Northern California Renewal; Field to Fork California

Now that school has started and the dry landscape is awaiting autumn moisture, many of us may have already forgotten the abundant rains and wildflowers we experienced earlier in the year. Last spring a superbloom of wildflowers beckoned us outdoors after a much-awaited wet winter brought healing from drought and wildfires. Hobby gardeners soon felt the itch to put their hands in the soil. Farmers and ranchers didn’t have the luxury of waiting until the rains passed before they braved the elements. Long before wildflowers raised their heads, local agriculturists were diligently coaxing the soil and tending crops and herds—eking out their living in the midst of Northern California’s unpredictable weather. As they toiled, new life was born and with the new life, renewal.

The Gould Family, owners of Field to Fork California
Photo by Alexis LeClair

Eating locally fresh food supports local farmers

How can we share in the Northern California renewal? In our area, Field to Fork California (formerly known as Field to Fork Tehama) will bring it right to your door! Field to Fork California is a nontraditional, multi-farm CSA, (community-supported agriculture), with a distribution system connecting local farmers and ranchers to consumers. Rachelle Gould, owner and her husband, Jake, are passionate about “eating locally fresh” and handing money directly to the farmers and ranchers faithfully dotting the landscape from the Bay Area to Glenn County and up to Shasta County. Each week, Rachelle supports those producers as she sources the food to pass on to her customers.

Field to Fork California offers their customers control over their subscription through their website. You can order week-by-week, skip a week or commit to a three-month or six-month subscription. No matter which you choose, Field to Fork California keeps their commitment to deliver a crate of that fresh, local harvest to their customers’ doors each Thursday. A sample box for customers ordering both vegetables and meat might contain cauliflower, red radishes, bok choy, carrots, sassy salad mix, sugar snap peas, komatsuna greens, pork chops, ground beef, chicken and stew meat. In addition to produce and proteins they offer eggs, milk, cheese, butter, oils, nuts and more. In the summer, the customers’ kids look forward to seeing what fruit the “Watermelon Lady” might bring next.

A box delivered to my door with flavorful and fresh food harvested in Northern California? Less decision making and less shopping? Sign me up!

Goodbye shopping stress and picky eaters

Something magical occurs for both adults and children upon receiving that box. It’s like a gift box full of surprises. Shopping stress vanishes from the adult while wonder fills the child. A box on their doorstep brings ownership to the child, as if they produced the food themselves—so long picky eaters! Rachelle’s daughter, Maggie, 10, was a very picky eater until their family started working together, packing the boxes for delivery. You’ll never guess Maggie’s new favorite food . . . flowers! She nibbles arugula and kale flowers while little sister Claire happily grazes through an array of fresh produce.

Erin Urban, a longtime customer, says the CSA has, “decreased the time spent planning meals and heading out to the store, while also allowing us to cook ‘outside of our box’ and try new veggies and meats that we wouldn’t normally buy. Our kids (ages seven and 11) are even willing to try new things! Veggies are a hard sell for any toddler, but we are able to play it up that these veggies are ‘special’ because they come from around where we live.”

Collaboration and renewal

“From around where we live” is key and so is “collaboration over competition.” If Field to Fork California isn’t right for you, Rachelle hopes you will find a CSA that is—eating fresh food and supporting local producers is what matters. One of Rachelle’s suppliers, Carrie Lustig, CEO of Fulfilling Fields Organic Farm, has similar goals, “I was not raised privileged by most definitions, but I was raised with the privilege of picking and tasting amazing, organic strawberries grown less than 50 feet from my front door. I didn’t realize it for many years, but this experience changed my life. I was hooked. Hooked on the REAL flavors of REAL food. After many years in a totally different profession, I decided to devote my life to recapturing this childhood experience. I want my daughter and the diverse families in our community to experience this every single day. CSAs such as Field to Fork California make it possible for small farms like mine to reach this goal.”

Collaboration, renewal, life, is like the wildflowers flourishing after dry years. As our beloved Northern California recovers from drought and fires, one way to foster renewal and aid in the “beauty from ashes” is to keep money local by supporting our treasured farms and ranches through CSAs such as Field to Fork California.

Why not join as a Christmas present for the whole family? The cook in your house will enjoy cooking with the quality, flavorful foods and will no doubt be the hero at the dinner table. Sign up at
http://www.fieldtoforkca.com.

Field to Fork California’s frequent suppliers:

• Burlisons
• Chico State Meat Labs
• Clay Farms
• Comanche Creek
• Country Morning Bakery
• Grub
• Gold Roots
• Heinke Farms
• Maywood Farms
• Red Gate Ranch
• Sierra Nevada Cheese
• Sohnrey Bros