Cooking Up A Story

by Heather Jones

This is part of an ongoing series; Heather Jones shares her first-hand experiences as she attempts to bring a farmer’s market to her small rural community of Woodbine, New Jersey, population: 2800.

Who knew it could be this hard?

You guys know the expression that “Time is of the essence”. Well I’m starting to think that maybe time isn’t on my side with this venture. I’m not sure if it’s because the summer season is now in full swing and people would much rather be at the beach than discussing business but I can’t seem to connect with my local officials about establishing a community Farmers Market. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way giving up. If I can’t get things up and running for a late summer start you better believe in summer 2010 the Farmers Market will be on the map. I received my planning packet from the State Dept of Agriculture and reviewed the guidelines as previously discussed with them over the phone about what is needed in order to have a successful Community Farmers Market:

1. Community Attitude – desires, needs, and needed support


2. Interested Produce Growers


3. Site Selection – One that is accessible to Farmers and Consumers, Ample parking, sufficient room for adequate display, security, of course.


4. Potential consumers – The total population of the community, county, and surrounding area. Making sure you have adequate publicity to inform the public.

Having researched and put together a presentation covering all of these bases I am ready to move forward and meet with the Mayor and Municipal council so that I can form my committee, touch base with the Dept of Ag and get rolling on this thing. But I can’t get to the Mayor. (more…)

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Farmer, and local food activist, Laura Masterson shares her concerns for the future protection of urban farmlands. Oregon has done a good job in protecting its urban farms, and providing balance against the forces of unrestrained development. Today, those ongoing efforts spanning decades past, the vision of politicians and the will of citizens in Oregon to protect urban farms has placed our State well above the fold.

Still, as Masterson ponders the continued long-term viability of urban agriculture in Oregon, the future is less than rosy. As the competing pressures from commercial and residential use of land within the metro areas continue to increase, without a renewed and coordinated effort in land use preservation, according to Masterson, urban farms will largely disappear over the next 50 years.

How important is preserving urban farmland as a source of local foods for the future citizens, and farmers of Oregon?

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By TwoJunes

For sustainable, local fresh flowers, it’s DIY

As foodies, a trip to the grocery store or market is a delight to the senses.  So much so that little luxuries seem to jump right in the basket. . .a fine aged cheese, a bottle of wine, flowers.  Ah, the flowers. . .what represents the “the good life” more than a home filled with cut flowers?

For us, a good price meant the flowers would end up in the basket.  We have been buying small farm meat and fair trade coffee for quite some time, but it took us a while to apply the same standards to flowers. Like food, cut flowers are subject to political issues.

Flowers are rarely local—with the exception of California and Florida, the US imports nearly 90% of its cut flowers from central and South America  (Tulips still come from the Netherlands).  Though the carbon footprint alone of a bouquet gives one pause, working conditions for growers is another issue, as is the pesticide-filled waste-water that is a negative by-product of most flower production.   The FDA does not oversee flower crops, and since they are not foods, little attention is given to the types of chemicals used to treat them.  The US has stringent policies against bringing pests into the country, which unwittingly encourages the use of harsh pesticides. Check out this article, Cut the Toxins, Buy Organic on the downside of store bought cut flowers for some more detailed information.  If you look for Fair Trade or Veriflora Certified flowers, you can at least be certain that sustainability is a priority.  But what about local? Farmer’s markets are great sources for local cut flowers, and if you have neither the time nor inclination to make a flower garden, a wonderful alternative, although not cheap. (more…)

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Recipes from the show: Oven Roasted Tomatoes & Herbs; Spanish Eggplant Salad; and Caponata Pasta.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) offers a holistic approach to the production of sustainable food grown in urban areas. In this story, we learn of one urban farmer who successfully uses the CSA model to produce long-term sustainable crops that are fresh, cost efficient to produce, environmentally friendly, and that offers local members a stake in the harvest crops.



Have you gone to your local farmer’s market lately and tried to make your way through the bustle? Have you noticed at the grocery store they sometimes highlight items from a local grower? Ever notice in growing numbers the restaurants offering dishes made from ingredients grown locally? I have. And it seems to be a growing trend.

I grew up in farm country (Iowa). Summers were great. I remember going to a nearby corner where a local farmer always sold grocery bags full of corn just picked that morning. I also remember the great taste of tomatoes in the summer. In fact, I only remember eating freshly sliced tomatoes in the summer. This was before food was imported from around the world or grown primarily in hothouses. Now it seems there never is a specific season for any certain fruit or vegetable. You can practically get anything any time of the year. But the flavor isn’t always quite the way I remember it. That’s part of the reason I became interested in buying locally, and buying by season.

It was a natural fit for me to meet Laura Masterson, who runs a small local farm. It was fascinating to watch her zoom from restaurant, to farm, and back home where members pick up the weekly harvest. And she is not alone. I know there are thousands of small farmers across the country (and many around the world) who are facing great odds day to day, producing and selling through a Community Supported Agriculture program (to find a local CSA in your area, check out LocalHarvest.org). Laura brings up many important points to think about. Is there a future for the small farmer near urban areas? If Oregon leads the nation in slowing urban land development, how well are other areas handling these issues? How important is it to preserve a direct connection between the land, and the food that we eat?

