Monday, August 17, 2009

Blog Intention


I just wanted to take a minute to restate the intention of this blog. What I truely intend this blog to do is to get the information out there and talked about for what it means to eat locally in Wichita, Kansas. Please, those of you growing and preserving your own food, give us insight into the size of garden you keep, the hours you spend grooming, harvesting, and storing. We are beginners, so we primarily exist off of the farmers' markets. We do not can yet, but intend to once our tomatoes are abundant; and, the only thing we have ever frozen is corn off the cob. Let this be an open forum about when, and how much to preserve to last throughout the year.

It would also be great if this could become a place where people come to share excess. If you are growing or preserving too much, but don't have a farmers' market booth or a tax number to sell as a vendor, connect with people that would rather buy from you than from the store. I am sure this is all very touchy as far as legalities go, so approach it from a barter standpoint online as opposed to a sales transaction. There are laws surrounding the way we exchange food, and I understand that these are in place to help protect us from potentially harmful foods, so be very careful about the way information is exchanged on this website for the sake of the co-op. That being said, I see no other way for people to keep in contact about exchanging goods.

Basically, what I want this blog to be is an open exchange of ideas and information pertaining to rehabilitating the way we eat and the way we think about and interact with our food system. Let's all group together to form one stop shop for eating locally. Let's list vendors, farmers, where we get things, how things can be done better, resources to help us get what we need the way we want to get it.

Two of the pressing issues on my mind are how to go about getting the things that do not come from here, and what is the best way to eat in the winter months. I think buying fair trade and working with small farms internationally is very important, the only issue is how to make it the best situation possible. International co-oping is an option, though I am not sure how feasible. The only other I know of would be buying from massive importers who do things ethically. As far as out of season eating, I think there is a lot more we could do to produce more locally. We just need more growers, we need our growers to collaborate their efforts and diversify, and we need more people harvesting in winter months. If you are trying to make a go of being a produce farmer, please read Four Season Harvester by Elliot Coleman. He makes it seem so cheap and easy. I am not trying to say that it is, because I have a hard time with my small gardens, but for those of you experienced producers it may be exactly the answer you are looking for for year round profit.

Most of all, we need more farmers! Less than 1% of the human race are farmers. Please get in your schools, work with kids, start up community gardens, extra-curricular activities, do whatever you can think of to spread the word about farming as a way of life, and let our younger generation know that it is a career option. I don't even think kids think about it anymore. It is up to us, the people, to reform the way agricuture and trade are being done. Where the demand is, so too will be the future, and everything else will become the past.

Please talk, and together we will form a solution.

3 comments:

  1. hi. I am so pleased to have come across this blog. my husband and I have been looking to build more connections with those in the area who share our food beliefs.

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  2. Just plant stuff. Don't spend too much money, buy
    your seeds from Dollar General, follow the directions, and have fun experimenting. My dad was a farmer, but I only learned to enjoy gardening when living in NJ. Am back in Wichita now. Last year I planted 12 tomato plants (bought at Ace) and still have tomatoes good enough for adding to eggs. My zuchinni didn't produce as much as it should have last year, but I think that was due to the weather.
    Look at Gurney's web-site for ordering raspberry and blueberry bushes.

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  3. Hi Dani,
    My name is Amy and I work for Natural Grocers. We would like to invite you and Mike to a Sneak Peek lunch we are having in Wichita on 2/22. Please send me your email address so that I can send you the invitation.
    Thanks,
    -Amy
    alucariello@naturalgrocers.com

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