Thanks to Julie Weiner who wrote an amazing article about Tuv Ha’Aretz, faith and farming for the Associated Press.  It’s copied below, but if you want to read the full thing,  click here.

By JULIE WIENER
For The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
 

Faith meets farming and fuels community supported agriculture movement

On Wednesday evenings, faith and produce mingle at Atlanta’s Congregation Shearith Israel synagogue.

As parents gather to collect their children from Hebrew school or attend lectures, many also pass through the social hall, where they collect boxes of tomatoes, peaches, spinach and other organic produce.

It’s a blending of physical and spiritual sustenance that Rabbi Hillel Norry calls the best of Jewish values in action, and it’s just one of a growing number of faith-based community supported agriculture (or CSA) programs nationwide.

“We’re taking Jewish ideals of justice, economics, health, ecology, well-being and responsibility and putting them to work in the real world in a way that makes our lives and the life of the farmer better,” Norry says.

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Last year, American Jewish Life Magazine identified Hazon as one of the “Hottest” Jewish organizations out there (natch).

This month, our food work is all over their new Green Issue!

- Learn AJL’s take on kosher, organic meat (and check out that green cow) here.

- Read about Tuv Ha’Aretz, Hazon’s Community Supported Agriculture Program here.

- Find out how sexy Jewish farmers are (note The Jew and the Carrot shoutout!) here.

Even without the copious Hazon coverage, AJL’s smart, witty writing makes it a new favorite.  Check them out at http://www.ajlmagazine.com/

In this month of Tammuz, we confront a great paradox.  The sun is passing through its highest point in the sky.  Flowers are blooming, tomatoes are just starting to burst from the vine, and berries – mmm, the berries – this is the time of greatest abundance.  Dipping into cool waters at this time is one of life’s greatest joys.

Yet in our tradition, we are moving through a time of deep reflection and mourning for loss.  On the 9th of Tammuz, the first exile of the Jews began as the Judean King abandoned the Temple and the Babylonians breached the outer walls of the Temple.  (Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 26a-b.)  Today, on the 17th of Tamuz, Jews traditionally fast from sun-up to sun-down, mourning the destruction of the Temple.  This is also recognized as the day when Moses dashed the first set of Tablets from Sinai in response to our worship of the Golden calf.  (Exodus 32:19.) 

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Last summer I had a conversation with Tuv Ha’Aretz farmer, Chris Kaplan Walbrecht (of the Garden of Eve Farm) that shocked the jaded pants off of me. It was the Tuv Ha’Aretz pick up before the 4th of July - and plump, juicy sweet corn slathered in butter was on everyone’s mind. Chris told me how difficult it was to grow corn organically, and to have it ready to harvest by July 4th. But - sweet corn is so firmly rooted in American’s minds as a July 4th staple, that he, along with many other farmers, did their best to make it happen.

Some farmers, he said, fight that corn out of the ground at all costs. Chris described the conventional farms he drives past on long Island that produce vast fields of corn. He told me how they spray a thick layer of pesticides on the baby corn plants and then literally cover the field in plastic (imagine covering a bowl in Saran Wrap) which keeps the bugs out and allows the pesticides to bake in. When the corn is big enough, the chemical-soaked plastic is removed and - no surprise - thrown away into landfills. The corn is large, ripe, and ready for the grill. But at what cost to the earth and our bodies? I knew that industrial, conventional farming was not earth-friendly, but this just absolutely stunned me. How could I possibly celebrate our country’s independence while eating corn that ruined its fertile land?

The Garden of Eve uses organic methods and timing to coax - not force - their corn to grow tall and yellow by Independence Day. I applaud them in their efforts but even so - this 4th of July, as part of my patriotic duty, I vow to eat beautiful, locally grown yellow summer squash instead of corn.

