Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Opening Day is 2 Months Away! Read about a good reason to join or donate!

Opening day is less then two months away! If you have already joined for the season, thank you! The farmers both need and deeply appreciate your support. 

Well, if you needed another reason to join here you go… I recently listened to an interview with Dr. Zach Bush on “How Soil Health is Reflected in Your Gut” on the goop Podcast and am reading the book “Formally Known as Food” by Kristen Lawless.  Both Lawless and Bush talk about how industrial, chemical farming has led to depletion of nutrients in the soil with the use of Round Up. This horrible chemical ends up in the food we eat, the air we breath and water we drink. The most alarming fact is it RoundUp is changing the microbiome in our bodies, the collective genomes of the microbes composed of bacteria, bacteriophage, fungi, protozoa and viruses that live inside our gut, and on the skin of our bodies. We each individually,  and collectively, are dependent on these flora and fauna to help digest our food, produce certain vitamins, regulate our immune system, and keep us healthy by protecting us against disease-causing bacteria.  

Today 46% of children have some kind of chronic health condition - diabetes, hypoglycemia, high cholesterol, even eczema.  The increase of these conditions can be traced to the increased use of Round Up in our food system in the 1990s and its use on our lawns, driveways and vegetable gardens.  As Lawless states, “(our) reliant on these industrial foods, our bodies are literally changing from the inside out.”  Lawless points out that organic foods are better but with the increase of industrial organic farms with mono-crops, there is still a depletion of nutritions in the soil. 

But both stress that we can do something about it!  You should know your farmer and their growing practices, purchase produce from small farms that practice crop rotation and prepare your own food.  And stay away from process foods that even if they are organic, are still processed and not good for you.

So with that said, why have you not joined Farm & Fork Society?

Being a member of Farm & Fork Society you benefit from seasonal produce, literally farm-to-table, coming directly from the farmer. We work with small local farms to bring fresh organic produce to the community on a weekly basis from June through November. All produce comes from small local farmers that pursue practices that are environmentally sustainable. Produce is either certified organic, organic stewardship, eco-farmed or sustainably grown. Animals products are raised without antibiotics and hormones and the farmers can trace back all the materials they use in their farming. 

And just in case you did not see, we now have two locations -- Downtown Millburn and the new location in the Valley Arts District in Orange at Garden State Kitchen with evening pick up hours. 

I chose this location because consumers in Orange have been in a mini-food desert for decades. By bringing fresh, seasonal, sustainably grown produce to this community, we can further Farm & Fork Society's mission to bridge the gap between farmers and eaters. The Valley Arts District in Orange, NJ is a growing and thriving community that has welcomed Farm & Fork Society with open arms.

What I initially started as a community supported agriculture group in 2008 has grown into a food cooperative focused on both providing the community fresh, seasonal, and local produce as well as educating them on environmental and food issues, teaching members how to cook healthy and seasonally and facilitating the bonding over food.

If you cannot join us this season, we are once again raising money to purchase produce for our local food pantries to pick up each week during the growing season. Click on the donate button below.  

Eat Well,

Melissa


Help Us Provide Fresh Produce 
For Our Local Food Pantries