A produce update

Hello, on this beautiful sunny Autumn day.

Today is the last day for a few weeks that we'll be having produce from Peter of Cooranbong. He has his next lot of crops in and they won't be ready for a while. That means his lovely corn, potatoes, cucumbers and heirloom pumpkins are finished. :(

However, as one door closes, another opens, as we have Bill's butternut pumpkins coming in from today, as well as his superb eggplant and some tomatoes. We are also getting in tomatoes from Glen and Peter, plus figs, herbs, persimmons and some trial melons. The cauliflower, broccoli, leeks and cabbage today is from Kurrawong Organics. We have those lovely apple cucumbers coming in from them as well, to join with cucumbers from Peter, "blonde cucumbers" from Rob, and our new local supplier, Virginia. We Figgies like our cucumbers! Great for munching and juicing or even making delicate cucumber sandwiches if you wish, they are a very alkaline forming food. (AKA, good for our health.)

The watermelon is from Pat, who is in conversion to being organically certified. Hooray for another organic farmer! Ed is supplying some zucchini, and Michael has lots of wonderful greens. Just don't ask him about lettuce! The last lot were weather affected and he planted more, telling us very enthusiastically that the next lot were nearly ready - just to have them wiped out in the rain and storms this week. Farming sure is a gamble. Luckily he has other produce in the ground as well, and that is arriving at the co-op today. Jean's basil continues, and we never knew how much bees loved basil until we grew some of our own and observed the mass of activity each year, perennial basil in particular.

We have local limes today in small quantities, also some lemons, and the valencia oranges are still available. Russian garlic from Bailey's farm up the coast is in today. They tell us they have been planting next year's crop and estimated they'd put in 8.5 kilometres of garlic. That's a lot! They're also diversifying into other crops as well; what started as a part time venture is moving into bigger production. Hooray there as well.

In this year, the UN International Year of  Family Farming, we need to encourage them as much as we can, more than ever.

See you at the co-op...

New suppliers, great produce

The FIG box contents for tomorrow are 100% local. We've increased the quantity of some items to fill your boxes. Two are from Kurrawong Organics however the rest are from between Mangrove Mountain, Narara, Avoca and Somersby. Items for the extras table are a mix of local and further afield. Bananas have been ordered and our fingers are crossed they do arrive; they have been in short supply since the recent cyclone.

We're planning some farm and backyard inspections very shortly for new suppliers coming on board. We are also very excited about the heirloom tomatoes and eggplant which are new on the list the last couple of weeks, and there's talk of our newer suppliers growing more in time for FIG.

There were no juicing carrots or juicing apples this week again, however we have some of those lovely little local gala apples coming in which are great for juicing and eating. There will be some in the FIG boxes and on the extras table.

This week we're trialling the final ordering working out a little earlier of a Sunday, and already we're liking the idea - an early night for a change!

See you at the co-op...

Autumn update

It's Autumn, with beautiful warm days and nights turning chilly. Good growing weather, they say...

We have Ed's garlic in at present for any of you wishing to grow some of your own garlic. It's the Italian White variety and very nice. We also have a supply of Russian (or Elephant) garlic in suitable for growing as well. The Italian garlic is stronger in flavour and the Russian variety is milder, even suitable raw, in salads.

Here is some information on growing garlic.

Bill of Beulah Organics has been harvesting some beautiful red capsicums and eggplant. He sent down some tomatoes last week for us to try (beautiful!) and always has terrific Lebanese cucumbers. We reckon he polishes them, they look so good, but have actually heard this rumour may be correct! Whenever polishing, he does so with just a cloth, that is - no chemicals or waxes!

Those Gala apples from Kirkconnell are fabulous and members are raving over them. Remember if you want a supply of them for munching and school lunch boxes, order a half or full crate of them in the fortnightly bulk orders. The latest bulk order form will be sent out to members over the weekend.

We're receiving a number of new enquiries as the interest in chemical free and safe food increases. People are (rightly) concerned about what is sprayed on their food but also what is added to the soil in which it is grown.

If you have found our blog and want to trial an organic food box, please email FIG on info@fig.org.au.


See you at the co-op!

Peacock Grove Biodynamic oils and olives

Just in time for Christmas and for summer entertaining: Peacock Grove Biodynamic Oils and Olives, from here.

We recently had a question by one of our members as to whether the olives were raw or had been cooked. This member was embarking on a raw food regime and was happy to hear the response that they were not cooked or heated at all.

This is what the Peacocks had to say: "Our olives have been processed in 20% brine, for several months: some describe this process as "fermenting", others as "debittering", but I think of it more as a "pickling" process.  Basically, after they have been picked, we sort them out (discarding the tiny, bird-pecked, blemished, soft ones), we wash them and then put them in brine.  They are then stored at a uniform temperature, and we check the salinity and Ph of the solution at regular intervals. 

