Fayetteville Farmers' Market:  Online Orders NOW OPEN

Online ordering is open!

Order at:

https://fayettevillearkansas.locallygrown.net/market.

NEWS:
Dirty Apron is back this week.
Lee Family is off this week.

VEGIES available: leaf lettuce, potatoes of all sorts, garlic, fresh basil, many varieties of tomatoes including some ready for canning, cucumbers, green onions, parsley, okra, green bell peppers. zucchini, yellow squash, red onions.

OTHER GOOD THINGS AVAILABLE: eggs, meats, baked goods, honey locally made food products, craft items, and other goodies. A rainbow of jellies, jams and fruit butters!

PICKUP TIME THURSDAY August 10 is 4:30-5:30. Note: if you already know that you cannot make it by 5:30 pm and you want to order this week, just reply to this email or text 479-935-5111 and we will work with you on a plan.

Our online market offers some great ideas for gift giving: handcrafted leather goods, locally sewn fabric items, art prints and more!

Our bakers have sweet treats, pastries, breads, granola and other goodies.

Special dietary needs? Check out our vegan products. We speak from personal experience that all of these items are delicious and would please anyone no matter what their dietary needs are.

A UNIQUE GIFT: how about a certificate for local knife sharpening services? Can be redeemed at a local drop off location.

SEARCHING TIP: On large categories such as baked goods or meats click on the category to get a drop down of specific items in that category.

HOW TO CHECK ITEMS FROM A PARTICULAR SELLER? Scroll down on left side until you see “show specific growers”. If all the boxes are checked, you can click on “reverse all” then click the boxes on or off of those sellers you want to see. Then click “show specific growers” again.

BUYING TIP: If you see items that you want but not much available, order and pay and then log back in and continue shopping. Your orders will be combined and you will only be charged once.

DELIVERY OPTION IS AVAILABLE FOR FAYETTEVILLE ZIP CODES BUT MUST BE REQUESTED FROM SEEDS THAT FEED AFTER YOU ORDER—-NO LATER THAN THURS 9 AM.

SNAP CUSTOMERS ONLY: you may choose pay at pickup and bring your EBT card on Thursday. We will swipe your card and match up to $100 of your order. NOTE: please do not bring tokens or match cards to pickup at the online market.

NOTE: New customers and orders always welcome—no minimum order required, no weekly order required.

TIPS:

1) Sellers sometimes add more products later in the ordering period, so be sure to check back. The product list changes each week, even from the same seller, so it’s worth exploring the categories you are interested in.

2) Multiple orders from you at different times will be automatically combined into one order before pickup and you will only be charged once.

PICKUP LOCATION:
The OUTDOOR parking area at the south end of the new part of the Fayetteville Public Library. Follow the line of cars towards the building and stay in your car in line while we get your order.

Thank you for your continued support of the online market.

Reply to this email if you have questions

Russellville Community Market:  8/6/23 closing

To ensure your order is placed, make sure you click the “Place My Order” button once you have completed your shopping. You will receive a confirmation email.

Whether or not you placed an order this week, you are always welcome to come shop our extras and see what’s available!
Check out the extras table when you pick up your order from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM this Tuesday at the Downtown Russellville Train Depot. We might have what you need!

