News from the Farm

by Laura Frerichs, Tastemaker in Residence

Happy 4th of July weekend to everyone! Check out two of our favorite salad recipes from the farm. Greek Salad - Grilled Sweet Potato & Napa Cabbage Salad

Most winters we attend the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, WI. Thousands of people gather to learn together and from each other. We had an amazing keynote speaker this year, Leah Penniman from Soul Fire Farm in NY and author of the inspiring book Farming While Black. You can watch Leah’s keynote HERE on YouTube where she shares her insights on uprooting racism in agriculture and how some of our most cherished farming practices, including CSA farming, have roots in African wisdom. From Leah’s keynote and book, we learned that Booker T. Whatley, a Black Ag Progressor at Tuskeegee University in the 1960’s Alabama, began advocating for Clientele Membership Clubs where small farms sell memberships directly to their customers. Indeed, he said it would be the success of the small farm to sell memberships and “shun the middleman like the plague”. It certainly rings true to us as a small farm that relies on this model of selling for our livelihood.
 
As we learn and think more deeply about the role of racism in our society and in our food system, Leah and Soul Fire Farm are some of the inspiring leaders we follow and look towards. From their recent newsletter:
“As farmers, every seed we put into the ground we plant with hope – hope that this seed will find the nourishment it needs from the land and from us, the stewards that support this seed along its journey of growth. Just as we seed hope into the ground every season, the global mobilization around ending violence against Black people instills hope in us. This is a time that calls all of us to come together to decompose structural racism and white supremacy to fertilize our soils conducive to life, that we may cultivate a world where all of us can breathe. Let us channel our grief, rage, hope, and magic into meaningful action.”-Love Notes Newsletter, Soul Fire Farm
 
There is no sustainable agriculture, there are no healthy communities without racial justice. Farm ownership, access to land, and credit should be accessible and open to everyone and for too long this has not been the case. We are leaving too many people behind. One local organization working on this is The Land Stewardship Project, of which Laura serves on the board. Check out their site, talk to Laura, or become a member if you are interested in supporting their work. Thanks for reading and learning along with us.