February 2004
Note: Adopt-A-Family is the previous name of Local Foods Connection
JOIN A CSA!
Now is the time to enroll in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group. CSAs link you with your food, the farmers who grow and produce your food and the land on which it is grown. You become a member by paying in advance for a season's worth of vegetables grown on a small family farm, and the growers provide a regular supply of high-quality and fresh food at an affordable price. Originating in Japan, CSAs are called teikei: food with the farmer's face on it.
Here are the three CSAs from which AAF will purchase shares in 2004 (in alphabetical order):
Choice Earth CSA
1270 Jefferson Washington Road
Brighton, IA 52540
(319) 694-3265
http://www.ChoiceEarth.com
Alisha@ChoiceEarth.comDelivery to Iowa City, Washington and Fairfield
Welcome to affordable, fresh-from-the-garden heirloom vegetables that taste so good their seeds have been hand-saved for generations. Welcome to a community of people who share your interests in healthy living and sustainable agriculture. Welcome to protecting the earth and reconnecting to the growing process.
A Choice Earth share is a share in the harvest from our 6-acre vegetable garden. A share lasts 20 weeks during the growing season, starting in early June and ending in October. During each of these twenty weeks you will receive ¾ bushel of organically-grown heirloom vegetables plus herbs and wildflowers. Three-quarters of a bushel is enough to feed a family of 4 for a week, or provide enough for 2 vegetarians. Shares also include a weekly newsletter to let you know what you're receiving, what's going on at the farm, and to give you a few recipe ideas for that week's produce. Shares are delivered to a convenient pick-up point located in your neighborhood. The application process helps determine where you can pick up your share, and we'll let you choose your delivery point from a list of options prior to the first delivery.
Gooseberry Hill Subscription Produce
Dianna & John Fuhrmeister
3310 Lynden Hgts Rd NE
Iowa City, IA 52240
354-7260
Designed for consumers that: Would like to know how their food was grown and develop a relationship with the grower; Find Farmer's Markets don't work into their schedules; Would like to avoid the traffic, the crowds and hassle of the Farmer's Market; Enjoy summer's bounty, but are unable to produce it for themselves.
Gooseberry Hill Subscription Produce offers a unique opportunity. We will bring the Farmer's Market to your door. We do the work and you get to enjoy a basket of fruit, vegetables, eggs and baked goods once a week.
Deliveries are usually done on Mondays and Fridays. The season runs 20 weeks, starting in May and ending in
September. A limited amount of subscriptions are available. Payment is due by March 15th.
Produce grown includes: rhubarb, strawberries, cress, sugar snap peas, peas in shell, leaf lettuce, green and sandwich onions, spinach, potatoes, spinach, red raspberries, asparagus, tomatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers, sweet corn, apples, beets, chard, carrots. Other items: fresh baked goods, country fresh eggs, flowers.
Note: Due to insects, predator and weather problems, some of the above may be available in limited quantities. Call to arrange farm visits.
Local Harvest CSA
ZJ Farm
5025 120th Street
Solon, Iowa 52333
624-3052
http://www.localharvestcsa.com
zjfarm@ia.net
Simone Delaty
1478 470th Street SW
Wellman, IA 52356
(319) 683-2896 Phone
(319) 631-0146 Cell (voice mail)
http://www.simoneplainandsimple.com
plnsimple@earthlink.net
The Zacharakis-Jutz and Delaty families of Local Harvest CSA are committed to sustainable agriculture: supporting new and existing local farms and farm families, preserving and building the soil for the future, and providing wholesome food directly to the consumer. In promoting a dialogue between town and farm, we growers continually offer our land, knowledge and experiences to our members.
VEGETABLES: Almost all vegetables are harvested the same day as delivery. More than forty types of organic vegetables including: spinach, lettuce, carrots, green and filet beans, snow and snap peas, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, summer and winter squash, beets, salad turnips, bell and hot peppers, broccoli, cabbage, sweet corn, and eggplant. Each week during the 20-week growing season members receive a box of fresh, handpicked produce.
