Northeastern Connecticut's Neighbors Paper

Eating Good, Eating Green at the New Ashford Farmers’ Market
By Loretta Wrobel

            Where is Pompey Hollow Park in Ashford?  Perhaps you have never been to the park or never noticed the sign on Route 44. However, I guarantee you will know where Pompey Hollow Park is by the end of the summer.

            On Sunday morning July 15, Pompey Hollow Park will be the site of the opening day of the Ashford Farmers’ Market. The market will operate on Sunday mornings from 9am to noon, beginning July 15 and running through the end of October. The market will feature local growers selling their products and produce.

            All across America there is a growing surge of interest in locally grown food, thereby insuring a fresh, more nutritious diet. Local food has more flavor because there is no time for the normal plant sugars to turn to starch and cells to shrink. Farmers' markets showcase the local produce from their particular region. The markets also give shoppers an opportunity to meet their local growers and learn about food production. They also create a sense of community and give people a connection to their food source.

            Everyone is aware of the energy crisis and rising costs of energy in our world. Changing our habits, to eating locally produced foods, makes sense from a taste and nutrition perspective. However it also saves on transportation costs and lessens pollution. Most people are stunned to discover that the average food travels 1500 miles before it arrives at their table.  Imagine the savings in fuel and money when you purchase food grown in Connecticut.

            July is a time of abundance and flowering. Ashford is also flowering with an abundance of community events and development. We have a magnificent town hall. We have a cutting edge Library Information Center. Have you tried the high-speed computers? We have helped preserve Crooke Orchard’s development rights. We have absolutely stunning gardens in front of the town hall and Babcock Library. We have a nifty breakfast spot called the ‘Wooden Spoon.’ And now we have a Farmers’ Market!

            At the Ashford Farmers’ Market our local community residents can come and enjoy delicious vegetables, cheeses, honey and fruits. Hopefully we will also have a few surprises for our customers. We plan to have a market table where we will have information about organic foods and farming.  There will be a space for local non-profits to spread information about their organization and events. Please contact Art and Sherry, our market managers, at 429-3923, if you are interested in publicizing your organization.

            Laughing to myself, I remember when I first moved to Ashford from the Hartford area about twenty years ago. I was unaware of this small town. Ditto, for most of my friends. When I told friends I was moving to Ashford, I would receive a blank stare. Then, with a questioning look, they would ask, “Is that in Connecticut?” Now when I tell people I am from Ashford, I am surprised that the response has changed to a nod, and “Oh, Yes!”  So our rural town in the northeast is getting on the map in more and more exciting ways.

            Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. The answer to the  question, “Where is Pompey Hollow Park?”  It is on Tremko Road off Route 44 in Ashford near the junction of Route 89. So where is Tremko Road? Tremko Road is across the street from the Town Hall-Babcock Library. There is a Pompey Hollow Park sign. Of course on the days of our market we will have a BIG sign and a banner. On opening day you may see several of us costumed, waving and guiding you to the market.

            Several members from the Ashford Conservation Commission, the market managers, Sherry Simpson and Art Talmadge and many enthusiastic area growers have been meeting for many months working out details for the market such as advertising, fees, parking, etc. We will be WIC certified and also will accept senior vouchers. Our market managers are super, working long hours preparing for the market and ready to accept all the ongoing work throughout the market season. Our vendors/ farmers have been very agreeable attending all the numerous meetings during a most busy time as they are committed to making the market a huge success.

            So come to Ashford’s newest adventure, the farmers’ market, and tell all your neighbors and friends to meet you at the market on Sunday mornings. Your stomach will be pleased as will your taste buds. Plus we will all benefit as purchasing local products protects local farms and orchards, that add to the bucolic landscape of our Last Green Valley.  Everyone wins. Good for you, good for farmers and good for the environment.

            And, let us not just stop at Ashford’s market. We have many farmers’ markets available to us located in  Lebanon, Mansfield, Tolland, Putnam, Coventry and Scotland, to name a few. You can check out times and dates at various places. The CT Department of Agriculture has a Connecticut Farmers' Market 2007 brochure that is available on their web page, www.ctgrown.gov.

            You can go to also go to www.EdibleNutmeg.com for updates on times and places. Edible Nutmeg is a publication that celebrates local foods of the nutmeg state. They publish for times a year for each season. The magazine has a wealth of information about food, recipes and CT farms. For instance, did you know that there is a CT Women’s Agricultural Network (CT WAgN) to promote women in agriculture? They can be reached at (860) 491-2272 or ecfrost@bestweb.com.

            All of the farmers’ markets support Connecticut Grown Goods. When you visit frequently you are supporting our CT economy and helping sustain our farmlands. Enjoy the bountiful and abundant produce in the Last Green Valley this summer and fall.

Ed. Note: You can email Loretta at birdeye123@earthlink.net

Support Local Farms--Buy Local

Spring is my most favorite time of year. First , my birthday, and second, the joy of checking the dynamic sprouts daily.   As I inspect my yard for early gems, I am so grateful for growing plants.  Nothing all winter, then in a flurry, green everywhere.

My mind rambles on to thoughts of farms, farmers and fields of spinach, beans, and corn.  We are blessed here in the Quiet Corner where there are fields, farms and much open space.  However I recently learned that in Connecticut we are losing an average of 7,000-9,000 acres of farmland each year.  Also from a peak of 44,000 farms, we have just over 4,000 farms left in our state. Does this scare you?  Is this a concern for you?  Is this unsettling?

