It seems like everyone is talking about local foods these days. I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s new book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, while in New Hampshire for a couple days. As I was finishing her book, which chronicles her family’s attempt to grow as much of their own food as possible and purchase the rest as locally as possible, my mother-in-law gave me an article from the July 13 edition of Northcountry News, a local paper in Warren, NH. The article, titled ”What’s On the Menu From China Today?” talked about some of the recent food scares caused by agricultural imports from China and the ineffectualness of the FDA in protecting us from unregulated overseas food production. The article went on to highlight the expanding role of China in providing us our daily bread: China provides about 50% of all the apple juice consumed in the US, and 80% of all the ascorbic acid (vitamin C, added to LOTS of processed foods as a preservative) used in the US. What can you do, the author asked, if any of this makes you concerned? Buy local. Support your local farmer, whom you can meet and ask about his/her growing practices. This is the same message, minus the marketing glitz, given by Kingsolver in her book.

Newton’s two farmers’ markets open this month. NCF is selling at both markets this year. Our presence at the markets increases our public exposure, and makes our produce available to more Newton residents. Every time we go to the market we face the same question: Are you organic? Workers at our stand are given explicit instructions on answering this question. We cannot say that we are organic because we are not certified organic by the USDA. We can, however, use the question as an ”educational moment.” What people tend to mean when they ask if we’re organic is, ”How was your produce grown?” Or more to the point, ”Do you use pesticides?” I like to point out to people that ”organic” does not necessarily mean that the grower doesn’t use pesticides. Visit the National Organic Program’s website (http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOP/indexIE.htm). It contains a long list of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodentcides, and chemical fertilizers allowed for use on organic farms. I don’t tell people this to ”bash” organics. Organic farming is a great thing and makes huge improvements over conventional agriculture. I tell people this to try and help them understand what they’re really asking, and what the label ”organic” is really telling them. And I tell them this because, like many small farmers, I question whether the USDA really has the best interests of the soil, farmers, consumers, and the world in mind. You can use the ”organic” label to screen products if you like, but if you’re going to I’d encourage you to at least visit the NOP website and educate yourself about what ”organic” means. Buying local provides an advantage: you can often talk to the farmer and/or visit the farm and see what is being done. With a local farm, organic or not, you can find out what the farmer’s practices are, and decide for yourself whether you think it is sustainable, healthy, ethical.

I hope this doesn’t sound like a rant. I talk about this so often with customers at the market that I thought I’d share my thoughts with all of you. Local is often played off against organic, but that’s not what I’m encouraging here. What I try to encourage whenever I talk to people about their food choices is that they educate themselves because, frankly, there’s a lot of questionable information out there. It isn’t always easy to make informed choices, but there are few things in life that are more immediate to our physical, mental, and spiritual well being than what we put into our bodies. We consider very carefully what car we buy. I hope that we all consider as carefully what food we consume.

On Monday, June 25, Newton Community Farm received an Environmental Leadership Award from the Green Decade Coalition at their annual meeting. This award is presented annually to an individual, a group, and a business deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to the environment. Newton Community Farm was recognized for providing locally grown produce to the Newton community while using sustainable methods. The farm was also recognized for providing environmental education and volunteer opportunities. NCF is committed to truly sustainable crop production. In addition to sound agricultural practices that maintain soil fertility, sustainability means minimizing dependence on fossil fuels. Whenever possible we avoid the use of mechanized equipment. Given the small size of the farm, we elected to purchase an energy-efficient walk-behind tractor rather than a larger riding tractor. Our “walk-behind” burns bio-diesel rather than fossil fuel. Next time you visit the farm, be sure to check out our small solar panel that powers our greenhouse fan. NCF has also dug its own well so that we are not dependent on pumped and treated public water. In the future we hope to improve the energy efficiency of the farmhouse, install another solar panel to power our well pump, install composting public toilets in the barn, and explore other ways of modeling sustainable practices.

Welcome to our newest business sponsor-Lipof Real Estate Services, Inc. Thank you to Lipof Real Estate Services for providing a generous donation to fund a new sign kiosk for the farm. The kiosk, to be constructed near the Winchester Street entrance, will provide information about the farm and upcoming events to farm visitors. Lipof Real Estate Services provides comprehensive real estate valuation, advisory, and consulting services (http://www.lipofres.com/). Business owner and Alderman Rick Lipof was a strong advocate for the City’s acquisition and preservation of the Angino Farm Site, and continues to be a strong supporter of the farm. With this generous contribution, Lipof Real Estate Services joins other businesses such as Newtonville Camera, National Lumber, and Bransfield Tree Company in supporting Newton Community Farm. If you would like additional information about business sponsorships, contact Jon Regosin at berkowitz.regosin@verizon.net.

This month, we welcome back campers from Outdoor Adventure, a summer camp run by the Newton Parks & Recreation Department out of Nahanton Park. Campers from Outdoor Adventure experience the outdoors through a variety of activities including canoeing and fishing in the Charles River and exploring the forests and fields of Nahanton Park. During summer 2006, Outdoor Adventure campers visited Newton Community Farm, and we are pleased to welcome them back this summer. Campers will walk the field, learn about composting and other sustainable practices, and, perhaps most importantly, get their hands dirty.

Newton Community Farm is in the process of expanding its educational offerings to Newton residents of all ages. We have a successful high school internship program now in its second year, and this year we launched a home gardening course, offered through Newton Community Education. The continued generosity of farm supporters will enable our non-profit community farm to reach its full potential as a center for environmental education and sustainability in the City of Newton.

-Tomato cages
-Tomato stakes (5 feet or longer)
-Someone to deliver food to the Newton Food Pantry every Wednesday at 12:30

f you can help us with these, please contact Greg Maslowe at 617/916-9655 or email him at (NewtonCommunityFarm@comcast.net).