Friday, October 8, 2010

Making a Living


I woke up this morning thinking about the new days sun coming up and the life of one of the many farmers I know. Hard work at daybreak that continues until the sun goes down with a couple of meals in between is the life of a chosen few.

If you ever go to an area of the country where organic gardening is the norm, food in the raw or cooked state becomes more sustainable and appreciated. In Northern CA , my sister Chris and I visited a market in the middle of an old town that labeled the produce by the growers name. You could actually "see" the farms and know where your food came from. That was about 3 years ago and it's more prevalent now than then. Hopefully at some point more folks will appreciate their food and the growers who put long hours in everyday to bring good health to those who choose their product. Anyway, I've yet to see that come to this area with the exception of Modocs market bringing in local food and actually acknowledging the grower..kudos to you! My point is that many of us grow organic for ourselves, few of us get the idea of not poisoning our food source, some of us won't whine when we pay more for safe food, and one family in this area is REALLY trying to bring more knowledge, variety, and quality to this community. I truly hope for the success of Nate & Diane Fingerle's RiverRidge Farms outside of Roann. Nathan and his family (including his father) work non-stop to provide local, organic produce at a reasonable price. From a small plot and a dinky greenhouse to the expansion of most of their yard and the additions of multiple greenhouses, he's able to supply North Manchester school systems (as one example) with fresh greens and salad ingredients. I find this amazing! It takes calculations, determination, time and money to generate enough food for this project, but they make it work. Not to mention they are supporting an ever growing family of their own. I guess I feel proud to know them, proud of their work, proud to know they want to share food for others that is SAFE to eat, and are carrying on a humble way of life that anyone can appreciate. Most of us know where live and the gardens are accessible most of the time with a little area for on site market. You can find more information about RiverRidge Farms on a great site that can also steer you towards other products in our area as well by looking up http://www.localharvest.org/ . Happy Eating!