As a CSA coordinator and food blogger, I have the privilege of hearing the rumblings of what’s sprouting in the world of sustainable agriculture and eating.  And the question on everyone’s mind these days seems to be: Is it possible to consume meat and poultry in a way that is responsible for the earth and our bodies?  And, is there a way to do it that supports farmers, without completely breaking the bank?

AND (for kosher-keeping consumers), is it possible to find ethical meat that is also kosher?

As a result of the rising interest in meat from “happy cows,” a crop of organic family farmers across the country have started offerring sustainably raised and ethically slaughtered meat as part of their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) communities or through special meat coops.  This morning, NPR featured a story about these sustainable meat coops and the enthusiastic response they’ve received from members.

And this week, the Tuv Ha’Aretz CSA in Washington DC launched a program that will offer not only ethically raised, but also kosher meat to their members.

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(Posted on behalf of Yigal Deustcher -the farmer at Chava V’Adam Farm in Israel, one of Tuv Ha’Aretz’s partner communities. He is also the founder of the Shorashim:Roots program. Photos taken by Tuv Ha’Aretz member, Naomi Marcus.)

I awoke at 5:30 AM and headed to the kitchen where I found Eitan, one of our Shorashim apprentices, dicing the root of Ashwaganda (aka Middle Eastern Ginseng) to make a medicinal tincture.

Eitan has just finished the pilot season of Shorashim:Roots - 5 month intensive housed by Chava v’Adam, an ecological education center outside Modi’in. Our apprentices live and work in a rustic setting, secluded by the rocky, sparsely forested hills hugging our little valley. Much of the work is agriculturally-based, cultivating 5 bio-diverse plots for the needs of our CSA community. All of the buildings are built with stone or mud. The water from our showers & sinks are cleansed by our greywater wetland system. The sounds from the farm can be hectic at times, with busloads of schoolchildren coming to learn about the wonders of plants, animals & mud.

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Tokyo turnips.
Those are the two words that come to mind when asked how I am enjoying my new CSA membership as part of Tuv Ha’Aretz here in the Bay Area.
I have to admit, turnips have never been high on my list of favorite vegetables. While I certainly don’t harbor any negative feelings toward them, they just don’t usually find their way into my grocery cart, even though I kinda like their dirty white peel, with that lovely purple splotch at the bottom.
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These days, you can’t toss an organic pomegrante drink in New York City without hitting someone gushing about “farming.” People are joining CSAs, flocking to the farmer’s markets, and insisting that their restaurants and supermarkets carry free range eggs and meat. Heck, even Farm Aid is coming to NYC this year! (As someone who coordinates CSAs for a living, this makes me swoon a little.)

But even with our newfound city-folk expertise on all things sustainable agriculture, most New Yorkers would be surprised to meet a farmer like Farmer John.

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CSA advocates will tell you that joining a Community-Supported Agriculture project is the next best thing to growing your own food. You support a farmer for a whole season, and every week you get to pick up locally grown, organic, just-picked produce that still radiates life and earth. But what happens if you’re just too busy to cook for yourself? Over the course of the season the vegetables can start to pile up in the fridge. You start to feel guilty throwing away the soggy bok choi in the back of the vegetable crisper, and dread the next influx of fresh vegetables that will be piled onto last week’s unused produce.

Sweet Deliverance, a new business run by a Natural Gourmet Institute grad, Kelly Geary, offers a solution for busy New Yorkers. You pay for a CSA share. Geary will pick it up for you, prepare wholesome fresh meals, and deliver them to your door at a time that works for you - for an extra weekly fee of $250. Local food, and home cooked meals, with no work by you! It’s the ultimate in no-fuss, locally-grown convenience. And honestly, it creeps me out.

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This morning I arrived in Israel via a red-eye flight for the Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride.  It’s my first time visiting the country, which means everyone I mentioned my trip to gave me a lengthy list of things I absolutely ”must” do and see.  For the most part I’ve taken these suggestions with a grain of salt - I’m happy to be here, and not terribly anxious to see absolutely everything in this first trip.  But when it comes to food, I’m taking all the advice I can get.  Jcarrot Blogger, Phyllis Bieri, painted tales about the superbly fresh hummus, creamy labneh, and green falafel balls that are equal-parts fluffy, and crisp. 

