Local Foods are Good for You and Farmers Too
Restaurants, institutions, health care providers, grocers and households are looking for local foods, for the sake of taste, nutrition and protecting the environment. Eating locally also means more dollars for our local economy. Most “fresh” foods, including fruits and vegetables, travel thousands of miles to reach our plates. Meanwhile, researchers tell us that the fruits and vegetables we eat today have a poorer nutritional value than in our parents’ and grandparents’ day. Plus, where has the flavor gone? Can we recapture taste and nutrition in our food? Where is the voice of the farmer? Does anyone want to be a farmer anymore? Some answers to these questions can be found right here in Northeast Ohio’s Geauga County.
Geauga Family Farms is a cooperative of family farmers. We are producing healthy local foods—organic and conventional. ‘High Brix’ is our goal. High Brix means nutrient dense and is a measurement of carbohydrates or sugars. To get carbohydrates in food, you have to build the soil with minerals, vitamins and amino acids. When you have High Brix, carbohydrates, you have sugars, minerals, vitamins and amino acids in your food, which equals nutrient dense food. High Brix fruits and vegetables also have more intense and satisfying flavor.
Most of the members of Geauga Family Farms are Amish and live in Geauga County. How did the cooperative get started? In 2005, three older men realized they were witnessing the disappearance of farmland and possibly also a way of life. These men got together to see what could be done to save our farms. They decided to start a cooperative to give a stronger, collective voice to the small-scale family farmer. They called a meeting to see how many people would be interested—nearly 100 people showed up. The group selected a board of five members. In 2006, they sold some free range eggs, chickens, goats and cheeses. In 2007, they added jams and jellies, bread, baked goods, maple syrup, grass-fed beef and some produce. In January 2008, four of the founding board members stepped aside and they nominated four new members of which three are produce growers. Produce sales increased 350 percent from 2007 to 2008.
We sell primarily local, meaning within 50 to 100 miles of Middlefield, mostly to Cleveland and surrounding suburbs. We have certified organic and conventional vegetables, fruits, maple syrup, bread and baked goods, free-range eggs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats, lambs and grass-fed beef. Cheeses are also available from Middlefield Original Cheese Cooperative (all made from hormone-free milk from cows and goats raised on family farms and milked by hand).
For 2009, we have added Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares, both organic and conventional. A CSA is a partnership between growers and customers, where the customers buy a share of the season’s harvest and receive a box of seasonal produce every week throughout the season. With Geauga Family Farms, a full organic share is $660 and a conventional share is $535 for a 24 week season starting the end of May. We deliver to designated sites around the area, or a customer may pick up their weekly share at the farm for a lower cost. Half shares are also available. This arrangement is wonderful for the farmers—we know how much to plant and how much to harvest each week. For the customers, a CSA share means not only that they will receive a generous portion of the freshest fruits and vegetables selected for them each week, but they will know that they are supporting local farmers as directly as possible.
So is Geauga Family Farms saving farms? Definitely. One Amish man decided to buy his father’s farm and GFF helped him make that decision. Farming for a living becomes possible when customers are willing to pay a fair price for the harvest.
Consumers spend nearly $8 billion annually on food in Northeast Ohio. Only a small fraction of that amount goes to Ohio farmers and food producers. There are serious discussions about capturing 10 percent of that figure for local food production. What changes would you need to make to your food shopping habits to begin spending 10 percent of your food budget on locally produced foods? Chances are, you may not need to change where you shop—grocery stores and supermarkets, notably Mustard Seed Market & Cafe, Heinen’s and Whole Foods, are committed to featuring foods produced locally. Cleveland Food Co-op in University Circle and Nature’s Bin in Lakewood are long-time supporters of wholesome and local foods. Even dining out in Greater Cleveland, consumers have many options for supporting locally grown foods, by patronizing venues as diverse as Fire Food and Drink at Shaker Square, Great Lakes Brewing Company and Crop Bistro in Cleveland, or Tommy’s in Cleveland Heights. If your grocer or favorite diner doesn’t seem to have a local connection, speak up. Ask them to support local farmers; maybe they just need a little nudge.
Of course, when you buy directly from a farmer, that’s the strongest support possible. Search out a seasonal farmers’ market in your vicinity, take a country drive and stop at farm stands or join a CSA program, such as the one Geauga Family Farms offers. For more information, contact Daniel Fisher at Geauga Family Farms at 440-693-4632 or gfamilyfarms@aol.com.