Food News: Eat healthy, support local farmers, buy a share

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

By Melanie Stein

Every year at about this time, I begin to daydream about fresh, crisp, flavorful fruits and vegetables as summer lurks in the not-too-distant future.

If you’re like me, you’re probably weighing whether to cough up the funds to buy a share at an area farm, shop at the farmer’s market, or keep visiting your local grocery. Though the upfront cost of buying a share at a farm seems hard to swallow, the return is worth it: 16 weeks, maybe more, of local, organic vegetables.

“It’s the freshest food you’re going to ever get around here,” said Dale Sharkey, co-owner of Cosmic Apple with partner Jed Restuccia. “It’s usually picked the day of, sometimes the day before.”

With the purchase of a share at Cosmic Apple in Victor, Idaho, you’ll get a robust bag of edibles every week that includes seven to 10 different vegetables.

“Every week there is usually salad mix and an herb,” Sharkey said. Early in the season, members get sorrel, rhubarb, lettuce, cucumbers and pea shoots. “As the season goes on, in the middle of September, we’re on to salad mix, basil, potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, winter and summer squash, peppers, eggplant and flowers,” she said.

Cosmic Apple sells about 200 shares each year. A full share, which can theoretically feed three to four adults for a week, costs $550; a half share costs $385. Alternatively, you can participate in Cosmic Apple’s workshare program one day a week and receive a full share in return.

“We start at seven in the morning, and we start by harvesting the tender stuff like greens to get it in before the sun comes up and it gets too hot,” Sharkey said. “Then we get the heartier stuff in like broccoli, carrots, potatoes. Then we move to weeding or transplanting, depending on the time of year.

The farm generally seeks five volunteers per day for the season, and all volunteers receive a farm-cooked lunch in addition to their full share.

Sharkey believes there are three reasons that people choose to buy a share or participate in the workshare program: “One is that they’re looking for organic food. Another is they’re looking for fresh food. The third is that they want to support local business.”

Visit http://www.cosmicapple.com to learn more.
Another Victor farm, Blue Flax Farms, also offers shares each season. Full shares are $425, and half shares are $225. Contact Megan Warren at 413-3203 for more information.
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Food News: Eat healthy, support local farmers, buy a share | Planet JH News Article: Restaurants And Dining

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