[dharmama]

(not sure where to post this. i keep going back and forth between nutrition and good eating, green living, country/off-grid living, but since i posted my last csa question here, i'm going to stick with it again. please someone let me know if there is a better place. thanks!)

so i'm going to be doing a weekly newsletter and planning monthly events at our csa this summer in exchange for our share and i'm looking for ideas!!

events are pretty well set. we already do weekly yoga before the farmer's market in july and august. i am also starting to pull together facilitators/teachers for a "lost arts" series. things like sewing and mending, canning/preserving, basic woodcrafts, wool crafts etc. and i am planning a hoedown for the end of the season!!

we're hoping to show some movies too, but i just found out that another organization is already doing that, so we're just going to help promote/support them!

now for the newsletter...the basic stuff (what's in the share barn, a message from the farm manager, announcements etc.) will be included and then i'm trying to add a bit more to help create a little stronger feeling of community.

i'm thinking of highlighting someone (a farm hand or a volunteer) each week and asking them a few questions about how they came to be involved with the farm, what they love best (or least) about farm work etc.

i'm also thinking of having some classified ads where people can submit things for a very small amount (like $2-3 per week) to announce events, products, services etc. that are in alignment with the mission of the farm.

i'll be sharing photos each week that i take around the farm (and/or that other people submit).

and i'm toying with the idea of including a recipe or preservation tip each week. (but i just want to be careful that i don't make it so involved that it takes way more than the four hours i've committed to work.)

are there any csa recipe services out there that we could join, i wonder?

anything else would you like to see in your csa newsletter?

thanks!!!

 

[sogriffin]

I like the recipe idea. We are making an effort eat local and in-season, so I'm always looking for tried and true recipes from people who know what they are doing (I say this as an Alaskan living in Florida, who once tried to make a salad from collard greens because I had NO IDEA that you were supposed to cook "greens"!), Reader-submitted recipes would be easiest and the best way of going about deciding what to publish, imo.

Also, it may end up being too much work, but I always enjoy the "2-minute-activist" type of articles that give readers an idea of important issues and how they can help without spending too much time. (Sort of like the 'stick and carrot' feature of Vegetarian Times if you know what I'm talking about). Just give an important (hopefully local) issue, and the address of who to write to express outrage. Or an organization that readers can look into if they want to support something related to the cause (like groups that strive to bring fresh foods to public schools, or give props to the White House for planting an organic food garden)

It sounds like you have such an active and fun CSA! Good luck

 

[laohaire]

Sounds like a nice newsletter. I get a few farm/csa newsletters, and they usually include:

- Seasonal recipe (I think they get them from books, experience and reader submissions)
- General updates, what's "up," what crops are looking like they are going to be bumper crops, what type of weather we should hope for (a little rain each morning, for example), upcoming crops we should be starting to get excited about, any animals born and so on
- Events. Our dairy farm hosts music events ($15 a ticket... they are pretty good shows I guess), yoga sessions, and they have a small art gallery (!). The other places mostly just have a couple of harvest dinners, plus pick-your-own, that sort of thing.
- One guy includes kind of a blog/journal entry. It's more than just updates but rather his contemplations for the week, things he's noticed, philosophical thoughts, insightful stories about his daughter growing up on the farm, that kind of thing. Those are terrific.
- News (ahem, HR-875) and calls to action
- Personally, I wouldn't mind a spotlight on a vegetable or something. History, nutritional value, what varieties you're growing, that sort of thing. I haven't seen anyone do that, but I think it could be interesting.

 

[dharmama]

very cool ideas. thank you so much!

 

[lightheart]

what about meals, pictures of dishes that readers have summitted with what they made with the food they got. You could det up a template and have them fill in the blanks with the recipe and insert the picture, would save you time on the making of the newsletter.

 

[dharmama]

great ideas. thanks lightheart!