January 13th, 2010 by Margie

I know I know - it has been AGES since I have added to our VH field notes.  I am hoping that 2010 will give me more clarity and strength to spend more time doing the things that mean the most to me.  Sharing the goings on at the farms each month here is definitely on that list!

First of all, I want to say that we have made it into the new year, but it has been no picnic.  I have been struggling everyday, trying to find food for us in 2010.  Many of the farmers cannot provide for us because they do not produce enough in the winter months.  They might have a handful of things to sell at a market here and there but nothing for all of us each week.  After losing sleep over where the food was going to come from and what would happen to our community if I had to close for the winter months, wondering where would you get your food and where would you place your dollars….I had to make a decision.  That’s when most of you got a note that went something like this….

VH Foraging for food

Hi everyone,

I’ve been hard at work trying to put together this week’s basket.  As I’m sure you’ve noticed, it is bitterly cold and there is no immediate end in sight.  As you might guess, this has consequences for our food and has forced me to make some hard decisions.  The local farms we usually get food from are at a standstill.  This has been a severe year starting with the fall floods and now with brutal temperatures in this winter season.  Much of the crops have been wiped out.  I am forced to stretch from local to regional searches to keep fresh, healthy food on our tables each week.   In order to continue to provide fresh, organic food for the next 8-10 weeks with such severe seasonal weather, we will be opening the doors to farms in southern Georgia and neighboring states.  We have gotten food from some of these farms in the past such as Walker Farms’ beautiful sugar snap peas or the avocados and grapefruit from friends in Florida.

We wanted to let you know about this because we realize that bringing in food from farther may not meet everyone’s expectations.  As always, I will tell you all about the farms and give you any links available to their websites because I think you should know where your food comes from.

As each local farm sees new harvesting opportunities, we will bring our money closer to home.  Remember that my two goals with vegetable husband are to support our local organic growing economy and to nourish our bellies with wonderful healthy food.

I agonized over how to tell you that I could not get food quite as close for the next several weeks, as if it should come as any great surprise!  Most of you are probably surprised that there IS food coming each week even in the winter.  After hours of writing and rewriting, the note went out and I went and laid down. It was the hours that followed that made a difference in my life.  Some of you responded right away.  I assumed the worst and hoped for the best, but I never dreamed that I would receive such a response!  Some of your notes, made everything I do worthwhile regardless of money!  I FELT LIKE JIMMY STEWART!!  It really IS a wonderful life!  (grins)  You may think I am joking but you gave me such warm feedback and solid encouragement that all I could think about was that moment when George is in the living room and the whole town is spilling in to give him money to save the business.

My currency was your emails, and they did spill in.  I want you to know that you have not only made me realize that while I cant always deliver the best vegetable I have ever seen or tasted.  I can always deliver the best veggies that I can access from the closest organic farms available at the time.  Thats all I can ask of myself.  I really do like the idea of being super human, though…maybe in my next life!

This week over half of our basket is still from local farms around us, but we are reaching out to our neighbors in Florida and South Carolina for a little help, too.  After all, that is what community is all about!  Thank you for being mine!

October 10th, 2009 by Margie

Hey Everybody - big thanks to the New Yorker for this wonderful read.  Check it out!

newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/09/28/090928po_poem_berry

September 16th, 2009 by Margie

As I drive through the country on my way to the farms this morning, I am thinking about our Farm tour and Brunch that was scheduled for this weekend.  Unfortunately, I have had to cancel the trip for September 19th and I plan to reschedule in the Spring.  Many of you showed a great deal of interest but were not available in September.  I really want this to be a fun gathering for us so I chose to postpone so more of us would be available.  I will plan it so that you have lots of advance warning this time too.

Every season is different but I cannot imagine a bad time to drive out here to the farms and witness the rows and the pastures.  Sometimes they have seedlings popping out of the ground, and sometimes they are abundant with greens and fruit of some sort.  Right now the plants look like Christmas trees since there are so many sweet and hot peppers coming in.

Regardless of the crop or the stage of its growth, it is a wonderful sight!  I look forward to sharing it with you, hopefully.  For now, we share this image through our shared experiences each week with our food.

September 10th, 2009 by Margie

The Eat-in at Piedmont Park over Labor Day was the easiest form of activism I have ever been involved with.  We all packed up picnics to have and to share in the park, made of real food to speak up for real food in school lunches.  This was a National Day of Action for the cause.  How do I define real food?  Well Slow Food USA had a simple little blurb on the website that went like this:

What is Real Food?

Real food is good at every link in the chain. It tastes good, it’s good for us, it’s good for the people who grow it, it’s good for our country and it’s good for the planet.

I love that!  It gets at the core of why I started Vegetable Husband, too.  I want to know where my food comes from and who grows it and how they grow it.  I also want to know that if I am spending my little bit of money somewhere that it goes into my own local economy.

The Eat-in was about much more than even that.  It was about healthy lunches for school children.  Have you seen what gets served lately?  Big business has taken over our lunch rooms.  If we grow food in Georgia and milk cows in Georgia then why can’t GA children drink GA milk?  Good question!  Many people were on-hand to support these questions.  Check out the pics.  That’s our own Slow Food Atlanta Leader, Judith Winfrey behind that cardboard megaphone…

This movement for an Eat-in was happening on September 7th in every state all across America.  People care from New York to Idaho about feeding their kids healthy food.  Move over KRAFT!!

September 6th, 2009 by Margie

VH is celebrating it’s 1 year anniversary with a great event and everyone is invited! On September 19th, we are ALL heading to the farms. This is an open event so please feel free to invite your friends to come join us. With such a great bunch of people - I am really looking forward to meeting and spending time with many of you, not just running to your door and waving.

I’m hoping you’ll join me on this beautiful trip to Full Moon Farms in Athens and then a fabulous brunch at Farm 255 restaurant to enjoy delicious fresh food and champagne.  We’re excited to be meeting at The Shed at Glenwood for coffee and baked goods at 8:45 am. We will be back in Atlanta at the departure location by 3:30pm. To get more info and buy your tickets online go to: eventbrite.com/event/

If you prefer to pay directly please contact us 404-617-9302 or via email info@vegetablehusband.com to make arrangements. For those of you that get deliveries each week, you can also pay for the trip by check this next Wednesday and save the Eventbrite charges. Two bucks is two bucks!  I am happy to do that while there is still room. There is only one bus reserved so the tickets will go quickly.

Please come celebrate our one year anniversary and join us for a magical day with our Georgia growing community.