We are thrilled to announce that we had a successful first week of our Donate-A-Box program. Pictured here is Nicole prepping all the food that went into the donated farm boxes this past week. We can't thank you enough for your generous contributions to the pilot program. If you want to get involved this week, look for the Donate-A-Box item when swapping or adding extras to your farm share. We will match all contributions and make sure that they get distributed to neighbors in need through 412 Food Rescue.
Believe it or not, the end of our first season is drawing near. We have 6 weeks left. The last week that you are currently signed up for is November 17-19. We are busy preparing a new winter season that will seamlessly piggyback onto the current season. More details coming soon. Look for a customer survey that we will use to get a sense for how many of our customers are interested in continuing their membership over the winter months.
NEW ITEMS AND FARMERS This week we are featuring a handful of new seasonal items. They include pie pumpkins and some great winter squash that you'll love. We are also offering 20# cases of pear seconds for canning (look for those in the Extras section), and we also have some bags of organic baking apples as well. They are not the most beautiful apples, but if organic fruit is important to you, and you like baking--these will be perfect!
We also have two new farms this week. Blue Goose Farm from Cambria County and Harvest Valley Farm from Butler County. We are excited to expand our network of growers. We think you'll enjoy the potatoes and onions that they provide this week.
CHEESE OF THE WEEK: PIRATE BLUE, CLOVER CREEK CHEESE CELLAR After the mild Homesteader Cheese this past week, we decided to go the opposite direction this time. Get ready for an awesome blue cheese. In the words of Clover Creek: "Our cheese consultant challenged us to taste the molds on our cheeses before we cut them off. He said we might find a pleasant surprise. We finally were brave enough to try that with our Pirate Blue. The tangy, crusty rind gives it a hearty flavor that is definitely a trait of pirates. The chalky salty edge brings back childhood memories of crossing the bay to get to the ocean. The smooth interior crossed with blue veins shows the goodness and kindness that hides in many a pirate heart."
Enjoy the beauty of October. These are wonderful days on a farm as the season slows down but the harvest remains full.
Best regards,
Neil Stauffer, on behalf of the Harvie Farms crew
ps--We hope to share our plans for Thanksgiving turkeys within the next week as well!
