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"S" Stands for Swiss Chard

9/17/2009 11:28am by Anne Patterson

Good Earth Food Alliance
1st Annual

Meet-The-Farmer Gathering

You've read about them, tasted their food, and helped them live their dream.

Join us to learn more about this unique opportunity to become more connected with the food you eat, the seasons, the land and the farmer who is growing your food.

We would like to invite everyone interested to our

Season in Review and CSA Preview 2010

Monday, September 28th, 2009
Peoria County Extension Office

4810 North Sheridan
6 to 8 pm

CSA: Colorful Swiss chard Appreciation

by Good Earth Food Alliance grower, Amy Brucker

Some drive more than 60 miles each Tuesday. Some experiment with an herb they've never heard of. Some tell their friends about it. Some google recipe ideas. Some try a vegetable they've never really liked. Some speak out on local TV or in the newspaper about it. Some walk away from their favorite foreign-grown vegetables and fruits at the grocery store and, instead, eat the seasonal vegetables provided by their CSA that week. The means are many, yet the intention is the same - to SUPPORT sustainable growers and producers through a membership to a CSA.

"Support" is the "S" in CSA. It's in the center. It's key. It's what sets it apart. Without the "S" we simply have community agriculture, which connotes local and something being produced off the land. This could mean shopping at your local farmers' market or using ethanol-based fuels in your vehicle (if you live in corn country like we do here in central Illinois). Let me tell you what keeping the "S" in CSA means to me as a grower for Good Earth Food Alliance.

Some of the first seeds I put in the ground this spring were swiss chard, a brightly-colored green that can be harvested as part of a salad mix when small, shredded and boiled for a side dish when bigger, and chopped and stir-fried when large. One of the most nutrient-packed and versatile vegetables, it is sadly overlooked and seldom appears in grocery store aisles, yet it grows abundantly all season long in central Illinois.

Because our CSA members purchased 22 weeks of seasonal central Illinois vegetables, they also had to be willing to experiment with ones they may not have tried before - including swiss chard. We provided recipes, verbal instructions for cooking, helpful storage hints, and watched contentedly as many made the leap into unknown vegetable territory. Every effort put forth by our CSA members to:

be there to pick up
work with the vegetables that were producing abundantly in our fields that week
share what they learned with others

is exactly the support we need to continue doing this year after year! Go Members!

We know that lines never form outside the swiss chard stand at the farmers' market. But, by eating my swiss chard, my CSA members are helping to keep my crops diverse, helping me to stay chemical-free, helping me to be profitable so I will want and be able to do this again next year - and that's even before they realize how great it tastes and how good it is for them!

Support your local swiss chard patch!

to Good Earth Food Alliance CSA Members:

We've got four more weeks of produce to bring to you before the cold weather hits. It's a great time to freeze up unused vegetables for winter soups.
Our webstore has a few more lamb cuts and lots of seasonal breads by Basil's Harvest. Farm fresh eggs are available too.
Basil's Harvest is still offering a Soup Share for the month of October (5 weeks). Follow the link here.