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

There was a blessed break in all the rain, long enough for the ground to mostly dry out (or at least not make squishing noises when walked upon). I took advantage of the break to do a little gardening of my own. My plan had been to do a little container garden on the back of my little patio, which is an easy way to grow a surprisingly large amount of veggies when you don’t have any land to grow in. However, I discovered a little treasure in my neighborhood — a community garden built in 2011 by volunteers with the Athens Land Trust. The garden had fallen into disuse for some reason, but I decided to take it under my wing and bring it back. I didn’t have a garden at all last year, a year of upheaval for me, so it felt really good to get back into the dirt again.

There are a number of community gardens around town, though I suspect more than just mine have fallen into disuse. Like any project that runs on volunteers, the amount of gardening getting done will ebb and flow with the hands available. If you’d like to get involved in bringing and maintaining public gardens for Athens communities, I’m sure the Athens Land Trust and the Community Garden Network would love to hear from you. They have a website where you can find out more: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/community-agriculture/community-garden-network. They have descriptions and other information about some of their current active gardens. I’ll have to let them know that they can add one more resurrected garden back to that list.

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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. The other area markets are all still closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any markets operating, please let me know.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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

There’s not much I can say about all this rain. It’s good to get it in the water table, but it’s just been wet for so long now, I nearly forget what solid ground feels like. It’s really hard on the growers and gardeners, too, who are working hard to get summer plants in the ground right now. Our clay soil works against us here. A bit of clay in nice, rich soil is a good thing, as it holds moisture when things get dry. However, if there’s too much clay (and we’re famous for our red clay) and the ground is wet, then trying to till or otherwise prepare beds for planting works the clay exactly like a potter or brickmaker. Then, when things do dry out again, that clay layer gets super hard and can keep anything from passing through — roots, worms, sprouting seeds stuck underneath. It’s a real problem, and it’s easy to get caught between gardens that are too wet and not enough time remaining to get all the work done, especially if you’re a home gardener who can only get a few hours here and there to get things in.

It does look like we’ll have a few dry days again this week, maybe, before the rains come back in time for the weekend. I’m hoping to have my rice paddies ready by then. I’ve got my hands on some Carolina Gold rice, and I think this’ll be the perfect year to plant it.

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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. The other area markets are all still closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any markets operating, please let me know.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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

This was a beautiful weekend, perfect for working out in the garden. I’ve not even started on mine, but it’s really never too late to put something in the ground, and it’s prime planting season now. I was one of the founding farms of Athens Locally Grown, back in 2002, but these days I’m living back in the city of Athens again, and haven’t established gardens here. Weather like this, though, makes me want to throw seeds in every bit of dirt I can find, wherever I find it.

If you’ve been preparing your garden, or just thinking about starting one, be sure to check out all of the live plants offered by our growers through the market. Sure, you could run off to Home Depot and buy some mass-produced seedlings soaked in synthetic fertilizers and sprayed with fumigants, but you can also get hardy seedlings grown by the same people cultivating plants for their own vegetable beds, free of synthetic chemicals.

The average last frost date for Athens falls this week, but you never know when a weird cold front will blow through, wreaking havoc on the little plants. If you’ve put out summer plants like tomatoes, peppers, squash, and eggplants, keep an eye out on the forecast for the next week or two, just in case you need protect them. The average last frost date for some of our growers won’t come for another month, further up in the mountains, but that just means more variety for our market.

Why am I encouraging you to grow your own food when I’m in the business of helping growers sell you food they grow? For one, studies have shown (and my own experience confirms) that people who grow their own gardens tend to actually increase their yearly purchases at their local farmers markets. Once they take an interest their food so strong that their begin growing what they can, they find that they can rely even more on their local growers for things that they used to get at the grocery store. And besides, my goal is for every community to become less reliant on food grown elsewhere and shipped in from long distances. And you having your own little patch of garden in your yard is a big step in helping Athens do just that.

