Enjoy the first shares of April!
As I sit writing this, what is probably the last little snow of the season is falling but my ears hear spring in the calling of the returning song birds. I feel grateful that amidst all the crisis in our human world right now the rest of the creatures on this planet are still going about their seasonal patterns in many of the same ways they did last year ( as best they can at least amidst climate change and human caused destruction to their habitat and migratory patterns...).
As us humans all adapt to new ways to connect and communicate with each other, and strategize how to get our basic necessities, us here at Daybreak are grateful to be able to connect our customers with a vibrant local food community and to help you in finding a safe and healthy way to feed your family.
We want to welcome lots of new members this week and thank those of you who have stuck with us for so many years. If you are new (or just need a refresher) here is a link to a lot of customer FAQ's on our website.This weeks share is filled with some tasty spring spinach and greens coming from our growers spring tunnels, sunflower shoots from Dig Deep and Ironwood Farm that bring a sweet taste of sunshine atop any dish, an amazing amount of roots that our farms have kept well stored for us all winter and a diverse array of preserved items to help keep your meals interesting this time of year.
If you are new to eating seasonally, April is a time of transition on most farms. For us vegetable farmers we still have the last of our winter supply of roots and our greenhouses are filled with greens that have come back with the growing warmth and daylight. We are planting spring tunnel with lettuces, kale, chard, radish, salad turnips, herbs and other greens that will grace your shares come May. It's a time of year when we all can start thinking towards the coming summer and we're excite to announce our Summer CSA sign up options are now live on our Harvie Sight! Link is here! I'd recommend reserving your place soon, as the demand for our boxed shares is growing fast. Let us know if you have any questions about the sign up process. IF you are getting a Farmstand Subscription this week or a one time share, you can still sign up for the rest of our winter season, that runs through May, as well.
Thanks again for your help supporting Maine farmers!
Eat well , Adrienne (member-owner from New Beat Farm) & the Daybreak Team.
HELP US KEEP OUR PICK UP SITES SAFE!
We just wanted to give a brief heads up about precautions at our pick up sites, and useful info for you to know.
- All our reusable plastic totes are sanitize ahead of each delivery and our driver is meticulous with wearing clean gloves when unloading at each site to minimize risk.
- Please remember to bring a bag to transfer your share in to
- Any cardboard boxes we deliver in a new, please take these home with you, we unfortunately can not accept them back for recycling.
- Please give other shareholders 6-10ft of space if you arrive at the pick up location at the same time
- If you are sick, please do not come to pick up your food, have a friend or relative pick it up for you
- Gloves or hand sanitizer is great! If you are able to sanitize your hands or put gloves on ahead of picking up your shares it will help minimize risk for your fellow shareholders and yourself.
- Please reach out to us if you have any concerns or suggestions on how we could improve the safety of your pick up sight.
Update from Common Wealth Farm
Our family farm began in 2010 with a vision of providing high-quality poultry products, primarily duck. As things progressed, we fine-tuned our business to focus on the best chicken we could produce. Starting each year in March, we welcome about 450 meat chicks every two weeks through September. They spend about four weeks in brooder nurseries and then are transferred onto pasture where they are housed in “tractors” that are moved every day to fresh grass and clover and fed a supplement of organic feed. All birds are raised and processed sustainably and humanely. There are no antibiotics, insecticides, pesticides, imported fertilizers or animal by-products on the farm. Our lush fields are fertilized by our chickens!
In addition to poultry and game birds, we are keeping bees and providing honey at the farmers’ markets we attend. We expect to have wildflower honey later this year for wider distribution.
The same very capable team that cares for the chickens also processes them in our on-site, state-licensed facility where the birds are processed, then air-chilled for 24 hours before parting and packaging. We provide fresh chicken eggs and duck eggs (pastured and fed non-GMO supplement), whole and parted poultry, and game birds to farmers’ markets, restaurants, co-ops, caterers, meat markets, and other distributors of local healthy and tasty farm products from Bangor to Skowhegan and along the mid-coast. We invite you to try our fresh chicken and other birds, as well as non-GMO chicken, duck, and quail eggs, for a palate-changing experience!
Located in Unity, Maine, owned and managed by the Wilson family.
Finally! The pond thaws for ducks.
Spatchcock
