes of these, my grocery bill is already benefiting! If you haven't already, check out CSA Utah and find a CSA program in your area. Get out there and support local agriculture!

Buying Local on a Budget

Okay, so let's just go ahead and say it: eating healthy is not always the most financially viable option. It's no coincidence that the foods that are slowly killing us are the cheapest ones. Guess what. It's possible to get healthy, fresh, local food inexpensively. Example: I just got a whole growing season's share of food for $50 and 25 hours of work in any of 13 local gardens per year. Can't beat that deal with a stick. And that's the beauty of CSA. Consult this list from Serious Eats for more ideas about fitting local products into your budget.

Get involved, get healthy. That's what we're talking about.

Sad News!

According to Salt Lake Tribune, our friends at Morgan Valley Lamb will be closing up shop. Morgan Valley has been providing Utah with fresh, organically raised lamb for over a decade. The land on which their herd grazes is being sold by the family that owns it, so the Gillmor's have to leave. Did you know that 600,000 acres of Utah farmland was lost just in the five years between 2002 and 2007. Morgan Valley's parcel of 10,000 acres seems like a tiny portion of that, but it represents a disturbing trend that should be of greater concern to the public. Check out this story in Issue 8 for more about it.

Issue 7: Free Range Eggs

The term “free range” is such a trendy buzz word these days that its presence in advertisement and labeling cannot always be trusted. Some “free range” producers are really the same old industrial producers who believe that the American public is willing to buy anything labeled with  it and similar trendy buzz words like “all natural” and “hormone free.” But when the product comes from China or India or anywhere outside of Utah for that matter, how can one be sure that it is legitimately all natural? 

Read the rest of the article in Issue Seven.