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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. The other area markets are all still closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any markets operating, please let me know.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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 had a great time Saturday out at Grove Creek Farm for the annual old-timey seed swap. Thank you to Danni at Grove Creek for hosting it each year, and for inviting all the artisans, growers, craftsmen, and others out to her farm. The weather was beautiful, and the potluck lunch was really nice, too. I’m already looking forward to next year.

That event has always been the kickoff for the summer growing season for me, where I finalize what I’m going to put in the ground, pick up some unusual heirloom tomato plants, find some new melons to grow, and so on. The spring growing season started several months ago, so that makes now one of the busiest times of the year for our growers. Not only are they keeping up with all of their cool weather crops, harvesting and weeding and planting more, but they’re also having to start their warm winter gardens and get them going, too. And on top of all that, those markets that didn’t go year-round are starting to open up, so the farmers have to spend time off the farm selling what they grow. There’s not much free time for them right now, and not really much time for sleep, either. If you’re making the rounds at one of the Saturday markets, it might not be a bad idea to ask your favorite farmers if they need a cup of coffee.

Thank you 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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The other area markets are all still closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any markets operating, please let me know.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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 between all the pollen and the temperatures fluctuating wildly every day, my immune system got distracted enough to finally let in the cold bug that’s been after me for months now. I just about fell asleep without opening market for you, so I’ll be brief.

The other area farmers markets are beginning to open up from their winter slumber. I’ve been told the Comer market is now open on Saturday mornings, and the Athens Farmers Market will be opening this coming Saturday at Bishop Park and then the following Wednesday at Creature Comforts downtown. All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

Thank you 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!

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!

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

We officially entered Spring this week, and had a few gorgeous days to prove it. I hear that there’s cold weather on the way, though, to give us a reminder of what we’re leaving behind. Our average last frost day isn’t for another few weeks yet, so we’re bound to get some nights below freezing before we really warm up for good. It keeps the growers on their toes, as even the tender cool weather crop seedlings don’t like freezes, and they’ve all got the summer plants started (under protection) too. One cold night and a unpatched hole in a hoophouse can put an end to an entire season of tomatoes, and that makes even a seasoned grower a little nervous.

I did get notice of several spring farm tours happening. Darby Farms in Monroe, one of our pastured meat producers, has four tours and field days lined up between now and June. You can find information about all four of them at his website here: https://www.darbyfarmsga.com/farm-tours.html. Also, Broad River Pastures in Elberton, another of our meat producers, has an educational day, with tour, scheduled for the afternoon of April 18th. I don’t see specific information about the tour on their website, but you can read about the farm and contact Cathy for more information here: http://www.broadriverpastures.com/contact-us/.

I expect more farms will be hosting tours and work days as the weather warms up, and I’ll let you know about them all as I hear details. And if you missed hearing about the Old Timey Seed Swap out at Grove Creek Farm on the 4th when I wrote about it a couple weeks ago, you can see that over our market’s blog, here: http://athens.locallygrown.net/weblog/view/25971.

Thank you 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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any winter markets operating, please let me know. And they might all be closed, but we’ll be here all year round!

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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

As the weather starts warming up and the ground starts drying out, our growers are getting even busier than they’ve been preparing for another (hopefully) great growing season. As part of that planning, they’re trying to figure out how they’re going to keep from losing money this year. Some will expand their operations to grow a little more, some will diversify their crops, some will focus their crops more on just a few big sellers, some will seek out new markets or add CSAs or other strategies, some will scale back, and some will add new revenue streams, such as agri-tourism.

One of our growers just got some recognition for her efforts to bring people out to her farm for events and other activities. Pilar Quintero, of Rancho Allegra, had a nice article written about her and her farm, which you can find online here. Many of you have been agri-tourists yourselves, when you’ve gone to Washington Farms to pick strawberries and ride in the wagons, or to the Athens Corn Maze, or to cut your own Christmas tree. Many of our growers hold tours, special events, and other activities to bring you out to their farm where you can see firsthand how things are grown, what goes into bringing food to your table, and meet those who work so hard so we can eat well. As I hear of these events, I’ll be sure to mention them here, and I encourage all of you to take advantage of some of them to get out and see more of our local food system and to support our growers in yet another way.

