{"id":414,"date":"2008-10-14T12:19:35","date_gmt":"2008-10-14T12:19:35","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2008-10-14T12:19:35","modified_gmt":"2008-10-14T12:19:35","slug":"october-afternoons-at-the-farmstand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/october-afternoons-at-the-farmstand\/","title":{"rendered":"October afternoons at the farmstand."},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday and Tuesday afternoons, I work the farmstand.\"P9180114\"<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

The red barn sits back from the intersection of two busy roads in Riverhead, Long Island. Behind it lay the fields from which all our produce is harvested. Our lawn, now that it is October, is covered in hay, corn stalks, and pumpkins. Albeit brought in from other farms and rather contrived, the scene attracts city and suburbia dwellers who flock to the farm to get a taste of autumn. <\/p>\n

\"P9180111\"<\/a>
\n A big draw is the animals. We have miniature goats, some sheep, and a crazy looking cow. There is also a small chicken coop with about six hens and a super aggressive rooster (watch out, he will attack and leave scars; I\u2019m living proof!) The animals eat the refuse when we can\u2019t sell it anymore \u2013 wilted greens, smushy tomatoes, carrot tops. Kids and adults stop by every day just to feed the animals, our living compost. <\/p>\n

Many people walk through the farmstand just to read the names of vegetables. In their thick Long Island accents, they exclaim, \u201cLook at that, Golden Zucchini! Well, it is yellow!\u201d or \u201cWow, I\u2019ve never seen a white eggplant!\u201d and \u201cCheese squash! Never heard of a cheese squash!\u201d Or, they drag their toddlers in, saying, \u201cLook honey, this is an orange tomato,\u201d and \u201cKale is kind of like lettuce. See how frilly it is? Isn\u2019t that pretty?\u201d<\/p>\n

I like to come out from behind the register and talk with them. I tell them how to cook these bizarre foods. Why they have so much flavor compared to the produce that is shipped in refrigerated truck and shrink-wrapped into preserved taste oblivion. How they are grown. What we had to do to get them from the ground into the farmstand to sell. Why it is worth $2 a pound for onions and potatoes, $5 a dozen for eggs. <\/p>\n

I believe in this food. I want people to buy it and eat it and discover how good food can be. I want them to consider this a health investment, a longevity investment, an economic investment. <\/p>\n

Coming out to the farm from New York City or even the suburbia of Long Island brings you into a different world. From the take-out capital of the world where entire meals are sold in Styrofoam trays from street vendors to the dirty reality of muddy beets. It\u2019s good to get your hands dirty; get some dirt under those manicured French tips; smell the earth in the freshness of your food.\n<\/p>\n

\"P9180116_2\"<\/a>
\n
So wherever you are, go visit a farm this fall. See what kinds of produce they are harvesting. Feed some goats. Roll in the hay. Pick pumpkins. And know that you know where your food comes from. <\/p>\n

—————–
\"Img_1528_2\"<\/a>
\n    
Alexandra Buck is a novice apprentice at an organic working farm on the
\nNorth Fork of Long Island, New York. She served as Young Adult Intern
\nat the Presbyterian United Nations Office 2007-2008 before making the
\nmove to get her hands dirty at the farm. She loves beets as big as your
\nface, heirloom tomatoes, pumpkin patches, and regeneration.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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