Rural Food Banks/Community Kitchen, helping feed the people that grow your food

I would be interested to see if there is any support, interest or need to start up a food bank serving Rural communities. This could be an extension of the community garden project that has been started on the farm. It would be nice to be able to make basic meals that could be made and then either picked-up or delivered to people in the local rural area in a frozen/cook/reheat serve format. Meals could be distributed in a manner that would respect the dignity and privacy of the individual. Meals could also be available on a "pay what you can" basis or for sale at set prices. If/how much a person pays for the food or meals would be kept private. Doing it this way would help eliminate the social stigma and shame of getting your food from a traditional "food bank"

People living in Rural communities less access, disposable income to pay for decent healthy food than people living in Urban areas. People in rural communities have higher incedences of health related problems linked to diet. Yet to my knowledge there are no food banks located in Rural Communities, I could be wrong and havent researched it other than a quick google search.

I was just sitting around back from another day of clearing someone else property for 8 bucks an hour so I can try and keep my farm up and running. Thinking how luck I am that the nice people I am working for make a lovely lunch (dinner out this way) and always invite me in to share it with them. As much as I some times have a hard time getting my self motivated to spend all day swinging an axe or chainsaw, cutting alders and pulling stumps by hand, I really look forward to at least one decent meal a day. Living on oatmeal, Mr. Noodles and Kraft Diner starts getting old quickly and sooooo nice to have fresh fruit, veggies and decent protein. For many of us that live in rural communities access to healthy fresh food on a regular basis is not an option. Its a 45 minute drive for me to leave the farm and find either a Supermarket or produce store that is fully stocked and operates year round. I dont work in "town" so if I want to buy some fresh produce and food it is going to cost me 20 bucks in fuel at least a 2 hour round trip plus the cost of the food. After working all day, coming back to do chores, let animals out, feed, water, the last thing that either I want to do or have time to do is to make a trip into town to go to the store. Let alone have the money in my pocket for fuel and expensive organic food.

The idea of having access to good food that I could just pop in the oven when I got home from work or in from doing chores would be such at treat and needed.

Farming an essential service?

As I was outside last night, checking over the animals, filling water buckets, hay nets and feeders I had a hard time remembering why I was doing all of this. My mind was to busy wondering if I would get that good job I had applied for. One that would end up taking me off the Homestead and would land me smack dab back in the middle of Southern Ontario. A job that would be enough to pay the mortgage to keep my land. It would take me off the land but at least I might have a chance to keep the land. Then to Plan B, what other jobs could I find around Hainesville that would make me enough money to keep the animals fed and roof over my head.

That endless struggle between the economic reality of farming and the sustainable ability to feed our selves and community's. As I tried to forget all of that and focus on enjoying my animals and how truly blessed I am, the people that love me, the things I have done, and the good work yet to be done. Two comments from people that know far more about farming and the reality of life for large and small farmers kept nagging at me.

One from a farmer who has been on the land since he was born and his family for generations before that. What he said sent shivers down my spine and should scare the crap out of anyone that is smart enough to eat and think. Farming is dying all over and its dead in this Province. The other came second hand from a friend just back from the local Feed Mill, the guy that custom mixes grain for us put it very simple "There are no farmers left"

Its no wonder there are no farmers left and farming as career are seen as a dead end job. When most farmers I know have to work off farm just to keep their animals fed and to pay for seed to grow your food.

We would never ask or expect Doctors, Firefighters or Paramedics to work second and third jobs so they could continue to provide their essential services for us.

Why should Farmers be treated so differently? Why isn't Farming an "Essential Service"

Think about that next you enjoying the "Fruits of our labour"

Catching up and staying up.

