Saturday, September 26, 2009

Fresh Abundance Weekly News - September 26th, 2009

Fresh Abundance - Bringing Local Food to Local People
Boxes
Jacque's Blog
PEACH Blog - For the latest Fresh Abundance & Peach news Including recent farm movies.

PEACH on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Glorious weather, local food, and a half-gallon of green smoothie in my belly ~ Life is good. As my days of green smoothie accumulate I notice more changes in my health and well-being. The most curious this week is the texture of my sleep. I can only describe it as delicious. Funny how something as simple as sleep can take on a fuller, richer experience.

Just in, Fresh Abundance now has LOCAL Safe Chicken from Spring Water Farm in Deer Park. These chickens have local organic feed, space to roam and a loving family. You can taste the difference.

We are starting a new trend with this weekly news. We will feature guest writers who step in and write all or part of the weekly news.

One Mother's Thoughts
My name is Tara Foote and I have been a p.e.a.c.h board member since 1999. For this weekly news, I would like to share a personal story with you about my health and the sometimes surprising chemicals we come in contact with on a daily basis.

Although organic food and alternative healing have occupied my brain and cupboard space for well over a decade now, I have for many reasons, on several occasions, fallen prey to western medicine and even, western food, when health, culture, finances, or politeness compelled me to do so. I am not perfect. I am average, married, have three kids, a great dog, a college degree, and an unwavering passion for the Earth and mankind. I also live in a cul-de-sac, drive a mini-van and send my son to public school. I have tried very hard in the last five years to not live life frustrated about western food and medicine, but rather to focus on the good choices I do make and the positive growth that I see happening all the time in the movement. But this week something profound happened and it left me with the same itching activism that brought me to Brightspirit and p.e.a.c.h ten years ago, only this time it was personal.

Like most adults, I have had at least one nagging health issue that has, despite attempts to treat it naturally and with food, eluded my most sincere effort. In my case, I experience distressing ear infections and painful rashes that can be completely debilitating and have required me to occasionally go to the hospital. Each time it happens I become an inclusive slave to western medicine. My ear condition requires a brief yet very painful surgery each day of the acute attack and then there are the pain medications and occasional I.V.'s until the situation is under control. When it happened in March of this year, the infection quickly spread through my neck and facial bones and tissues. My ENT, who had treated me for fifteen years, was speechless. That's when they started talking about running tests. The jive was that I would have a Patch Test to see if I might be allergic to something I was consuming or coming into direct contact with. Made perfect sense to me and I wondered why we hadn't thought of that before.

Here's where it gets interesting. Having made it through the patch testing this week, I discovered that I was very allergic to four things; Nickle, Thimerosal, Propylene Glycol, and a common additive in hair conditioner called Amidoamine. The allergist informed me right away, because she knew why I had come to her office, that besides being a preservative in Vaccines, Thimerasol could only be found in a few products on the market today: one of these products was ear drops, the same drops I had religiously put in my ears for as long as I could remember to ward off any potential attack. The same was true for the Propylene Glycol, which was an ingredient in all of the creams I used to treat the strange rashes I would get. I guess the joke was on me, because I sure didn't see that one coming. I reckon the only good news is that I finally feel in charge of my health again.

As for my Nickel allergy, I am trying to view it as divine intervention. It was the most severe reaction I had and will require the most effort on my part to maintain. Let's put it this way, no more bread, no more chocolate, no more nuts of any kind, very little meat and no seafood. Many times when life has begged the question of simplicity to me, I find myself rising to the challenge in great happiness. This time it will be no different. I am up for anything. Tune in next week for a break down of products that contain Propylene Glycol.

Community Roots
We have been missing all of you at Community Roots Market on Sunday. If you want a local year-round market we need your support and attendance. Please stop by on Sundays between 11-4 located at 2015 N Division. October 4th's market will feature a workshop on how to manage your worm bin. There will be worm bins available to buy. Check out the class information on facebook~ http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/event.php?eid=138527567599

Grape to Glass & Farm to Fork fundraising dinner is next Saturday October 3rd if you haven't got your tickets yet, click here www.brownpapertickets.com/event/82261 and order them online! We are deep in the process of planning the Farm School and we need your financial support for the infrastructure of the new sprout house where thousands of bedding plants will begin their 2010 food-producing journey. We also need to buy and assemble two large greenhouses. The funds from the dinner will go to support the set up of the Farm School.

See you at the market, Brightspirit

Thursday, September 24, 2009

p.e.a.c.h. Presents Farm To Fork

Our fundraiser Farm to Fork & Grape to Glass will be held on Saturday October 3rd.

The location of the event is
at
2015 N Division, indoor/outdoor in the warehouse we use for Community Roots Market.
You can buy tickets here www.brownpapertickets.com/event/82261


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Monday, September 7, 2009

Fresh Abundance Weekly News - September 5, 2009

Fresh Abundance - Bringing Local Food to Local People
Boxes
Jacque's Blog
PEACH Blog - For the latest Fresh Abundance & Peach news Including recent farm movies.

PEACH on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Labor Day Hours Shorter, Monday Boxes On Tuesday
With it being Labor day weekend I am going to make this short and sweet.

The Fresh Abundance store has shorter hours on Monday and will be open from 7am-5pm. We will not be home delivering on Monday. Monday deliveries will happen on Tuesday, and Tuesday through Friday deliveries are on the usual schedule.

Green Smoothie class on Tuesday September 8th at 6 PM
There is a Green Smoothie class on Tuesday September 8th at 6 PM. Fee to attend is $10 or $15 at the door.

Community Roots Market is every Sunday 11-4

Farm School's 13 Acres
The biggest news this week is that we have found 13 acres for the Farm School to move to, more on that next week.

Happy Labor Day!
Brightspirit