Oh, and most of our growers will be employing many of those strategies I listed all at once to try and keep their farms going. It’s a hard business, in many many ways.

Thank you 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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any winter markets operating, please let me know. And they might all be closed, but we’ll be here all year round!

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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

One of my favorite local yearly events is coming up in a few weeks, the Old-Timey Seed Swap hosted by Grove Creek Farm out in Crawford. They sent me an email about it a few days ago, and I’m just going to repeat it here verbatim:

“18th Annual Old-Timey Seed Swap: Join us for a casual potluck gathering and seed swap April 4th 2015 from 1pm-6pm. With spring around the corner, we’re excited to share our plans for the 18th Annual Old Timey Seed Swap! Originally organized by the UGA Anthropology Department and Professor Dr. Bob Rhoades in 1998, this is a celebration of heirloom seeds, local food sources, traditional agriculture, and good conversation as folks share stories and swap seeds. Why swap seeds? There are hundreds of varieties of heirloom seeds throughout the South with fascinating histories linked to families through generations of seed saving. Since the 1900’s however, thousands of varieties of heirloom vegetables, flowers and fruit have disappeared. Once lost, these varieties can never be recovered —their important genes and a piece of American history are lost forever. Swapping seeds helps preserve the varieties that remain so they can be used for agriculture for years to come- help save them!”

“Bring your heirloom seeds to swap, your questions or your gardening stories and knowledge, picnic blanket or chairs, musical instruments, or even a potluck dish to: Grove Creek Farm 10 Legacy Rd. Crawford, GA 30630. Potluck will be at 2pm this year. You don’t have to have seeds to swap- just come to learn how you can help. For updates please visit us on Facebook or www.grovecreekfarm.org. See you in April! NO DOGS PLEASE. Contact us for more information at grovecreekfarm@gmail.com”

I love this event, and try to go every year. Not only is it an opportunity to get a few seeds that I just can’t get anywhere else, but I get to see Grove Creek’s beautiful farm, share food with like-minded people, have great conversations, and just enjoy spending some time outside. I’m looking forward to doing it all again this year.

Thank you 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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any winter markets operating, please let me know. And they might all be closed, but we’ll be here all year round!

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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

There are several events coming up to tell you about. The first is the regular ACC Commission meeting, this Tuesday at 7pm. As most of you know, it has been illegal to have backyard chickens (even a single hen) within the city limits. A recent citation on a resident went to court, and it was decided that the current prohibition had a number of legal problems. The Commission seems to be on the verge of agreeing that ACC should allow backyard chickens (and other small-scale backyard food production), and the meeting on Tuesday is when they could take that step. An ordinance is on the agenda to get approved that does not have the language that approves chickens, and so the commission could reject that new ordinance and direct the department that wrote it to include the language and re-send it to the commission. A strong showing from Athenians would help that happen, and so you are encouraged to attend the meeting, to speak briefly (if you feel so inclined), or even to just email the commission to let them know you’re in support of small-scale food production in our town.

Second, TEDxManhattan is holding a one-day conference Saturday called “Changing the Way We Eat” where a diverse group of speakers will be talking about issues in the sustainable food and farming movement. While it would be nice to be there in person, Cine and Daily Groceries have teamed up to stream the entire event at Cine, for free. The events begins at 1pm on Saturday, and you can learn all about it here.

