CONFERRE Imagining change with creativity and compassion
Fall/Winter 2010
vol. 3
Letters from the editors
Conferre Editors: Designer:
Most of my life my thoughts on food was driven by my taste. There were foods I liked (Big Mac) and didn’t like (oatmeal). I thought that was it. Five years ago I picked up a book called the Abs Diet. It was a howto on getting a rock hard six pack. That didn’t work out. But surprisingly most of the book was about food, why some food was good for my body and how some could harm my body. I selected food based on how good it was for me and soon I quickly lost weight and felt great. Then I discovered the taste of food from a local farm (Red Fire Farm p.3) through our CSA share two years ago. Carrots were orange, white and purple! I could stir-fry any vegetables we got, and I became a gourmet chef. I learned about kohlrabi and what to do with kale. I could have healthy AND yummy food. I’ve met many people like Dan Archibald (p.10) who’ve made choices about their food and life style. Like Dan, it changed not just my diet but where I shop, what I buy and how I want to live. Everyone will have their own taste and choice but I learned there’s more to food than what’s on the supermarket shelf. Whether you buy a share with a local CSA, take a trip to Stone Barns (p. 13), or decide to plant some tomatoes, I encourage you to take a journey to re-discover food. For extra credit, check out movies like Food Inc. and books by Joel Salatin.
This issue’s focus on food makes me think of the word “disconnect”-where food is so central to our life and health, yet it isn’t always acknowledged as such. Two examples: 1) I find myself cutting food preparation time-- often to the detriment of what I’m eating—when I’m short on time and 2) I tend to consider my food bill far more “negotiable” than other parts of our family’s budget. In this issue of Conferre magazine, we’re learning from people and organizations who are connected to their food. This connection brings with it, health—both for individuals and for the soil. In some ways, the disconnect is a problem unique to industrialized nations— we are mindful that thinking about food here in Boston is really different from thinking about it in many other places around the world. So we highlight these three stories because they represent good stewardship in our context. Our next issue will focus on peace- the small things individuals and tiny organizations around the world are doing to foster peace. If you know an organization or individual transforming lives in their neighborhood, let us know. We’d love to share their story. Jo Hunter Adams
Eugene Adams
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Fall/Winter 2010 Jo Hunter Adams Eugene Adams Eugene Adams
Special thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue. All work is copyrighted by their respective authors and used with permission and sometimes without permission. This magazine is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States license. Conferre is a quarterly publication of Conferre.com, a design agency focused on creating message-driven print publications to help nonprofits and small organizations communicate compelling social issues. For questions, comments, ideas about the magazine, please contact eugene@conferre.com
Content Local Food, Community and Sharing 3 Thinking About Food 10 Growing and Teaching Real Food 13
Local Food, Community and Sharing Interview with Sarah Voiland
What is your vision for
I see the farm as a way to connect more people to the impact they have on the
Red Fire Farm?
planet, to provide and teach a part of a lifestyle that is more in tune with the ecosystem we live within. I also love food, and want to share that love with our community. And I think Community Supported Agriculture brings people together. We have grown over the past few years with the aim of feeding more people with local organically-raised food for as much of the year as possible. We are also trying to find a size of business that allows us to retain key managers, pay more of a living wage, and cover a secure land-base for growing the food. We'd like our farm to be a model for future farmers, and to teach some of them as they work with us, because we need need a lot more farms of this kind to make a deeper impact on the food system.
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What's been the most
One of the most unexpected things we've faced was hearing that some
unexpected thing that's
of our key fields in Granby would be likely sold for development. These
happened while you've
were fields that we'd been trying to buy for a few years, but even with
been developing Red
state APR protection money, couldn't afford. We had an ultimatum to
Fire Farm?
buy the land at the owners' price or they would sell it off. In order to continue our business, we had to buy some other land in another town, and are now getting ready to farm in two locations. That was definitely a surprise. So far the owners haven't sold the land, because of the housing market. It made us realize how vulnerable we are because it takes three years to certify land for organic production, and there's not much land out there if you're in a sudden bind.
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What do you do during
Winter time is a very busy time for farm managers. We imagine out the whole
the winter?
next year down to exact numbers of seeds and the day we're going to plant the transplant into the field. We choose all the varieties of what to grow. We search out weird and fascinating tomato varieties to try for the Tomato Festival heirloom patch. We fix everything that broke during the year, hopefully. We hire our crew. Winter is a big time for teaching people about why to join a CSA. We always hope to sell a large number of our farm shares in the winter time, so that they can help fund our season, and so we know where we're going to send all the produce we're growing. It's much more peaceful knowing it's purchased! With season extension and storage, we are feeding people close to year-round through farm share and farmers' markets that go through March.
