Good Food from Healthy Farms
Archive for June, 2010
What a difference a week makes.
Jun 24th
Last Thursday at this time I spoke to Jeff Miller (chef turned organic farmer from Willie Greens in Monroe) and he said it was quite possibly the worst year that he has seen in his 25 years on the farm: 5 flats of berries a week vs 250 last year; 20% germination in the chard and spinach, leaving whole beds virtually empty; wet, soggy ground and no change in the weather on the horizon.
And it was doom and gloom on our farm as well. The productive spring we had came to a screeching halt as our list of crops ready for harvest shrank to just a handful and the quantity available was way down. Stuff just hasn’t been growing for the last month! It’s scary (still) to think that a lousy summer around here can wipe out a farm’s income for the year. (That should offer a little insight into why we started Terra Organics in the first place…)
Looking back at last year’s newsletters, by the second and third weeks of June we were already into local cherries, broccoli, summer squash, beans(!). Yet last week the availability of local produce was so wiped out we only had bunched spinach in the small boxes.
So with the warming this past week, things have started to grow again and Eastern Washington is finally coming on with some fruit. It looks like all is not lost yet, but we’re still not out of the dark. It’s going to be an interesting summer for everyone growing food out there.
Please remember to cancel or make changes to your order by 10am, two days before your delivery.
Thank you for your support!
Establishment of Washington State Food Policy Council
Jun 23rd
Thanks to efforts by the Good Food Coalition, yesterday, Governor Chris Gregoire signed an important Executive Order at the Food Systems Strategies Summit. Executive Order 10-02 brings together agencies and community partners to coordinate their work and increase collaboration to strengthen our Washington State’s food system.
The Order tasks the Departments of Health, Agriculture, Social and Health Services along with the Conservation Commission and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to deliver a report to the Governor and the Legislature outlining the remaining gaps and opportunities in Washington state food policy that will help agencies, legislators, and stakeholders develop solutions that fit our state’s needs.
“We need to keep our farmers working, and ensure all kids have access to farm fresh food,” said Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (Sequim). “This Executive Order is a building block towards a better way of doing things, and I’m hopeful that it will result in strong policy recommendations to the Legislature on how we can promote healthy farms and healthy food.”
The Order also opens the door for National funding and education and promotion of nutrition to the public.
Via:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1518&newsType=1
Eggs Are Back! Woot!
Jun 17th
Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/aresauburnphotos/
Eggs are back – and cheaper, too! $4.50 per dozen for Stiebrs Large Brown Organic Omega-3. If you had Terry’s eggs as part of your standing order, they have since been deleted from your list of add-ons. Stiebrs eggs are now listed as an add-on for one-time or ongoing delivery.
The partnership with Hama Hama Oysters is coming along and we’ve devised the ordering and tracking system necessary to add these to our network. For the first round of deliveries, we will leave the order form open all week, meaning that any order placed between now and next Friday at noon will be for delivery the week beginning June 28. Beginning next week we will have to shorten the window for ordering to roughly 24 hours. Specifically, we will only be able accept orders for the upcoming week through noon on Friday. At the same time, we will provide a link for you to place an order for the following week, so that if you miss the cutoff for your next delivery you can make sure you get your order in for the following week. It’s more confusing than we’d like, but these orders are being custom-filled and we need exact numbers for an entire week’s worth of deliveries the Friday before.
So, here’s what you can order by clicking here:
- The weekly pick, $20 (This week, 2 dozen raw oysters)
- Pound of clams, $7
- Dozen Raw Oysters, $10
Each order will be packed with gel-packs, transported in coolers and sealed for freshness. We will assess a $5 charge for any packaging not returned to us at the time of your next delivery.
Won’t you please, please Yelp me?
Jun 16th
For those of you who have received your first delivery this week or in the last few weeks, we’d love to hear what you thought! If you have a moment, please head over to our Yelp page and leave some feedback. The more information we get about how our service is received the better service we can offer.
As always, if you have any issues with your order, please give us a call. Mistakes do happen, and we pride ourselves on finding prompt solutions to ensure a quality Terra Organics experience.
