Fall/Winter 2010 vol. 3

Imagining change withcreativity and compassion

CONFERRE

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Letters from the editors

This issue’s focus on food makes me think of the word “disconnect”-- where food is so central to our life and health, yet it isn’t always ac-knowledged as such. Two exam-ples: 1) I find myself cutting food preparation time-- often to the detri-ment of what I’m eating—when I’m short on time and 2) I tend to con-sider my food bill far more “negotia-ble” than other parts of our family’s budget.

In this issue of Conferre maga-zine, we’re learning from people and organizations who are con-nected to their food. This connec-tion brings with it, health—both for individuals and for the soil. In some ways, the disconnect is a problem unique to industrialized nations—we are mindful that thinking about food here in Boston is really differ-ent from thinking about it in many other places around the world. So we highlight these three stories be-cause they represent good steward-ship in our context.

Our next issue will focus on peace- the small things individuals and tiny organizations around the world are doing to foster peace. If you know an organization or individ-ual transforming lives in their neigh-borhood, let us know. We’d love to share their story.

Jo Hunter Adams

Most of my life my thoughts on food was driven by my taste. There were foods I liked (Big Mac) and didn’t like (oatmeal). I thought that was it.

Five years ago I picked up a book called the Abs Diet. It was a how-to on getting a rock hard six pack. That didn’t work out. But surpris-ingly most of the book was about food, why some food was good for my body and how some could harm my body. I selected food based on how good it was for me and soon I quickly lost weight and felt great.

Then I discovered the taste of food from a local farm (Red Fire Farm p.3) through our CSA share two years ago. Carrots were orange, white and purple! I could stir-fry any vegetables we got, and I became a gourmet chef. I learned about kohl-rabi and what to do with kale. I could have healthy AND yummy food.

I’ve met many people like Dan Ar-chibald (p.10) who’ve made choices about their food and life style. Like Dan, it changed not just my diet but where I shop, what I buy and how I want to live. Everyone will have their own taste and choice but I learned there’s more to food than what’s on the supermarket shelf.

Whether you buy a share with a lo-cal CSA, take a trip to Stone Barns (p. 13), or decide to plant some to-matoes, I encourage you to take a journey to re-discover food. For extra credit, check out movies like Food Inc. and books by Joel Salatin.

Eugene Adams

Conferre Fall/Winter 2010Editors: Jo Hunter Adams Eugene AdamsDesigner: Eugene Adams

Special thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue. All work is copyrighted by their respective authors and used with permission and sometimes without permission. This magazine is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States license.

Conferre is a quarterly publication of Conferre.com, a design agency focused on creating message-driven print publications to help non-profits and small organizations communicate compelling social issues. For questions, comments, ideas about the magazine, please contact eugene@conferre.com

Content

Local Food, Community and Sharing 3

Thinking About Food 10

Growing and Teaching Real Food 13

Interview with Sarah Voiland

What is your vision for

Red Fire Farm?

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Local Food, Community and Sharing

I see the farm as a way to connect more people to the impact they have on the

planet, to provide and teach a part of a lifestyle that is more in tune with the

ecosystem we live within. I also love food, and want to share that love with our

community. And I think Community Supported Agriculture brings people together.

We have grown over the past few years with the aim of feeding more people with

local organically-raised food for as much of the year as possible. We are also try-

ing to find a size of business that allows us to retain key managers, pay more of

a living wage, and cover a secure land-base for growing the food. We'd like our

farm to be a model for future farmers, and to teach some of them as they work

with us, because we need need a lot more farms of this kind to make a deeper

impact on the food system.

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One of the most unexpected things we've faced was hearing that some

of our key fields in Granby would be likely sold for development. These

were fields that we'd been trying to buy for a few years, but even with

state APR protection money, couldn't afford. We had an ultimatum to

buy the land at the owners' price or they would sell it off. In order to

continue our business, we had to buy some other land in another town,

and are now getting ready to farm in two locations. That was definitely a

surprise. So far the owners haven't sold the land, because of the hous-

ing market. It made us realize how vulnerable we are because it takes

three years to certify land for organic production, and there's not much

land out there if you're in a sudden bind.

What's been the most

unexpected thing that's

happened while you've

been developing Red

Fire Farm?

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Winter time is a very busy time for farm managers. We imagine out the whole

next year down to exact numbers of seeds and the day we're going to plant the

transplant into the field. We choose all the varieties of what to grow. We search

out weird and fascinating tomato varieties to try for the Tomato Festival heirloom

patch. We fix everything that broke during the year, hopefully. We hire our crew.

