The Weblog
Athens Locally Grown has closed.
Availability for February 17
This post expired on February 14, 2014.
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
I think it’s fairly common knowledge that Athens has high poverty numbers. Our town has pockets of affluence, but you don’t have to look hard to find more than just pockets of the other extreme. I didn’t realize just how bad things had gotten for us, though, until I saw the latest US Census numbers this week. The bureau published the poverty rates of all of the urban counties in the United States (that is, counties with populations greater than 100,000) and there at the very top of the list, over a full percentage point greater than number two, was Athens-Clarke County. That’s right, we have a higher poverty rate than any other city in the entire country, and by a sizable margin. Over a third of ACC residents live below the poverty line.
One thing I hear repeatedly as I try to help rebuild our local food system is that local food is only for the elite, that it’s too expensive for the regular household. And when you’re forced by economic realities to compare the price tags written by our local sustainable growers to those price tags at Wal-Mart and similar places, there’s an undeniable difference. It’s pretty easy to show that the local prices reflect the true cost of producing the food, that the quality is generally higher, that the food lasts longer and is more nutritious, and that the “cheap” food is made that way via government subsidies to industrial farms and petroleum companies and by large numbers of people working for terrible pay (often under constant threat of deportation). But when you only have so much money to spend on food for yourself and your household, pretty quickly none of those things are all that important.
One organization has tried to bridge that gap by offering to match dollar for dollar SNAP (“food stamp”) expenditures at farmers markets. That is, if a SNAP recipient spends ten dollars of their benefits at the market, the program gives them an additional ten dollars to spend. The program is Wholesome Wave, and they are doing really good work. There is a chapter in Georgia, funding the program for Georgian farmers markets. The Athens FArmers Market started accepting SNAP payments this past year, and received the Wholesome Wave match, and the response was so overwhelming that the Athens market almost singlehandedly depleted the fund. We at Athens Locally Grown also recently received approval to accept SNAP payments, but it looks unlikely that we’ll be able to participate in Wholesome Wave, at least not until they are able to get additional funding. If you’re in a position to give, or belong to a business or organization that is looking for non-profits to donate to, please consider supporting Wholesome Wave. Every dollar spent on local food is a dollar that contributes to our local economy. Every Wholesome Wave dollar spent at a partner farmers market contributes two dollars to the local economy. What’s more, money spent on local, whole food, doesn’t have the hidden health or environmental costs of subsidized, processed food-like products you find at the big box stores. And all of those help fight the problems that have led to us having the absolute highest poverty rate in the land.
 |
 |
 |
In other news, Doug’s Wild Salmon is back this week. He had originally thought he’d be offering the fish (that he and his family caught themselves) once a month, but the response has been so good that they’ve stepped up to an every other week schedule. Doug told me last time that this is the first year they’ve tried bringing fish home with them to sell directly to their neighbors. In years past, they’d sell everything they caught to wholesalers up in Alaska, but they’ve decided to try to do things in a more sustainable and direct fashion. It’s the same line of thought that led Russell Johnston to stop selling all of his milk to wholesales, to slow down a bit and concentrate of quality not quantity, and sell the milk directly to all of us. And, in a much more extreme example, it’s what led Tim and Liz Young to move away from the golf course community in suburban Atlanta to become full time farmers (even though they had no experience at all) in Elberton. Last fall, Tim wrote a book about their journey, and it was published this week. You’ll find it in our Books section, called “The Accidental Farmers”. Every one of our growers has a story, and are doing what they are because they enjoy producing food, yes, but also because they see the holes in our industrial food system and are trying to fix what they can they way they know how. And our whole community benefits from that.
I read today that there’s a food price shock coming in the next few weeks. The freeze that hit Dallas, Texas made the news here because of the Super Bowl, but what didn’t get reported much was that the freeze extended way down into central Mexico. Many areas had never had a recorded freeze ever before, and were totally unprepared. And, it turns out, almost all of the fresh produce in the United States stores and restaurants this time of year comes from there. They’re still assessing the damage, but estimates range from 90% to 100% loss of pretty much everything grown. The shortage ought to only last six weeks or so, since they got right back to planting, but it may be the most severe veggie shortage we’ve experienced. You might remember a few years ago when a freeze in Florida disrupted tomatoes for a few weeks, but it looks like this was a loss of pretty much everything. All the more reason to start a garden, build some high tunnels, and start growing what we eat here and now.
You want to learn how? The annual Georgia Organics Conference is being held next month in Savannah on March 11th & 12th. The GO conference is much more of a “fun” conference, but just as educational as some of the other farming conferences. GO has not just sessions for growers, but also for “eaters” (for lack of a better term), educators, chefs, and everyone else from field to plate. And, unlike a convention of, say, vacuum cleaner salesmen who might descend upon a town and then leave, the GO conference is all about the community that is hosting it. Savannah growers are hosting tours at their farms and speaking at the sessions, Savannah chefs are cooking the meals using ingredients from their local farms, their community organizers are bringing attention to their local food projects, and so on. And the keynote dinner every year ranks up there with the best meals I’ve ever had. Not just at a conference, but anywhere. And this year, Vandana Shiva is giving the keynote address, which is just extra rich icing on the cake. Registration is open, so get your tickets now!
Thanks so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Recipes
Don’t forget! You’ll find this and other recipes on our new recipe section of the website. We’d love to have you add to the collection with your favorites. Surely you cook with what you buy through ALG. Show us what you do with it all, so we can try it too!
Swiss Chard Stem Gratin
Most green leafy vegetable stems are just as delicious as the leaves and can be included in any dish you are making. Depending on the recipe, you may have to give the stems a few minutes head start in boiling water. Or, you can just save them up for variations on this unusual recipe. From Recipes from America’s Small Farms by Joanne Lamb Hayes and Lori Stein.
Serves 4
Swiss chard stems from two large bunches, cut into 2 inch pieces (about 3 cups)
3 shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and freshly milled black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a small casserole. In a large skillet, saute the Swiss chard stems, shallots, and garlic in the oil over medium-high heat for about two minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and the nutmeg; cook until the vegetables are tender, about another 4 minutes.
Transfer the vegetables to the buttered casserole. Drizzle with the cream. Combine the bread crumbs and cheese and sprinkle over the top. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the crumb mixture begins to brown. Serve immediately.
We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!