Wednesday, December 28, 2016

We Joined the Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA...finally....

I've decided that this will be the year of doing things.  I've been saying I am going to do all sorts of stuff, and then nothing actually happens.  Well, those days are over, folks.  To start this new proactive and productive version of me, I joined a CSA.  Which I said I was going to do for the past seven years but never followed through on because I grow so much myself.  Now that we're fully vegan, I'm buying three times the amount of vegetables, and I felt like now is the perfect time to try it out.  Whatever we don't eat, we can freeze, or I can always juice in my fancy new juicer.

New Jersey is pretty hit or miss in terms of organic farming.  What they do have are a lot of farms that practice animal agriculture, and as a vegan, I do not want to support that.  Sorry, but if you're the kind of person that can raise a baby, then look into his loving eyes and slit his throat....yeah, I'm not doing business with you.  There is no such thing as humane meat people, that's some serious bs.

It was between Melick's Town Farm and Honey Brook Organic Farm.  Melick's had the positives of being run by vegans (or so I'm told) and they have fruit orchards, so unlike most CSA's, you'd also get fruit in your weekly box.  The negative was that their closest pickup, wasn't that close to me, and I couldn't confirm if they were organic.  Honey Brook has a pickup ten minutes from my house, weekly pick your own items if we are so inclined to take the drive down, and they are organic.  Interestingly, the organic CSA prices were comparable to the non-organic CSAs near me.

What is a CSA?  Community Supported Agriculture provides an influx of money for the farmers at the beginning of the season, to purchase seeds and supplies, and in return, the member receives a season of produce. It's a way for farmers and consumer to share in the risk and rewards of farming, as you can't control the weather or sudden spurts of disease or insects.  It's the truest definition of farm to table, in my opinion.  Honey Brook members can opt for pre-packed boxes, or they can go to the farm every week and pick all their own produce.  I hear you get more bang for your buck doing it that way, but it's a 45-minute drive, so not realistic for my family.

If you're interested in joining a CSA, check out Local Harvest.  And if you're interested in joining Honey Brook's CSA, check out the links below.  (For the record, I am receiving no compensation for promoting their CSA.  I'm just sharing info)




Hello & Happy New Year from Honey Brook Organic Farm!:
The Early Bird Applications for on-farm pick-up at our Pennington and Chesterfield farms are online now, as well as our two Early Bird Boxed Share applications
If you wish to become a member of our CSA program in 2017 & want to pick up at our Pennington or Chesterfield farm, there is still time to mail in your Early Bird application! After 12/31st (the deadline for submission of the Early Bird applications for on-farm pick-up), membership feeswill increase to reflect the increase in production costs.
Farmer Jim and I, as well as our farm staff, wish you and yours a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! ~ Farmer Sherry Dudas  

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Vegan Christmas Presents - Shop a Non-Profit!

Still looking for presents for your favorite vegan?  Are you against how materialistic the holidays have come, but don't want to disappoint friends and family members by nothing giving them something you wrapped?  My mother always said to buy yourself a present to so you're getting at least one thing you actually wanted.  So maybe you're just looking for a present for yourself.

Do something good and shop at a non-profit's online store.


You know I love my "Give a Cluck, Go Vegan!" shirt.  Get it here at United Poultry Concerns.  I wear it when I grocery shop to make people feel uncomfortable...yes, I'm an ass.


How about a cute cosmetic bag from the Beagle Freedom Project?  They have t-shirts on their site, but if you were lucky, you got one during their fundraiser like I did that says "Stop Testing on Beagles"

Cosmetic Bag

I am super excited to get my Vegan AF shirt from PETA.  FYI they also have a Vegan Holiday Chocolate Box.  I also picked up a ton of stickers.  My daughter puts them on all her school stuff and it really seems to be starting a lot of great conversations amoungst her peers.

Vegan AF Fitted T-Shirt

Admittedly, a little pricer, but remember it's for a good cause...Farm Sanctuary has some great stuff.  I'm still on the fence about this shirt....Farm Sanctuary Vintage Rainbow Tee
How about some hot sauce from Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary?

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If I didn't hate long sleeves so much, I'd buy this shirt from Mercy for Animals.



If you aren't into the stuff at the non-profits, how about buying from a company that donates to a non-profit group?  Ivory Ella donates 10% of it's profits to Save the Elephants.


My daughter is so obsessed with this shirt, I had to get it for her.  A portion of every item purchased from iHeartCats goes to feeding shelter cats.  They also help to feed shelter dogs with items purchased from iHeartDogs.  They work with Rescue Bank a Program of GreaterGood.org.

PeopleSuck_navy
Go Google your favorite sanctuaries and shelters and see what they have.  Don't need something wrapped?  Why not make a donation in someone's name? Join in on Woodstock Farm Sanctuary's fundraiser for Hay Every Day


Or sponsor an animal from Barn Sanctuary!  

sponsor-jasper-barn-sanctuary-home

 I hope you guys have gotten more people crossed off your list than I have!

None of these links are affliate links.  These are all just organizations I support and believe in.
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