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Backyard Farming: More Local Than a CSA

A Backyard Farm is a local Twin Cities business whose goal is to help people in Minneapolis and St. Paul grow farms in their yards. The website offers a host of services, ranging from consulting homeowners on what to plant (and where to plant it, how to care for it, etc.) to the most full service option, which includes not only planting and growing organic vegetables, but even picking them and delivering them from your backyard farm to your front door.

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Alice Waters on 60 Minutes and NYTimes.com

Alice Waters of Chez Panisse was featured on 60 Minutes this week. Not just for "the Prius driving, latte-sipping upper crust," Alice Waters feels that good, local food should be for everyone. Good food is not a privilege, Waters says, it's a right. "The way that we're eating," she says, "is making us sick...

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Tour de Farm: Great Chefs on Location at MN Farms

tour-de-farm-farmThanks to Hidden Stream Farm's mailing letter, I just got wind of Tour de Farm, which is the new way I'm thinking of organizing my summer.

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Cloud Cult: Indie Rockers and Organic Farmers

Minneapolis' Cloud Cult, whose most recent album Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) tore up the CMJ charts, is a band on a mission. The band, formed in 1995, features a cellist, violinists, and two painters, all of whom perform live.

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Buying Irish for St. Patrick's Day

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, a post about buying food that's local to Ireland. Found a great post from the Value Ireland website, quoting Irish Minister for State Tony Killeen. Here's a quote from Value Ireland:

“I would ask consumers to purchase local this year in solidarity with domestic producers who like everyone else have felt the effects of the economic recession,” stated the Minister of State.

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Choosing a CSA

CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) provide opportunities for people to eat locally, the get the kinds of foods you would normally find at local farmers markets, and to take part in the agricultural process. Most CSAs require some sort of ongoing commitment, such as a monthly fee in exchange for a weekly box of locally grown vegetables. Depending on where you live, the weekly box may include a wide assortment of mostly-root vegetables (kale, cabbage, squash, turnips in Minnesota, for example) or of anything else grown on a particular farm, in a particular climate. Many CSAs encourage their members to work at the farm for a day or more, to better understand the farming process and to get closer to local, sustainable food. Some require it. When I tell friends that I recently joined the Harmony Valley Farm CSA, they often start asking questions. Why did I join it? Am I concerned about the cost?

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Star Tribune Features Local Food

strinThe Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune recently ran a story about how more people are eating local food and joining CSAs. It's a good article that speaks to increased awareness on the part of Twin Cities eaters. This year, there are more than 40 CSAs serving the Twin Cities (30% more than last year), and the folks at Health Partners are embarking on a study to see if local, sustainable foods might reduce health care costs down the line. Here's a quote from the article:

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Alice Waters and the American Academy in Rome

american-academyGreat article from the NY Times about how renowned chef Alice Waters (founder of Chez Panisse and local food advocate) is improving the food at the American Academy in Rome by incorporating - what else? - local, regional, sustainable choices.

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