Food & Farm

Last night was a classic example of why I love my "homegrown" community. We came together for food and fun, and left having discussed food on a whole other level.

I'm lucky to live in a community where food politics isn't a foreign concept, and in fact - is a welcome discussion in most places. This same community also strives to spread the concept of not only food equity, but farm-fresh food equity to as many people as possible.

One way they're trying to do this is with the program, Grow Food Northampton. Their current goal is to raise enough money to purchase farm land that will aid in their overall goal: promoting food security  by advancing sustainable agriculture in the Northampton, Massachusetts area.

I first heard of Grow Food Northampton earlier in the year when I signed a petition geared towards purchasing a certain plot of land in hopes of starting a community farm. How could I not get behind this mission? I certainly agree with the various goals they hope to achieve and do my best to live them at an individual level.

Farm to table dining is something I strongly believe in - even going as far as to plant my own garden in the limited space we have at our home. In our area, most people are able to find farm fresh produce and meat at their local grocery stores or farmers' markets, but having a farm specifically run for the purpose of feeding the community at large? That's taking the next step and I'm excited to be able to help get it off the ground.

Two of our potluck members are on the board for Grow Food Northampton and their enthusiasm for this project spread quickly to everyone else. In fact, by the end of the evening we had decided to make a group donation, in the name of Monday Night Potluck, in the hopes that they'll be able to purchase all the farm land they have their sites on.

We ate while we talked, and it wasn't hard to see the influence that local farms and gardens had on the meal right in front of us...kale, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, turkey and tomatoes from local sources made up our dinner in the form of a baked ziti with ground turkey and homemade tomato sauce, spaghetti al cavofiore, and creamy broccoli soup.

I need to learn to take pictures *before* we start eating

Local cider (and beer!) as well as bread and cheese rounded out the meal, serving as a reminder that we rely strongly on the success of local farms. If you're from this area and haven't heard about Grow Food Northampton - now would be a great time to look into this project. If you're not from around here, perhaps take a moment to check it out and become inspired.

I am proud to say that I've donated to Grow Food Northampton and am excited and curious to watch this project as it grows. If you're interested in watching how a community grows their own garden and are curious to learn more about Grow Food Northampton, you can check out their website as well as take a look at the video below.