May the green world spin
Week 45, 2021
Planting is officially finished for the year. A soaking rain is on the way and aside from the creatures that still graze at the surface the fields will sleep until spring. The team got a thousand pounds of garlic into the chilly ground this week, about 44,000 cloves. We’ve been working up to this for years, saving seed garlic to plant even when we all really wanted to eat it. This year I think we’ve finally reached critical garlic mass, and if all goes well the 2022 garlic harvest should yield enough for planting and unlimited eating.
As the end of the year comes into clear view we are busy putting together the 2022 share agreement. We deeply appreciate your support, and we very much want to feed you in the coming year. For anyone contemplating a membership, now is the perfect time to give it a shot. You can finish out the 2021 season and see if the share works for your family before committing to a full year. In that spirit, I’m yielding the floor to our dear members Holly and Carol. Thanks to them and to all of you who make our green world spin.
-Kristin & Mark Kimball
Dear fellow Essex Farm shareholders,
Greetings from two of your NYC-based compatriots! We asked the Kimballs to allow us to “take over” the Farm Note this week to talk to you about how we can all ensure our beloved Essex Farm survives for 18 more years and then some. Yes, this is a commercial break from the cute lambs, mouthwatering recipes and beautiful prose of the usual Farm Note.
Essex Farm has changed our lives- not just how we eat, but how we think about food and agriculture and the planet’s future. Whether you want to change the world or just continue eating the best darn food you’ve ever had, we’re here to ask you to help the Kimballs find more like-minded people to grow the farm’s customer base.
Adding 20 more households to the current base of 150 would create a more comfortable margin of income to secure Essex Farm’s future - and the farm could sustain as many as 50 more households at its current production level. When you think about the size of the farm’s distribution area - from Essex and the Adirondacks to Albany to New York City - 20 new households can’t be that hard to identify. We are convinced that these 20 households can be found within our collective network of friends, co-workers and family!
Earlier this fall, we visited the farm with friends and came away even more inspired by what the Kimballs and the Essex team do. We were also reminded that the farm needs more members to ensure its long-term sustainability.
As the new year approaches, we need each of you to encourage your friends and family to consider signing up for a 2022 share. We need you to post about the farm on social media. We need you to talk about the amazing food you get every week during Thanksgiving dinner. We need you to call, email or snail mail your network about how easy it is to try out the farm for a short stint before committing to a whole year. “Just try it…you won’t regret it.” That’s how both of us became converts, and there was no going back.
The farm sustained and nourished us all during the pandemic. When our grocery stores’ shelves were alarmingly empty, the team continued to harvest, pack and deliver those wonderful boxes to us, full of the freshest bounty. We are grateful to be able to be a part of this amazing enterprise, and we know you are too.
Now it’s time for us to give back by proselytizing about the easiest sell we can imagine: delicious, sustainably grown food that changes people’s lives.
Thanks for reading and for your support of Essex Farm. And thanks for helping us get 20 in 2022!
-Holly and Carol