Winter is a big time for teaching people about why to join a CSA. We always hope

to sell a large number of our farm shares in the winter time, so that they can help

fund our season, and so we know where we're going to send all the produce

we're growing. It's much more peaceful knowing it's purchased!

With season extension and storage, we are feeding people close to year-round

through farm share and farmers' markets that go through March.

What do you do during

the winter?

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We trial different varieties every year, and watch our

favorite varieties to make sure they are still doing well

in the field, and we taste test everything to make sure

it's good. The winners stay on for the next season.

Many of the things we grow have become "tried-and-

true" after multiple seasons. The farming community

holds various conferences in the winter, so we go and

talk it up, and see what other people have found to

do well, and try that out in the coming year.

Overall, I think we grow about 40 different crops,

and within that probably 400 or so different variet-

ies. We had over 20 kinds of lettuce, 9 varieties of

strawberries, and 147 types of tomatoes last year.

We like to focus on growing lots of people's favorite

crops, and then a mix of less common vegetables like

edamame and okra to keep things interesting.

How do you choose what crops to plant?

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There are many reasons to join a CSA, the core of which

is an appreciation for good food. My first experience

with a CSA farm was as a member, and the difference

in flavor made a big impact in my life. You are getting

very fresh produce, picked the day before. There's a

vibrance that is missing if you go to the supermarket.

Our vegetables are certified organic with care-

ful growing practices. I think growing methods are

a very important aspect to choosing your food

source. Good farmland can be a renewable resource

if farmed carefully. Also buying a share from a lo-

cal farm helps to keep working lands open. We are

careful about our growing practices, and about our

business practices as well. We work to source our

various inputs and things needed on the farm from

local and regional businesses. Getting involved with a

farm local to you is a great way to support and build

the local economy. We need to be producing things

and buying them from each other!

With a farm share, you can get to learn how to cook

seasonally and use new recipes from your farm's

weekly newsletters. We like to have bulk produce

available also so people can get into preserving and

storing for the winter. Many of our shareholders find

that the core of their diet becomes much healthier

and fresher during the farm share season.

Being a part of a CSA builds the community too.

Swap recipes at the pickup, bring your kids or friends

to Pick Your Own on the farm, come to a dinner in the

farm fields and meet the farmers and crew, visit us at

the Tomato Festival and meet a whole bunch of other

local producers who make pickles, honey, salsa,

cheese, and more.

Our farm has vegetable shares, local fruit shares,

pasture-raised egg shares, and flower shares. Other

farms have different options. I definitely encourage

people to find a farm share. It makes a big difference

for us to have CSA members, for the long-term vi-

ability of our farm business. Overall, I think the CSA

model is one of the key ways we can re-localize our

food systems.

www.redfirefarm.com

Click to watch video in your browser

Why should we consider joining a CSA?

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Cooking with Red Fire FarmFrom Red Fire Chef Kristen Schafenacker

Kale 'Chips'

1 lb kale, choppedOlive Oil, salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 400˚.Toss kale with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake, turning every 5 minutes until brown and crispy. Kale should be dry and able to be eaten by hand like chips!

Caramelized leeKs and apples

2-3 medium sized leeks1 T brown sugar or maple syrup1 T olive oilsalt and pepper1½ T butter or margarineRoughly ½ cup honey mustard (optional) 1 hot pepper (optional)2-3 apples

Trim off the root and top edges of the leeks, leaving the middle part intact. Half the middle and chop into 1 inch rounds. Heat the olive oil and butter; when melted add the leeks and toss well. Cook slowly for about 10 minutes or until the leeks start to soften. Add sugar continue to cook for about 15 minutes, adding a small amount of hot water if the mixture starts to stick.

Slice apples into circles and arrange on a plate. Mix mustard with minced hot pepper and spread atop apple. Top with a spoonful of caramelized leeks.

hearty autumn stew

4 cups water1 large carrot1 cup daikon radish1 onion1 cup rutabaga, diced1/2 cup parsley2 cups butternut squash1 strip kombu seaweed 1/2 package tempeh1/2 teaspoon sesame oil2 heaping tablespoons kuzu, in 1/4 cup cool water (this is a thickening substi-tute for corn starch or cream bases, you may substitute the amount of ¼ cup with ½ cup yogurt or 2 T corn starch in ¼ cup water)sea salt to taste

Peel the squash and cut the vegetables in friendly bite-sized shapes. Slice the tem-peh in 1" squares, & saute, covered, in an oiled skillet on medium-low heat, 10 min-utes on each side. Meanwhile, boil the wa-ter, add seaweed, onion, daikon, squash, parsley, rutabaga, and carrot. Simmer 20 minutes, then add sauteed tempeh. Sim-mer 20-25 minutes more. Remove kombu, slice into small squares, and return it to the pot. Season to taste with sea salt.

