Fresh Abundance Weekly News - July 26, 2009

Fresh Abundance - Bringing Local Food to Local People
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Summer - The Heart Of Local Produce Season
This summer is speeding right along, launching us into the heart of the local produce season. It is an amazing dance to serve our local farmers. To make this all come together takes multiple phone calls to communicate what the farm will have and how we can help them move their perishable produce in a timely manner. Then their harvest must get to us so we can get it in the boxes all five days we deliver each week. You can then multiply that by 50 farmers and wow what a juggling act. Over the last five years we have built a dynamic network to serve our local farmers and get their food to your table.

Local Growers Get Good Price - Healthier & Better Taste - Cuts Out Wasteful Long Haul Trucking
We give the local grower a good price and get you a good deal as we cut out the long haul trucking, warehousing, and middle men of the current industrial food chain. Local small farm grown farm goods still cost more than the industrially produced foods from large chain grocery stores. Our government subsidizes industrial agriculture and these subsidies do not trickle down to the small local farmer. None of the local small farms we work with are getting rich from the prices they charge and many of them barely get by. While you pay more for this local food you also get more as the food tastes better and is grown on healthy soil, which produces healthier produce. Buying local strengthens community health and connects us to the people who produce the foods we thrive on. As you purchase from Fresh Abundance you keep these local farms in business ensuring accessibility to the freshest safely grown produce, meats and dairy for years to come.

LOCAL Organic Lapin Cherries on sale - 20 pound case for $50
This week one of our local farmers needed to move cherries. We have 20 pound cases of LOCAL Organic Lapin Cherries on sale for $50. These sweet cherries are perfect for drying, canning, preserving, or simply eating and are available now at the division store.

LOCAL Egg and Fresh Chicken Update
We are currently working with a couple of farms that have young laying chickens and meat birds we hope that some time this fall we will finally again have fresh local chickens and eggs at Fresh Abundance.

p.e.a.c.h. Farm Update
The sugar snap peas are finished and the pea plants are now being readied for saving pea seeds. We are also collecting calendula and nasturtium seeds this week. We are harvesting the first of the peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers. We had our first work crew from the Department of Corrections come out and pull lots of weeds. The teens from juvenile justice are still trickling in and we have several teens and young adults from the next generation summer jobs youth program helping grow food. Remember you can buy produce from the p.e.a.ch. farm at Community Roots Market on Sundays 11-4. Donations we are currently seeking are rain gutters to put in a rainwater catchment system, a tractor, and a van for hauling produce to farm stands.

p.e.a.c.h. Red Barn Soiree - September 26th
We are working hard on the Red Barn Soiree, our annual p.e.a.c.h. fundraising dinner and evening of fun that will happen on the p.e.a.c.h. farm on September 26th. In a couple of weeks we will begin to sell tickets and gather auction items for the silent auction. We are currently looking for local businesses that will underwrite the event. If you know of a local business that is a good candidate to underwrite our event please send an email to Brightspirit@freshabundance.com

Community Roots Market
Remember Community Roots Market is every Sunday 11-4

Bicycle
If you were out on Saturday evening in downtown Spokane did you see the 200 bicyclist riding together have a whooping good time? I am so happy to see Spokane move to being a bicycle lively town.

Till next week stay local.
Brightspirit