We can find so much on the internet today, but it is getting harder and harder to know what to believe.
I have seen some things that were totally fake — created by artificial intelligence — with people we “know” saying things (and their mouth is moving with the words) that we know are not true, words that they have never said.
Where does it end? How are we supposed to know what we can believe any more? I do not spend much time on the internet (as I have told you in the past, I am a dinosaur somehow mistakenly put in this era), and I am finding I want to spend less and less time using my fingers to do the research for me, unless I know it is a reputable source.
Food information can be just as real or as fake, so it is important that we know our source. We need to get our information from sources we trust and know are reliable. It is hard for me to fathom how some people can be so naive about their food, but more and more people have no experience with farming, so they just have never been exposed to what it takes to grow the food we eat.
I guess they just assume if it is being sold in a store that it is good for them. That’s not the case. A few years ago (OK, more than a few), I took nutrition classes while earning my bachelor’s degree. But it is not necessary to have nutrition training to be able to make an informed decision about what to put into our bodies.
I want to eat real food.
I do not want added sugars (proven addictive, which is why so many companies add unneeded sugar to their products), chemicals (not natural foods that our bodies evolved to use and need), coloring (again, frequently not natural) and preservatives (ditto).
I grow a large garden (then freeze, can and dry for year-round use) and butcher my own animals or get them from other farmers I know and trust. Not everyone can or wants to raise their own, but I would encourage you to give it a try. Grow some herbs you commonly use in a pretty pot in the window of your kitchen, put a tomato or a cucumber in a pot on your porch or plant a little bit of lettuce in a one foot square in some corner of your yard. You don’t have to go full-out farmer to eat some wonderful foods that will taste much better than what you buy in a grocery store.
So, what else to do?
The Southwest Washington Food Hub is a great answer for many people. It started in 2019 in Tumwater, and, in January 2024, it grew and branched out with another facility — a new warehouse in the Port of Chehalis complex. It is a branch of the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative. It is owned by members from Lewis, Thurston, Pierce, Grays Harbor, Pacific and Mason counties. Here is everyone’s chance to buy fresh, local produce directly from farmers.
The smallest farm is on one-half acre. They specialize in growing microgreens. The largest is a 400-acre grain operation. The co-op helps farmers in that they can specialize in crops that grow best in their soil type and microclimate instead of trying to grow a little of everything. Farmers can tend to their crops instead of worrying about marketing and meeting with individual customers. It helps them to be more efficient.
They all work together to produce a community supported agriculture (CSA) product. The “summer/fall multi-farm box” of food is basically all the vegetables (with some added value items and eggs at times) a family of four will eat in a week for $37. It is available July 11 to Oct. 17 in 2024. There will also be a “winter box” later in the season. The box can be customized to the individual purchaser, an added bonus. And for those who own a business or work in some sort of agency or office, they offer what is called a “workplace wellness farm share” designed to help groups improve their diet by having access to fresh, quality produce.
Again, it is a box of produce but with the additional benefit of an educational component. It includes information on what types of things are available, how to cook them, how to store them, maybe even a recipe or two thrown in. So, talk it up where you work and get started eating better and feeling healthier.
The Food Hub has drop sites in the Twin Cities and Rochester and will expand to other areas as the demand increases. If you want to have fresh, locally grown foods and support local farmers but can’t make it to the farmers markets, here is the deal you have been waiting for.
To learn more about the Food Hub and to sign up you, go to their website at swwafoodhub.com, or email info@swwafoodhub.com.
If you have children in local schools, it is good to know that some area schools are also taking advantage of the Food Hub to source locally grown, fresh food products for their school cafeterias. It is nice to know that some of them are looking for ways to improve the meals (nutritionally and aesthetically) they are serving students.
The Food Hub is a great way for farmers and consumers to work together. It is supported by the Northwest Agriculture Business Center, Washington State University’s Thurston County Extension, the Thurston County Economic Development Council and the Lewis County Farm Bureau.
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Maureen Harkcom is president of the Lewis County Farm Bureau. She can be reached at maureen.harkcom@gmail.com.
