Fresh food comes Full Circle: Residents have new choices

By Rachel Drinkard
Turnagain Times Correspondent

Who hasn’t been smacked with a craving for a fresh tomato, a juicy apple, or a crisp salad in the dead of winter, only to have the grocery run result in the produce equivalent of edible cardboard?
Up here, it seems the stores are always stocked with a sad assortment of pale, peaked, puny and pocked produce shipped in from who knows where and treated with who knows what to help preserve its shape until it hits your belly.
In the summer, of course, Alaskans are blessed with a vast array of locally grown produce kissed with the long days of summer and seeming to aspire to, of its own accord, a “bigger is better” mantra. We even have a growing support network of local farmer’s markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSAs, such as the popular Palmer’s Arctic Organic, a pioneer of organized organic farming programs in the state.
The problem with nearly all of our locally grown produce, however, is the seasonality factor. Few small farms can afford the costs involved in conventional greenhouse operations, leaving us with our winter produce dilemma, (as well as a shockingly inadequate three day food supply in cases of emergency, according to one University of Alaska Fairbanks source.)
Enter Full Circle Farm, a Carnation, WA organic foods co-op and CSA.
The secret of CSAs is the direct marketing business plan, focused on cutting out the middle man and providing an educated, and preferably local, consumer with the agricultural products they need at the best value for the dollar. This small farm business model allows the community to flourish, supported by local money and promoting independent food security within the community.
What makes Full Circle Farm different from most CSAs, including our own Alaskan equivalents, is a flexibility provided by a large network of like-minded producers.
Because there are more farms participating in the cooperative, Full Circle Farm does not need to require season-long commitments or advance payment, and with a convenient substitution allowance, prevents you from getting stuck with food you won’t eat.
They also allow you to choose how much you need, with packages ranging from $38.00 to $57.50 on a weekly or bi-weekly delivery schedule with the option of stopping delivery for vacations at any time.
Each box is sent complete with fact sheet detailing information and recipes for featured items, as well as invaluable storage tips for items you may never have had to keep. Many program members discover one of their favorite aspects of the delivery every week is trying the new varieties of fruits and vegetables, some of which they would have never tried of their own accord when turned loose in a grocery store.
Though Full Circle Farm will keep your family content and entertained with a good variety of fruits and veggies in these waning day of winter, supporting local farmers is still ideal and worth the summer time switch.
While the Alaskan vegetables don’t usually start rolling off the farm until some time in June, now is the time to save your spot and join a local CSA. Go online to the Alaskan Division of Agriculture’s list of local producers for contact information (www.dnr.state.ak.us/ag) and check out the new Anchorage Daily News AK Root Cellar blog for more suggestions on local produce and dairy.
In the mean time, find out more about Full Circle Farms at www.fullcirclefarm.com. New pick-up locations in Girdwood are in full swing. Get your box of organic goodness every Wednesday from Casa del Sol (formerly Mamacita’s) and the Girdwood Chapel.

Down in the Cellar

Well folks, it has been a great winter season so far. Spring skiing is right around the corner and the sun will be hanging around with us more and more. I am very happy with the fact that many of you have come by the Double Musky and checked out our new wine cellar. If you have not been in to see the cellar, then please let me cordially invite you to come by. I will be happy to bring you in and show you around. Whether you drink wine or not doesn’t matter. Wine has the ability to bring people together in all sorts of social instances. Let me explain…
I just got back from a five day ski trip in Lake Tahoe. Skiing is just part of the reason for my travels (though quite an alluring one.) The real reason is because of wine. I am honored to be apart of a group of yahoos/gentlemen/restaurateurs that have done a ski/wine tasting trip for 17 years (I am the rookie and this is my second year. Most of these guy’s are my dad’s age). The premise is a week long ski trip and on the last night is a blind wine tasting of some of the world’s greatest wines. Everyone gets a two ounce pour and then the guessing game begins. I write down and record what we drink and what everyone’s guess is. Legendary Cabernet Sauvignon’s from the 1950’s, Pinot Noir’s from the 1940’s, Merlot’s from the 60’s, and Syrah’s from the 1970’s are just some examples. What an experience!
Wine has the power to create events and memories that last a lifetime. One event that brings people from all over the world is the “Beaujolais Nouveau Festival.” Come mid-November every year, the small town of Beaujeu, the capital of the Beaujolais region in Burgundy, France, springs to life when the new season’s Beaujolais wine is released with great expectation. An event much anticipated by wine enthusiasts all over the world, the arrival of the new wine is a good reason for celebration. Huge barrels of Beaujolais Nouveau are opened at midnight, releasing streams of wine for the thirsty crowd. According to legend, Beaujolais Nouveau must be gone before Christmas. I hope to be there one day.
Another wine event that brings people together is the “Hospice du Rhone,” in Paso Robles, CA. This unique three-day event is regarded as the single most important and fun gathering of international Rhône wine producers and enthusiasts in the world. The Rhone Valley is an area in the south of France that grows 22 varieties of grapes that include Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, and Viognier. Wine labels that have Chateauneuf du Pape and Cotes du Rhone on them are from the Rhone. Paso Robles has a nearly identical climate to the Rhone and therefore makes great Rhone wines. This is another event that I hope to attend one day.
The International Pinot Noir Celebration is an annual event in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Since 1987 it has been a food and wine celebration of Oregon wine-lovers, winemakers, restaurateurs and retailers. Anyone can speak with the winemakers and taste their wines. Just as the Rhone Valley in France is like Paso Robles, the Willamette Valley in Oregon grows Pinot Noir very similarly to the Burgundy region of France.
Whether it’s a dinner party, a wine tasting party with friends and family, or an international festival, wine brings people together and creates experiences. Many people have that special bottle that represents a historic time in their lives, such as an anniversary, birthday, or maybe just a powder day. The experience is really what matters here and wine just serves as a catalyst. A supporting actor if you will. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Wine is proof that God loves us a wants us to be happy.” So here’s to the experience and to the wine in the bottle.
Until next time when we’ll explore another grape and the wine it creates!