"community" news and stories

City slickers at Jasper Hill Farm. Photo: Dimitri Saad

The cows knew something good was going on. There they were, chewing their cud and jamming out to R&B. One was visibly swaying to the beat.

The beasts behind a few of the brilliant cheeses at Vermont's family-owned Jasper Hill Farm and its extraordinary, 22,000-square-foot cheese-aging cave, built right into the earth (one of only two like it in the nation), are up on their current pop for two reasons. As sales and outreach specialist Zoe Brickley told a group of self-proclaimed dairy enthusiasts, it's both because "the barn boys like it" and because the cows do: "If cows are stressed out, their production goes down. Happy, contented cows are best for milk quality."

Jasper Hill seems intent upon making its fellow cheesemakers happy and contented too, by providing aging facilities for 10 to 12 farmers throughout New England. With their enormous cave, they have recreated an atmosphere that has been "historically used" to create cheese, which is a boon for many local cheesemakers, who traditionally had to rely essentially upon tricked-out refrigerators. Owned by two couples (brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler), Jasper Hill is helping keep artisanal cheese alive in New England, and sustaining some of the top fromagers in the country.

After the jump, how they do it and a look at the caves and aging process.

Even though there is always a lot of information out there in cyberspace, I am constantly looking for new resources. This website, Masterchef, has recently come to my attention and I am very interested. It looks like a great culinary networking site with all kinds of community building options. I haven't had a chance to do more than browse, but I am definitely signing up.

The site offers educational video, IM between members, start clubs, post classified ads, etc. You can use the site to post your own blog and upload videos. It's basically a social networking site aimed specifically at those in or interested in the culinary world. It looks like a great way to meet other culinarians.

The only problem is Masterchef seems to be pretty new. There isn't much content. However, what content there is looks interesting and informative. And the site looks clean and pretty easy to navigate. Now Masterchef needs a few more members and it'll be a great online food community.

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In 2002, the state legislature of Pennsylvania passed a resolution, declaring that the second Saturday in January was to be known as "Invite your neighbor to dinner day." That just happens to be this upcoming Saturday. And no, I am not kidding. Their intention was to foster goodwill among people who live within close proximity of one another and to encourage people to reach out to the neighbors that they might not know well. They chose the second Saturday in January because they couldn't find any major holidays that would conflict with it and thought that it might also be a way for people to beat the post-holiday blues.

As a big proponent of communal eating, I love this idea and so thought I'd pass the word around. It's a great idea, even if you don't happen to live in the Keystone State (as I do). There's also a website that offers tips on ways to make dinner with a neighbor doable for you as well as a little history about how this movement got started. Even if you can't do it this Saturday, why not make a plan to get together with some neighbors for a meal. Keep it easy on yourself and make it potluck (this pasta bake makes a great potluck dish, if you need a little inspiration). Just have a meal with a neighbor and make your community a little closer.

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You don't have to be gregarious or adventurous to start or be part of a community garden. If you're lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with an available spot of ground, say 80'x80', you have the beginnings of a great social experiment. Here in Boulder, this was inclusive to the development plans in my neighborhood so procuring growing space wasn't a problem. I thought getting people to sign up and rent plots (this wasn't my job) would be an issue. Not so. It was what should be grown that got thorny. Most wanted veggies and flowers. Some wanted only flowers and vice versa. In the end it was an even mix. We even had edible flowers: I ate carnation petals right from the plant, and later steeped in sherry. The point is, a typical 9-5 person doesn't have time to tend a large garden. When folks come together and each grow their specialty, we all get to cook the many varieties of squash, cabbages, onions, roots and shoots. I never cared for Zucchini but my neighbor three houses down traded me some zukes for a futures claim on my pumpkins. The zucchini bread was eaten in one sitting; she plans to make pumpkin bread next month. It may sound corney, so to speak, but growing food with people you didn't know really brings food into focus. At least that's been my experience.

Our garden's first year was a success. Nothing was poached and there was a healthy competitive nature to the venture. The only "failure" was the tomatoes. Hard to grow at altitude with minimal care. Other than that, if you have the opportunity, you might start here.

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If you read a lot of personal food blogs, you will occasionally here someone refer to CSA or a delivery from CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a cooperative system in which goods from a farm are delivered directly to a consumer. The way it works is that people purchase the rights to part of a farmer's crop prior to the beginning of the season. Once the crops start coming in - and some farmers provide everything from vegetables and herbs to fresh eggs and meat, though most primarily provide produce - a portion of the harvest is delivered to each subscriber each week, either directly or to a central location where it can be picked up. The farmers benefit from having a direct sale, and the consumers benefit because they are getting ultra-fresh produce and supporting their community.

Because everything is so seasonal, consumers don't have a say in what they get each week. It is based strictly on the harvest, so it is possible that you will end up with some foods you don't care for in addition to ones you love.

The season lasts from April or May through October, although it may start a bit later depending on what area of the country you are from. Some farms offer year-round programs. Generally, the subscription is paid in advance, meaning that a subscriber will pay a few hundred dollars at the beginning of the season instead of paying weekly as they might at a grocery store or farmer's market. An average cost seems to be about $22 per week. Use the CSA Finder at Local Harvest to help locate a program in your area.