From Red Fire Chef Kristen Schafenacker, 2007.

For more recipies from Red Fire Farm, visit www.redfirefarm.com/recipes/

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I bake bread. About once a week, if I have my act together--mostly enough to keep us in sandwiches, in any case. Those sandwiches sometimes impress my co-workers, when they notice: marvel for a moment and then say they would love to have home-made bread but they just don't think they could manage it. I'll tell you a secret: it's not very hard. Not much more complicated, in fact, than making brownies from a mix.

by Dan Archibald

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But picking up a loaf of

bread from the store is

even easier. So why do

I bother? And why do

Leah and I prepare so

much of the rest of our

food from scratch, or

make trips to farmers

markets or farm stands

for our produce, or work

in the garden to raise

home-grown vegetable and berries? I can't

say for sure, but I think it's thanks to how

much we love food.

Everyone has to eat, of course (barring the

odd Breatharian), but it's entirely possible

to keep yourself fed without making food a

priority in your life. Our modern system of

food production and distribution is focused

on ease and convenience, and designed to

make sure you can pick up either a ready-

made meal or all the ingredients you need

to put one together any time of day and any

season of the year. While this is lovely when

you're short on time or have a craving for

strawberry shortcake in October, it has the

perverse effect of distancing us from what it

is we're actually eating.

Baking bread, on the other hand, brings me

closer to what I'm eating. For one thing, I

have to set aside 3+ hours of being-home

time to see it through to completion, which

means that the process of bread-making is

on my mind for quite some time. This is true

for any sort of home cooking: if I want to be

able to make dinner I'm going to be thinking

about what I want to make for hours, if not

days, before I even start cooking. All that

pre-preparation mind work makes the food

taste even better when it's finally on the ta-

ble. So does pride in what I've managed to

produce: it's still exciting to be able to put a

dinner together for my family, whether it's a

new recipe or something I've made dozens

of times before. It's something I thought

of, gathered ingredients for, and prepared-

-to me that's infinitely more valuable and

rewarding than heating up a frozen entree.

Once you're taking the trouble to make food

from scratch, a logical next step is to start

thinking about where the ingredients you're

using come from. Unfortunately, much

of what is available at the supermarket is

essentially anonymous. Sure, even veg-

etables and fruits are branded by national

companies who vouch for their quality, but

often there's little or no information about

where--or how--the food was grown. The

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supermarket is the end of the industrial

food machine, and the machine is designed

to produce identical units of produce that

can be sold anywhere in the country. A red

apple, grown in the United States.

An alternative to the supermarket is of

course the farmers market (or farm stand).

More and more popular in recent years,

farmers markets let us get a couple steps

closer to our food's origins, both geographi-

cally and informationally. Farmers markets

appeal to people for different reasons: some

feel that the produce is healthier, others

appreciate the reduction in food miles that

buying directly from farmers entails. Both of

those claims are disputed by advocates

of factory farming, but regardless of

the specific details--and I'm sure

that each claim is true some of the

time and less true in other cases--

for me the appeal lies simply in the

very local-ness of the food you find

there.

Just like cooking creates a connection with

food, so can shopping locally. Unlike at the

supermarket, at the farmers market you can

actually chat with the farmer who planted

the carrot you're chopping, or (maybe

even more important) killed the chicken

you're roasting. You can also talk with other

members of your community in a way you

wouldn't at any other store: if you meet a

neighbor at the supermarket the conversa-

tion will most likely be about anything but

the food in your cart, but at the farmers

market the fresh produce all around, and the

shared experience of countercultural shop-

ping, are powerful conversational draws.

You're also vastly more in touch with the

progression of the seasons at the farmers

market. Sure, it's possible here in Mas-

sachusetts to gauge the progress of the

citrus season in Florida by the quality of the

navel oranges, but noticing slightly sweeter

oranges is nothing compared the joy I ex-

perience when, say, the first local peaches

show up for sale. I try and limit my summer-

There's nothing like snap peas or cherry tomatoes eaten right off the vine, and I'm never prouder than when I'm chopping herbs harvested from just outside the kitchen door.

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time cooking, at least, to what I can find

from local farmers, and I feel that the slight

effort required to keep time with the season

makes what we eat taste all the sweeter-

-above and beyond, of course, the actual

improvement in flavor that comes from eat-

ing truly fresh produce.