This Wednesday, July 1st, Laura Masterson raises unsettling questions about the long-term future of small farms near urban areas in Oregon. These are issues that extend beyond Oregon; similar concerns face many local communities across America. The ultimate survival of the small farmer in urban areas will be up to the people to decide through their government representatives. Land use policies can either protect the urban farm or allow for its demise. Friday, we visit Masterson’s CSA farm to see volunteers working in the field harvesting potatoes.

—Rebecca

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In this final installment, Ken Meter expresses optimism for the future of local food economies, but also a healthy respect for the challenges that lie ahead. As Meter points out, 10% of Americans are food insecure, and an additional 20% may be close to facing that kind of situation. The U.S. annually exports billions of dollars of food to the world, but overall we are a net importer of food. By building and strengthening local food economies, it will also help reduce our nation’s food insecurity, providing an increased supply of fresh, wholesome food for local consumption.

How does this local food economy begin? For Ken Meter, It begins with us, as consumers, asking ourselves if we want to eat healthier foods and remain as healthy as we can. For those who do, the next step is to find out more about where our food comes from, and seek out local sources where we understand how the food is grown and produced. Becoming more connected to our food supply is an active process that will help us to become not only healthier eaters, it will also help us to eat foods that are more pleasurable to eat.

See related videos: Ken Meter: Building A Local Food Economy: Part 1; Ken Meter: Building A Local Food Economy—Part-2

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by Heather Jones

I have to admit that when my husband and I first bought our home a few years back the last thing on my mind was gardening. I was mainly concerned with un-doing all the peach colored paint with gold flecks on the living room walls and what seemed like endless amounts of border and stencil everywhere else.

But the following year having re-painted every single room in the interior of the house I was now ready to focus on some gardening tasks. By the time I gave it any real thought it was too late for seedlings or to dig up a vegetable patch in the backyard but I have always been a fan of container vegetable gardening. It’s not super time consuming, it’s great for first time gardeners and besides who wants a boring old fern (no offense to all you Fern lovers out there) when you can grow your own sweet potatoes in containers. There are many container gardening books on the market as interest in the art has soared over the years but what a delight it was to stumble across Don’t Throw it, Grow It. I had mastered growing container herbs, tomatoes, and lettuce in galvanized metal tubs I was looking for another challenge, something different, and something fun.

In this book, author Deborah Peterson not only tells you how to grow more common food items like carrots, beets, or beans indoors but also exotic fruits and vegetables like Avocado and Chinese Star Apple. For instance, did you know that Sweet potatoes have small purple flowers that resemble morning glories, or that Chickpeas make great looking hanging baskets? With this book you will find indispensable little tidbits of information like that and so much more. So the next time you take a look around your living room and think I could probably use a nice potted plant in that corner of the room, think about growing your own little Pomegranate or Avocado tree for a change of pace.

I don’t know about you but when it comes to gardening I’m constantly trying to challenge myself to do more and this book is chock full of great ideas to help you do just that.

Next week: Who knew Starting a Farmers Market could be so hard? Updates on starting a community Farmers Market in my town.

Heather Jones is a wife, mother, freelance food writer, and graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She has worked for Gourmet Magazine, TV Personality Katie Brown, and the New York based Indian-fusion restaurant Tabla. Heather resides in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters. She is a strong supporter of the Sustainable Food Movement and believes that education is the key to making a difference.

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Building a local food economy also depends upon retaining local farms, and encouraging the development of new ones. In part 2, Ken Meter outlines the problem with the diminishing availability of affordable farmland. He also shares a couple of stories about two enterprising community efforts: one that makes land more accessible for farming; the other, that helps farmers and local businesses benefit by partnering together.

See also: Ken Meter: Building A Local Food Economy-Part 1

Related Information: Real Wealth Nations: Creating A Caring Economics (book);
Farmland Information Center (find out about farmlands in your State);
Leopold Center For Sustainable Agriculture—Buying Food Grown In And Around Black Hawk County Keeps Millions Of Dollars In Local Economy

University Of Northern Iowa Local Food Project

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by TwoJunes

Has sustainability reached minute 14 in its 15 minutes of fame?

Bringing knowledge to the surface of public awareness is an essential function of any political movement that wants to change the system. Over the past decade, the Local, Green, Sustainable and Slow Food movements have brought a shift in public thinking about food. For us, the hope is that this shift is analogous with the social justice movements of the 1960’s that dared dream of inclusiveness, fairness, and equal rights for all. Looking out into the world today it is a great comfort to see that Sustainable is no longer a fringe movement.

