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The words “farm fresh” are increasingly on the tips of tongues around town, and bringing our area’s bounty to your table is far from limited to buying from our expanding farmers markets and dining at farm-fueled restaurants. Here are just a few of the options available to those looking to connect more deeply to local farms.
Have the Farm Come to You
Enter another buzzword, “CSA,” or the Community Supported Agriculture model. By very basic definition, in a CSA, community members support a farm by becoming shareholders in its harvest. The certified organic Worden Farm in Punta Gorda has the traditional CSA format among its offerings, in which the farm assembles weekly boxes of the current yield and delivers them to more convenient pick-up locations—in this case, locations include several across Naples, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Pine Island and Upper Captiva. Worden Farm boxes are delivered December through April—you get 20 weeks for $580—and include an assortment of eight vegetables, herbs and occasionally fruits. The contents are a bit of a surprise each time, but it can be a fun challenge to open the box and discover your next ingredients with which to experiment. wordenfarm.com
You also can ask vendors as you peruse your area farmers market if they participate as a CSA—some will have their booths serve as pick-up locations each week.
Go Directly to the Farm … and Relax
The definition of “CSA” is loose and ever-changing, and another take can be found at Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm in North Fort Myers. Through their yearlong $35-per-family Friend of the Farm program, Rosy Tomorrows gives members exclusive weekly access via designated Provision Days to come on-site and purchase their choice of organically raised beef, pork, chicken and eggs; organically grown produce; and fresh prepared items and baked goods. Being able to see just where their haul came from provides members an idyllic educational experience—think free-roaming Red Wattle hogs, Longhorn cows and three breeds of chickens; white fences—and allows a greater relationship to farm and farmer. And, members and non-members alike can reserve spots for Wednesday lunches, Thursday walking tours and special events like the monthly Sunday Jazz Brunch, butchery and cooking classes, and more. rosy-tomorrows.com
Another that welcomes visitors is Fort Myers’ Buckingham Farms. The 50-plus acres (including a hydroponic system, more than 400 peach trees and more than 10,000 strawberry plants) power an on-site country store and a counter-service eatery serving Saturday breakfast, Tuesday through Saturday lunch and Friday dinner—both locations open to the public. buckinghamfarmsonline.com
Go Directly to the Farm … and Get to Work
More than a handful of farms invite the public to get straight to the source with a U-Pick component, which is understandably seasonal and weather-dependent. Farmer Mike’s U-Pick in Bonita Springs aims to re-open access to its bounty of strawberries and tomatoes—a whopping 26 heirloom varieties from yellow to pink to black—in mid-November and continue through June. (But starting this month, pluck your own bouquet from its field of sunflowers.) farmermikesupick.com
Alva’s 31 Produce got to work this year planting warm-weather crops like avocado and mango trees, blackberries and mulberries so it can offer picking during the typically slim summer months in the future, but its main picking season is November through May. Close to 70 percent of the farm’s crops are available for gathering seven days a week, meaning that mustard and collard greens, kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, black-eyed peas, peppers, sweet onion, eggplant, strawberries, tomatoes and more can be right at your fingertips starting next month. 31produce.com
You also have limited runs of mangoes on Pine Island, blueberries in Arcadia, and many more Lee and Collier County opportunities to reap hands-on what farmers have sown.
Go Online?
OK, so maybe the internet isn’t “local.” But if you really can’t make it out to our own area farms, you can still commit to farm-fresh produce. Nationwide, CSA-style Farmbox Direct (farmboxdirect.com), for example, delivers its boxes—which range from $39-65 and 15-30 pounds each—to our area.
The Web can also be a great way to supplement the fresh food of our resident farms. Sites like iGourmet (igourmet.com) deliver artisanal products from other areas, such as oddball pasta types, specialty cheeses, unusual spices and crops that simply aren’t grown here (truffles, anyone?).
And, the internet aids again if you find yourself wondering just what to do with some of these ingredients. Recipes abound online, but here are our top three places to get them:
Yummly.com features an extensive database you can sort by everything from nutritional value to cook time to cuisine type.
Epicurious.com helps you create a full menu based on what ingredients you have on hand.
Food52.com offers “The Hotline”; type in a question and get a response from a food expert in minutes.