Showing posts with label local farms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label local farms. Show all posts

Velvet Acres Gardens

Vancouver metro and its neighboring towns are home to a variety of farms that produce a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, dairy, eggs, honey, and meat products. Most prices are cheaper than the farmers market or the grocery store, except for some weather-impacted crops like peaches, and are fresher tasting than produce that is trucked in from central Washington or Oregon for regional farmers markets.

I found this farm through Craigslist. It looks like most farms with lots of plants growing in rows in the fields with a gigantic barn and a farm store in its front. This is probably where I'll go to get sugar pumpkins in October. If you're unfamiliar with the rural parts of Vancouver, it is easy to get lost. NE 182nd Ave is not a marked street (no street sign) at its intersection with NE Fourth Plain Blvd. While on NE 182nd, hang a right at the split in the road. Farm is on the right.

On my last visit, I picked up fresh corn, cucumbers, a pint of grape tomatoes, an acorn squash. The farm grows a wide variety of vegetables with broccoli, summer squash, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, etc. Next month, I'm told that they'll have brussel sprouts and pumpkins.

Farm Store Hours:

July--September
M -- Fri. 9 a.m. -- 6 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m.-- 5 p.m.
Sunday - Closed

October
M -- Fri. 11 a.m. -- 5 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. -- 5 p.m.
Sunday - Closed

Open Last Sunday in Oct.
1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Location: 18905 NE 83rd Street, Vancouver, WA 98682

Website: Velvet Acres Gardens

Kitchen Notes: Ingredient Sourcing Tips

The latest news articles about hunger in America and the rise in food stamp usage among gainfully employed citizens in the US makes me wonder if the larger problem is due to rising commodity prices for whole grains, increased production in crop-based biofuels, and/or the lack of nutrition and food preparation knowledge. The cheapest calorie-dense foods are usually pre-packaged ones that are high in fat, sodium, and artificial ingredients. Keeping food costs down without reliance on food stamps or subsidies means that you should learn to be a better consumer (and buyer).