After taking a nice vacation to Tucson, Arizona, I got back to the farm earlier this week to find that my one milking doe, Mabel, had been dried up (she was only producing about 3 cups of milk per day anyways), and I had two new does to milk - a part meat bred doe and one that we bought that looks to be part nubian. Both of them are beautiful milkers and between them, produce approximately four litres of milk per day. That's definitely enough - for now. We have one lamb that we are bottle feeding and I am desperately trying to store the remainder of the milk, but am running out of containers to freeze it in! I have a line on a friend who is willing to teach me how to make goat's milk soap and as soon as I get a few spare minutes (and a candy thermometer), I plan to try to make some cheese and yogurt.

Many of our does kidded while I was gone but because of a run of bad luck, a variety of causes, we lost far too many kids for my liking. The sheep have begun to lamb, however, and as of tonight, our count is 15 lambs from 9 ewes, which is not a bad count. Everybody has been born healthy and strong and looking good - clearly, the lambs will carry the stock this year!

Dad and I are alternating night checks - the barn must be checked at midnight and then, again, at 3am. We switch off nights to do the 3am, and when I don't have to do the 3am, I have to do the midnight. Last night, I was on the 3am and because I don't trust myself to actually get out of bed when the alarm rings, I usually just stay awake (I am not working right now so there really is no reason not to) until 3am, and then sleep after I have checked the barn. Last night, I was greeted with two little Easter treasures!



A good strong ram lamb and a ewe lamb. With the current numbers of lambs born, it seems that we are going to increase our flock quite significantly. That's pretty exciting, especially since dad and I have been discussing increasing our flock of commercial ewes to 200. 200 is kind of a far-out dream, but building up to 50 ewes is a feasible option at this time - our barn and our pasture could likely handle it.

I took a couple more pictures last night while I was out there (until 4am, unfortunately!), which I'll share over the next couple of entries, but wanted to share this one of my manx cross cat, Kizmet, who followed me to the barn and then hung out in my milking stand while I was putzing around checking on stock:




Though I can't hear it anymore, tonight I heard a frog singing in the pond in front of our house! This is a definite sign that spring is here, even though there is still a bit of ice in the pond. Soon, the sound of the frogs singing will be overwhelming that it will filter into the house and become a normal noise that we just ignore - and you definitely won't be able to talk on a phone in our yard!

Contributor's Introduction, Pat Collins

After much procrastination and many excuses I am finally getting around to posting something, many thanks to Amanda from Rocky Valley Farms for setting up the blog and all the work that she has been doing on her other blogs. Plus my many many thanks to the entire family, they have been a huge help to me since I moved to the "farm"

I guess I should give you a bit of back ground about me. About 5 years ago me and my family moved out to New Brunswick from southern Ontario full of hopes and dreams leaving the city and moving out to a beautiful 100 acre piece of land in Central Hainesville NB. The "old Wallace place" as it is know in these parts. The land is a mix of about 40 acres of cleared land (mix of nice hay fields, brooks, farm hours and barns) and the rest is a mix of brooks, beaver ponds, woodlot. All the barns and farm house are the original ones that were built by the first Homesteading family on this land. I am still working on more of the history of the Wallace family and will be posting more about that later.

It is amazing to stand inside one of these old barns in the middle of a good old fashioned "Nor Easter, well yes sir she's going to be a nasty one" look up at the original hand hewn timbers from tree's that were felled by hand probably from the very spot that the barn is sitting on. See the hand carved pegs in the mortise and tenon joints holding the timber frame together. Hold one of the hundreds of hand forged square nails that still hold the vertical boards that are blocking that wind. That bone splitting Nor Easter wind, a wind that I have seen blow snow balls as big as basketballs up the side of Crabbe Mountain. Standing in the middle of that barn, watching the goats happily munching on some fresh hay, warm and snug in there winter pens. You hear the wind scream whisper and that old barn just stands there saying nothing, not moving an inch completely ignoring how pissed off the wind is that it has to go around the barn. I imagine they have been having this argument for over a hundred years. The wind constantly complaining and nagging, day after day ever since that damm barn got in its way. The barn just standing there taking it, saying nothing but I heard its voice.

If you stand for something long enough you don't have to say any thing about what you stand for.

patio

Not off to a good start!

