Opening Day 2008

Yum! What a glorious day! It started out cloudy and by 10:00 am the sun was shining. Due to time constraints we only made it to one market today, the Westside Community Market was full of smiling people. Since we are writing the weekly updates for this market we stopped to talk at every booth, introducing ourselves and getting more of each vendor's story. We are so very lucky to live in a place where people are so passionate about their food. There were bedding plants, hanging baskets, over-wintered vegetables that looked spectacular, meat, eggs and cheese (including a Muenster from Edelweiss Creamery that was so good we all went weak in the knees). There were prepared items like the Italian biscotti and pizzeles from one vendor and the awesome salsas and preserves from Tomato Mountain, including a Sun Gold Tomato preserve that was like summer in a jar!

There were onions, chicken, maple syrup and bakery items. It was a rough winter for hoophouse crops, Primrose Community Farm has spinach and they sold out by 9:00! Market days are a joy!

GO BUY LOCAL FOOD! And Other News

First things first. Tomorrow is opening day for the Westside Community Market (7 am) and the first outdoor market for the Dane County Farmers’ Market (6 am), Wednesday markets for DCFM start 4/23, 8:30 am. Go meet the farmers from your community and buy and eat their food!

Both markets have weekly newsletters available by email or at their websites to get a glimpse of what will be available . . . most of you probably already know that we write the Weekly Update for the Westside Market.

Also in the news . . .

Do you know about the Dane County Food Council? I didn't! Following is their Mission Statement:

The Dane County Food Council explores issues and develops recommendations to create an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable local food system for the Dane County region.

I am excited to read and learn more!


Read about more Wisconsinites taking up the cause of local food in the Door County 100-mile challenge.

There is a trend of 20-somethings turning to farming as a way of life. It is another facet of the local foods revolution.

Now, in case the title of this post somehow slipped past you, go to a Farmers' Market this weekend and taste spring. For more info on other local markets and their start dates click here. As of May, there is a market happening somwhere, every day of the week--amazing.

King Corn

KING CORN will be shown on WI Public Television at 9:30 pm on Friday, April 18th.

Two friends grow an acre of corn to see what drives our fast-food nation. Go along for the ride as they follow the grain from seed to table.

This is important viewing people! Set your recorders and watch it with your family and neighbors!

Rising Prices Good for Local Food

From the New York Times, April 2, 2008:

WHILE grocery shoppers agonize over paying 25 percent more for eggs and 17 percent more for milk, Michael Pollan, the author and de facto leader of the food intellectuals, happily dreams of small, expensive bottles of Coca-Cola.

Along with some other critics of the American way of eating, he likes the idea that some kinds of food will cost more, and here’s one reason why: As the price of fossil fuels and commodities like grain climb, nutritionally questionable, high-profit ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup will, too. As a result, Cokes are likely to get smaller and cost more. Then, the argument goes, fewer people will drink them.

And if American staples like soda, fast-food hamburgers and frozen dinners don’t seem like such a bargain anymore, the American eating public might turn its attention to ingredients like local fruits and vegetables, and milk and meat from animals that eat grass. It turns out that those foods, already favorites of the critics of industrial food, have also dodged recent price increases.

Logic would dictate that arguing against cheap food would be the wrong move when the Consumer Price Index puts food costs at about 4.5 percent more this year than last. But for locavores, small growers, activist chefs and others, higher grocery bills might be just the thing to bring about the change they desire. read more . . .

Our Upcoming Weekend

We hope to see many of you on Saturday (April 19) for the opening of the Westside Community Market. On Sunday we will be heading to the Welty Environmental Center in Beloit to speak about local eating as an environmentally responsible choice.

Finally, this weekend marks the official opening of the Madison Area Community Gardens. We have a half-plot this year and there will be many blog posts to come about our foibles, and hopefully a few triumphs, with our garden!

Fast Food

We have been remiss in blogging what we are eating, there is so much going on and so much to talk about! One of our stand-by fast food dishes is Okonomiyaki--which translates from Japanese roughly as "things you like--fried!" Can't beat that! There is no recipe and it is often billed as a cross between pizza and a pancake--doesn't sound good but it is! Mix eggs, flour and water to make a batter like a thin pancake. Add strips of cabbage (keeps everything together) and then add what you like. We usually take those bits of veggies at the bottom of fridge, chop 'em up and add them. The result is a yummy, slightly crunchy, eggy pancake. We serve it with rice and a soy/ginger/garlic sauce. Last night's ingredients included green beans, carrots, onions, cabbage, peas and of course, eggs from our chickens.

Try this some night when you are pressed for time--YUMMY!

Eating Local is About the People . . . All the People

On more than one occasion we have heard the complaint that eating locally is only for the wealthy. People claim that locavores are elitist, striving to segregate themselves from "the average eater" by choosing to shop directly from the source of production.

We completely disagree.

A recent article in the Albany Times Union says it beautifully (please click the link for the full text)

It's about transforming and democratizing the food system. It's about increasing access to high-quality, nutrient-rich food and making it available and affordable to all people.

It's about establishing whole food (not Whole Foods) markets in poor inner-city neighborhoods plagued by "food deserts."

It's about keeping more farmers on the land by paying them the real cost of production and about consumers having a stake in the stewardship of productive land. It's about sustainability.

Buying locally, whether it be food or other products is about thinking long-term. Support your community and it will support you.