CCFI in September: Fresh Food as Fall Approaches!

Thanks to Anne Fassnacht of Wit Wisdom & Food for contributing this blog post!

We have passed the last holiday of summer and while we still have a few weeks until it is technically Fall, you can feel it in the air already. It is always exciting to find out what we are getting in our shares for the month! This month is a little reflection of the weather’s turn toward Fall. We are still getting some of our favorite summer crops like corn and tomatoes, but the root vegetables and greens that love the cooler weather are showing up again. As always there are some great recipes and a couple tips at the bottom of the post, in case you need some ideas on how to use this month’s produce.

This is my personal favorite time of year. I always feel like getting into the kitchen to cook and bake when fall comes. Warm stews and chilis cooking on the stove or crockpot just make the house smell so good! We are so lucky that even though summer is winding down, we will still have great fresh local produce coming our way this month and all through winter. We will be here all year, so keep buying those shares each month!

We are still working on our goal to grow the CCFI program. The goal is to double the current amount of shares being sold by the end of the year, and create some economic opportunity in the process. If you aren’t yet a regular purchaser or know someone that would be interested, please pass this along. We also encourage you to bring folks to the Good Food Feast on every second Saturday so they can be welcomed, share good food, learn something new and see if this something they would want to do next month. They can also find out more information at this page.

Here is a list of all the items you will get if you purchased a share this month.

  • 2 bell peppers
  • 3 onions
  • 1 pint red potatoes
  • 1 eggplant
  • 1 garlic
  • 6 ears sweet corn
  • 1 bunch carrots
  • 1 bunch swiss chard
  • 1 lb tomatoes
  • 1/2 pound okra
  • Plus jalapeno peppers donated by Lawrence Community Gardens.

Big thanks to the farmers that worked with us this month!

Johnnie Raber Family Farms
(812) 636-1919

Lawrence Community Gardens
(317) 748-2437
If you want more of their produce you can visit the market stand Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Beyond Organic
(917) 509-8287
beyondorganicllc@gmail.com

Recipes

Okra with Tomatoes – for some this will be a new adventure. Others already have a love for okra. Trying new things is one of the benefits of getting a CCFI share. If you haven’t cooked okra before, leave us a comment and let us know how it goes.

Stuffed Peppers and Quinoa – I love stuffed peppers. Anything that cooks while I clean the dishes so that I can just relax after dinner is a win in my book! Usually made with rice, these call for quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). Quinoa is a quick and easy grain to cook, and if you make more than you need you can add it to salads later in the week.

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Garlic & Lemon – This will make a great side dish for a pork chop or a flaky piece of fish. If you want to eat it on Meatless Monday, try adding some cooked cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans) and maybe an over easy egg.

Penne with Tomatoes, Eggplant, and Mozzarella – You really can’t go wrong with pasta, especially with the weather turning a little cool. If you don’t want to run to the store for cherry tomatoes, dicing the tomatoes we are getting in our share will work just as well in this dish. Cherry tomatoes sometimes cost more per pound, so buying one tomato, taking out some of the seeds and dicing it can save you some money.

Big thank you to all that invested in a CCFI food share this month! If you want to get in on the fun, you can sign up now for October’s share. You don’t have to wait!

If you have an interest in improving food access in community so we can all easily purchase fresh healthy food on a regular basis, come join the Food Assembly. We meet the 1st & 3rd Fridays of every month from 5-7 p.m at KI. We have speakers and a group discussion about the issues at hand and some brainstorming about how we can work together as a group to make progress. We would love to have your thoughts and energy included.