I've signed us up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with Fall Creek Farms. So for 25 weeks between June and November, I'll be picking up a basket of local and sustainably-grown seasonal veggies, fruits and herbs. The list of what Fall Creek Farms grows is HUGE, so I'm super excited to see what will be in our basket every week! It also means that I'll be experimenting with a lot of new recipes since I'll have to figure out what to do with the vegetables I've never cooked with (or just need to make sure I use). I signed up for a 2/3 basket this year to see how it goes. If it seems like we could use more, I'll sign up for a full basket next year.
Crabtree Farms also offers a CSA program for full and 1/2 baskets, and they are REALLY local, as the farm is located just minutes from my house. However, their 1/2 basket option is a full basket every two weeks instead of a 1/2 basket weekly. Since I didn't want to sign up for a full basket for my first year, and since I'm not sure how long I can make things last over a two week period, I decided to go with Fall Creek Farms and their weekly 2/3 basket.
I haven't done it yet, but I also think I'm going to sign us up for a dairy cow herd share with Fall Creek Farms. The farm has both cows and goats, and they offer herd shares to care for the animals and sell the milk. A herd share would give us a gallon of fresh and local cow's milk a week. I may even sign us up for 2 herd shares since Lucy goes through over a gallon of milk a week all on her own! The herd shares happen year-round, so I could start it at anytime. If I can make it to the Main Street Market on time today, I'll go buy some milk and hopefully also some other items for my upcoming recipe.
Speaking of my upcoming recipe, I am really excited to try out this Southern-Style Chicken & Sausage recipe from Pampered Chef, specifically created for the rockcrok. Thanks to the Pampered Chef party I had back in December, I now own one of these beautiful 4-quart pots (along with bunches of other Pampered Chef goodies!).
Another thing I plan on doing this Spring towards eating better (and living better) is buying a portion of a cow. My mom has done this the past 2 years, and I bought in on the first year. I don't remember the name of the farm (or I would link it), but my mom knows the people personally. And let me tell you, a half a cow is a LOT of meat, y'all. Whether I go for half a cow or split a half a cow with someone, that's on my list this year.
Another way I plan on making it a better year for food is by getting a membership to Costco. How does a membership to a corporate bulk store help out my cause? Well, I've been in Costco a few times the past couple of months, and I would say that EASILY half of the food in the store is organic. And since they sell in bulk, not only are their prices really good but buying in bulk has less of an environmental impact. I've been highly impressed by Costco and feel that we could benefit from a lot of the things they sell, so I think a membership would be a smart move for our family.
Finally, I plan on making more of an effort to buy food from our local farmer's markets. I wrote about (and provided links for) all the area markets in a previous post, which I can't seem to find right now. But locally, the Main Street Market happens year-round during a short time window on Wednesdays, and once it warms up, the Brainerd Market happens on Saturdays and the Chattanooga Market happens on Sundays. The Main Street Market is where I'll be picking up my CSA basket starting in June, so I'll be at a farmer's market at least once a week anyway through the summer and fall. And if I buy in on a herd share for milk in the near future, I'll be at the market once a week for that. It looks like the Main Street Market and I are about to become close friends.
So those are my plans for making 2015 the best year so far for food consumption at our house! :)
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