Massachusetts Local Food Report

Our co-op continues to grow!  We added some new producers and we hope you are able to find their products….Elim Lodge Farm’s tomatillos & Karen Sargent’s salsa kits.  Our regulars have posted some new items as well.  We hope to add more eggs, some winter vegetables, organic yogurt and various types of cheese.

A bit of a nip in the air? A few raindrops?  No matter -- you still have to eat and you deserve farmers’ market fresh.  In addition, keep in mind that it is your patronage that keeps our producers producing.  The reason that you are able to find such great food at our cooperative is simply because you shop through us!  Keep up the good work!

It is still easy to eat seasonally

We are in this great overlap of seasons where we can still have the freshest summer vegetables from our local farmers’ markets along with any of the fall and winter varieties which include leeks, squash, potatoes, beets, carrots, kale, Brussels sprout, salad greens, onions and so much more.  Those markets will be ending soon & MLF will do its best to extend the season by offering some “winter surprises” as soon as we can get the producers to list their products with us.

Salads were appealing on a hot summer evening & there are still some good greens out there, but now it’s getting to be all about comfort food.  Kerrie made a crock pot of chili for dinner recently.  Two pounds of chili stew meat from Maple Heights Farm or Open Meadow Farm, tomatoes, peppers, and butternut squash from the local farmers’ market made a huge pot.  Send some of the chili to school/work the next day & use the rest of what’s left over for a simple and fun nacho meal later in the week.  Fry some corn tortillas just to make the nachos a bit more homemade (just a bit), heap them with chili, cheese from Westfield Farm or your local farmer and warm in the oven.  Use the herbs & spices in Karen Sargent’s salsa kits mixed with chopped tomatillos &/or some of the seasons last tomatoes, cukes & corn as a farm fresh topping for your nacho’s.

Or, instead of chili, you could plan a stew, hearty soup or pot roast seasoned with herbs from Rachel’s Everlasting or Hartman’s Herb Farm and pair it with one of the many flavorful breads from Glimpses of New England Past or the hot pepper cornbread or health bread from Log Cabin Orchard.  If you like spreadable fruit, jams or jellies on your breads, we certainly have a wide selection!

For your Christmas shopping pleasure:

Consider packing away a few Christmas gifts during our November delivery day.  There will only be two Christmas shopping opportunities at Mass Local Food, so don’t delay.  Some ideas are: cutting boards, furniture, dried flower & herbal swags or wreaths, dream pillows, crocheted earrings, gift baskets filled with coffee/tea & honey, soaps, beeswax candles & bath mitts, a variety of relishes, or jams, jellies & some award winning cheese.  If you have holiday parties early in the month, don’t forget to order extra of the wonderful baked goods supplied by Honeybee Bakery & Mary’s Muffins.  Shop MLF for a more relaxed holiday season!

Help us find some coolers:

Mass Local Food is looking for coolers.  If you can get your hands on some of those Styrofoam medical supply coolers, we could use some…they hold the cold for an incredibly long time. If you know a place where they get recycled or returned, please let us know & we will see if we can get some there.  These would be a great size for us to use for orders and if these coolers are just getting thrown into the dump, we would put them to good use instead.  Remember that Mass Local Food is an all volunteer endeavor and there is really no budget to purchase supplies.  It would be great to reuse something that may be ending up in our landfills anyways!

FYI  Good 4 You Tea will reuse her boxes if you bring them back on delivery day.  We are still trying to figure out ways to reduce the packaging of our items.  Also, we encourage you to bring your own reusable bags when picking up your orders.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!!!!!