Local Spotlight: FEED Sonoma
Today is a very important day in our country’s future: Election Day. As I write this, we are now heading into month eight of the pandemic that hasn’t slowed down, providing added pressure for change and soon. We need someone who embodies a competent leader who can provide change, guidance, and hope. The stress of the election has made its way into my own home as my family members (myself included) have been nervously checking our social feeds and the news all day long. As a way to distract myself and keep me grounded on the things I can control, I’m going to write about a local organization that I love, FEED Sonoma.
Through my volunteer work with Petaluma Bounty, I discovered FEED Sonoma. Started in 2011, FEED Sonoma is a food-hub community of 80+ local farms that support ecologically sustainable farming and ranching practices. Since its inception, FEED Sonoma aggregated and delivered local produce to organizations and restaurants, supporting and maintaining a consistent sales outlet. for local farmers. During the COVID-era, FEED Sonoma has realized a long-lived dream of theirs to provide FEED Bins, a direct-to-consumer platform to bring fresh, local food straight to people. According to their Instagram, this pivot has provided a life-line for them and farmers, especially in the absence of their larger accounts due to COVID-related closures and changes.
Since August, I have bought FEED bins for my family almost weekly, which has provided various amounts of joy throughout the months. Every bin offers a surprise and an opportunity to not only cook with a new vegetable or fruit, but also learn about its origins and nutritional value. Like the one time I learned how to fry shishito peppers and it easily became my family’s favorite snack during the summer, or when I learned about the origins of the Jimmy Nardello pepper, or when I successfully cooked a potato dish with eggplant for the first time. It’s been amazing to experience the abundant bounty growing in my own backyard and the creative ways to bring locally grown produce into my family’s diet. Since purchasing the bins, it’s been a goal to insert a local vegetable into every meal, which has become almost second nature now.
The FEED bins provides a variety of veggies and fruits like: apples, peaches, melon, cucumbers, pumpkin, eggplant, squash, carrots, tomatoes, kale, lettuce, corn, bell pepper, garlic, beets, potatoes, various herbs, and more. Over the past few weeks, we have experienced the shift from the summer to fall harvest with our FEED Bins and on the Petaluma Bounty farm. I’m grateful for the opportunity to eat affordable and accessible food as FEED Sonoma also delivers directly to your home in various cities within and beyond Sonoma County. If you live in the area, I encourage you to order your own FEED Bin and if not, it’s super easy to research and find ways to support your local farmers and bring fresh produce into your home.
