Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

The US Senate passed the Farm Bill on Friday with no new subsidy reform measures. The widely discussed Dorgon-Grassley Payment Limit Reform Amendment failed 56-43 because it needed 60 votes to pass. The amendment would have capped subsidies to commodity growers of corn, wheat, rice and soy at $250,000 per producer. The subsidies in question accounted for $34 billion from 2003 to 2005 and went mostly to large farms in the Midwest that run under corporate contract to produce grains for animal feed.

Rhode Island Senators Reed and Whitehouse, both voted for the Payment Limit amendment. RI farms mainly produce fruits and veggies and so see little benefit from the billions of dollars spent on the subsidy program. In fact, RI ranks #49 (ahead of Hawaii and Washington DC) for total dollars that come back to the state. The RI dairy and livestock farms that do benefit are family-run, and so their small operations would not be affected by a subsidy cap.

The big picture: the types of farms and foods we subsidize in the Farm Bill determines what we’ll be eating for dinner for the next 5 years, as well as the prevalence of diet-related public health issues and the condition of our land and water for years to come.

It’s our first time running a farmers’ market in the winter and so we’re taking notes so that come next year, when we aim to have a permanent year-round space for farmers, we will already have figured out a great deal about winter food sourcing and have records aplenty. We’re keeping our eye on each week’s market, with specific regards to the consistent variety of produce and foods available.

This year will be quite the experiment as we test the waters of local food availability in every season. If there’s no winter squash at the market one week (and squash is something we expect to be available through at least the early spring) we’ll reach out to the farmers at the market. Do you have more squash to sell? Know of any other farms that do? If that search comes up dry, Farm Fresh will seek out squash from RI or MA growers not at the market. All that said, week 2 of the market had a bountiful selection with only a few surprises despite last week’s wintry temperatures.

Onions, potatoes, winter squash: There was a dearth of onions, potatoes and winter squash the first week. These are all foods we hope to be available for months to come. Sure enough it just took one request to Hill Orchards (potatoes) and Wishing Stone Farm (onions and squash) and the market was stocked in week 2.

New at the market: Marcia’s Chutneys and Jams are made in season with fruit from the Hope High Farmers’ Market; carrot-parsnip-turnip roasting packs and pre-peeled butternut from Wishing Stone Farm; tangelos from Sheri’s parents’ citrus grove by Vero Beach, Florida; pecans from Sheri’s aunt’s pecan orchard in Georgia; X-mas trees pre-ordered through The Good Earth for pickup at the market.

We missed: Perry of Matunuck Oyster Farm and Art from Mello Family Farm, but both will be back next Saturday.

Season’s farewell to: This was River Farm’s last week. As a new farmer, many kudos to Paul for being part of the Wintertime Market for the first two weeks. We look forward to next year, when River Farm will have a full season – and a bountiful harvest of food – under its belt.

What we’re working on for the coming weeks: more greens! Simmons Farm has bunches of kale ready for harvest this coming Saturday.

A generous crowd turned out to see RISD student-designed aprons parade down the runaway at last Friday’s Project Apron: Fighting Hunger with Fashion. Mayor Cicilline and two Big Nazo puppets joined the ranks of a dozen other volunteer models to show off 40 designs to the audience of 120 bidders. Organized by Ginny Dunleavy and Louella Hill at RISD Dining, with a financial match from the Feinstein Foundation and an in-kind match from participating local farmers, the evening raised $5,600 for Farm Fresh’s Fresh Food Drive and the RI Food Bank.

Winds rolled through the streets of downtown. But inside Eno last night it was nice and toasty and reeked of cheese. The smell – and a tasting or two – of Rhode Island’s first artisan cheese drew a crowd of 60 into the cozy wine shop, with Mayor Cicilline and Secretary of State Mollis on hand to cut an inaugural wheel of Divine Providence.

Each of the 5 varieties – a ricotta, a feta, a queso blanco, a gouda, an asiago – was made in a small batch with milk from cows no more than 50 miles away. Providence Specialty Producers, which has been making cheese in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence for 60 years, is meeting with local dairies to cut that distance even farther, with a goal to source solely from Rhode Island farms.

You probably didn’t know that Providence Specialty’s feta recipe placed first in the 2007 national competition. Few Rhode Islanders have been able to taste the award-winning cheese being made in their own backyards, since in the past 10 years all of the cheeses have been sold out-of-state.

The Narragansett Creamery label changes that. The cheese cutting marks a proud moment when Rhode Island cheese will be enjoyed by Rhode Island eaters. You’ll find the tasty cheeses at the Wintertime Farmers’ Market, Farmstead Cheese and on restaurant menus across the state. Kudos to Mark Federico, Louella Hill and the rest of the folks at Narragansett Creamery!

The sidewalk had yet to be chalked. In fact the chalk was still packed away with the market banners, credit card machine and Edible Rhody magazines when folks started knocking on the AS220 window. It was Saturday morning around 10, two hours before the market was set to open and an hour before the farmers would even arrive.

Come 12 o’clock, a growing crowd started browsing what was probably the most diverse market Farm Fresh has ever put together. Carrots, spinach, salad mix, lettuce, butternut squash, beets, broccoli, red and green cabbage, turnips, garlic, shallots, leeks, greenhouse tomatoes, eggs, fresh and aged cheeses, beef, oysters, little necks, mussels, cider, 5 varieties of apples, honey, beeswax, wreathes, bread, chocolates, dog treats, coffee, and even 4 colorful varieties of oranges and grapefruits now in season at Sheri’s parents’ grove in Florida. The crowd was lively and continued to grow until the market drew to a 3 o’clock close. And by that point many of the farmers had already sold out.

In all, this first Saturday was a wonderful scene of happy farmers, producers and eaters. We’ll see you next week! By the way, you can contact The Good Earth to pre-order a Christmas tree for pick up at next week’s Wintertime Farmers’ Market.