Finally, the Southeastern Sustainable Livestock Conference is coming to The Gwinnett Center (6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth) on 3/28/15 9:00am – 9:00pm. The aim of the conference is to bring together farmers, chefs, and consumers with a mission to promote sustainably produced meat through education, sharing resources, and networking. The day will comprise of seminars and panel discussions, lunch and dinner will be provided with a cash bar & bluegrass band in the evening, and coffee and pastries will be served at registration. The morning keynote speaker is Mary Berry (Executive Director of the Berry Center, KY), & evening keynote speaker is Temple Grandin Prof. of Animal Science at Colorado State University. There is a preview of the agenda on the website (www.southeasternsustainablelivestock.org) and tickets can be purchased at the website also. An additional option tour White Oak Pastures 3/27/15 is available – a coach will be provided from the Gwinnett Center departing at 7:30am. Contact gillian@southeasternsustainablelivestock.org or call 770-634-0175 for more information.

Thank you 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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any winter markets operating, please let me know. And they might all be closed, but we’ll be here all year round!

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!

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

This last week was a great one for local food in Athens. Everything that we have build together over the last 20 years was on full display for people around the country in town for the annual Georgia Organics conference. Friday saw tour busses fan out from the Classic Center to visit farms, community gardens, markets, food businesses, research plots, and more. Intensive workshops were held at sites about town teaching others how our treasures were created and how they could go back home and build on our experience. Hugh Acheson, originally just the founding chef of Athens’ 5 & 10 but now a nationally known celebrity chef, gave an impassioned keynote address Friday night about his vision for re-inventing Home Ec in our schools and his new non-profit to get that vision in practice (led up by former ALG volunteer Almeta Tulloss). Saturday saw dozens of instructional sessions taught by nationally known experts (many of the Athenians). And the topper was the renowned Farmers Feast, always one of the best meals I have all year.

All through the weekend I heard from people who were new to Athens marveling at all our community has done to build a local food system, and also from those who have been here many times marveling at how much more we’ve done since the last time they visited. It’s easy to get lost in the routine of daily life, such as ordering carrots from a favorite local farmer and picking them up a few days later, and forgetting that what we have available here, while far from perfect, is still the envy of so many other communities. We should be proud of what we have available here, even while working to make it better (by pushing for a backyard chicken ordinance, and trying to grow local grains, and starting and supporting local food businesses, and introducing your neighbors to the joy of really fresh lettuce).

Two awards were given out during the farmers feast. University of Georgia Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator Julia Gaskin was awarded the 2015 Land Steward Award for her work as a soil scientist and champion of sustainable agriculture in the halls of academia and in fields across Georgia. “Julia has been the college’s strongest supporter of sustainable agriculture,” said Dr. Scott Angle, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Because of her efforts, the college has made great strides in recognizing that agriculture comes in all shapes and sizes. We are a much different college compared to 20 years ago thanks to the efforts of Julia Gaskin.” It’s a common trope across the country that the state ag department, and especially the outreach teams from the ag colleges, are working against organic foods and for the corporations behind much of industrial agriculture. You hear that sometimes in Georgia, too, but thanks to Julia the extension agents across our state are well versed in organic growing practices and fully supporting of new growers staring farms and conventional farmers wanting to convert to organic. She is truly a local hero for sustainable agriculture, and her award is so well deserved.

The Barbara Petit Pollinator Award, given to someone, not necessarily a farmer, who has made a difference in promoting sustainable agriculture and local foods, was given to me for Athens Locally Grown and all of the locallygrown.net markets across the country. It is a huge honor, one that inspires me to work harder on making the system accessible to all. Athens Locally Grown wouldn’t exist without all of the growers big and small who work through all kinds of taxing conditions to make food available to us, all the volunteers that help get food from the farmer to you during our market days, and to all of you who buy the food our growers are offering. Even ordering one dozen eggs makes a difference, and is one dozen less that has to be laid by chickens in cages somewhere and shipped here. Thank you all for helping make my crazy idea come to life in such a spectacularly successful fashion! Over five hundred other communities have begun markets based on ours here, and its a testament to all of you.

Thank you 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!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any winter markets operating, please let me know. And they might all be closed, but we’ll be here all year round!

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

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!