Availability for December 17

Yes, we are open the week of Christmas, so you can more easily put locally grown food on your holiday table. I’ve already sent out a couple notices, but in case you missed them, pickup this week is on Wednesday instead of Thursday, at the usual time (4:30 to 8pm) and at the usual place (Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Broad & Pope Streets).

We have a great selection for you, and also welcome two new producers. The first is Darby Farms near Monroe, with pastured poultry. They’ve listed 100 chickens, processed today, for pickup this week. We also welcome Sylvan Falls Mill in Rabun Gap. They don’t grow their grains, but they do source only organically grown grains from local farmers in the mountain valleys of the tri-state area of North Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

I’m especially happy about the products coming from these growers, because locally grown grains are one of the last missing pieces in a complete locavore diet. We’ve got a huge range of veggies, and ever-expanding array of fruit, the full gamut of meat (except rabbit), lots of dairy, but very little grains. Mills Farm, one of the founding members of Athens Locally Grown, offers a few products milled with the power of their mule Luke, but they’re not able to grow what they mill either. Sylvan Falls Mill is an important part of the process, by encouraging growers they know to grow more grains organically and providing a value-added product that creates an even stronger demand for the grain. I hope that in addition to milled products from Mills Farm and Sylvan Falls Mill, in the coming year we’ll also be able to offer whole grains for those of you that like to grind your own or cook with whole grains. I’m very excited about this prospect!

I hope your holidays are good ones! They’re always so busy, but for me the time spent with family and friends makes all the travel, preparations, and other things worth it.

We’ll see you on Wednesday at Ben’s Bike from 4:30 to 8pm. Thank you so much for all your support!