A letter from farmer Chris Blanchard 

Like great music, good food should be enjoyed, savored, looked forward to, and remembered, with rhythm and timing and all of the senses engaged. With this in mind, we created our Four Seasons Vegetable Share, the only one of its kind in the Twin Cities, Rochester, and Decorah – a great way to experience the flow of the seasons, from the tender green riffs of spring to the hearty notes of winter.

We also offer shares in each of the four seasons individually, with options for spring, summer, autumn, and winter. But signing up for the Four Seasons share will earn you a substantial discount on your vegetables.

At Rock Spring Farm, we know that the value of good food goes far beyond a simple combination of calories, vitamins and minerals. In the same way that the eating quality in Real Food results from the complex interplay of genetics and environment – soil nutrients and moisture combining with heat, sunshine, and humidity to influence the genetics of the plant to create the structures we associate with texture, flavor and nutri tion –  the financial and social value of the food we eat results from much more than the food in the box:

• Good Food means more than just delicious things to eat, although we provide plenty of that. It means food that is convenient and clean, with a diverse selection, and information on how to prepare it in ways that don’t take all day.  At Rock Spring Farm, we take great pride in the quality of our vegetables, we keep the dirt on the farm, and we provide you with information and recipes every week that make it easy to enjoy your CSA share. 

• Organic means more than just what farmers don’t put on their fields. It means an active system of crop rotation; soil building cover crops, minerals, detailed crop rotation schedules, and compost; and farming methods that support an increase in biodiversity.  At Rock Spring Farm, we not only take care of our fields, we have actively worked to increase biodiversity through the use of field edges, tree plantings, and stream-bank buffer strips.

• Local means more than just buying things locally, it means spending your food-dollars where they go to support farmers, not expensive distribution and warehousing systems that take a little bit out at each step along the way.  With the Rock Spring Farm CSA, the fresh, local food goes directly from our farm to your plate.

• Value means more than just good food on your plate, it means putting those food dollars to work. In addition to donating 1% of our sales to organic agriculture non-profits, Rock Spring Farm's Chris Blanchard plays an extensive role in educating new and organic farmers throughout the Midwest, from teaching classes, to serving on the boards of educational organizations, to organizing the presentations at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference.

We hope that you will join us in 2011 for another year of great vegetables. We also hope that you will act soon. From now through February 20 ^th, we are offering a 5% discount for full payment on your CSA share purchase. In past years, shares have often sold out by late April, and we continue to see an increased interest in CSA and local foods. Please don’t wait!

Your Farmer,

Chris Blanchard

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