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Well, the holiday season has come and gone. Here at MLF we hope you had a wonderful time with family, friends & delicious local food! On behalf of all our producers, bakers, artisans and volunteers, Kelley, Kerrie & Sheryl want to thank you all for a record-breaking end to 2009!
Looking forward to 2010, we are excited to continue our search for wonderful, quality, local products. That is one of the reasons Kelley and Sheryl went to the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) Winter Conference on Jan. 15th. MLF was well received by everyone who visited our table, including the keynote speaker, Joel Salatin from Polyface Farm (featured in Food, Inc. and the Omnivore's Dilemma as a "beyond organic" example of farming). It was inspiring to hear his talk about farming/distributing outside the world of agribusiness and to then have him come to us, praise the work of MLF and offer encouragement.
We talked to several small organic producers who expressed an interest in selling through the co-op and met many potential customers. We hope that sometime in the next year, all of you who have taken a chance on us during these past 8 months will be able to proudly say that you were a part of Mass Local Food "before it was so big/famous"!
Upcoming Events: Mass Local Food's interim Board of Directors is planning our first annual meeting. As members of the coop, you are entitled to one vote per membership on each of the business items we discuss……you will be helping to shape MLF here in MA! The afternoon is not just about business though. It is an opportunity to meet those other members who are buying & selling through us, to share a delicious pot-luck, and to experience a bit of fun on a long winter's day.
New Producers: The Fiddler's Garden has joined us with homemade stepping stones. They will also have produce as time goes on.
Just Thinking: But Mass Local Food is so Expensive!
Kerrie recently offered these thoughts about the price of eating through MLF. Her bill for Mass Local Food that month was $96.03. Seems expensive, but is it?
"My bill for Mass Local Food is really high for the relatively small package (I am old enough to remember filling the back of my car for $100). But when I look at what I get, there is a good reason. If I separated my weekly/monthly grocery list into the every-day items and the specialty items, like really great cheddar, gouda and goat cheese, fine meats, bakery products, treats for the dog, quality herbs, and unique flavored jams & jellies, even the grocery store bag filled with the specialty goodies would probably cost about the same, or possibly more than Mass Local Food.
I cannot compare (in price or quality) Honeybee Baking Companies desserts to the grocery store bakery, or my cheddar that I get from Smith's Country Cheese with the Land O' Lakes variety that I might get on sale at Market Basket. And I want my children to know what Cheddar and Gouda taste like - the finer nuances of the flavors. Now, for economy and convenience, I will admit to always having a shrink wrapped bar or two of junky Swiss (in case I decide on Quiche Lorraine) or cheddar (in case I am having a tomato based soup), but I want the good stuff too.
The meats that I purchase are not even comparable to anything in a butcher shop or grocery store (including Whole Foods - which is NOT a farm store. It is a big box grocery store). Mass local meats actually come straight from the farm. The producer knows what the animal ate, how much exercise it got, how fast it could run into a new pasture when it was first opened, where it spent its afternoons on a hot summer day… Unless you are shopping at a farmer-owned meat shop, your butcher is likely purchasing animals wherever s/he can find them, and butchering them as-is. Not quite the same thing…
I purchased a vanilla "solid perfume" for my lovely and sophisticated teenage daughter who had purchased a bottle of scent with her teenage birthday money. I'm sure the solid perfume that I purchased will last as long as the bottle that she purchased and is about the same price. Not having to smell the sticky sweet cotton-candy smell around this house anymore?…Priceless!
Coffee, freshly roasted the Wednesday or Thursday before delivery day by Mark Johns in Holden is delicious and at $10.00 per pound is about the same price as a good quality coffee that was freshly roasted in a far-away manufacturing center before being packed and shipped half way across the country.
Freshly milled flour and whole grains grown in Northfield….It is just not possible to get fresh flour any other way. I'll be making whole wheat bread and beef barley soup soon.
Echinacea from Turessa Botanical is half what I would pay elsewhere. And I have talked to Dawn and feel comfortable with her knowledge and skill in making these tinctures.
Well, I could go on, but, in case you are still reading, I'll stop here. These items are so far superior to the same items from your grocery store. It's just that they are collectively the more expensive items on your list whether you are getting them at the grocery store or Mass Local Food.
Can Mass Local Food products be part of a healthy and thrifty meal plan? It works very well for me!"
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!!!!!
Kelley, Kerrie, and Sheryl
and the entire Mass Local Food Board of Directors
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