Groupon Redemptions
Jun 14th
Dear Groupon Customers,
Due to the increased volume of customers thanks to our wonderful Groupon partnership, Terra Organics will not have the capacity to redeem all of the Groupons at once but we will honor all Groupons as soon as possible. We regret that this means that you may not be able to receive your first delivery as soon as you might like, but we are confident your boxes will be delivered while the tomatoes are still local and red.
If you are not comfortable with waiting for your produce box, you are more than welcome to seek a refund from Groupon, but we sincerely hope that instead you decide to take advantage of our great offer and know that your time will come.
Click here to redeem your Groupon online.
)NOTE: You will receive a confirmation email within one to two weeks. Thank you for your patience.)
If you have already placed your order with a Terra Organics staff member then you do not need to fill out this form.
If you purchased the five week deal for the Tahoma Farms CSA box, the CSA is now sold out for the year and any redemptions coming in after June 28 will be at the top of the list for next year.
We know that you did not buy into this offer thinking that you would end up on a wait list, and for this we apologize. Our network of growers and our own farm cannot instantaneously increase production as rapidly as demand requires. Please understand that this plan ensures that the quality of our product and a level of service that we pride ourselves on does not deteriorate. We thank you for your understanding and we look forward to delivering some really good food from our local farmers to you soon.
Sincerely,
Dan Hulse, owner
Terra Organics
Terra Organics Sponsors Tacoma Twilight Criterium
Jun 10th
This Saturday is the Tacoma Twilight Criterium, a fun bike race from 3 to 11pm on June 12th (this Saturday) in downtown Tacoma. Terra Organics joins an abundance of local organization in sponsoring Twilight Criterium in its first year. We’ll be out at the event with information about Terra and perhaps some produce samples.
Find out more about the event here: http://www.tacomatwilight.com/
We hope to see you out there.
Attention Groupon Customers
Jun 8th
Dear Terra Organics and Tahoma Farms Groupon Holders,
The response to our Groupon offering on Monday greatly exceeded our expectations. We are excited to have the opportunity to deliver the Northwest’s best produce to you in the coming weeks.
Redemption of the Groupons begins Wednesday, June 9, and will need to be done over the phone. Please do not sign-up via the website. If you have already done so, that’s fine, we will still need to talk to you over the phone.
We will be processing Groupon redemption codes from 8am to 8pm Wednesday – Friday, and will keep the same hours next week if needed. If you reach our voicemail during these hours, please leave a message and we will return your call just as soon as we are able. Each phone call will be returned in the order it is received; please only leave one message.
Again, we are excited at the opportunity to share with you the local, organic bounty that we deliver. We look forward to talking to you soon.
Sincerely,
Dan
Terra Organics Deal on Groupon
Jun 7th
Terra Organics is excited to be featured on Groupon.com offering a 50% off discount for new or returning customers. Now is a great time to start or restart your Terra deliveries! Help us spread Good Food by checking out our deal in Groupon.
Thursday Market TODAY!
Jun 3rd
Join us today for a one-of-a-kind farmers market experience. From 3pm to 7pm at Terra headquarters (501 East 34th Street, Tacoma, WA 98404) all of the delicious organic food that makes up your produce boxes will be available for purchase in a market setting! Don’t miss this great chance to get great deals on organic produce. It’s going to be a blast, so be sure not to miss it!
Today’s Specials:
Asparagus @ $3/lb
Corn @ 2 for $1
Tomatoes @ $2.50/lb
Apples $1/lb
Find great specials like this every Thursday at Terra Organics’ Thursday Market!
Healthier Lunches in Tacoma Public Schools Petition
Jun 1st
Our friends over at Tacoma Mama are putting together a petition to bring healthier lunches into Tacoma schools. We here at Terra Organics, can’t think of anything greater to support.
Every school day, kids across the district sit down to a fast-food style menu consisting of corn dogs, hamburgers, nachos, and pizza. For 60% of our students, school lunch (and breakfast) is not a choice but an economic necessity.
The opportunity for change is now! Tacoma Public Schools has a window of opportunity to work with a program called ACHIEVE Healthy Communities. The Tacoma School district needs to know that you are in support of this.
Head over to http://tacomamama.com/lunch and sign the petition!