Take your pick from our awesome selection of meats this week! Stock up on Christal Fields chicken or you will have to wait until next month! Looking for something different? Try emu from Gum Creek Emus for a tasty alternative! For an extra yummy burger add some ground pork from Porch Swing Farms to your ground beef! C3 Beef has a special family pack of popular items for August and R&D has some beautiful boneless or bone-in rib eyes and other cuts of steak! In addition to their cheeses, Meadowlark Valley has great candles and home-made cucumber relish as well as a variety of other condiments! Kaitlyn’s Sweets and Treats can make you a custom birthday cake or you can try her new watermelon mini cupcakes! Connor’s Garden and Sweets has plenty of squash and cucumbers and his chocolate chip muffins look pretty tasty, too! Pine Ridge Gardens has sweet and hot peppers available in addition to her great live plants! If you are feeling healthy, McAnulty Mercantile has some great flavors of home-made granola and B&B Legacy has dry soybeans for some high-protein, low cholesterol meals! Have you tried laundry detergent from our makers yet? We have a great selection of scents in powdered or liquid formulas to suit your needs! These simple and great-smelling soaps without
lots of chemicals and additives are suitable for your high-efficiency machines, very affordable and helpful for sensitive skin! Speaking of great scents, make sure you check out the bath and beauty category for natural soaps and beauty products from The Purple Gypsy and Meadowlark Valley to help take care of your skin during this harsh weather! There’s always something interesting or tasty at RCM; make sure you help spread the word by telling a friend or following us on Facebook and Instagram!

REMINDER- We can no longer accept credit or debit cards. We will still be able to process cash, checks and SNAP/EBT transactions.
We appreciate your patience with us during this transition.

Check back frequently as our farmers regularly update what they have available. Multiple orders are encouraged. :)

Russellville Community Market

FRESH.LOCAL.ONLINE

Berea Gardens:  Market is open

Hi Folks,

The market is now open for pre-orders. Please note that we will have some items on the table that are on our list this week, but showing quantities of zero. Please do not try to pre-order things with a zero quantity. I listed them so you would know what we might have in addition to other things on our list so that you can add them when you come to pick up. We also have eggs this week.

Thank you for your prayers for my upcoming surgery. I am tentatively scheduled for Thursday but need to squeeze in a cardiologist clearance before then so it can take place. We are making an effort to get this done on Monday or Tuesday, but the schedule is not up to me.

Blessings,
Bob & Lynnita

The Wednesday Market:  Sunday Means It's Time to Order

Good morning.

The Wednesday Market is open for orders. Please place your order by 10 p.m. Monday. Orders are ready for pick up between 2 and 4 p.m. Wednesday. Check the website for this week’s product offerings. Here is the link:
https://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

Thank you for supporting Georgia Grown. Hope you all have a pleasant Sunday, and we’ll see you at the Market!

Thanks,

Beverly

Stones River Market:  Market is OPEN UPDATE -- See you Wednesday August 7th

THE STONES RIVER LOCALLY GROWN WEEKLY MARKET IS NOW OPEN for taking orders!

Market opens August 6th Sunday 8:00 AM and Closes Monday August 7th at 10PM.

The Market will always open SUNDAY at 8 AM with or without Weblog. Weblog may occasional be delayed.

Thank you for supporting our local farmers, bakers and craftsmen.
We will look forward seeing you Wednesday August 9th on the porch of
Quinn’s Mercantile from 5:00 – 6:15pm when you pick up your order.*

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU WILL BE LATER THAN 6:15..we can make arrangements for you to pickup your order.

Growers this week, subject to change:

Arrington Bread Co
Bead Wench
C&M Valley Farm
Carole’s Herbs (CS3 Farms)
Dogwood Valley Greenhouse
East Fork Farm/ Worm Castings & Luffa
Flying S Farms
Heath Homespun
JillianFaithArt
Linwood Lamb
McIntosh Field & Flower
NashPhilly
Pennie’s Delights
Periwinkle and Pine Co
Pinky’s Micros
Quarter Spring Farm
Quinn’s Mercantile
RC Farms TN
Rainbow Hill Farm
Rus-T-Acres
Sap Creek Gardens
Shroomegy Gourmet Mushrooms
Sundae’s Best Dog Treatery
Sweet Beets Farm
Thweatt Things
Yentz Family Farm

Growers News:

McIntosh Field & Flowers: It is the height of the growing season here in Middle TN and that means loads of color at McIntosh Field & Flower. Cosmos, Sunflowers and loads of fun grasses are in bloom. We’ve also got enough colors of Celosia to make a rainbow! Order a Farmhouse Bouquet to bring some color into your home or office!

Sow’s Ear Piggery: We will be off the Market this week to restock new pork products. Please look for newly stocked pork cuts next week.