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How do you choose what crops to plant? Overall, I think we grow about 40 different crops,
We trial different varieties every year, and watch our favorite varieties to make sure they are still doing well
and within that probably 400 or so different variet-
in the field, and we taste test everything to make sure
ies. We had over 20 kinds of lettuce, 9 varieties of
it's good. The winners stay on for the next season.
strawberries, and 147 types of tomatoes last year.
Many of the things we grow have become "tried-and-
We like to focus on growing lots of people's favorite
true" after multiple seasons. The farming community
crops, and then a mix of less common vegetables like
holds various conferences in the winter, so we go and
edamame and okra to keep things interesting.
talk it up, and see what other people have found to do well, and try that out in the coming year.
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Click to watch video in your browser
Why should we consider joining a CSA? There are many reasons to join a CSA, the core of which
weekly newsletters. We like to have bulk produce
is an appreciation for good food. My first experience
available also so people can get into preserving and
with a CSA farm was as a member, and the difference
storing for the winter. Many of our shareholders find
in flavor made a big impact in my life. You are getting
that the core of their diet becomes much healthier
very fresh produce, picked the day before. There's a
and fresher during the farm share season.
vibrance that is missing if you go to the supermarket. Being a part of a CSA builds the community too. Our vegetables are certified organic with care-
Swap recipes at the pickup, bring your kids or friends
ful growing practices. I think growing methods are
to Pick Your Own on the farm, come to a dinner in the
a very important aspect to choosing your food
farm fields and meet the farmers and crew, visit us at
source. Good farmland can be a renewable resource
the Tomato Festival and meet a whole bunch of other
if farmed carefully. Also buying a share from a lo-
local producers who make pickles, honey, salsa,
cal farm helps to keep working lands open. We are
cheese, and more.
careful about our growing practices, and about our business practices as well. We work to source our
Our farm has vegetable shares, local fruit shares,
various inputs and things needed on the farm from
pasture-raised egg shares, and flower shares. Other
local and regional businesses. Getting involved with a
farms have different options. I definitely encourage
farm local to you is a great way to support and build
people to find a farm share. It makes a big difference
the local economy. We need to be producing things
for us to have CSA members, for the long-term vi-
and buying them from each other!
ability of our farm business. Overall, I think the CSA model is one of the key ways we can re-localize our food systems.
With a farm share, you can get to learn how to cook seasonally and use new recipes from your farm's
www.redfirefarm.com
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Cooking with Red Fire Farm From Red Fire Chef Kristen Schafenacker
Kale 'Chips'
Hearty Autumn Stew
1 lb kale, chopped Olive Oil, salt, pepper
4 cups water 1 large carrot 1 cup daikon radish 1 onion 1 cup rutabaga, diced 1/2 cup parsley 2 cups butternut squash 1 strip kombu seaweed 1/2 package tempeh 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 2 heaping tablespoons kuzu, in 1/4 cup cool water (this is a thickening substitute for corn starch or cream bases, you may substitute the amount of ¼ cup with ½ cup yogurt or 2 T corn starch in ¼ cup water) sea salt to taste
Preheat oven to 400˚. Toss kale with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake, turning every 5 minutes until brown and crispy. Kale should be dry and able to be eaten by hand like chips!
Caramelized Leeks And Apples 2-3 medium sized leeks 1 T brown sugar or maple syrup 1 T olive oil salt and pepper 1½ T butter or margarine Roughly ½ cup honey mustard (optional) 1 hot pepper (optional) 2-3 apples
Peel the squash and cut the vegetables in friendly bite-sized shapes. Slice the tempeh in 1" squares, & saute, covered, in an oiled skillet on medium-low heat, 10 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, boil the water, add seaweed, onion, daikon, squash, parsley, rutabaga, and carrot. Simmer 20 minutes, then add sauteed tempeh. Simmer 20-25 minutes more. Remove kombu, slice into small squares, and return it to the pot. Season to taste with sea salt.
Trim off the root and top edges of the leeks, leaving the middle part intact. Half the middle and chop into 1 inch rounds. Heat the olive oil and butter; when melted add the leeks and toss well. Cook slowly for about 10 minutes or until the leeks start to soften. Add sugar continue to cook for about 15 minutes, adding a small amount of hot water if the mixture starts to stick.
