I might be called a "farmer", but what I am really concerned with is growing high quality food for people I know.
This work is important to me because people are important to me. And not just the idea of people, but the whole complicated thing--minds, bodies, souls... all of it.
Furthermore, I personally believe that if I'm going to truly care for my neighbor, I have to consider all parts of them and the land that sustains them.
Growing ethical and nutritious food feels like a powerful way to care for people because it addresses not only their physical needs, but so many other (equally important) needs as well. If you’ve ever been to a feast, you know that eating is about far more than just filling our bellies with calories. Eating is social. Food is art. Flavor is experience. Smell is memory. And since agriculture is the primary way that we humans engage with the earth, its also how we treat the land. If we care about all these elements of the human experience, then we must care about our food and how it’s produced.
Another reason I am passionate about my work is the social bonds that it encourages. Hopefully people are able to connect with where their food comes from. But the very act of eating is also often a social act. The dinner table is an important place of gathering and sharing. And that part happens long after the farmer leaves the scene.
So having the title of “farmer” is cool, but doing work that brings people together around kitchen tables is what really motivates me. Providing my community with food that will absolutely nourish and build up their bodies makes me glad. In an age where so much of our life is fractured, distant, and impersonal,creating space for a personal and particular connection between people and people or people and the land excites me.
That’s why we mostly share our products through a CSA.
Our CSA program is an opportunity for me to work hard with my mind and my body, to produce something that is both a physical product and an experience, for actual humans, that I personally know. It is an opportunity to do something that is good for people and for the land. And our CSA program is something that can connect people.
I like gardening and I like raising animals. I love working in fields and healing land. I like it all because it’s interesting and engaging work. But I also like it because it creates that web of connection between minds and bodies and people and land that is far bigger then me. I think those connections are a good thing. Sacred even. I want to encourage them.
CSA makes these connections happen. Grocery stores and restaurants are wonderful and we sell to a few of them. They are important. For sure. But a good CSA program can create strong and long-lasting connections that are very direct and tangible. When you know your farmer, you can shake his hand and ask him questions. You can visit the farm and dig your hands in the soil. Abstract concepts like "local" and "sustainable" can become living realities with names and locations. That's cool. And that's why we love CSA.
But of course our CSA isn’t just about me and what's important to me. It takes more then one person to make a connection. Our CSA is just as much about YOU.
Our farm COULD NOT exist without people like you deciding it’s important to know where and how your food is produced. Our farm only works when other non-farming people care about their food as well.
And hopefully you want to know who is producing your food too. We'd certainly like to know you!
For starters, we’d love to hear why you chose to participate in a CSA. People opt out of the conventional food system for all kinds of reasons. What’s your reason? We’d love to hear from you--please take a sec to let us know. Whether it’s two sentences or a full essay doesn’t matter--we always find your reasons fascinating and inspiring. We’d love to hear from you!
Joel