All Posts Tagged With: "local food"

I had the luxury while on our sailing trip to read an entire book, start to finish. I didn’t just read it – I DEVOURED it. Fitting, then, that it was a book about food and eating: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.

I’ve been a Michael Pollan devotee forever. I still remember where I was sitting when I read his brilliant essay, "Weeds Are Us," in the NYTimes Sunday Magazine. That wonderful meditation on the push-pull of nature and culture is in his book, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education . But I digress. We’re talking food here.

This book is so full of great observations, factoids for those of us who are info-obsessed, philosophy, and downright good sense. All packaged in Pollan’s signature intelligent, pleasure-to-read prose. It’s conversational, but not condescending. Among the MANY gems, three themes particularly spoke to me.

1. Good for us = good for the earth

Right off the bat, he makes the observation that good personal choices are usually good ecologically. I completely agree! It’s at the heart of our EcoBlueprint program; right down to my example showing how Thanksgiving dinner meets multiple needs beyond simple sustenance: family connection, aesthetics in choice and arrangement of the food, expressing love, giving care, pleasure, support of local economies, participation in the great cycle of life. I LOVE that he defends the pleasure of eating, and I’m just so glad that he’s not the only one singing that song lately.

2. All about relationships

Another great theme is that of food relationships. In nature, food is all about relationships among species: we call them food chains. Pollan takes a clear-eyed look at our place in this chain. Who better to guide us than the man who has spent much of his writing life on the topic of the intertwining of nature and culture? Culture, he says, has played a critical role in helping to mediate people’s relationship to nature. Eating is one of the most important manifestations of that relationship.

This is likely why, in the ever-growing sustainability movement, food is often a first entry point. We all have to eat! Buying our food directly from farmers is an excellent way to experience this connection . Pollan’s advice is to shake the hand that feeds you: meet the people who grow and raise the food you eat.

3. Traditional + now = a way forward

In another brilliantly creative passage, he likens traditional diets to vernacular architecture . Continued

Fresh Start Farm at The Bragg Nature Center is an initiative of the Baltimore City Public School System to engage students in healthy school menu planning through food and health education, hands-on seed-to-table food experiences and vocational training. This is part of a larger mission to relocate Baltimore’s central kitchen from Brooklyn to Baltimore, source school lunch ingredients from Maryland farms, reopen school kitchens and reinforce that student health is critical to student education. Fresh Start Farms is planned to be part of a national model for farm to school programs as well as a sustainable, organic, teaching farm for Baltimore school children. Continued

Remember Springfield Farm ? We wrote a post about them almost a year ago now. One of our CollectiveX members went for a visit a couple weeks ago in search of free range organic meat and wanted to tell us about her encouraging experience with some delightfully cared for farm animals.

Written by: Baltimore resident Erin Fostel
My first time at Springfield Farm was everything that I hoped it would be. I went in search of happy farm animals who lived a nice life up until the moment they made it onto my plate. What I found was an amazing place that was welcoming for both animal and human. I saw over 200 hundred turkeys hanging out in the fresh air listening to, none other then, Beyonce on the radio. Having been told that if I talk to the turkeys they will respond, I said the only thing I thought a turkey would understand, “gobble, gobble.” Sure enough in response, all 200 turkeys stopped moving and gobbled back in unison! I nearly collapsed with glee. Next to the turkeys was a wooded lot that I mistook for the edge of the farmland. Inside the woods were pigs. Huge, beastly, muscular pigs that came barreling up to say hello. I was upset to have left my camera at home.
The store where they sell their meat and eggs is right inside their garage, a pure Ma and Pa operation. Every question is welcomed and their prices are on target with anything of quality from Super Fresh or Whole Foods. I recommend calling ahead if you are shopping for something specific. Having made the decision that I would only eat meat that came from a farm where they respected and cared for their animals, I feel that I have hit the jackpot with Springfield Farm.

Check out more organic farms here

Driving along the Blue Ridge Mountains can be an excellent day trip with a breath taking view of the Shenandoah Valley . There’s loads of camping and hiking too!. The perfect weekend get away. Skyland Resort and other lodges have made considerable effort in implementing green practices through PlanetEVERgreen , the official environmental “greening” program of ARAMARK. Thirty rooms at Big Meadows Lodge were renovated utilizing all beetle-kill lumber. No new growth harvest trees were used. Other efforts have been providing local food in the dinning rooms, using environmentally friendly cleaning products, offering products made with recycled materials in their gift shops, and reducing waste by recycling and converting to products with less packaging.

Maryland Online Farmers Market

is where you can buy, sell and trade locally grown food. Their website has a list of members that are able to post what they’re selling and how to connect. You’ll be able to find everything from eggs to okra.