Yentz Family Farm: We have several items to select from but this week we would like to highlight our delicious Hand Pies, choose from Peach, Blueberry or Apple! Order single or a combo. Delicious with morning coffee or just a snack during the day. We have several delicious vegetables this week available, Cherokee Waxed Beans, Blue Lake Beans and Red Burgundy Beans, these are available by the pound and we offer a TRIO of all three. Jalapeno, Serrano and Anaheim Green Chili hot peppers to spice things up.

NashPhilly: Featuring this week our collard greens and Cavatappi Mac and cheese this week.

Cavatappi mac and cheese. A delicious blend of gourmet cheeses, with a rosemary and sage breadcrumb crust. Sure to please your cheese craving.

Collard greens. Slow cooked and stewed for 2 hours with garlic, onions and bacon in chicken stock with a blend of spices, vinegars and sugars.

Quarter Spring Farm: we have refreshed our inventory on the Stone’s River market. We have updated pictures and added a new selection of lamb cuts, including sirloin chops and neck slices. We also have a very limited selection of free range Muscovy ducks available exclusively at this market. And as usual we have a plentiful plethora of pastured poultry products for your palate’s pleasure. We also have our usual assortment of goat milk soaps, shampoos, and lotions. So sooth your skin with our suave selection of splendid scents.

Rus-T-Acres: All our Black Angus Beef is USDA Certified pasture-raised:
Highlighting some of our products this week. Chuck Roast is cut from the shoulder and neck region of the animal. used for pot roast or, when cubed, stew, because the connective tissue melts as the chuck braises and self-bastes the beef, making it very tender. Double Ground Beef we chose this blend because of the tender, juicy, flavorful outcome of the product when it is cooked. It is a great blend for Hamburger steaks, chili, soups, and numerous other recipes. Medium seasoned pork sausage has the perfect blend of sage and pepper to earn the medium status. It also has enough fat for frying up perfectly. I fry my sausage and then use the grease for making my breakfast gravey or for seasoning my cornbread batter.

Some of our produce this week:
White Patty Pan Squash, AKA 10 toes look like the yellow sunburst patty pans but they are white. They taste more like a zucchini but are a little sweeter. They can be prepared in a variety of ways. Cut the top off like a pumpkin, remove the seeds, and stuff them with whatever you like, and then bake, broil, or steam them. You can cut them up and fry or sautee them. Sunburst Patty Pan Squash produces glossy buttercup yellow, scalloped edge squash that has a mild, buttery flavored tender white flesh. They are also referred to as 10 toes because each one has 10 scallops. It is a fun food to work with and can be prepared in a variety of ways. You can cut the top off like a pumpkin, remove seeds, and stuff with anything you would like and then bake them or steam them on the grill, fry them, sautee them. Just any way you want to cook them will be good. Japanese Eggplant: prepare in various ways including grilling, which will give them a smoky flavor!

Sundae’s Best Dog Treatery
Excited to announce our NEW ….Doggy donuts ….Box of 9 donuts made with the pumpkin/peanut butter recipe. 3 are plain, 3 are drizzled with icing, 3 iced with sprinkles. The sprinkles are unsweetened coconut flakes and natural food coloring.

Our other Dog Treats are Gluten free banana & peanut butter dog treats Pumpkin & peanut butter dog treats Dog Treats – Sweet potato & applesauce they come in 2 oz. or 6 oz. packages.

Rainbow Hill Farm:
OUR APPLE SEASON has begun! This week we have our delicious Gingergold – it is a Green to yellow apple. Sweet with some tartness. Crisp & juicy.

We also have delicious VEGAN Zucchini Bread and Yellow Squash Bread this week, we use flaxseed to replace eggs, the bread is moist and very flavorful. Find in Bakery Catagory in Vegan Bread.

