WINTER FARE PRESS RELEASE

Juanita Nelson of Deerfield knows that eating locally grown food is delicious, even in the midst of winter. That’s why she and other local residents are organizing a week of events in early February 2008 to encourage everyone to eat more local foods. During February 2nd to 9th, the Week of Winter Fare will begin with an indoor farmers market on Groundhog Day, February 2nd, at the Second Congregational Church, next to Greenfield’s Town Hall.

Emma and Ed Stamas will be ready for the Week. The Colrain couple has thrived on a mostly local diet year-round for a long time. A major source of their food is a large garden, augmented with food produced nearby.

"I was hooked on gardening from the time I was three or four. My mother was an avid gardener, and I followed her around, " Emma recalls. "I got into it seriously as a teen when we moved to a farm in upstate New York. My favorite crop was corn. My brother once ate fourteen ears."

When Ed and Emma married thirty-eight years ago, Ed had never put a seed into the ground. He’s now as enthusiastic about gardening as his wife. This year, they weren’t able to plant peas until the second week in April because of bad weather. Peas were rapidly followed by spinach, lettuce, arugula, tatsoi, all plants that like a cool climate. Emma runs through a long list of what’s put into the ground as the season progresses: onions, leeks, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, brussel sprouts, beans, kale, summer squash and more. The Stamas’ grow their own transplants for such plants as fall plantings of greens to ripen in "late, late fall".

Emma explains, "To make it through the winter we store beets (Lutz is the best keeper variety), onions, winter squash, and potatoes in our basement and other suitable areas of the house. All summer I make large quantities of soups, casseroles, other dishes, and freeze the left-overs. Every week I freeze a batch of something. We can large quantities of tomatoes as juice, and as sauce to which we add whatever’s on hand, like bits of summer squash, peppers, onions."

"We do very well all year eating mostly vegetables, supplementing them with local eggs, cheese, meat, soy products, fruit. We intend to put in an orchard and berries. I’d say we eat very well relying mainly on locally grown food."

The Stamases offer occasional workshops for gardeners and would-be gardeners, or for those who simply want to learn how to preserve the bounty of farmers’ markets, farmstands, or Community Supported Agriculture farms (CSA’s).

"We’d be glad to host a workshop or two in connection with the Week of Winter Fare," they offer. "It’s not too late to think about vegetables which can be planted in late summer and fall. And of course, we could do a session on food preservation. We’ve come up with ways to store crops in apartments - all you need is a closet that stays around fifty degrees!"

If you’re interested in attending or offering a workshop on topics related to the Week of Winter Fare, or in helping organize the events, contact Ferdene Chin-Yee at 665-2041 or ferdene@gmail.com. Farmers and local food producers interested in being vendors at the Groundhog Day Farmers Market should contact Ferdene Chin-Yee.

Can’t wait until February to celebrate eating locally? The third annual Free Harvest Supper of Local Food will be held on Sunday, August 19 from 5 to 7pm. For more information, contact Juanita Nelson or Ferdene Chin-Yee.