At no stage of the process do we cook the fruit.  ... reminded me of an elderly Spanish gentleman who bought some of our raw table olives a couple of years ago.  He said that he boiled his fruit prior to putting them in brine, and was able to eat them a lot sooner than using our method!  So, it is evidently done in other parts of the world."

So the olives we keep in stock at FIG are not only extremely scrumptious but entirely suitable for a raw food diet. That's important information for many of our members.


In stock now, along with some beautiful honey, which is also raw and cold extracted... 

Christmas gift ideas

We came across this on the internet during the week...

... and thought what a good idea it was to share with you all!

FIG is all about community, sharing, supporting the locals, and the co-op will have available some fresh, raw honey and luscious Biodynamic olives and oils which make good Christmas presents to family and friends, and to serve guests over summer when you're entertaining.

They will be available on the extras tables and when they're gone, they're gone, so...

... get in quick!

Food MythBusters video-- Do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world?

We've just seen this new video on the issues of industrial agriculture. It's about seven minutes long and we encourage you all to watch it.

Here at FIG we're all about supporting the small, mixed farms and the families who farm the land, and believe they CAN feed the world...

 

Enjoy, and please share...

A short video on buying local

Local Harvest is a new website listing local and more sustainable food suppliers. Type in your postcode and up comes a list of whatever is in your area, be it a co-op such as FIG, a farmers market or farmers themselves.

The Local Harvest crew has produced this little, 2-minutes, clip on buying local and how it benefits the farmers and what it means for you in terms of freshness and nutritional value.

Here's this video...

And, here is the story behind the video. 

Take the Local Food Challenge (easy for we Figgies) - here: 1st-7th April 2012

One of the local farms FIG buys from every week...

And two of our local farmers, having a chin-wag!

See you at the co-op...

FIG turns THREE!!!

This week the Food Integrity Group is THREE YEARS OLD and will celebrate on Monday 27th Feb with a free FIG box draw. All members ordering a box for that day will go in the draw for their next FIG box free!

We began with a few members, some of whom are still with us, meeting at the hall in Little Jilliby, however we soon found a more central venue and moved to our current premises at Ourimbah in time for the second week of operation.

It's been a wonderful three years. We thank all our members for being supportive of the co-op and for all the volunteering they do. Without their help here and there in running FIG, it simply could not operate. We wonder at times why we have so many volunteers turn up when so many groups struggle to get any and are a bit perplexed about this. We think very kindly of our volunteers - a great bunch of people they are, too - and appreciate them very much. But don't all groups think this way?? If not, why not? Volunteers are at the core of any organisation such as this and we certainly value ours....

Plus, of course, the farmers!

N O   F A R M S,   N O  F O O D!

Farmers can be rather hesitant to supply a new co-op. One can understand when it is realised that a number of co-ops have opened and then closed up in a very short time, over the years. Farming is a busy occupation and who wants to spend time separating orders, deliveries, and writing up extra invoices for little groups when you can sell to to one market or shop? Well, that is until they realise that a food co-op such as FIG orders regularly (and pays on time) and offers a guaranteed order instead of the uncertainty of a market stall. FIG is now the biggest single customer for some of our local farmers and we appreciate their support and all their hard work in growing a diverse range of produce. We particularly thank Michael Champion who not only runs his own organic farming business but co-ordinates a number of local organic farmers to grow for us and sell to us as well, resulting in a huge delivery, just in time to be sorted before FIG members walk through the door to collect. A BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU!


And don't forget the FIG CORE GROUP!

What an amazing group of people they are - there every week, either at the co-op or working behind the scenes to bring you your weekly food boxes. Thank you to those often-unseen-by-many people, for your friendship and support of each other - a situation to be cherished indeed.

Happy Birthday FIG, 

and

See you at the co-op....!

And the winner is.......!

Congratulations to Jane of Wyong who won a FREE FIG BOX this week in the Wyong Co-op's First Birthday Draw!

Each year, on FIG's birthday, we hold a draw, and it's almost hard to believe we have been at our Wyong venue for a whole year but there you go, we have.

If you would like to come and chat to us about organising a FIG box, have a look at the extensive extras table and hear about the fortnightly bulk fruit orders we place (for families who eat a lot of fruit or want extra potatoes, or for those who juice regularly or drink smoothies), then the Wyong hours are 3.00pm until 4.30 pm on Tuesdays in Room 5 at the Wyong Neighbourhood Centre in Wyong (map here).

We're also at Ourimbah on Mondays (except for public holidays) from 2.30pm until 5pm at the Bill Sohier Community Centre, Ken Cook Way, Ourimbah (map here).