Pinky’s Micros: Microgreens pack 40x more vital nutrients than their mature counterparts. Extremely dense in vital enzymes, minerals, vitamins, omega, and high does of chlorophyll. There aren’t many foods you could eat that are that packed of nutrients and harvested a day before delivery for freshness.
Put them on your sandwiches, top your salads, or use them in place of lettuce.

We love putting them on avocado toast or in a B.L.T Sandwich!

Our new SUMMER Seasonal Chef’s Blend: CANTALOUPE, CUCUMBER, THAI BASIL, RED AMARANTH.

Every season we’ll be creating new blends to represent each season. Along with what we grow all the time.
Peas Shoots, Rose Radish, Broccoli, Basic Salad Mix, and Sunflower Shoots.

Shroomegy Gourmet Mushrooms:

We have Lion’s Main and Oyster along with powders and Tincture. Here is some information about our Shrooms!
Lion’s Mane mushrooms: (Hericium erinaceus), a prized variety of edible mushroom found in North America, Europe, and Asia. Named after their distinctive appearance that resembles a lion’s mane, these mushrooms are not only eye-catching but also delicious. Lion’s Mane mushrooms offer a slightly sweet, seafood-like flavor and a tender, succulent texture that make them a perfect addition to soups, stews, and other dishes. With their unique flavor and delicate texture, Lion’s Mane mushrooms add depth and dimension to any dish. So why not add a touch of elegance to your next meal?
Lion’s Mane Tincture: Our unique dual extraction process maximizes its potency, capturing a full range of beneficial compounds. Perfect for adding to your daily coffee.
Lions Mane Mushroom Powder: Perfect in coffee! Our specially crafted Lion’s Mane powder is made from selected mushrooms which are dried and finely ground to create a nutrient-dense powder that is both convenient and versatile. With its rich, savory flavor and impressive array of health benefits, this powder is a must-have for any health-conscious cook.
Oyster Mushroom Powder Powdered form of our Blue Oyster mushrooms. Great for picky eaters! Reishi Tincture: Our unique dual extraction process maximizes its potency, capturing a full range of beneficial compounds. Perfect for adding to your daily coffee. Rocky Top Blue Oyster – Large or Small Blue oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are a type of edible mushroom that is native to North America and Europe. They get their name from their oyster-like shape and their blue-gray color. Blue oyster mushrooms have a delicate and slightly sweet flavor, and a tender, velvety texture. They are often used in stir-fries, soups, and other dishes as a meat substitute and to add flavor.

Linwood Lamb: Feta Cheese and Spinach Lamb Sliders, Ground Lamb, Lamb Leg Steaks, Lamb Lion Chops Thick Cut.

Flying S Farms: Still have Peaches and Cream SWEET CORN!! Okra, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Green Tomatoes, Malibu Pole Beans, Watermelon, Sweet Bell Peppers (green, yellow and/or purple) along with our Fresh Farm Eggs – by the Dozen or Bundle of 3, Popular Brownies, Buttermilk or Sour Cream Biscuits in 2" or 3" Sizes, Several selections of Friendship Breads, newly added an old favorite Zucchini Pineapple Bread with several options and Plain or Wheat Sour Dough, sliced or unsliced also so rolls.

We look forward seeing you “On the Porch or At the Curb" of Quinn’s Mercantile WEDNESDAY, August 9th from 5:00 – 6:15 pm, please contact the Manager if you are unable to pick up your order or are running late, please phone, email or text the Manager (615.542.1078) so we can make arrangements to get your order to you.

We will always try and reach you as a reminder about your order, we can make arrangements for you to get your order to you. ""If we do not hear from you, your order will be donated and you will be invoiced for the amount of your order"". We still need to pay our Growers for their products. Remember we do have Delivery Service. If you think you will be later than 6:00 pm, when our Delivery Staff begins delivering orders, please contact us, so we can make arrangements with you.

How to contact us:
Email: stonesrivermarket@gmail.com
Website: https://stonesriver.locallygrown.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/StonesRiverMarket
Locations: Quinn’s Mercantile on Wednesday

Dothan, Alabama:  Aug 5, 2023 M@D is OpEn with NEW PRODUCTS!

