news-record.com

My husband, Tim, was raised on a farm on Bald Hill Loop Road in the Intelligence community. His great-aunt and grandmother grew and preserved most of their food, trading fresh eggs for milk with a farmer up the road.

Often, new ideas are nothing more than revisiting something we took for granted in the past. Take "slow food," for example. Heard of it?

It's the opposite of fast food. It's fresh, locally grown, and sometimes organic. It might be from your backyard or a farmer down the road a piece. The point is, you know where it came from and that it is safe.

It's also good for the local economy. N.C. State estimates that "if each North Carolinian spent 25 cents per day on local food, it would add $792 million to the state's economy."

A new group, the Rockingham County Local Food Coalition, has formed to help us slow down our fast food lives. According to extension agent Brenda Sutton, the coalition is "starting a conversation to see what the needs are and the direction we need to take to meet them."

About 25 consumers and producers have met twice so far. Anyone with an interest in locally grown food is welcome to join. The next meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, at the Agricultural Center in Wentworth. Members are encouraged to bring local foods to share or sell.

At the second meeting, Lee Jennings, director of food services at the Penn 4-H Camp, gave a talk about how local farmers could sell to the camp and to other institutions. Larry Smith of Smith Farms in Stoneville, the county's only certified organic farm, talked about the value of organic produce.

Smith, his mother, Lois, and sister, Tonie McMillan, have 9 acres that are USDA certified organic. The farm is inspected yearly and also during unannounced visits.

Getting certified was a long process that began with proving that no chemicals had been applied to the land for three years. The farm is only allowed to use organic seeds and everything has to be tracked, from seed packets to planting records.

The farm's sheep, goats, and rabbits contribute manure for compost.

This year, Smith Farms is starting a system of selling called Community Supported Agriculture or CSA. It's like a weekly food subscription for fresh produce. Subscribers pay a lump sum amount and receive 6 to 10 pounds of produce a week, whatever is in season. Smith says it will be anything from blackberries to green beans.

The season will run from late April through mid-October, about 25 weeks, and the produce drop-off point will be House of Health in Eden. Other farmers in the county are also trying the CSA approach.

Smith says that one of the main things that the coalition will do is to try to establish a "method of communication" between local food producers and local food consumers. A CSA is one method. The local farmers' markets are another.

Although summer is the height of local food production, Sutton points out that such things as eggs, greens, and sweet potatoes are available throughout the winter. The Community Kitchens in Wentworth and at the Eden United Methodist Church also are a resource for producers to use to preserve food to sell locally year round.

Most of us can't go back to the days of trading eggs for milk, but I believe we'd all be healthier if we incorporate some slow food into our fast-paced lives.

Joni Carter lives in the Bethany community. Contact her at writetojonicarter@gmail.com