Think Inside the Box A Contest to connect Whatcom County High School Students and Farmers

Today we will talk about… Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) The “Think Inside the Box Contest” Whatcom Farm-to-School

What is CSA? Community Supported Agriculture Farmers determine how much produce they can produce, and decide how many shares they can support Members buy a share at the start of the season, providing farmers with funds needed to grow the food Members receive a box of seasonal, local produce each week throughout the growing season.

The History of CSA’s They first started in Japan in 1965, and were called “Teikei”—translated as “food with a farmer’s face.” A small group of women were concerned about the decline of farming in their community, and an increase in pesticides and imported, processed foods. The first CSA program in Whatcom County started 21 years ago at Cedarville Farm and is still going strong.

CSA Farms in Whatcom County Today In 2013, Sustainable Connections listed nearly 20 farms offering CSA shares Farms offer all sorts of options Delivery to workplace or home Poultry and/or meat options Farmer’s Market Bucks and payment plans Cooking lessons, websites, and customer support

Benefits to the CSA Member Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and nutrition benefits Exposure to new foods and ways of cooking A relationship with the people that grow your food, and potential to learn more about how it’s done “Ownership” in “your farm”—building a sense of community.

Benefits to the Farmer Since members buy shares at the start of the season, marketing time is spent when field time is minimal Receive funds early in the season, which helps with cash flow and food production The opportunity to know who is eating the food that they grow— building community.

The Weekly Challenge for CSA Members Customers are excited to support local farming and get healthy, fresh produce each week… …but how do they USE THOSE VEGGIES each week??? Without wasting CSA contents? Without spending a fortune in extra recipe ingredients? Without spending an exorbitant amount of time in the kitchen?

The Premise of the Think Inside the Box Contest You’ll have a list of items in a CSA box offered by Acme Farms and Kitchen. You’ll have a list of items in a pantry. Using ONLY items from these two lists, create or find a selection of recipes that will use all of the contents of the CSA box within one week. Joy Rubey & Cara Piscitello, Co-owners, Acme Farms + Kitchen

Other Notes You can work alone or in pairs. No cooking necessary! Just the recipes need to be submitted, along with submission paperwork Recipes do NOT have to be original recipes created by you..but they can be! You can find your recipes online, or in cookbooks, etc. Please cite the source of each recipe.

How Will the Entries Be Judged? Creativity – recipes show off the fresh local ingredients, and: are from a variety of ethnic cuisines. use a variety of cooking techniques. are for different meals throughout the day (breakfast/lunch/dinner). are interesting and appealing to the judges. Practicality – meals can be prepared: in reasonable amount of time. by a person with basic cooking skills in a typical home kitchen. Minimal waste – use all the contents of the CSA box. Acknowledgement – sources of recipes are cited, even if the recipes have been modified.

PRIZES! The top THREE submissions will be selected Each member of those three teams will receive a CSA box Winners can choose when to receive their CSA box during the growing season. Winners can choose instead to use their prize as a discount toward a CSA share purchase from a Whatcom County CSA farm of their choice. Recipes may also be collated and printed in cookbooks, or used by CSA Farms for their customers.

How to Submit Your Entry Visit Find the instructions and resources there, including CSA box and pantry content lists Submission, Recipe, and Release forms Judging criteria Due date—Friday, January 31, 2014