Thursday, April 24, 2008

First Farmer's Market Day of 2008

This Saturday we will be attending our first market day of the year 2008. The new Davidson NC Downtown Farmer's Market will have a "soft" opening from 8am until noon so all of the vendors can get a feel for this new market.


We will be there with some veggies, so if you come out, look us up. We have not been assigned our spaces yet, so I can't say where we will be but look for the sign that says "ORGANIC".


After this Saturday, the market officially opens and we will be there every Saturday until it closes in October.

Friday, April 18, 2008

It's Farmer's Market Season again!

Important announcement concerning New Moon Farm Organics in 2008.

Lots of exciting things are happening at the Farm this year and we wanted you all to hear about them straight from the source. For the past 7 years, we have been coming to the Charlotte Regional Farmer's Market. For 2008, however, we have made the decision to take on a new venture in addition to CSA, the new Davidson Farmer's Market. For those of you who live north of Charlotte, around the Lake, in or near Davidson, Concord, etc. this is going to be your opportunity to have a real farmer's market in your vicinity!!!

This decision has been a big one for us. We have made some lasting friends and had some very loyal customers during those years. We have seen some of the regular vendors at the CRF market every Saturday for our 9 month market season. After 7 years, some of them have come to seem like family and we will miss them.

When we moved back to N.C. 8 years ago, it was with the intention to homestead the family farm, grow all of our own food and to expand on living our simple, organic, sustainable lifestyle. In that first year's growing season, we grew way more tomatoes than we could use. We gave them away until folks said, "Enough, already!". So, at the suggestion of a relative, we brought several bushels of red, ripe, organic heirloom tomatoes down to the Charlotte Market on a hot Saturday in August, just to see if we anybody might want some of them. We sold them all in less than 2 hours.

That first crop of tomatoes started us on the journey that we continue on today.Even though we have collectively been growing and eating organic food for more than 40 years, neither of us ever dreamed we would be so incredibly lucky as to also be able make it our livelihood. The evolution of New Moon Farm Organics would not have been possible without the presence of the Charlotte Regional Market, its staff and its devotees and we are grateful for it all.

But, as with all things, there is a time and a season for change. 2008 is now the time for us to move forward down a new path. We are very excited to announce that we will be among the Founding Farmer's at the new Davidson Farmer's Market, located in downtown Davidson, N. C. With the opening of the Davidson market we finally have the chance to serve our own community and are excited at the prospect. You can visit their website at http://www.davidsonfarmersmarket.org/ for more info about the location, hours, vendors, etc.


***I was recently notified that the Davidson Market will have a "soft" opening on April 26th, as a kind of dry run for the vendors. We will be there with stuff to sell and while it might be a little chaotic, but it will be a chance to get some early spring items while they are still around.***

This new market will afford us the opportunity to be much more involved in our own community, which has been sorely underserved with fresh, local and organic food for a long while. Also, because we are committed to a living the most sustainable life we possibly can, having a market so close to us is a tremendous blessing. Our travel time and distance to this market is about one third that of commuting to the Charlotte Market location. Reducing our impact on the environment is important to us and this move makes sense from that standpoint, too.

We would once again like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported us in Charlotte and hope that you will visit us at the Davidson Market if you are in the area. We will be there every Saturday, from 8am until noon, beginning the first weekend in May, 2008. This market will be much like the market in Matthews, in that it is a producer's only market. There are already over 20 committed vendors for this market, so there will be plenty of diversity of products there, all FRESH, LOCAL AND FARM GROWN!

Between operating our CSA and having the Davidson Market on our schedule, we will be pretty busy, so I doubt that we will be able to attend Charlotte more than a time or two this summer. Info posted here on this blog concerning events, available produce, organic issues, etc. Our website is located at: http://www.newmoonfarmorganic.com/

Thursday, April 17, 2008

PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF THE ORGANIC LABEL

The Cornucopia Institute is dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Through research, advocacy, and economic development our goal is to empower farmers both politically and through marketplace initiatives. The Organic Integrity Project acts as a corporate watchdog assuring that no compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and the food it produces are made in the pursuit of profit. We will actively resist regulatory rollbacks and the weakening of organic standards to protect and maintain consumer confidence in the organic food label.

The Cornucopia Institute is a non-profit watchdog organization that is doing tremendous things to protect the integrity of organics which affects anyone who cares about this issue...and we should all care about it since it affects our food supply and our environment.

This organization has an incredible website, with issues that affect us all posted in language that we can all understand, so that the information is clear and easy for every one to understand. I highly recommend that you become involved in what is happening to your food source. If you care about the planet, you should be involved. If you care about your children, you should be involved. JUST BE INVOLVED!!!!

Read the latest information about the integrity of the Horizon Dairy Label controversy. This has been raging on for a long while now and is heating up again. (Links below are live)
America’s Largest Corporate Dairy Processor Muscles Its Way into Organics
May 12th, 2008
Clout-Heavy Dean Foods Kills USDA Investigation of Their Horizon Label




On their website, there is also some excellent information about which huge corporations own organic labels. Lots of folks buy organic from what we assume are small family owned companies. Nothing could be further from the truth in many cases. See whose pocket your organic dollars are going into. BUY LOCAL and stop this organic tyranny.
www.cornucopia.org

Sunday, April 6, 2008

VERY BUSY AT THE FARM

Just a quick note to say that this is our busiest time of the year and posting will be a little erratic for a while. Bear with me, things will slow down in a month or so, once we are not fighting the crazy spring weather around here....
Keep checking back, though, I may find some time in the evenings when I am not too tired to type.