Indeed, local, green, and sustainable are words that have migrated far beyond the arenas of food and agriculture. Just two weeks ago we read about slow and free-range parenting in a NYTimes Sunday Magazine piece by Lisa Belkin, Let the Kid Be. Reading the terms in this new context really got us to thinking. In this instance, the nomenclature of one movement is being used to fuel another. The fit between the words , philosophy, and practice seem here to be a good fit.

However, Green and Sustainable as descriptors are very close to reaching a saturation point in media. They are ubiquitous: try to find a product or corporate website that doesn’t use them as part of their marketing. Television ads by Exxon feature earnest employees talking about their commitment to the planet. Though we are thrilled that many businesses truly care enough about the values of their consumers to join the movement, we also feel uncomfortable and have a good degree of skepticism, perhaps even cynicism.

How many of these overtures toward more environmentally sound practices are merely token gestures intended to create the illusion of change and defuse the current sense of outrage and urgency? The current system of industrial food production, although in the long term not sustainable in its farming practices and environmental degradation, remains a remarkably resilient self-perpetuating system.

The current cachet attached to the movement is now being used to “sell.” How we spend our money is a political act, and we are certainly more apt to choose an item that we believe to be sustainable. For us, these words carry an emotional and moral load. We worry that the marketing of goods as ‘green’ or ‘organic’ may also serve to de-fang the sustainable movement. If those products are convenient, plentiful, and cheap, the same habits of consumption that created the current system may be perpetuated along with the associated abuses. Check out this white paper from the Cornucopia Institute titled: Wal-Mart Declares War on Organic Farmers (PDF), for a close look at how “organic” may become problematic when adopted by an enormous, profit-making machine. Or this passionate and angry piece from Jamey Lionette for the National Expositor, Mass Production of Food is Ruining Our Health local on why he feels mass-market organic is an oxymoron.

Our fear is that finding Sustainable and Green on every company website and product brochure makes it appear that the movement has succeeded in achieving its goals. We can now just relax, right? But we’re not done. The soil is malnourished, our water supply is in jeopardy, landfills are still growing at rapid rate, the American diet is a killer and hunger remains a real problem.

Sustainable has to be more than a criterion for buying. Otherwise, the marketing of Green serves to lull us into a “happy consciousness”. Going green takes a remarkable amount of education and willingness to examine one’s lifestyle on an on-going basis. It can be tedious to determine the “best” choice in many situations and time-consuming to parse all that information. In a culture where we are constantly bombarded by competing messages, it’s all too easy to tune out. For the movement to be successful, it has to be a way of life and not just a marketing message.

Next week: the cutting garden: the other reason to garden. Cut flowers in the house are truly a joy, but purchased bouquets are in many cases neither sustainable nor ethical. TwoJunes have a created a space in the yard dedicated to flowers for the house, an old tradition that really deserves a revival. We’d love to know your thoughts on the matter.

Lisa Bell is a freelance producer, writer and editor. She spent the first fifteen years of her working life as a pastry chef, recipe developer, test kitchen director, food stylist and print editor. She has also taught cooking classes, run a small cooking school, and worked as a food scientist. Nicole Rees currently works as a baking scientist. She is also a food writer and cookbook author specializing in baking science. Her most recent book Baking Unplugged, is filled with simple, scratch recipes that require no electric gadgets beyond an oven.

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In part 1, Ken Meter, of Crossroads Resource Center, defines what constitutes a strong local food economy, and how farming has evolved since the 1930’s. Meter, a consultant who specializes in helping strengthen local communities, says more people want to know where their food comes from, and how it’s produced. Industrialization of the food system, and the problems of food safety, and a long list of other problems has reinvigorated communities across America to evaluate how they may build and promote their own local food economies. The benefits can be substantial to the local environment, local economy, and culture.

Next Wednesday, and Friday, June 24; and 26, join us for parts, two and three; we explore more of what is involved in the building of local food economies, and why Meter is optimistic for their future.

Related Information: Kitchen Literacy- 1; Community Alliance with family Farmers; Deep Economy by Bill McKibben

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From the Award-Winning DVD (full disclosure: yes, it’s ours), BBQ Secrets: The Master Guide to Extraordinary Barbecue Cookin’, world champion cook Mike Davis demonstrates some tips for preparing chicken for the cooker. For many of us, the notion that cooking barbecue requires much experience and know-how to do a good job—it doesn’t!

But, for those who want to cook barbecue that is consistently extraordinary, there is an art, a science, and an incredible body of knowledge to acquire in order to become a true master. Mike “Sarge” Davis, head cook of the Whole Hog Café, in Little Rock, Arkansas is one of those true masters of barbecue.



Check out the following related barbecue stories, and recipes: Going Whole Hog: Going whole hog for world champion BBQer Mike Davis is an every day experience. A cancer survivor, Davis has made barbecue not only his life’s passion, he has made it into a highly successful career; Journey of a Barbecue Champion: It’s a long road, and it’s not easy, a personal look at a barbecue world champion.

Try out some of Mike “Sarge Davis’s recipes: BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp; Por-Qué BBQ Beans.

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