Welcome to the new Harvie Farms Pittsburgh season. Please read on for important information and announcements about your farm share. Thanks!
In a year with so many frustrations and fears, I have to say this past holiday week hit the mark in making me also feel quite grateful. Grateful for friends and family (many of whom I've seen much less than usual this year). Grateful for good food--and food canned up in jars (much of which came from hard working farmers that I feel fortunate to know). Grateful for customers that have allowed our little business to find its footing and plan for a future that involves thriving farms and healthy communities.
Having said that, let me welcome all of you to our Winter Farm Share season. We know sourcing local foods over the winter will be a new and different challenge, and we are so glad that you are willing to make this effort along with us. Our team has been networking and taste-testing our way around farmers markets, bakeries, and other local farm businesses to source the best foods we can find from the region. We will also bring in some featured items from a bit further away when the quality of the food and the connection to the farmer allows us to know exactly where our food is coming from.
Butcher Box Welcome to all of our meat lovers out there too. We hope you enjoy your steaks, roasts, and other cuts for the winter. Be sure to watch in the coming weeks. We are working to add some new meat options within the butcher box! Also, you may have noticed that we are now launching the butcher box customization window a day earlier! Look for your box email on Wednesdays around 1pm. The window still closes on Friday at 8am.
Salty Pork Bits Speaking of new meat items, this week launches our new partnership with Salty Pork Bits, the sausage and charcuterie business from Justin Severino and Hilary Prescott of Morcilla restaurant in Lawrenceville. All of the meats they use are thoughtfully sourced. You can add their cured and stuffed goodness into your farm boxes. Look for them in future butcher boxes as well.
Thursday Farm Box Schedule Change If you are a Thursday delivery location, please note that your farm box customization window is now Thursday 1pm-Friday 1pm (instead of Mon-Tues). This will continue throughout the winter. Thanks.
Packaging & Winter Weather Our packaging return system remains the same (place flattened box along with ice packs and insulated liner out for the courier during your next delivery), except for one new factor--winter weather. If, like this past week, we have winter weather or wet weather, please keep two things in mind.
1) Our couriers need all entrances and access points to be free of snow and ice. Please be sure to create a safe delivery environment for them as they brave the weather this winter.
2) Feel free to hold on to your packaging until a future delivery rather than ruining it if your delivery location is exposed to the winter elements. We are quite picky about the packaging we reuse and will simply have to dispose of any packaging that has been compromised by weather conditions. Stay tuned as we are also working on a return bin at our warehouse for those of you who prefer to simply drop off packaging directly to us on your own schedule.
Coffee Share We have a new Add-On option for this winter. Say good-bye Cheese Share (still lots of cheeses available to add into your farm box). Hello, Coffee Share! We will be curating fun and delicious coffees from local roasters each week. It's not too late if you want to sign up. Just send an email to support@harvie.farm. For week 1, we are offering Paulie's Blend from La Prima: Fair Trade & Organic. Medium roast w/ rich full body and notes of bittersweet chocolate. Their perennial best seller, Paulie’s Blend combines the full bloom of our Dark Roast with a subtly earthy toned wet-hulled coffee. Enjoy!
Bread Share Back by popular demand is our bread share. Many of you have come to know and love the sourdough breads from Mediterra Bakehouse. This week's bread share will be one of favorites, the Red Fife. The bread has a wonderful nutty, slightly sweet flavor that works well in many settings. Red Fife Batard is made using organic heritage red fife grain grown on Mediterra's own land in Arizona. The entire milling process is done in-house using traditional stone-ground milling equipment. Natural levain (sourdough) starter is added, giving this loaf a subtle, tangy bite. Use it in place of a traditional sourdough bread, paired with your favorite meats and cheeses, or simply toast and enjoy. And note that we will also be experimenting with new and different breads in our farm shares.
Once again, we are thrilled to connect you with good food from great farms and artisans. Thanks for your support.
Stay safe and eat well!
Neil Stauffer, on behalf of the Harvie Farms Pittsburgh team