BREAD & EGGS: Each week for 20 weeks members receive one dozen eggs and a loaf of French Country bread. The brown eggs come from free-range chickens fed grains free of additives. Simone prepares her bread by hand using natural leavening and organic flour and bakes her artisan loaves in a wood-fired oven.
FLOWERS: Simone sells you bouquets of fresh cut flowers, not formal arrangements like you would expect from a florist.
OTHER CSAs SERVING IOWA CITY
In addition to the three farms listed above, two other CSAs serve the Iowa City area (in alphabetical order).
Friendly Farm CSA
Mary Jo Swartzendruber 338-0665
Bob Braverman 338-4866Little Bluestem Farm
no CSA in 2004, relocating farm
Janet Clark 358-8040
Adopt-A-Family and Iowa City CSAs
One long-term goal of Adopt-A-Family is to purchase shares from all CSA farms serving this area. We can help you find other small family farmers throughout Iowa. On our website, on the "Our Farmers" page, you will find links and phone numbers to several resources with lists of family farmers. (If you know of a CSA we don't, tell us!)
RECENT FINDINGS ON ORGANIC FOODS
From Organic Gardening Magazine Sept/Oct 2003, pg. 14
More Nutrients
Analysis of nutritional composition data from 41 studies published between 1946 to 1997 found that fruits and vegetables grown organically contained, on average, 27% more vitamin C, 21% more iron, 29% more magnesium, 14% more phosphorus, and 15% fewer nitrates than conventional produce. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
A study published the same year by the Soil Association in Britain drew similar conclusions.
Presence of Salicylic Acid
Average concentrations of salicylic acid were almost six times as high in commercially sold organic soups as in conventional soups. Plants produce salicylic acid as a defense against stress and disease. It is also the anti-inflammatory agent in aspirin and helps combat hardening of the arteries and bowel cancer. University of Strathclyde in Scotland study
More Antioxidants
Organically grown produce is higher in cancer-fighting phenolics (antioxidants plants use to defend themselves)than produce sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. University of California study
Lower Pesticides Levels in Children
Preschool children on organic diets had one-sixth the concentration of pesticides in their bodies as did children on conventional diets. The children who ate organically had exposure levels below EPA standards, while the children on conventional diets tested above those set standards. --University of Washington study
Our Farmers
Although not all of our farmers are certified organic, they all use sustainable agriculture practices, such as growing food without the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and raising animals in a humane environment.
MEET A NEW FAMILY FOR 2004
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Johnson County recommended to us the Harms family of Iowa City. The single mother tells us about her family:
"I have four children, three with mental disabilities. It is very hard for me financially to buy veggies and other fresh produce. My children like all foods and adapt well to new recipes ? I call most 'hodge/podge.' They enjoy cooking with me and my son is already eating me out of house and home."
We are grateful to the family and the sponsor.
Big Brothers Big Sisters matches an adult volunteer with a child for a minimum of one year through the One to One Mentoring program. Volunteers meet with their "Littles" on a regular basis, doing fun activities of their choice. A professional staff member is assigned to the match to answer questions, provide assistance, and keep the match informed of community and agency activities.
BUDDIES is a School Based Mentoring Program through which a volunteer and child meet once a week during the school day. The volunteer and child are free to choose their activity, such as playing board games, reading, eating lunch, working on academic work or just hanging out and talking. The purpose of the BUDDIES program is to provide a friend to a child who needs a little extra help and guidance. For more information call 337-2145 or visit the web site: http://www.bbbsjc.org
THANK YOU 2003 GROWERS & PRODUCERS
Local Harvest CSA and Gooseberry Hill Subscription Produce provided our families with wonderful vegetables throughout the growing season last year.
Joanne Nelson
As The Crow Flies
2546 Quincy Road NE
Solon, IA 52333
351-5020
call for hormone-free and steroid-free chickens fed organic grains. Each AAF family received two during the summer.
Henry J.C. & Ila Miller
1012 Juniper Avenue
Kalona, IA 52247
656-3518
call them to order free-range, organic turkeys for the holidays! Each AAF family received one for Thanksgiving.