ENJOYING THE SEASONS’S BOUNTY

Seeing pears listed on the Market Page made me remember the box I have in the kitchen waiting to be canned. One reason I’ve put it off is that there are many more to be picked and I prefer to do it all at once rather than a few here and there.

We are tee-totalers at our house, but if you search the deep recesses of my cabinets you’ll find part of a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum. It’s how we do pears here! I tried “Spiced Rum Pears” several years ago and we fell in love! I used honey as my sweeter to make a light syrup, added 1/8 c of spiced rum and a cinnamon stick to each quart. The first time I canned them this way we let them sit about 6 weeks before trying them. The Mr. liked them so much we’ve put them up that way ever since.

New Listings from Sunrise Acres

We’ve put up both muscadines and scuppernongs as well. I juiced them the first year only to have my hands break out from handling the skins (oxalic acid reaction). The next year I washed and threw them whole in the jar, added sugar and covered with water before processing. It didn’t have that dark rich color like straight juice, but sure looked pretty in the jar and tasted good when we opened it for Thanksgiving. I’ve still got a few jars of the thick strong juice saved for medicinal purposes.

These late summer blessings are easy to take for granted as they grow so well year after year here in the south, but they are so versatile there’s always something new and tasty to do with them.

MISC MARKET NOTES

Additional New Products This Week

Pastured Pork from JBW Farm Fresh More info directly from JBW below

Also New this Week: Tumeric Leaves from Alabama Homestead _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pickup for this week’s orders is Friday, August 11 SKIP a Week Order August 19-22 for pickup Friday, August 25 SKIP a Week Order September 2-5 for pickup Friday, September 8 SKIP a Week Order September 16-19 for pickup Friday, September 22 SKIP a Week Order Sept. 30 – October 3 for pickup Friday, October 6

FROM OUR GROWERS

AVALON FARMS:

Sometimes you have to adapt to the situation. This is my temporary grow light set up for some broccoli and cabbage starts. Yes, that is 2 cases of canning jars and a gallon vinegar jug for height/weight support. Ha ha

It’s too hot in the greenhouse to start these seeds there, so the guest bedroom doubles as a germination chamber. They’ll be moved outside, to some yet undetermined location, to grow for a few weeks. Then into the ground they’ll go.

JBW FARM FRESH:  We are so very excited to finally have pastured-pork available for sale! Our pasture-raised pigs are raised on the pasture and in wooded areas where they are able to eat a diverse diet of plants, insects and nuts. They roam large areas and are very happy doing so. Pasture-raised pork contains higher levels of nutrients than commercially raised pork. It can also contain up to twice the amount of vitamin E and three times the amount of Vitamin D contained in confined pigs! We would love for you to give our pork a try and let us know what you think of it. Order here and follow us on our website, as well as on Facebook and Instagram!

MOUNT MORIAH FARMS: It is so hard not to let myself get overwhelmed with the constant “To-Do” List on the farm. Some days, I really think about how easier life would be without so many things relying on me to be on my “A Game”. It has caused me to step back and ask myself, “Why am I doing all of this?” The answer I give myself is not just one reason, it’s several. Most important to me, I’m doing it so that my family doesn’t have to rely on stores being open to provide for us. Secondly, I don’t want personal farms to end in my generation, I want it to continue on with my kids. Lastly, I do it because God gave me a passion and heart for it. It’s tough work but rewarding. I share all these personal thoughts to say THANK YOU for supporting our little farm, and letting us continue to be in business!

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

Northeast Georgia Locally Grown:  Market is open for orders!

Apologies if this is a duplicate email.

Locavores, Northeast Georgia Locally Grown is open for orders!

Go to the market >>
Produce
Baked Goods with Organic Ingredients
Pastured Meats
Cultured/Fermented Foods
Pastured Eggs
See All Products

Market is open Fridays at 9 p.m. through 9 p.m. Mondays!