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[Warning: although this post is about the topic at hand, it takes a little longer than usual to get there…]
I don’t know how I became such an Indophile, all I know it is that it happened. It probably was around the time I returned from my first trip to India, and realized how dull everything looked. I missed the women wearing magenta and gold, or turquoise and orange, not to mention the jewels between their eyebrows. It seemed like I had been wearing Technicolor-colored glasses, and then all of a sudden, everyone around me had faded into shades of grey, brown and black.
My love of all things Indian caused me to seek out an Indian-style wedding dress, and get henna on my hands and feet for my wedding day. The fact that Paulie, my husband, chose to wear an Indian suit as well meant that the studio that printed my wedding album called my photographer just out of curiosity to ask her whether ours was a Hindu or Jewish wedding.

I mention all of this because last week, I had a cooking date with Swati, the amazingly talented woman who designed my wedding dress www.swati.us/wedding3.html. (The peach one at the bottom of this web page is my actual dress, if anyone cares about such silly things)…She lives in the South Bay, about an hour from me, and like so many wonderful things in my life, I found her online (I met my husband online, too). She designs the gowns from her home here, and then has a team of people embroidering and sewing to her specifications in Bombay. I know, I know, I hardly went local for a wedding dress.

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Two of the Tuv Ha’Aretz communities are hosting Meet the Farmer events this week.  Meet the farmer supplying Tuv Ha’Aretz, ask your burning questions about sustainable, organic agriculture, shmooze with other members of your local Tuv Ha’Aretz community, and find out how to join the CSA.  Check out these events if you live in or are visiting:

- Berkeley, CA  - or -

- West Orange, NJ (or anywhere in the MetroWest area) 

For more info about the Berkeley event at Chochmat HaLev on Tuesday, April 17, contact Adam Edell adumkov@aol.com, and for info about the New Jersey event at JCC MetroWest on Wednesday, April 18, contact Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu (rsirbu@jccmetrowest.org).

The first Jewish CSA, Tuv Ha’Aretz, gets a shoutout in PA’s Jewish Exponent:

Part of the process is “to examine our thoughts about food and examine what’s been taught in Judaism” on the subject, she said. [organizer Robin Rifkin, a nutritionist] The group plans to schedule discussions on conservation; what it means to say blessings before and after meals; and why organic and local foods are so crucial these days. The Jewish heritage of farming and Jewish agricultural holidays will be examined as well.

In addition, the role of charity and food will be explored. Jewish law is very specific about how much land and foodstuffs go to the poor, she noted. Kol Ami will be donating any extra or unused shares to the Mitzvah Food Pantry, a program run by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Still, Kol Ami will face some real challenges. Learning to eat “seasonally” can be daunting for families, especially when they have never used exotic ingredients like dandelion greens and Swiss chard in cooking before. To help participants prepare meals with these new ingredients, Kol Ami will also be holding cooking classes.

This week’s Time Out New York features an article about the growth Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) in New York City.  Quoting Paula Lukats, CSA in NYC program Manager at Just Food, “[the number of CSAs] in 2007 will spike to some 50 in the five boroughs, up from 41 in 2006.”

Hazon has also witnessed the growing trend in our Jewish CSA program, Tuv Ha’Aretz.  In the last year, Tuv Ha’Aretz grew from five to 10 synagogue and JCC communities across the country and in Israel. 

When I first started my job as Hazon’s Tuv Ha’Aretz coordinator 2 1/2 years ago, I constantly needed to explain what CSA.  It is such a pleasure to see that the idea has caught on and is increasingly familiar across the US - so much so that it was runner up as The New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year!  (It lost out to Carbon Neutral!) 

Read an excerpt of the Time Out article here.