We are back to running the woodstove in the kitchen. Spring weather in New England is fickle at best and now that we live in a rural farming community, the extreme shifts are more than inconvenient. They can spell the difference between fresh food later in the year and poor harvests or no harvest of certain fruit or vegetables.
Central and Western Massachusetts is an absolute haven for growing, finding, and eating local food. In a few square miles from StarField Farm, we can source meat, chicken, pork, milk, cheese, flour, stone fruit, apples, pears, pawpaws, berries, and every vegetable you can think of.
If the past few years have taught us anything, it taught us that our food supply chains are fragile. Local food is more than just a “bougie” fad: it is a matter of security and health.
It’s easy for people living in places where food is simply a commodity to get in a grocery store to take for granted that what they wish to eat will always be available.
The two major pressures local farmers face are climate change and development. Both together could spell disaster for local food availability.
Just on our little homestead farm, we already know we won’t have any peaches this year. It’s sad, but it won’t affect our livelihood as we only grow for our own larder. For farmers who rely on markets and CSAs it could mean a huge financial hit in a business that already struggles with the thinnest of margins.
And farmland is disappearing at an alarming rate.
I wish I had easy solutions. All I know is if we don’t value local food and local farmers, if we don’t protect land from irresponsible development, if we ignore climate change, we will feel the impact on our food bills and on our plates, and ultimately in our health and wellbeing.