Change

So, it’s been far too long since I’ve updated. If you’re like me, you were really enjoying that brief taste of spring we had last week. Now it’s back to a little bit of winter for another few weeks. The good news is we have only a hop, skip and jump until it really is spring and fresh veggies will be on the way again. I was thinking today how funny the seasons are, always changing and bringing new things. The same can be said for people too.

If you don’t know the face behind the LFFC blog, I’m Evan, and I began managing the Community Supported Agriculture program around Labor day of 2010.  I took this job, hoping to stop the change I saw in the rural community I grew up in in Chester County, PA. Since I graduted high school in 2003, I’ve seen at least 50% of the farmland in our little town disappear. In it’s place are housing developments, Wal-Mart and noise. Fortunately, the farm my family has owned since 1798, and the place I credit with giving me so many wonderful foundations for living a happy life survives. Until I started working at LFFC, I always had a slightly negative view of change. Change meant growing older (and looking it), people moving away, and places I love being altered forever. While these things still trouble me (the looks thing not so much anymore, I promise!), I’ve come to appreciate the positive aspects of change in these last few months. The most important change happening within myself.

Although I grew up on a farm and within a rural community, I still led a life disconnected to my food like so many others. I always knew how special farming is, to the livelihoods of everyday people, and because my farm connected me to the family members who sacrified to achieve the American dream, and make a better future for me and my four siblings. Ask any small farmer what farming means to them and I’ll bet 95% will tell you it means family. That’s the answer  I always receive when I interview LFFC farmers for our newsletters.

You might be thinking why I’d possibly feel disconnected to food if I grew up on a farm. Unfortunately, my family isn’t in the produce business, and I don’t think my parents thought much about local produce. Because of this, I will admit, I didn’t really think about or care where my food was coming from.  So like many of you who are/were new to CSA, I didn’t know what the heck a romanesco cauliflower or cherokee tomato was until I was 25 years old and decided to try my hand at growing food. Previous to this, I’d learned a lot about organic and sustainable agriculture through college classes, and the information opened my eyes and started me thinking about what I really wanted to do with my life.

Fast forward 2 years, and I’m back from college in my hometown. Around this time I’d been doing some outreach work for a local ag group and I’d been pretty committed to bringing local produce back to our area. I thought who better to do this than me? Someone who happens to have a farm! So last summer I sold my first years harvest at our new local farmers’ market. The discovery of new vegetables, and getting to watch the plants grow from seed to fruit was pretty awesome. I can’t say it’s exactly like what I’d imagine seeing a child born is like, but it had a similar effect (I think). I found myself the proud new mother of 100 heirloom tomato plants, 1/4 acre of red leaf lettuce, 6 rows of english peas, 2 rows of Seneca Red Indian Corn, 50′ of rhubarb, and tons of asparagus plants that will be ready for enjoyment in the next year or two. My customers at the farmers’ market were proud of my children too, as they faithfully reported each week how much they enjoyed trying my black krim and green zebra tomatoes and how my read leaf lettuce was their absolute favorite, EVER.

I was happy to discover this same experience when I came to LFFC. I heard from so many shareholders who wanted me to tell our farmers how much they enjoyed a particular item. I recognized the happiness the farmers felt when I delivered the positive messages. I also heard from others how sad they were that they didn’t know about all the diverse kinds of food that were out there before. Others said how special it was to be able to share such a precious experience with their children, who were now drawing pictures of the vegetables that showed up on the kitchen counter each week. You can’t get the produce grown with love by LFFC farmers at the grocery store. If you haven’t signed up for a 2011 LFFC CSA share, I’d encourage you to give us a try this year. Not only will you eat healthier, but you will be part a community movement that supports our neighbors and strengthens families.

CSA changes people. I’m proof.

Until next time!

Evan Elizabeth Miller – Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative

Advertisement