From Red Fire Chef Kristen Schafenacker, 2007.
Slice apples into circles and arrange on a plate. Mix mustard with minced hot pepper and spread atop apple. Top with a spoonful of caramelized leeks.
For more recipies from Red Fire Farm, visit www.redfirefarm.com/recipes/
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by Dan Archibald
I bake bread. About once a week, if I have my act together--mostly enough to keep us in sandwiches, in any case. Those sandwiches sometimes impress my co-workers, when they notice: marvel for a moment and then say they would love to have home-made bread but they just don't think they could manage it. I'll tell you a secret: it's not very hard. Not much more complicated, in fact, than making brownies from a mix.
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But picking up a loaf of bread from the store is even easier. So why do I bother? And why do Leah and I prepare so much of the rest of our food from scratch, or make trips to farmers markets or farm stands for our produce, or work in the garden to raise home-grown vegetable and berries? I can't
for any sort of home cooking: if I want to be
say for sure, but I think it's thanks to how
able to make dinner I'm going to be thinking
much we love food.
about what I want to make for hours, if not days, before I even start cooking. All that
Everyone has to eat, of course (barring the
pre-preparation mind work makes the food
odd Breatharian), but it's entirely possible
taste even better when it's finally on the ta-
to keep yourself fed without making food a
ble. So does pride in what I've managed to
priority in your life. Our modern system of
produce: it's still exciting to be able to put a
food production and distribution is focused
dinner together for my family, whether it's a
on ease and convenience, and designed to
new recipe or something I've made dozens
make sure you can pick up either a ready-
of times before. It's something I thought
made meal or all the ingredients you need
of, gathered ingredients for, and prepared-
to put one together any time of day and any
-to me that's infinitely more valuable and
season of the year. While this is lovely when
rewarding than heating up a frozen entree.
you're short on time or have a craving for strawberry shortcake in October, it has the
Once you're taking the trouble to make food
perverse effect of distancing us from what it
from scratch, a logical next step is to start
is we're actually eating.
thinking about where the ingredients you're using come from. Unfortunately, much
Baking bread, on the other hand, brings me
of what is available at the supermarket is
closer to what I'm eating. For one thing, I
essentially anonymous. Sure, even veg-
have to set aside 3+ hours of being-home
etables and fruits are branded by national
time to see it through to completion, which
companies who vouch for their quality, but
means that the process of bread-making is
often there's little or no information about
on my mind for quite some time. This is true
where--or how--the food was grown. The
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There's nothing like snap peas or cherry tomatoes eaten right off the vine, and I'm never prouder than when I'm chopping herbs harvested from just outside the kitchen door.
supermarket is the end of the industrial
Just like cooking creates a connection with
food machine, and the machine is designed
food, so can shopping locally. Unlike at the
to produce identical units of produce that
supermarket, at the farmers market you can
can be sold anywhere in the country. A red
actually chat with the farmer who planted
apple, grown in the United States.
the carrot you're chopping, or (maybe even more important) killed the chicken
An alternative to the supermarket is of
you're roasting. You can also talk with other
course the farmers market (or farm stand).
members of your community in a way you
More and more popular in recent years,
wouldn't at any other store: if you meet a
farmers markets let us get a couple steps
neighbor at the supermarket the conversa-
closer to our food's origins, both geographi-
tion will most likely be about anything but
cally and informationally. Farmers markets
the food in your cart, but at the farmers
appeal to people for different reasons: some
market the fresh produce all around, and the
feel that the produce is healthier, others
shared experience of countercultural shop-
appreciate the reduction in food miles that
ping, are powerful conversational draws.
buying directly from farmers entails. Both of those claims are disputed by advocates of factory farming, but regardless of the specific details--and I'm sure
You're also vastly more in touch with the progression of the seasons at the farmers market. Sure, it's possible here in Mas-
that each claim is true some of the
sachusetts to gauge the progress of the
time and less true in other cases--
citrus season in Florida by the quality of the
for me the appeal lies simply in the
navel oranges, but noticing slightly sweeter
very local-ness of the food you find
oranges is nothing compared the joy I experience when, say, the first local peaches
there.
show up for sale. I try and limit my summer-
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time cooking, at least, to what I can find
sauce, by the sweat of your brow and without
from local farmers, and I feel that the slight
the input of a single multinational corporation.
effort required to keep time with the season
I don't know about you, but to me that makes
makes what we eat taste all the sweeter-
for some pretty tasty spaghetti!
