Mother Nature did a “Tricked Ya!” on us Ohio-ans this week...freezing nights in May are NOT normal and so some of the products that we were hoping to have by now (asparagus), will take just another week or two.  

What we do have though I think is going to make your hearts SING for SPRING!

RHUBARB - There are so many things that this can be used for...try a “quick pickle” on it and then add to a salad

It’s that time of week, where we all gather round the dinner table and start to see what Ohio (and sometimes Florida) has to offer us. Sunsprout Farms of Central Ohio is a well established sprout farm that we have wanted to work with for years….nothing like a little pandemic to bring together NEW PARTNERSHIPS! The first signs of asparagus showed up this week and they will be going out in the FULLS. Bases and Mini’s stay tuned though because you will be next up.

There are about 10 items a year that are turning into “cult classic’s”.  RAMP’s are quickly becoming a contender for TOP 5.

If we are lucky, they are around each spring for about a month.  Also, they are WILD...meaning, if we get them from anyone, they are foraged and not grown.  Couple that with having over 1000 members at a time when we normally have about 350, and I was not sure we were going to be able to get EVERYONE ramps this year.  

We had a MAJOR influx of product this week to meet the new demands that our community is ordering. Every single time you place an order it’s like you are showing up at the polls and casting a vote for the way you want this state to handle it’s agricultural, local economies, and health care…(let food be thy medicine...someone smart said that once). We are hitting the time of year where there are a LOT of green things coming your way.

I have a LOT of ground to cover so instead of waxing poetic about why I love you so, I am just going to bullet point the crap out of this newsletter

Our home deliveries are BLOWING UP!  So, when you sign up just know that you will get a delivery on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday for Columbus area folks.  We will let you know at the beginning of each week what day your delivery will be on (all accounts will say Wednesday when you log in- ignore that). Mount Vernon area, Findlay, Delphos, Marion Home Deliveries will continue to be on Friday.

Let me just take a second to give a solid “THANK YOU” from all of our growers and producers.  I have talked to MANY of the men and women that are a part of our LOCAL food network, and everyone is anxious (as we all are) about what the future holds.  I have no more answers than anyone else, but what I do assure them is that we have a customer base that is BACKING THEM 100% OF THE WAY.  

Let’s get back to talking about the good in this world shall we? Any of the citrus that you are seeing from us this winter is from our new friends down in Florida at Thorpe’s Family Farm...again, it’s the first time we have gone outside of Ohio for anything but we are sure glad we did. Those vitamins are much needed right now and I know that I have been crushing that OJ that was in the boxes last week.

Well isn’t this fun? There is a lot happening here at YB that we want to prepare you for. We have seen a tremendous increase in sales in 2 places...store orders and home deliveries. To try and keep up with demand, and stay ahead of all the quarantine and social distancing rules, we will be implementing some new processes. In order to stay ahead of any more “surprises”, we are going to be switching our “public drop-offs” to “parking lot pickups”. **This will only affect Columbus Pickups What this will mean is that we will have 6-8 Spots around the city that we are driving to, parking, handing your orders out to you, and then moving on.

Let’s all take a collective breath together...in…out…

There are many things that I could talk about but let me just say this...this group of people has been preparing for this moment long before the crisis arrived.  

We’ve known a long time that the food system as it existed was not sustainable.  All this has done is affirm what we already saw...that our growers right here need to know that we will buy their food 365 days a year, with or without a crisis.  

For now we will continue to do what we have always done and build a system that can endure for the “long haul”.  

As promised it’s pi day box, and the ingredients necessary to make a “pizza pie”

Pizza was first called pie when Italian immigrants arrived in the United States in the late 1800s. Pizza had similarities to a pie – with a crust, sliced triangle portions and its circular shape. Italian-Americans sold and popularized the pizzas, and the exotic dish picked up the English name “tomato pie”. Sometime thereafter the languages met in the middle to give us the term “pizza pie”.
https://www.crustkingdom.com/why-is-pizza-called-pie/

Welcome to your St. Patty’s Day box!  Plenty of cabbage and potatoes to add to anything you might be making.  The kraut from last week might be something you can use as well. 
Something new. Galangal Root: Similar to ginger except it can't be grated and must be sliced. The flavor is strong - earthy, sharp, and extra citrusy.

Well friends, things are starting to pick up as we near the spring months.  

We have had the most successful winter to date in terms of how many boxes per week we have done, and it’s the first winter we have been able to deliver EVERY SINGLE WEEK!

THAT’s Y’ALL...plain and simple.  You have turned the Yellowbird Foodshed into a 12 month a year LOCAL FOOD COMPANY.  It means so much to the growers to be able to sell food 12 MONTHS a year and not just in “peak” seasons. 

Another themed box this week as you are getting everything you need (apples, oats, butter) to make something super yummy in the apple crisp/crumble family. Please post your pics to A Seat At The Table on Facebook so that we can all be jealous.

Hellow Yellow Friends,

Your feedback of the Thorpes products from Florida was awesome and could best described by Sara J… ”Omg the fruit was awesome. Thank you so much for finding a great partner to bring some sunshine to our Ohio winter fare! I mean, these greens are nurturing my soul, don't get me wrong. But I can't tell you how awesome it was to bite into some fresh, honest strawberries this week. Don't second-guess this decision for a minute.”

** We're BERRY excited to bring you the following! ------------------------------------------------------------ This is a very exciting week for us. We have had a lot of firsts this year and you all have been with us through them all….NOW, WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF SUSTAINABLE CITRUS! Thorpes Organic Family Farm (http://www.thorpesorganicfamilyfarm.com/) has partnered with us to bring some sunshine and much-needed winter vitamins to our Yellowbird Family. Over the next couple of weeks you will be seeing oranges, OJ, strawberries, grapefruit, and yucca.

We have a very rare opportunity that I want to tell you about…

Our team is always researching around the country for what other farmers are doing and how they are bringing their products to market.  

In doing this last month, we connected with a small family farm in Florida that is growing organic citrus, strawberries, and yucca.  They also have a small organic farm in NY and asked if we wanted to meet them on their way up there and buy some of their stuff from Florida for our Yellowbird members.

The last time we had apple cider I said it was the last time...I lied, we actually had 1 more time scheduled.

I actually drink it more this time of year than any other time because I think I need the fruit more in the dead of winter or something…(that sounds like it could be true, so let’s go with that).

Also, please remember that you are eating your medicine each week...ESPECIALLY this time of year.  Your immunities, your defense system, your sense of humor (that can’t be true) are all influenced by the food you are fueling yourselves with

I went to a “Meat Free Monday” dinner as a guest speaker and talked about the Yellowbird community to about 30 people.  They were not all vegan or even vegetarian (nor am I), just folks that are trying to make positive lifestyle changes.

I called our winter group, the “Hard-Core Locavores”.  

I just sat down after being at Newark High School all morning.

They have a home economics teacher (yes, they still exist), and she convinced her 2nd, 3rd, and 4th period classes to take the @1803eatingchallenge that we set up.  The 1803 eating challenge is simply this…”if it ain't grown in Ohio, then we ain't eatin’ it.”  For the month of January, every last ingredient that I’m eating will be grown in Ohio.

Welcome to 2020.  

Wow, what a statement.  If I were watching a movie, and the screen said, “OHIO: 2020”, I would assume they meant that was some time in the future.  Nope. It’s today.

And TODAY we find ourselves in the middle of the 1803 Eating Challenge.