Have a Very Local Thanksgiving

The Athens Area Chapter of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) is sponsoring a Local Thanksgiving program that provides families with a special opportunity to pre-order a fresh selection of locally produced turkey, veggies, jam and stuffing mix to set your holiday table.

Participating farms and businesses include Green Edge Organic Gardens, Sassafras Farm, Shagbark Seed & Mill Co., Starline Organics, Shade River Organic Farm, Dutch Creek Community Farm, Integration Acres, Crumbs Bakery, Village Bakery and King Family Farm.

Each Traditional Box will include a fresh turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, Swiss chard, leaf lettuce, onions, garlic, parsley, turnips, stuffing mix, cornmeal, jam, salad dressing and butternut squash for pie. Veggie Boxes will only include nonmeat products.

OEFFA Thanksgiving Order Form

The deadline for ordering is November 15th or until the limited number of boxes are sold. Boxes can be picked up on Monday, November 22nd from 5-7 pm at the Village Bakery, in Athens.

Available options:

Small (serves 6-8) Veggie $46….. Traditional $96

Large (serves 10-12) Veggie $67….Traditional $117

Order forms are available at the Village Bakery, at the Farmers Market, and e-mail Ed Perkins at perkaber@juno.com and placing turkey in the subject line. Orders can placed by contacting Ed Perkins: at the Athens Farmer’s Market or by phone at 664-3370 or by mail at 10940 Lightfritz Ridge, New Marshfield, OH 45766.

Read Full Post »

One Recipe for a Healthy Local Foods Economy

John Gutekanst

What’s it take to make a 30 Mile Meal? Plenty of partners and as the former executive director of ACEnet, June Holley, would say, “lots of network weaving.” A tasty example of this ‘tapestry of local’ is the recent addition of spelt flour to pizzas made by John Gutekanst’s Avalanche Pizza.

In his blog, Pizza Goon, John tells the story of discovering locally grown spelt and Brandon Jaeger during a 2009 visit to the farm of Joe Hirshberger in Chesterhill. Brandon and Michelle Ajamian (owners of the Shagbark Seed & Mill Company) had asked Hirshberger, an Amish farmer, to grow spelt for them. SS&MC is an offshoot of the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative that works with regional small-to-mid-sized farms to produce, process, market, and distribute fresh, whole, sustainably-grown staple foods.

Serving up local-lious food

Whenever possible, Gutekanst uses locally grown ingredients in his pizza-making and like other 30 Mile Meal champions, showcases the farms and farmers that provide them. A recent series of Avalanche ads puts the faces to the food – Michelle, Brandon and spelt. They also remind us that as we nourish our bellies, we can also nourish the local foods community.

Read Full Post »