Fresh Pick Box from Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks

A week into 2010 are you still undecided on your resolution to start the next year? Why not take a step towards the greener side of life and order this week’s groceries from a CSA(community supported agriculture) program. It may be winter and, unless you live in a warm weather climate, finding produce seems a bit out there. Don’t fret though, in warmer cities you can find CSA’s offering limited boxes this time of year and in chilly areas their are produce deliveries that source local and organic goods.

The traditional CSA involves purchasing a share in a farm in the form of a subscription, which can range from a month of weekly deliveries to a year’s worth of goods. By paying the farmers in advance, the purchaser helps offset the overhead costs of farming and develops a personal relationship with the food they are eating, becoming exposed to fresh, local goods and possibly new items. Many CSAs offer their subscribers the option of visiting the farms directly, door-to-door delivery or convenient pick-up locations, and an assorted variety of produce which can include everything from meat to eggs to fresh flowers. By pre-purchasing your produce in advance, you are also locking in your budget for that time period and guaranteeing you’ll be eating food at its peak flavor.

Most traditional CSAs offer subscriptions for the spring, summer and fall, as the winter provides too small a harvest. However, in many cities there are organizations that put together baskets of local, organic produce from a variety of farmers, even in the cold months. Many also offer similar produce sourced outside your local area when the product is not available there. In chilly Chicago, I managed to find a fresh produce delivery organization that supports local, independent farmers and promotes these items in their produce baskets. My first delivery from Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks arrived packed full of eggs and red oak lettuce from Illinois and red onions, potatoes, gold turnips, carrots and celery root from Wisconsin. While I no longer can frequent the farmers market several times a week as I did in Los Angeles, the bounty of crisp produce from my Fresh Picks box made me feel as though I had. Although it’s not a traditional CSA, choosing a produce delivery system like this still supports local, sustainable farmers. And as the seasons change, you can sign up with a more traditional CSA or pick more local produce from these delivery systems.

Many areas also offer the option of a CSA focused on farm raising animals with no hormones in a sustainable manner, such as Chicago area Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm. These organizations are more likely to offer year-round subscriptions and can provide various cuts of chicken, beef, and pork, eggs, and possibly milk or cheese. Supplemented with a produce CSA or order from a delivery system, you can almost cut out a trip to the supermarket entirely.

You may not be ready to purchase nine months of produce by subscribing to a CSA, but most organizations offer smaller commitments, and in the end you can save money buying organic produce directly from the farmers than through large grocery stores. If you aren’t ready to go full swing and sign up with a traditional CSA for your New Years resolution, start out small and order a week’s worth of goods from a service that offers produce baskets sourced from local growers. You’ll taste the difference and that will be all you’ll need to make the change, for this year and the rest to come.

Search your area for CSA’s and other fresh produce delivery options at Local Harvest.

The film Food, Inc makes it plainly clear that we really have no idea what is in the food on our dinner plate.

With 2006′s Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan sets the tone for the way we eat, calling his readers to look at labels and understand what makes up our food. Three years later, the phrases organic, sustainable, and free-range have become more common place, and yet Food, Inc is still a startling, eye-opening look at the food industry, intended to show, not just tell, what the trouble is all about.

The movie asks the prime question “How much do we really know about the food we buy and eat?” Throughout the 93 minute film, journalist Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, Michael Pollan, and an array of farmers, meat producers, politicians, and citizens, shed light on that question. Scenes shift from unkempt chicken coops to employees struggling in unfair labor situations in slaughter houses; watching scenes of farmers who are left with little choice but to follow unsettling corporate policy, it is hard to not demand change.

Food, Inc insists that Americans are eating without thinking, and eating choices affect the environment, the food industry, politics and labor practices. The film discusses new strains of E.colli, caused by feeding cows corn(when they naturally feed on grass), which is spread into the water through their feces. It showcases the politics of subsidizing the corn industry and the dismay caused by patenting a crop and controlling individual farms. The film highlights the poor practices that arise when 80% of a market is controlled by four companies and details these companies’ unfair labor policies and treatment of employees.

Looking at the problems with the industry, Food, Inc also showcases farmers and companies who stand up to these practices. There is an insiders view of organic companies, sustainable farms, and farmers who stand up to corporations, even when it means loosing their jobs. The film emphasizes the burgeoning organic food industry, and promotes the men and woman who promote food safety.

In the end, the film asks it’s viewers to make choices about what they eat. While many people choose to shun fast food choices, they do not realize the meat they purchase from the supermarket is the same meat they would be eating at these chain restaurants. Colas and packaged goods packed full of preservatives and corn derivatives are supporting these industries, intentionally or not. The question is asked again, “What is in the food you eat?” Food, Inc‘s answer is found in supporting local farmers markets, reading labels, buying locally, and eating at home more often. Food, Inc suggests these 10 simple things to change our food system.

This is a must see film, because changing the way we eat is not only important, it is imperative. With the state of our food industry, environment, and labor practices, this shocking film is sure to educate and change your mind about the way your eat and what you put on your plate.