OK—I’m about to get a little bit preachy. We just wrapped our annual green issue, which will be on newsstands at the end of March, and it prompted a lot of conversations around the office about what we could do…me, and you, and even you, and what habits we might change to make a positive impact on our city and world at large. Since I’m the assistant eat + drink editor, my thoughts always turn to food—how we communicate with food, how with celebrate with food, and how we get political with our food.


Green garlic
Photo by Joan Vicent Canto

So, if you’re looking for one small step to take (and one that is very tasty and feel-good, to boot) I recommend that you call up the nice farmers at Eatwell Farm, up in Dixon, and ask to become a CSA member. CSA’s (community supported agriculture) are boxes of fresh-picked produce that are delivered to a pick-up location weekly. Eatwell Farm’s boxes are delivered to many, many locations throughout the city and are absolutely chock-a-block full of gorgeous stuff. You can also add eggs (a half- or full dozen) to your booty.

It’s a wonderful way to stay in touch with the seasons in this sometimes season-less climate: Last week, the haul included spinach and leeks and kale, but also the first harbingers of spring, like delicate green garlic (garlic harvested before it forms the characteristic bulbs, it looks like fat green onions and has a mild garlic flavor). That weekly box challenges me to cook new things, and it also allows me support farmer Nigel, his family, and his team of workers. Every box also contains a newsletter that talks about life on the farm, the trials and the tribulations and the joys. It just feels, well, human, agriculture on a scale that makes sense, food prepared by people who really care. I think we’d all be foolish not to support them.