jan/feb email update
hello all!
i've been putting off this update and now i know why... i have exciting news about my summer plans!
but first, a few words about more current events. i was home with my family for christmas, although having to work on new year's eve meant that i had to miss christmas with my potter relatives. see, that's what happens when you work in the restaurant business: you work on those days when most people get to go out and party! i'm working at aroma bar and grill, which is the newest restaurant in great barrington. you can check it out at http://www.aromabarandgrill.com/ this has been such a change for me, to go from lifeguarding which requires sitting around for hours on end, to waiting tables which requires standing on my feet for hours on end! i must say though, the free indian food is worth it.
in other news i'm going to volunteer for an organization called berkshire grown (http://www.berkshiregrown.org/), which promotes local food and farmers by giving members information about where, when, and how to get local food, and by offering them discounts at berkshire restaurants which serve local food.
and now, (drumroll please...) my summer plans! i've secured an apprenticeship on an organic vegetable farm in egremont, ma. the farm's website is here: http://www.indianlinefarm.com/ starting 1 april and continuing through the middle of november, i'll be working with farmers al and liz and another apprentice to grow a wide variety of organic veggies, herbs, and flowers. besides selling at the great barrington farmers' market, indian line has a "csa" - community supported agriculture. at the beginning of the season, interested community members buy shares of the harvest (starting at $300 for a "working share") and each week they come to pick up whatever is in season... fresh, organic, local, harvested that morning... how do you get any better than that?! i am so excited to be part of this enterprise and i'm looking forward to working very hard, getting dirty, and learning as much as i possibly can about organic vegetable production.
you may have realized, as i have, that a common theme among all of these activities and plans is food. when you consider that most people in america go to grocery stores to get their food, when you consider that many children and families in this town, state, nation, world go hungry, when you consider that most people have not even the faintest idea of where their food comes from or how to produce it for themselves... i believe that growing one's own food is perhaps the most radical act one can engage in. if you don't have the time or inclination to grow your own food, another radical act is to get as much food as you possibly can from local sources. this used to be the norm for all people everywhere, and the benefits are astounding. by buying local food, you keep dollars in your community. you can go directly to the very fields where those ears of corn, those tomatoes, those strawberries, were produced. you can ask the farmer about his/her methods, and because you have a personal relationship with the farmer, you and your fellow consumers of local food can directly communicate with the farmer about what you want. transportation costs (and the environmental effects of transportation) are reduced because your heads of lettuce aren't being trucked from california, or your apples from argentina. you eat foods when they are in season and you can learn to preserve fresh food for winter consumption. additionally, farmers who value local production and marketing also tend to value organic, sustainable food production. this means that you don't have to worry about pesticides and that the farmer is doing his/her best to use those methods which are most environmentally friendly and ecologically sound. such methods will be around long after oil-based pesticides and fertilizers are no longer an option. i'm not preaching doom here, just pointing out that, as far as human consumption goes, oil is a finite resource and it will run out someday. personally, i'd rather obtain my food by methods proven to keep the soil healthy over a long period of time rather than by methods that seem to be somewhat of a stop-gap measure to keep declining soils in production for as long as possible.
this is the direction i'm choosing to head in right now; local, sustainable, organic food is my "thing". i'd be really interested to hear about any experiences you may have had with local foods!
as always, i hope this finds you and your loved ones well and busy.
hugs, adrienne