REPORT FROM A SMALL FARM IN BOONVILLE
There are a number of ways in which we sell what we harvest and produce. One of them has been a boon to us as small farmers.
The Mendo/Lake Food Hub is a Mendocino based organization with which we began participating nearly two years ago. It is partially funded by CDFA (CA Dept of Food and Agriculture), with Federal and local non-profit money in the mix. The idea for its creation was to help small farms reach with their fresh harvests people in localized areas. Our Hub covers the vast rural area of both Mendocino and Lake counties. Last year it was delivering to individuals in the counties living up endless dirt roads. Now there are specific pick up and delivery points. Cutbacks by the federal government may have been the impetus for this change.
On Sunday night we, the farmers, have to list our sales items…their names, price per pound or bunch, amounts, a descriptor if needed/wanted, and a picture on the website for sale. On Monday the site goes live and alerts everyone in both counties interested in shopping to what's available for the next two days. Shopping ends on Tuesday night and on Wednesday early morning we receive an email invoice telling us what we need to deliver to our local drop spot (3 miles away in our case).
The vegetables and fruits in the picture above are some of what we've delivered to our Hub drop point over this year. They in turn deliver to schools, food banks and individuals. The coordination and work involved is enormous but so are the benefits. Most of the land in the two counties is mountainous and heavily wooded and most of the flat farmland in both counties is taken up by vineyards, considered a more viable business. (No longer necessarily true). Farming is a secondary (or tertiary) land use and not honored in any major way.
But, REMEMBER, anything one ingests is a drug, so it pays to eat well. (Thank you for your attention to this matter (;>))
The Hub provides access to the good foods in our counties and a living for the farmers who provide it.
We hope you all enjoyed your rallies as much as we. Keep resisting and have a happy fall.
PS: From ‘JAMES,’ by Percival Everett, 2024, a riff on Huck Finn from Jim's perspective…
“That seems right awful.”
”I s'pose it do. But dey was stealin' from dem folks. Tellin' lies lak dey was. He weren't neber no pirate.”
”Yes, but them people liked it, Jim. Did you see their faces? They had to know them was lies, but they wanted to believe. What do you make of that?”
”Folks be funny lak dat. Dey takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares 'em.”
— Nikki Auschnitt & Steve Krieg, Petit Teton Farm, Boonville
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