Well, things on the farm have not been as peachy as I'd like them to be. That is, unfortunately, the reality of farming livestock. Sometimes things work the way you want, but more often than not, things go a bit awry.

About two weeks ago, we had a doe kid 12 days early. That early, we knew the kids would not be viable - one was filled with fluid, the other was tiny - both premature. I have started milking that doe since, and she has turned out to be a great doe. She stands quietly, I don't even tie her, and she comes to the door of the pen when she sees me coming - I will have to get a video of Mabel heading for the door when she hears my voice! She has turned out to be a quiet, good milker despite being something like 87% boer - not a milk breed at all. I guess some good can come of the loss of the kids as I am planning to soon start making cheese and yogurt with the milk from Mabel, and have an opportunity in April to visit with a friend who is an avid soap maker, who is planning to show me the ropes of soap!

Yesterday morning, I went to milk Mabel and found an otherwise perfectly healthy looking buck kid dead in the pen. How frustrating! He was probably still born, but either way, not a very pleasant way to start the day.

3 for 3... it's not looking good so far, but I am hoping this means that the rest of our kidding season will go awesomely and without flaw. Here's hoping, my fingers are crossed anyways!

It is hard to leave the farm when you are on your first real day of "Kid Watch 2010", but that is the reality of it. All of the adults on the farm work full time jobs most of the year (I get a few months off in the winter as I work seasonally), my sister goes to school. Most of the time, there is no one here on the farm full time to tend the animals. Things can go wrong when you're not looking, when you're sleeping, when your back is turned for a split second. They say when you have livestock, you have deadstock, too.

Fortunately, my father has a couple of weeks off so he is keeping watch on the herd and the flock now, getting some spring cleanup done, and working with a couple of horses. Sometimes it feels like our work is never done, though!

Contributor Introduction: Amanda

At the time of this writing, I am a 24 year old young woman living on a farm that has been in my family for at least three generations. The city once called my name but it turns out the farm has a much stronger call, and after living on my own, I have returned to my roots.

There is nothing I love more than the farm in the early morning when the air is still a little bit crisp. Everything is quiet except for the impatient morning sounds of the animals as I make my way to the barn. It is that atmosphere that I missed the most when I lived in the city.

We have, on and off, had our own meat, at the very least, here on the farm. Over the years, we have also had chickens (for meat and egg), cattle for milk purposes, and some semblance of a garden. Though we've deviated from that plan more or less since my high school days, we are beginning to come back around.

This year (2010), we have three calves - two intended for the freezer, and another that we will raise to be the "family cow", breed yearly and milk for personal consumption. We also have a small herd (12 adult does) of goats, as well as a slightly larger flock (22 adult ewes) of sheep. The kids and lambs are used for market or breeding stock. I have plans for chickens when the weather begins to warm a little, and a pig as soon as possible (I love having pigs around!).

The garden is a tricky stick. Our farm is called "Rocky Valley Farms" for a reason - it is both within a valley, and rocky. We have to take our stock elsewhere to bury it if we need to bury it deep, with the exception of a couple of family dogs that are buried about a foot deep with a huge rock monument on top of each grave. The only thing we can grow with any success and consistency is indeed rocks. Either way - we try our best and build on top of the land with composted horse manure. This year, I would like to make a bigger attempt with the garden.

Also residing on the farm are six dogs, a couple of which are our "charity" cases, five horses and a pony, as well as a llama and an alpaca. It is certainly a diverse group full of interesting characters that I am excited to share!

Why this blog?

The basic concept of the blog is to share the idea of homesteading and sustaining oneself from their own land and stock with the online community. Along the way, you will receive the very personal, thoughtful, humorous and sometimes thought provoking stories and opinions of our contributors.

We think of the blog as an opportunity to share the little slices of our lives that are trials, tribulations, success and joys that inevitably make the cycle when you are living on a farm, far from the conveniences of a city, with livestock as some of your best friends.

And lets face it, the people we talk to day to day are sick of hearing our cute alpaca and goat stories!