Of course, for the very freshest produce you

have to grow your own, and we're working

on that too. There's nothing like snap peas or

cherry tomatoes eaten right off the vine, and

I'm never prouder than when I'm chopping

herbs harvested from just outside the kitchen

door. Not that our garden is anything like

an unmitigated success so far, though. The

hardest part about growing your own food is

that you're pretty much on a year-long cycle,

so a mistake in May--not preparing the soil

sufficiently before putting in the tomatoes--

can't be attempted to be fixed until the next

year's seedlings are ready to go in. When

you forget the salt in the chocolate chip

cookies you can make another batch that

same evening!

Even with all the heartbreak it

brings--unseasonable cold, sear-

ing heat, drought, flood, and

constant competition for the

harvest from animals ranging

from chipmunks to deer--gar-

dening is a singularly rewarding

pastime. Even the most stunt-

ed, neglected tomato plant will

produce a handful of fruits, and

when you eat them--or even better,

cook with them--you'll know that you

brought the evening's meal from seed to

sauce, by the sweat of your brow and without

the input of a single multinational corporation.

I don't know about you, but to me that makes

for some pretty tasty spaghetti!

In the end, I think, it all comes down to

intentionality. Whether or not there is ob-

jective value--for our health, for the envi-

ronment--in any of the specific choices we

make, the very act of cooking for ourselves,

eating locally, and growing produce brings

us closer to the food we eat. And that con-

nection with food means that we don't take

it for granted, we're more likely to enjoy eat-

ing it, and we're less likely to eat too much.

The efforts people make over the Thanks-

giving dinner show how important and valu-

able food can be; if it really is important, we

can make some reasonable fraction of that

effort every day. It isn't hard, and it's super

rewarding.

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“To celebrate, teach and advance community-based food

production and the enjoyment of fresh, nutritious food.”

— Stone Barns Center’s mission

Photos by Annabel Braithwaite for Belethée Photography

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In a culture where so much of our food is processed,

preserved, packaged and shipped cross-country,

Stone Barns Center is getting Americans back in

touch with real food. Just thirty miles from New York

City, the nonprofit food and agricultural center is

uniquely poised to impact food culture. With a mul-

titude of habitats spread over 80 acres, Stone Barns

farms in partnership with nature. The Center’s sheep

and chickens graze on pasture; the pigs root around

and forage in forest and diverse crops are grown side

by side in the vegetable field and the greenhouse. It’s

at once a classroom and a laboratory for sustainable

agriculture.

Farm FactsStone Barns raises laying hens, broiler chickens, turkeys, geese, sheep, pigs and bees on 23 acres of pasture and 40 acres of woodlands.

Stone Barns grows 200 varieties of pro-duce year-round in 6.5 acres of outdoor fields and gardens and a 22,000-sq-ft minimally heated greenhouse.

The farm uses no pesticides, herbicides or chemical additives. The primary amend-ment to the soil is our own nutrient-rich compost.

Stone Barns sells its vegetables, eggs, meat and honey to the public at an onsite farm market three days per week, and to Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Blue Hill in New York City.

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The Center is open to the public from Wednesday through

Sunday year round and welcomes visitors to walk through

the pastures, woodlands and fields. Like many in the farm-to-

table food movement (or local food movement), those at Stone

Barns believe that great food is best experienced firsthand.

That’s why it hosts almost one hundred thousand visitors each

year. If you visit, you’ll have the opportunity to talk to farmers

and get your hands dirty.

A visit to Stone Barns is a transformative experience for chil-

dren, as they learn the sources of their food and how to stew-

ard the land that provides it. Through hands on farm activities

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such as gardening in the greenhouse or collecting eggs

from the hens, children learn where tasty, nutritious food

comes from and the importance of environmental stew-

ardship. This is at the core of Stone Barns’ mission: for

our consumption to change, our children must under-

stand the value of nutritious food grown sustainably, and

the costs of industrial, processed food.

Farmers at Stone Barns are also scientists. By studying

what works best, they’re able to innovate and imagine

truly sustainable agriculture. Apprentice farmers learn on

the job, with the dream of ultimately becoming part of a

new generation of small-scale farmers.

At Stone Barns, change comes by connecting people

back to the land, one at a time.

Check out Stone Barns website to plan a visit!

www.stonebarnscenter.org

Click to watch video in your browser

2011 Spring

Peacemakers

Our next issue will focus on peace—the small

things individuals and tiny organizations around

the world are doing to foster peace. If you know

an organization or individual transforming lives

in their neighborhood, let us know. We’d love to

share their story.