Thank you for choosing Northeast Georgia Locally Grown as a way to support your local producers. This online farmers market allows you to buy directly from multiple farms committed to chemical-free and local produce all year long! CHEMICAL-FREE means produce and pastures grown without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides. LOCAL means within 80 miles from the market pickup locations (usually much much closer). Do you know someone who grows chemical-free food in the area? Get them in touch with us. Know someone who wants fresh food? Spread the word. Put the two together, and that’s growing organically!

PICKUP TIME is Wednesday from 5-6:30 p.m.

If you do not get an email ORDER CONFIRMATION after you finish the checkout process, then your order is NOT complete. Head back to the market page, and your order might still be there waiting for you to check out! If you have any trouble or questions at all, we are here to help; simply reply to this email.

Once you place an order, be on the lookout for the order reminder email on Wednesday with further pickup and payment notes. Thanks for your support!

Statesboro Market2Go:  Market2Go is Open!

Market2Go Is Open! Are you planning to order this week?

Place your order by 10 pm Tuesday night for pickup on Thursday.

Choose your pickup location or delivery option from the drop-down menu before you check out.

• Statesboro – SCVB Drive Through: Thursday afternoon 4:00 – 6:00
• Statesboro – Saturday Pick Up: at the market Token & Information booth 9am-Noon on Saturdays
• Sylvania: Thursday afternoon at 4&20 Bakers Cafe and Public Market 3:30 – 5:00
• Home Delivery – must add delivery to cart and prepay

Online Payment Available Register your debit or credit card at Your Account and click “Pay Now” when you check out. Your card will only be charged after you have received your order, including any adjustments for missed items or other credits.

Use your EBT/SNAP card to purchase authorized EBT items through the Market2Go, and you can receive matching “bonus” fruits and vegetables and raw nuts through the Georgia Fresh for Less program – with NO Limit. Please write “EBT” in the order comment field and select the Statesboro – SCVB drive-through pickup. For more information, email market2gostatesboro@gmail.com

Market News

Please welcome new vendor Savannah Syrup Company, a Georgia Grown company that produces cane syrup and flavored syrup!

We are now offering a new option for your Market2Go order pickup in addition to our Thursday afternoon drive thru. During the market season, you can choose the option at checkout to pick your Market2Go order at the Saturday market Information and Token Booth from 9am till Noon.

The Statesboro Mainstreet Farmers Market is open each Saturday morning for the 2023 season! The farmers market is located directly behind Visit Statesboro, at 222 South Main Street! There’s a new bridge and boardwalk connecting the Blind Willie McTell Trail to the market venue! Come out and visit your local farmers and neighbors!


Our Sylvania pickup location is now at 4&20 Bakers Eat Better Tonight Prepared Foods & Public Market, 307A Mims Rd, Sylvania


Thank you to our sponsors who are helping our market grow! If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the Statesboro Farmers Market you can find more info here.


Sustaining
Clayton Digital Reprographics
Visit Statesboro
Kiwanis Club of Statesboro

Sowing
Great GA Realty
Ogeechee Technical College
Statesboro Properties
Personal Finance Service of Statesboro
Quality Inn & Suites
Queensborough National Bank & Trust
RE/MAX Preferred Realty
Southern Palace Restaurant
Statesboro-Bulloch County Library
Vyve Broadband
ExperCARE Health Statesboro

Sprouting
Citizens Bank of the South
Synovus
Bulloch County Farm Bureau
Institute for Coastal Plain Science, Georgia Southern

Seedling
Georgia Southern University Libraries
Bulloch Solutions

Friends of the Market
Anna Clifton
Jennifer Moran
Debra Chester
Cynthia Frost
Sam Wainford
Ann Smith-Wilson
Laura and Patrick Wheaton
Becky Sanders
Bruce Field
Kathy and Larry Smith
Kristin Fretwell
LaShai Campbell
Martha Joiner
Patrick White

Happy Shopping!