I am very concerned because from where I sit, no farms means no food.  I am reminded of a small child who looked at me as I spoke of digging up potatoes, and exclaimed, "Do potatoes grow in the ground?"  Yes, we need farms for food and of course the faster the food gets to your mouth from the farm, the fresher it is and the more nutrients it holds.  Plus the less it travels, the less harm to the environment and the less impact on global warming.  Plus the less cost to you. The average food travels 1500 miles before it gets to you.

What's going on with the decreasing farms and farmlands?  Is it development?  Is it lack of interest?  Is it high cost of land?  Is it thinking we can produce food in a lab?  Is it that we could care less where are food is grown?  Is it that we are not planning ahead?   Do we really believe that we don't need farms as there are other places in the world to grow our food?

As I wrap my brain around this chilling phenomenon, I realize how hard a farmer must work and how little the farmer is paid for such important work.  This amazes me.  We all need food, yet the people who grow the food are not respected and supported by our society. Farming is not considered important and farmers do not have high status in our world.  Are you with me, does this make any sense??

In a healthy sane world, food is grown locally and you know where your food comes from.  Now we don't even know the country our food originates from, never mind the farmer who grew it!

So hear we have it. The further my food travels before it get to my house, the lower  the nutritional value, the higher the cost and the more pollution it creates by transportation and packaging costs.  Who benefits from all this?  I  don't,  my stomach doesn't,  my pocketbook doesn't and neither does the environment.

Are you agreeing with me and also saying what can I do about it?  Plenty, I reply.  First support Face of CT legislation R.B. 7275 which is a visionary initiative to significantly increase the state's commitment over the next ten years to plan for responsible growth including protecting farmlands and preserving open space.  Call you local legislator and tell them you support maintaining prime working farmland and protecting our natural resources.

Encourage your school's dining service to buy food from local farms.  Find out if your school has a garden which the  children tend.  If not, help start one.  Shop at the Willimantic Food Coop  which supports local farms.  When buying at a large chain super food store, ask where the food comes from and choose food that is grown in CT.  Or ask the manager to buy from local farmers.

Farmers' Markets are gaining popularity in CT. Check out your nearest Farmers' Market and visit it often.  A new Farmers' Market will be opening in Ashford in July at Pompey Hollow Park( Route 44 near junction of Route 89) on Sundays 9-noon.  A visit to a Farmers' Market  gives you the freshest food for the cheapest cost.  More nutrition for your buck!

Talk with your children about how things grow.  Plant a garden together.  Start simple by planting a bean and watching it grow.

Most important , visit a local farm, talk to the farmer and thank him/her for all their hard work. You will learn a lot.  Farmers are a friendly group and very smart.  And ,oh yes, before you leave, give them a big hug!

Loretta Wrobel

 

Spring Brings Sudden Shifts and Changes
by Loretta Wrobel

         Today started out like a regular day.  I was ready to settle down to write my ‘Neighbors’ article when the phone rang. Thus began a series of shifts and turnabouts that resulted in a whole new article.   I was planning on writing about the state legislature and all the interesting bills that are in the process of becoming law or being destroyed.

         All right, back to the call.  The call was from a friend informing me that her partner had a medical problem that necessitated a hospitalization for testing. The first surprise and shock.

         In the course of our conversation, the news of another friend who apparently had a serious medical crisis which required surgery was shared.  Another surprise and another shock.    

         After hanging up, I proceeded to contact a close relative of my second friend, only to discover that the husband of that relative had just come out of the hospital himself!  Another shock and another surprise.

         As I am reeling with the impact of three friends in challenging medical situations, I drop to a chair and take a deep breath.  I am in a fog attempting to assimilate this triple whammy.  One minute I am ready to get into my article and then I am digesting news of the frailty of life and the delicate balance we walk between health and disease. 

          How quickly our life can shift.  In spring a green shoot pops up, a transformational change. A slight adjustment in our body can begin a new direction.  I am swimming in a vast array of feelings.  I try to return to the task at hand and get back to business as usual.  I cannot.

         My mind flashes backward many decades ago when I experienced  a sudden seizure. At that time I was working in Child Welfare (later to become DCF) and loved my job.  After the seizure, I was unable to continue in the job.  I ended up working at a psychiatric hospital which led to a return to school to get another degree.  This eventually led to my present position as a  counselor. None of this would have occurred if not for that one seizure moment.

         In that one moment of my life, my life path shifted.  Looking back I can't envision anything, except a violent event, that would have torn me away from working in that child welfare job. 

         Surprisingly after that wake up call from my first friend, I not only recalled my own experience with an unpredicted event, but, I started focusing on all the sudden changes in life.  How delicate our existence really is.  Each day I begin my day as if I will continue to do so forever.  I will stay strong, quick and intelligent-- never change.

         Then, of course, we move through our life smacking into major upheavals when we least expect it.  This, to me, is the beauty and sorrow of life.  It makes life both captivating and scary.  But how many days do I stay in denial, not paying attention to the sweetness of good health, good connections, good eyesight and good feelings?

         For too many days, I get caught in the busyness and forget to be grateful for all that works.  I forget how much my body is doing day after day. I forget to ingest all of the mystery.

         I encourage you to wake up this spring and be aware of all that is working for you.

         Hear spring.  See the birds.  Feel the sound of crocuses opening. Touch the earth. Take a deep breath and be grateful for the day.  I remind you to help me remember to do the same.  Happy spring. 

Let me hear from you either by phone, 429-2629, or email, birdeye123@earthlink.net. Loretta Wrobel

 email Loretta Wrobel