It's FIG's third birthday at Ourimbah in February so we shall be holding another draw then. Although we have seen a lot of new members walk through the doors in that time, we still have many of the originals who continue to support the co-op and the local organic farmers, ordering their weekly or fortnightly FIG box containing organic or guaranteed chemical free produce grown locally*.

Plans for 2012 include a farm tour and workshops for members in Cheese Making, Preserving, and Sourdough Bread Making.

See you soon at the co-op...





* At times, depending on the season and what the local farmers are growing, we may need to top up from the Sydney markets to fill your box. Carrots are simply not grown locally and many of our members want fruit included, of which very little is grown locally - except for an abundant supply of beautiful citrus of course!

Mangrove Mountain Fair

FIG had a stand at the great little country fair at Mangrove Mountain yesterday. It's the first time we have been there and the turn out was fantastic, with a very good atmosphere.

Our mission was of course to talk to prospective FIG members but also to try chat to farmers and encourage more of them to come on board and grow for us, organically of course! We made a few connections so time will tell if the day was successful in that regard.

It certainly helps - and puts weight behind such a quest - to have been in operation for about two-and-three-quarter years and to have settled into a good rhythm of operation, and it helps no end to have farmer Michael Champion singing our praises to anyone who will listen, from local farmers and families to the NSW Farmers Association, who were next door to us at the fair. We must be doing something right - or a whole lot of things, actually!

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers on the day - you know who you are! - and Permaculture Central Coast for the loan of their marquee; to Dawn for her wonderful little posies of colourful flowers and herbs which are delightful. Thanks, also, to visiting FIG members who came over for a chat as well.

I'm hoping David may have photographs of the day; we had a pile of organic magazines and material to hand out (thanks, Michael) and to read, hung photo boards, signs and mini posters and also the following, which prompted quite a few comments - and laughs!

Source unknown

See you at the co-op...

Maree :)

Catching up on what's happening...

We had a smaller but successful day at Ourimbah yesterday, with our combined co-op due to the public holiday Monday. A number of members were away on school or uni holidays so it was a quieter and less-busy day than usual, made more so due to there being no school finishing time to get people out the door and off to FIG before collecting their children!

Co-op days and venues shall be back to normal next week, and it seems the rain will continue to be with us most of the time between now and then. Rain is important however also presents a challenge to farmers and backyard growers when it's heavy and consistent. 

At Wyong, we are trialling a shorter opening time as most of our members have been and gone by about 4pm or shortly after. We are therefore now closing at 5pm, however packing up sees us there till about 5.30pm anyway, to catch anyone popping in making new enquiries. We shall see how that goes and if Wyong members continue to have been through and collected their produce earlier in the day, we may look at closing even earlier.

On the produce front, we have been a bit sad to learn that our local supply of eating apples has come to an end. Many of our members have commented that these have been The Best apples they have ever tasted, so we look forward to being on the receiving end of them again next year. We have a few apples left however from next week, the major supply will begin coming in from the organic wholesaler and our apples will come from further away.

We have been really pleased to have been offered some surplus produce from members new and old. Some of their produce you will find in the FIG boxes, some of it on the extras table. Thank you to all concerned.

Our FIG article writer and delicious recipe generator is moving away! We are therefore putting the call out for those members who like to cook and maybe also to write, to occasionally put together a few recipes and/or article for the blog or the website. Please email us at FIG if this seems like something you could do.

Some of the crops at Champion Mountain Organics which have ended up in our FIG boxes!

FIG is looking at having a stand at the Mangrove Mountain Fair on 22nd October, and one of the aims of the day is to talk to local farmers and encourage more to grow organically. For FIG to grow and to buy more local produce, we need more organic farmers! 

That's all for today. See you at the co-op!

Thank you to Kel

We were very sad to hear that one of our wonderful farmers, Kel Johnston, has been given notice to finish farming on his leased land at Cooranbong and will not be supplying FIG after next week.

Kel has been with FIG from the start and we thank him wholeheartedly for his growing ethics and his support of FIG - and for introducing us to some unusual vegetables. The purple radishes and also the current black radishes are two such things, as well as the baby crookneck squash, kiwana (African Horned Cucumbers), etc (the list is long). We will miss the beautiful Russian Kale he has been supplying, the various heirloom squash and pumpkins and the recent coriander bunches; the Tigerella and striped plum tomatoes and many other heirloom or forgotten species. Maybe you're not aware, however at different times of the year, he has grown produce specifically with FIG members in mind, such as mini pumpkin and squash varieties just the right size for a family, and so forth.

He is taking this opportunity to move to his land on the northern coast of NSW and to grow more heirloom vegetables, along with increasing and introducing the production of some varieties he hasn't been able to grow due to the southerly climate restrictions (think frost, for a start!).