Brassell’s Sprouts Market:  REMINDER

Just a reminder- If you are shopping the online market, you must check out (even if you’re paying at pick up) to complete your order. If you only leave items in your cart, and not complete the check out process, your order WILL NOT be placed!
Once your order is placed, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not have a confirmation email, your order was not placed on our end.
If you have any questions, feel free to message me! THANK YOU to everyone who has placed an order so far!!

Old99Farm Market:  Food Storage Essay by Sharon Astyk 2023

I reposted this from Sharon’s FB page, first put up three years ago.

I wrote an essay about Food Storage Baby Steps in 2009, but it still stands. Here is a very slightly modified version:
I know a lot of you who have been reading me for a while will have already got this down, but I know how overwhelming the idea of building up a significant reserve of food can be. So I thought it was worth breaking down the steps – baby steps.
Project one – Sit down with a cup of tea. I give you official permission to use another beverage if you prefer, but get a drink, tell the kids to go outside and play, the spouse that you are busy, get a pen and paper, and give yourself a little quiet time before you begin rushing madly off in all directions (and yes, I do know how hard it is to find the time – I’ve got a million childre, remember ;-)). Put on some music, breathe deeply, put your feet up, and relax a little.
All of the first projects under this heading involve drinking something and having time to think. So wait until you’ve got them, and come into this not in a panic “I’ve got to get food now!” but calmly. Now, you are going to do three things.
1. You are going to sit down and list 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners and 4 snacks that use mostly ingredients that can sit on a pantry shelf or come out of your garden and that your family likes. They don’t have to be complicated – in fact, ideally they won’t be. If you can’t think of enough of each, begin thinking through the recipes you make regularly, and asking “could I adapt this – that is, could it use shelf stable tofu instead of the fresh stuff, could I try it with kale instead of spinach in the late fall.” You can get seasonal about it, listing separate meals for different seasons, but if that seems overwhelming, just focus on four basic meals that everyone will eat – pasta with tomato-garlic sauce, your best dal recipe, stuffed wontons…whatever.
This will be the basis of your first food storage projects – you are going to build up enough of the ingredients to be able to make these meals easily, without going to the store. These are things you will eat anyway. These are things that will save you time, if you don’t have to run out when you need the ingredients. This is not a commitment to anything strange or weird – it is just shopping ahead. So figure out how many times you want to be able to make these meals. Let’s say you get the ingredients to do each of them four times (and if money is tight, it may take some weeks to gradually add a little extra to your cart) – by then, you’ll have 16 days of food you like in the house without much extra worry. If you can get case or bulk discounts, you will probably even save some money. And it is food you are going to eat anyway. If you are ambitious, and no one has interrupted you, make the grocery list(s).
2. Now you are going to get up and walk around your house. Because the next project is finding some space for food storage. Now buying a few extra ingredients probably won’t require you to do any major rearranging, unless you have a miniscule kitchen. Even then, you should be able to fit a lot of this food in the cupboards if you do some rearranging.
Don’t do it now – today we’re still drinking tea – but put that on your “to do soon” list – just sort through the cupboards, move the stuff you don’t use that often, consider getting rid of things. (You know how the nesting bowls always get cluttered because you only use the bottom 2 regularly, so the little ones are all over the place, and how your baking area has 6 little heart shaped tart pans that you use once a year, if that… that stuff can get moved to a different place, odds are. We have the sense that all like things must go together in a kitchen, but this was not actually laid down as law anywhere I know of.
But if your goal is to get more food than just your meal list, you’ll need space for it. So now is the time to begin looking. How are you fixed for closet space? Could anything be packed up and moved around (remember, if you haven’t used it in a while, you probably could move it). Are you storing any junk (and no, it doesn’t count if all the “junk” belongs to your partner, and your stuff is “good stuff” that is absolutely needed – first rule of decluttering is “you’ve got to get rid of some of your own stuff.”) Is there anything that could be given away or sold?
