Farm Fresh: Eat Local
Farmers Markets, Food Cooperatives, and CSA Programs
There are almost two million farms in the USA. About 80% of those are small farms, and a large percentage are family owned. More and more of these farmers are now selling their products directly to the public. They do this through Farmers Markets, Food Cooperatives and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.
By purchasing fresh produce and goods from your a local farmer, you can help to maintain a healthy environment, a vibrant community, and build a strong and sustainable local economy. Judith Schwartz explains that when you buy local more money stays in the community. The New Economics Foundation compared what happens when people buy produce at a supermarket vs. a local farmer’s market or CSA program and found that twice the money stayed in the community when folks bought locally (Time.com). A few more reasons to eat local:
- The produce is fresher than foods shipped in and sold at the supermarket
- Seasonal foods are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive
- The travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination
Apples to Oranges: Farm Stand Basics
Farmers Market: a market usually held out-of-doors, in public spaces, where farmers can sell produce to the public. Consumers have access to locally grown, farm fresh produce, and enables farmers the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with their customers and cultivate consumer loyalty.
Food Cooperatives (Coop): worker or customer owned businesses that provide grocery items of the highest quality and best value to their members. Coops can take the shape of retail stores or buying clubs. Food coops are committed to consumer education, product quality, and member control, and usually support local communities by selling produce grown locally by family farms.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Consumers purchase a share (aka a “membership” or a “subscription”). Shares typically consist of a box of seasonal vegetables, but may also include various breads, flowers, eggs, meat, cheese, honey and other farm products.
♥ Celebrate Eat Local Month in August! Visit http://nheatlocal.org/ for information.♥
Resources
- http://nheatlocal.org/
- www.GreenPeople.com
- www.localharvest.org
- www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets
Maybe Some Green Shoots?
As the slow economy continues to drag on there may be signs of life out there!
We recently had meetings of the Boards that run our two self insurance groups and they represent about 275 New Hampshire companies. Many of the Board members noted that they have hired in the last 60 days, one company increasing their staff by over 10%. Several of the companies noted that the fourth quarter of 2009 was better than forecast and a few even noted that their 4th quarter was better than normal. One Board member reported they have been doing a lot of recent training for the sales reps that sell their product at retail and have been swamped by the number of new requests for quotes that have come in just in the last three weeks and he said his office staff can barely keep up.
One company we visited just before the New Year said their business had dropped by over 50% in October of 2008 and another 50% in November of 2009 causing significant downsizing. At the time of our visit, they were just about back to full employment.
Perhaps the best news comes from an Employment Agency we work with who employed 50 in November of 2009, now has 150 and is working seven days a week to keep up! They are seeing that increase across the board.
We are actually starting to hear more good than bad on the employment front and that will hopefully continue into 2010.
Working Communities
We all work and live in communities, and are part of several different communities. If one feels that they are part of a group or community they benefit from the spirit of the community and their work, as a group, is performed more efficiently and with better quality. Feeling that you have a “stake” in your work and community is important.
Work communities can be developed in several different ways. Providing community spirit for your workers can help a company’s bottom line and productivity and also be used to assist the larger community. Encouraging employees to give back their local communities help the larger community and if some of these activities are done as a group they can help to develop a stronger community.
Recently the Scott Lawson Group employees have participated in two local events. The road races were in two different communities and benefited different charities. The team spirit that is developed during such an activity leads to better teamwork in the office. This type of event allows employees from different departments to form relationships and learn more about each other’s jobs and duties. Also important is the spirit of giving to the larger community.
There are lots of ways for any company large or small to allow and encourage workers to give back to their communities and to develop a strong team spirit at work. These include Community Days of Caring, local volunteer activities and group activities such as participating in a community event. These activities do not have to occur during work time, they just need someone to organize the “team” for the activity. The team spirit that develops among workers is a benefit to the employer while the community at large is also deriving benefit. Think about a group activity for your work community this fall.
Connect With Us
