Local Harvest: Finding Natural and Organic Food Near You

Local Harvest is an incredible concept and an excellent resource for locating natural foods nearby. It is similar to the website Eat Wild, but seems to have a more extensive listing of local farms and also features a Local Harvest blog, Local Harvest Newsletter, information on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a web forum and more.

The Local Harvest slogan is "real food, real farmers, real community," all three aspects of which are dear to my own heart. I want to feed my family real food, the way God intended it, not the way some Big Ag company decided to make the most money off of it. I want to support real farmers when I can't produce the food myself (currently, that's 100% of the time). And in supporting real farmers, I want to be better connected to my community.

I put in my zip code on Local Harvest and found two farm listings of people I already know, several farms I'd heard of or done business with, and plenty more I'd like to explore. The chickens at Beatrix Farm (photo on right) are happy and healthy in their grass pasture. What's available in your Local Harvest?

Staying Healthy with Raw Milk

It's almost December, and thankfully, none of the five of us -- two adults and three children under age 5 -- has even had a cold yet.

The secret is the raw, organic milk.

Kevin has a bit of a runny nose, but he gets that when he's teething. Otherwise, we are blessed with robust health that I do not take for granted.

We drink six gallons of raw milk each week. If money were no object, we'd consume eight or nine... maybe make yogurt out of some of it, but probably drink it before I would have the chance, if I know my family.

Megan likes to flex her little arms and say "I'm SOOOO strong! 'Cause I drink raw milk!" The funniest part is that she is naturally very petite, so to hear her say that she is getting "So HUGE!" from consuming the delicious superfood makes me smile. I don't disapoint her, however, as I reply that she is so big, she's going to be taller than Mama soon.

Minimally Processed Meals? Local Food Sources? What a Concept!

By Maria August 2nd, 2007
I noticed this online article while checking my email the other day:Faux Food: Is It Still Cheese? A decent article in the mainstream media … people are catching on. While it lacks depth, it does present a springboard for the average consumer. I doubt it would in any way enlighten Nourished magazine’s readers, but it could be a good link to share with those who still eat processed grocery store foods. Unfortunately, the article still considers juice an OK beverage, even though it is empty calories–basically zil nutrition.
On the positive side, they give some very basic, good advice:~ Look for foods around the perimeter of the supermarket: fresh and frozen produce, fish, meats, dairy products.~ Avoid foods with “partially hydrogenated oil”
Linked from this article was one on Sources for Local Food — buying directly from farmers — how exciting to see this concept making inroads in the general population! The article suggests visiting local farms and farmer’s market, a concept that may be new to many mainstream readers.
Later today, I will be taking the children down to the orchard a few miles outside our town for an afternoon of peach-picking. This tradition is always part of our summer and they look forward to the ripe, juicy fruit. It’s wonderful for them to see the fruit come from its natural enticing environment and not the austere grocery shelves. We will talk with the family that has run the farm for the last 100 years and connect with our food producers directly. If only all of our food came to us this way.