-above and beyond, of course, the actual improvement in flavor that comes from eat-
In the end, I think, it all comes down to
ing truly fresh produce.
intentionality. Whether or not there is objective value--for our health, for the envi-
Of course, for the very freshest produce you
ronment--in any of the specific choices we
have to grow your own, and we're working
make, the very act of cooking for ourselves,
on that too. There's nothing like snap peas or
eating locally, and growing produce brings
cherry tomatoes eaten right off the vine, and
us closer to the food we eat. And that con-
I'm never prouder than when I'm chopping
nection with food means that we don't take
herbs harvested from just outside the kitchen
it for granted, we're more likely to enjoy eat-
door. Not that our garden is anything like
ing it, and we're less likely to eat too much.
an unmitigated success so far, though. The
The efforts people make over the Thanks-
hardest part about growing your own food is
giving dinner show how important and valu-
that you're pretty much on a year-long cycle,
able food can be; if it really is important, we
so a mistake in May--not preparing the soil
can make some reasonable fraction of that
sufficiently before putting in the tomatoes--
effort every day. It isn't hard, and it's super
can't be attempted to be fixed until the next
rewarding.
year's seedlings are ready to go in. When you forget the salt in the chocolate chip cookies you can make another batch that same evening! Even with all the heartbreak it brings--unseasonable cold, searing heat, drought, flood, and constant competition for the harvest from animals ranging from chipmunks to deer--gardening is a singularly rewarding pastime. Even the most stunted, neglected tomato plant will produce a handful of fruits, and when you eat them--or even better, cook with them--you'll know that you brought the evening's meal from seed to
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Photos by Annabel Braithwaite for Belethée Photography
“To celebrate, teach and advance community-based food production and the enjoyment of fresh, nutritious food.” — Stone Barns Center’s mission
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In a culture where so much of our food is processed, preserved, packaged and shipped cross-country, Stone Barns Center is getting Americans back in touch with real food. Just thirty miles from New York City, the nonprofit food and agricultural center is uniquely poised to impact food culture. With a multitude of habitats spread over 80 acres, Stone Barns farms in partnership with nature. The Center’s sheep and chickens graze on pasture; the pigs root around and forage in forest and diverse crops are grown side by side in the vegetable field and the greenhouse. It’s at once a classroom and a laboratory for sustainable agriculture.
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Farm Facts Stone Barns raises laying hens, broiler chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, pigs and bees on 23 acres of pasture and 40 acres of woodlands. Stone Barns grows 200 varieties of produce year-round in 6.5 acres of outdoor fields and gardens and a 22,000-sq-ft minimally heated greenhouse. The farm uses no pesticides, herbicides or chemical additives. The primary amendment to the soil is our own nutrient-rich compost. Stone Barns sells its vegetables, eggs, meat and honey to the public at an onsite farm market three days per week, and to Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Blue Hill in New York City.
The Center is open to the public from Wednesday through Sunday year round and welcomes visitors to walk through the pastures, woodlands and fields. Like many in the farm-totable food movement (or local food movement), those at Stone Barns believe that great food is best experienced firsthand. That’s why it hosts almost one hundred thousand visitors each year. If you visit, you’ll have the opportunity to talk to farmers and get your hands dirty. A visit to Stone Barns is a transformative experience for children, as they learn the sources of their food and how to steward the land that provides it. Through hands on farm activities
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Click to watch video in your browser
such as gardening in the greenhouse or collecting eggs from the hens, children learn where tasty, nutritious food comes from and the importance of environmental stewardship. This is at the core of Stone Barns’ mission: for our consumption to change, our children must understand the value of nutritious food grown sustainably, and the costs of industrial, processed food. Farmers at Stone Barns are also scientists. By studying what works best, they’re able to innovate and imagine truly sustainable agriculture. Apprentice farmers learn on the job, with the dream of ultimately becoming part of a new generation of small-scale farmers. At Stone Barns, change comes by connecting people back to the land, one at a time. Check out Stone Barns website to plan a visit! www.stonebarnscenter.org
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Peacemakers
Our next issue will focus on peace—the small things individuals and tiny organizations around the world are doing to foster peace. If you know an organization or individual transforming lives in their neighborhood, let us know. We’d love to share their story.
2011 Spring