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Don’t Buy Food From Strangers

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The Lancaster Farm Fresh logo on their web site and produce bags.

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After finishing the Buy Local Challenge, and attending events where we could talk to the farmers, this logo is even more meaningful to us.

This morning at 9AM, the cell phone rang. It was the Amish farmer (yes, some of them use phones and computers in their business, they just don’t allow them in their homes) who gave us the fava beans. One of the farms that supplies our CSA, Sandy Spring, through the cooperative non profit venture now totalling close to 80 small farms.

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He wanted to know if it worked out OK. We again thanked him for his gift, and told him we got almost eight pounds of beans. Some were frozen. Some were used.

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To us, this connection with those who grow our food is something special that we have realized after a few years of buying locally.

With the latest food problem, that of cyclospora infecting people all across the USA, we feel that minimizing our risk of infection, by using locally produced organic fruit and veggies whenever possible, is one of our smartest decisions.

Buying local produce, meat, dairy, fruit and eggs, and belonging to an organic CSA all help us stay healthier and, definitely, eat fresher, better food.

So, here’s to the Howard County Farmers Markets, full of great local farms. Here’s to the local farmstands with fresh produce and fruit. Here’s to CSAs that connect us with the producers and make us part of their “family”.

Here’s to dinner tonight.

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A frittata. Made with Love Dove eggs, Misty Meadows milk, TLV’s fingerlings, Bowling Green Farms feta, Trickling Springs butter, Sandy Spring CSA chard, onion and green pepper, Breezy Willow ham, and served with Stone House bakery’s focaccia.

I know the people who feed me. Do you?

hocofood@@@

About AnnieRie

Retired, I am following my dream of living in quiet west Howard County, a rural oasis, not far from the urban chaos, but just far enough. I love to cook, bake, garden, and travel. I volunteer at Howard County Conservancy. I lead nature hikes, manage programs and show children all the wonders of nature, and the agricultural connection to their food.

3 responses »

  1. Don’t buy food from strangers–love it! I am going back to my local CSA after a bad local food experiment this year. I love my local farmers!

    Reply
  2. I agree; every time I hear about a listeria or e. coli outbreak in the greater food supply, I feel like I’ve dodged a bullet. Not that any food supply is risk-free, but I’d rather buy food directly from people I trust… and the food is fresher, too.

    That frittata looks /amazing./

    Reply
  3. Half-A-Peck Farm

    Hello, Annierie. I love your Don’t Buy Food From Strangers Post. Like you, I believe in eating as locally as possible. In fact, my husband and I (We are Mennonites.) are currently starting a small horse-powered farm to “feed” the local food bank–because everyone regardless of economics deserves to be able to eat locally. You might enjoy my blog about that. Also, we are alike in another way. I am a ham, too.

    I love your blog.

    “73”

    Jenn (KD8SCS)

    Reply

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