By AJ
I literally used to eat out of dumpsters. This may or may not have been over a decade ago but it was a huge source for feeding myself and others. It used to be a lot easier than it is now, when you could literally just open the lid of a dumpster and grab perfectly edible food. Now, because of "liability" (*cough* *capitalism*), most food items deposited in a dumpster are run through a compactor, rendering the things inside inedible and unattainable. As a farmer amongst the production of produce, it is far less necessary (and desirable) to seek out the "trash". But i think a lot about eating "trash" all the time, chewing on ideas of how to use the ugly and less-desired food products.
Today, for example, as I was stocking the meat freezer, i was trying to come up with ideas for going through organs. We end up with an excess of organs from our precious animals at the end of the year because we just don't go through them all. I started dehydrating the livers and hearts and kidneys for dog treats. Big hit around here. But even so, it is hard to go through everything.
And then there's all the funky produce that ends up on the counters of us farmer folk because we don't want to give it to the compost. (We don't starve our compost either though, so don't worry. And I will mention here that I enjoy the practices and ethos we have here at the farm, when it comes to "excess".)
Part of what drew me to farming was the idea of having access to feeding the larger community. I often envision a local system that is capable of redirecting its excess food products from the dumpster to the mouths of community members. As i've aged in this profession, i've found I don't have the energy to address accessibility all by myself. Be that as it may, I have been using a lot of my brainspace envisioning "free food stations", or community fridges-- a few places where community members can bring, swap, and take food items. This would require some volunteers, from businesses willing to offer space, donations, to folx dedicated to keeping it clean and accessible.
This is something I want for Petaluma. As it quiets here on the farm a bit, i delve more into my mind and ideas. And as a way to start gaining momentum, if there are any members who would be enthusiastic about molding this idea with me, lets talk! And grab some organs for your dogs, while you are at it.
So, anyway, Eat Trash and Feed People.
My recipe this week is whatever you can make with what's getting funky in the fridge.
CSA Barn Hours:
Winter hours: 2:30-6PM
Summer hours: 2:30-6:30PM (starts the week after daylight savings in March)
Pick List:
Eggs
Red Gold, La Ratte Fingerling, and Yellow Finn Potatoes
Cortland and Cabernet Red, Cipollini Sweet Onions, Monastrell Shallots
Leeks
Evergreen Hardy Scallions
Yaya carrots
Rhonda Beets
Purple Top Turnips
Purple Daikon and Watermelon Radish
Joan Rutabaga
Mars Celeriac
Hablange Parsnip
Kossack Kohlrabi
Primo and Caraflex Green and Ruby King Red Cabbage
Song Cauliflower and/or Covina Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Radicchio, Sugarloaf, and Castelfranco
Celery
Lettuce Mix (During the winter, when our tender crops are all coming from the tunnels, we only offer lettuce mix. We will not have lettuce heads until next summer. We hope to offer lettuce mix consistently until then.)
Red Russian Kale
Ruby Red Chard
Mei Qing Choi
Regiment Spinach
Cilantro (We should have parsley again in a few weeks. It is growing slowly in the tunnels.)
Winter Sweet Kabocha, Spaghetti, Acorn, Butternut, and Delicata Winter Squash
Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin
Pick your own herbs, mostly in the herb circle (and maybe a few flowers)
Sonora Wheat Flour & Wheat Berries (Please BYO jars!)
New! Stoneground cornmeal from our dry corn! FYI: It does have large pieces of the outer skin in it which creates a different texture than the more uniform cornmeal. If you do not enjoy this, you can sift it with the right size screen. (Please BYO jars!)
Tea Blends (Please BYO jars!)
Whole Korean dried hot peppers
Saltonstall Olive Oil for sale (Please BYO jars!)
Revolution Bread will be on a break while Eli recovers from illness. We wish him a smooth recory!
Open Field Farm 2023 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members
