| VENDOR PROFILE: Springdell Farm, Littleton, MA
By Jan Santos, Westford Academy Class of 2010
Pictured at left, Jamie Cruz, Farmer.
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I had the pleasure of interviewing Jaime Cruz, a twenty-one
year old woman who is one of the owners and every-day workers at
Springdell Farm in Littleton. Jaime's mother Paula, the main owner of
the farm is also a worker on the farm, which makes this farm special in
the sense that it is run by women; something rare when it comes to
farms. The farm was started in 1931 by Paula's grandparents James and
Marea Theodorus, who immigrated into the United States from Greece and
settled in Littleton. Back then, they also owned land in Groton, but
today that is not the case.
Jamie's great-grandparents put the
farm on the market to be sold during the late 1930's because of the
depression, but they could not sell it because the land consisted of
rocky terrain. In fact, the farm used to be called Rocky Farm because
of these rocks, but nonetheless the then dairy farm was on the market
and did not sell. Years later the farm would be converted into a corn
farm. The farm today has a variety of animals ranging from Black Angus
cattle, sheep, goats, chicken, bees, and a pig named Porky, to the
less-common guinea fowl, burro, and fainting goats, which on occasion,
will unpredictably faint. The farm even owns a mustang that Jaime and
her father Bob Robinson rescued from Nevada when it was going to be
sold to the government.
This 60-acre farm is taken care of by
only 6 workers, and they produce their own honey, eggs, meat, fruit,
vegetables, and flowers. Anything you could possibly need, they'll have
at Springdell! Stop by the farm stand on Littleton Road/Route 119, just
a couple miles from Route 495 Exit 31 (Littleton Common).
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VENDOR PROFILE: Hmong Farm, Lancaster, MA
By Jan Santos, Westford Academy Class of 2010
Pictured: Mairi and Nua Hang;
two views of the fields at Flats Mentor farm; Asian farmers in the
fields. (click on the photos to enlarge)
I traveled out to Lancaster to visit Flats
Mentor Farm and learn more about Hmong Farm (pronounced "mung"), which
attends the Westford Farmer's Market every Tuesday.
Flats Mentor is a mentoring farm, which supports and
assists small farmers of diverse backgrounds with the farming
facilities and marketing assistance they need to have successful faming
businesses. The mentoring process turns no one away from land, but
currently does not outreach to get people to come to the farm. Flats
Mentor is supported by several agencies including Heifer International
USDA and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and participates in a
total of thirty-four farmers markets including Westford's.
I
had the pleasure of talking to Maria Moreria, the director of Flats
Mentor, and I learned many interesting facts about the farm and the
farmers who work there. Maria is a dairy farmer who, together with a
few other farms in the area, wanted to help people get started with
farming. She provides these farmers with facilities that allow the
farmers to start up their own farms. The number of farmers selling at
markets, and the sales generated, have increased each year from 6
farmers markets in 2005 to over 30 in 2008.
One of these farmers
at Flats is Yia Ly, of Hmong Farm. Ly was a refugee from the Vietnam
War, and from Laos, a country northeast of Thailand and west of
Vietnam. The Hmong come from an agrarian background which means they use farming in
their everyday lives to survive. Hmong is a very rich, ancient culture
with origins in southern China.
Although I did not have a chance
to speak to Yia Ly, as she was busy with the wholesale business, I was
able to ask Nua Hang, one of her daughters who attends the Westford
market. Nua told me that her mother came to the US in the 1980s and
was always a farmer from the day she was born, which is how they make
their living. Ly has ten children. The children work the farmer's
markets and Yia works the wholesale business.
Hmong Farm has a
variety of Asian herbs and vegetables that are sold each week in the
farmer's market. If you are wondering what to do with some of the
interesting items they sell, Nua will be glad to provide information
and recipes.