What about under the bed? What about the basement? What about up along the top of the kitchen cabinets? What about your bedroom? Just because it is food, doesn’t mean it has to live in the kitchen. Ideally, what you want is a pantry space – so now is the time to establish one. What will you need? Do you need shelving? Need to rearrange furniture? Need to build something? Have a yard sale? Again, don’t do it, make a list. There’s still one more step.
The third thing you are going to do is make another cup of tea or other preferred beverage and answer some questions. You may want to run these questions by other members of your family, or you may not, but the idea is to help you figure out what you want. You don’t have to write the answers, although you might want to.
1. What am I storing food for? What are my concerns? What kinds of situations are likely in my region?
2. How much food do I want to store? For how many people? For how many pets? How much water do I want to store? Am I likely to have people outside my immediate household who are with us in a crisis? Are there other things I want to store – clothing, medical supplies, tools? What are they?
3. How much time and energy do I have to devote to this? How much space do I realistically think I have to devote to this? How much money can I spend each week/month on this project. What are my biggest constraints (ie, is my family not supportive, am I working long hours, are there no good sources of bulk food near me?) How might I overcome them?
4. Where will my stored food come from? How much of it will I grow/produce? What are my goals for food preservation? How much of my food will I buy, and from where? What can I get locally, and what do I have to get through the industrial food system? What’s the best and most ethical source for my food? Remember, every dollar you spend is a vote – if you spend it at an industrial source, you say “great, do more of this” – if you spend it locally, you say the same thing to your local farmer. Now every one of us buys some food through the industrial system it is safe to say, and some of us don’t have the money or the access to do more than get their food any way they can. Those people are off the hook – but if you have any discretionary food income, you need to think a little about the votes you are casting when you buy food. Also, how can I use my food storage to save money and time?
5. What do I imagine doing with my food storage? Do I want it mostly to provide a hedge against a future crisis, or for day to day use right now? Do I imagine myself eating regularly out of it and replacing it? Do I think I will be less able to buy food later? Do I want to be able to share with others, or is my first priority protecting my own? How will I prevent loss of food to age, insects, mold? What’s my plan for making sure the older food gets eaten regularly and that I’m adding more food as I go – food is not like antiques, it doesn’t get better with age.
How much am I and my family prepared to adapt our eating habits so that we get the most out of our food storage – that is, we save the most money, we make fewer trips, we always have food to hand, as well has having a reserve?
6. Finally, ask “Do I have to do this all alone?” How can I get others – from my own family to my neighbors and my town or city involved in the project of becoming more food secure? How can I see my own food security as part of a larger community project. Do I have neighbors who might be interested in forming a buying club, a coop or simply in a “stocking up” club? Do I have friends who would like to share the work of preserving? Are there people in my community who could benefit from food storage – can I get them involved? Should my community have a reserve of food on hand in case of a crisis – can I bring this up with my municipality? What about water – does my community have water pumping stations for when the power is out? Could they be established? Are there community resources I don’t know about – gleaning programs, bulk buying groups, community kitchens, food preservation classes, friends with the same interests. What’s out there?
And what’s in here? Is my family supportive? Neutral? Hostile? Are there ways to get them on board? How did I approach this issue, if they aren’t interested in participating – could I approach it differently, with a emphasis on saving money, or on likely short term emergencies (hurricanes, blizzards, power outages) in ways that would be less scary than the way I came at it? Can I involve my husband, my wife, my partner, my kids, my parents, my friends? Can I get them excited about helping with the menus, picking out things to store, building projects, saving money, working together as a family?
Ok. Now that you are done drinking tea, and probably have to pee ???? , you can stop. That’s enough for today – I know you are all excited, and I can’t stop you from running off to reorganize the kitchen and buy 60 cans of tomatoes, but I’d encourage you to stop here, and leave some stuff for tomorrow, so you’ll remain enthusiastic, rather than getting exhausted and overwhelmed. Although if you really, really can’t stand waiting to reorganize a kitchen, you are welcome to come over and do mine.

Here’s a display of some of our tomato varieties the tasting at this week’s market.