For more information on Flats Mentor, please visit the website at www.flatsmentor.org
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Market Diary
Tuesday July 29, 2008
By Mindy Zhang, Westford Academy Class of 2011
A gentle breeze welcomed us to this week's market. The weather was calm and extremely relaxing, unlike the recent weeks of terrorous thunder storms and unbearable summer heat. Many customers enter the market just as swiftly and quietly as the welcoming breezes that passed through, cooling everyone.
Lots of events were going on. The hula hoop raffle perked the attention of families with young and adoring children. Cooking To Learn featured fruit kabobs which the children happily constructed. There weren't just events that interested children but many adults, parents and people who love our earth: At the Education table, Kimberly Macey talked about "Clean Energy" and shoppers caught sight of the first release of the Westford Farmer's Market shopping bag. (It's not a question about "paper or plastic" anymore!! Choose a re-usable bag!)
The week's entertainment suited the calm and lazy afternoon with gentle songs played on the piano and soft singing done by Carol Benrhard and Bill Harman, and later, some more rousing tunes by OhCONTRAire.
Everyone at the market seem to enjoy our sweet, pink lemonade as well as the many flavors of iced tea offered by "In Hot Water."
The sun dropped lower in the sky, reminding families of their warm homes and the welcoming dinners that would be made with love using ingredients of the freshest kind. The ending of the day at the farmer's market had a fun and easy atmosphere.
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Watermelon has numerous health benefits
This
delicious fruit is unusually high in an amino acid known as citrulline.
Our bodies use citrulline to make yet another amino acid, arginine,
which helps cells divide, wounds heal, and ammonia to be removed from
the body. Read more!
ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2007)
Watermelon: the new "Viagra?"
Scientists
say watermelon has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like
effects to the body’s blood vessels and may even increase libido. “The
more we study watermelons, the more we realize just how amazing
a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body,” said
Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable
Improvement Center in College Station.
“We’ve always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of
its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study.
Beneficial ingredients in watermelon and other fruits and vegetables
are known as phyto-nutrients, naturally occurring compounds that are
bioactive, or able to react with the human body to trigger healthy
reactions, Patil said.
In watermelons, these include lycopene, beta carotene and the rising
star among its phyto-nutrients – citrulline – whose beneficial
functions are now being unraveled. Among them is the ability to relax
blood vessels, much like Viagra does. Read more!
ScienceDaily (July 1, 2008)
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Posted 7/1/08
Choose the Best Eggs
Most
of the eggs currently sold in supermarkets are nutritionally inferior
to eggs produced by hens raised on pasture. That’s the conclusion Mother Earth News reached following completion of their 2007 egg
testing project. Testing found that, compared to official U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs,
eggs from hens raised on pasture may contain:
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene
These
amazing results come from 14 flocks around the country that range
freely on pasture or are housed in moveable pens that are rotated
frequently to maximize access to fresh pasture and protect the birds
from predators.
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Posted 6/24/08
What is a Locavore?
A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally
or within a certain radius such as 50, 100, or 150 miles. The locavore
movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to
produce their own food, with the argument that fresh, local products
are more nutritious and taste better. Locally grown food is an
environmentally friendly means of obtaining food, since supermarkets
that import their food use more fossil fuels and non-renewable
resources.
"Locavore" was coined by Jessica Prentice from the San Francisco Bay Area on the occasion of World Environment Day
2005 to describe and promote the practice of eating a diet consisting
of food harvested from within an area most commonly bound by a 100 mile
radius. "Localvore" is sometimes also used.
The New Oxford American Dictionary chose locavore, a person who
seeks out locally produced food, as its word of the year 2007. The
local foods movement is gaining momentum as people discover that the
best-tasting and most sustainable choices are foods that are fresh,
seasonal, and grown close to home. Some locavores draw inspiration from
the 100-Mile Diet or from advocates of local eating like Barbara Kingsolver whose book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
chronicles her family's attempts to eat locally. Others just follow
their taste buds to farmers' markets, community supported agriculture
programs, and community gardens.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_food
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