Whilst Kel reckons we haven't seen the last of him, it's unfortunately yet another case of another farmer gone from the local food growing area. We need MORE people growing for the increasing population, not less. And more ethical and chemical free farmers such as Kel, and Michael Champion, and Beulah Bill, and Jean, etc.

On a happier note, it seems that by the end of this year, Ed Morris of Mangrove Mountain may have his vegetable organic certification through, which is very exciting. We purchase quite a bit through Ed throughout the year and he is an inspirational man, proving that farming can be managed well into your eighties. Go, Ed!

Goodbye to Kel, and thank you. We wish you well and many years of happy and productive growing (and we know we'll catch up with you again).

Whilst we're here saying thank you, we will take this opportunity to say a VERY BIG THANK YOU to all the FIG farmers and the various people supplying this and that throughout the seasons.

Co-op Events

We are very pleased to announce some events coming up in the near future for co-op members, starting with:

The first KIWI FRUIT WINE making session this Saturday, in a joint venture between FIG and the Firescreek Winery. This is the first of an ongoing process spanning at least eighteen months, so let us know if you would like to be part of the small team making occasional trips to the winery for the wine making process. RSVP a.s.a.p. to fig.centralcoast@gmail.com.

Next, a COMMUNITY HARVEST & PRUNING DAY will be held at the end of this month. Bring your families and a picnic, and enjoy a day amongst the vines at the Kiwi Fruit Farm.

When: 11am until 3pm, Saturday 31st July

Where: Ourimbah. Full details provided upon your RSVP.

What to bring: Picnic, seats or picnic rug, hats, gloves, water to drink. Whilst we will be picking the remaining fruit, the main focus will be on pruning, and a list of equipment to bring, if you have it, will be provided. Bring a bucket to take home some kiwi fruit!

RSVP: yes please! Send an email to fig.centralcoast@gmail.com.

Families who have attended this activity before have enjoyed it immensely. This will probably be our last community day at the vines this year, so please make time to come along if you're able, even for part of the day...


AQUACULTURE TOUR
2pm, Saturday 7th August
Please email your expression of interest for the tour of a local working Aquaculture system, both large and small, on the northern end of the Coast. There is a maximum limit on attendance at this event so we suggest our members respond quickly.

FARM TOUR
Details will be announced shortly for an early Spring Farm Tour for co-op members. Bring your families and a picnic lunch, meet the farmers and learn about how some of our food is grown. Enjoy a day in the fresh air up in the Mangrove Mountain region of the Central Coast...

That's all for today...

Updates Monday morning, 21st June

A link to the FIG online survey has gone out to all members and many have already responded, thank you. Paper copies will again be on the desk this afternoon for those who haven't access to the internet.

For online responses, please respond no later than Friday 25th June so that we may have time to collate the feedback and write a report, however paper forms may be returned to the co-op on Monday 28th June as there will be far fewer of those to add to the bulk of responses. Thanks for taking the time to voice your opinions and suggestions - and your good wishes.

New and local farms on board at FIG are Swallow Rock Organics (Hawkesbury) and Lemon Tree Citrus Orchard (Dooralong) - welcome and thank you for your wonderful produce!

A meeting will be held with several local farmers early in July to discuss plans for the future, what other produce may be grown locally and how we may encourage other farmers and suppliers to "go organic"....!

See you at the co-op...

FIG updates 9th April, 2010

Thanks for all the favourable comments about the produce. They have been passed on to our farmers who are quite appreciative, actually.

We have added a section to the FIG blog, for those who have requested it, which you'll be able to click on after 8pm Sunday night to see what produce is expected for the FIG boxes the following day. You'll find this information in the sidebar to the left, under the title "What's in the FIG box this week?". As mentioned previously, there can be last minute changes such as the eggplants this week which many of us were eagerly anticipating and which did not arrive, sending the FIG folk into a whirl of what to substitute! Edited 10.4.10

We were delighted to have some fresh produce from local gardens again this week and some chilli and herbs set out to be taken for free. A big thanks to our members for providing these. Next Monday we will have Ruby Grapefruit - if you tend to drop by late and would like us to put some aside for you, please email FIG at fig.centralcoast @ gmail.com (minus the spaces).

Did anyone try that beautiful Ourimbah honey this week? Very delish! And how more local could it be?

Tonight we have been invited to a talk with the Central Coast Plant Society, given by Dr Tim Entwisle of the University of Sydney and the Botanic Gardens Trust on The Seasons of our Region. This is of relevance to the gardeners and food growers amongst us, and will be held at 8pm this evening at the Narara Research Station.

On Tuesday 20th April, Permaculture Central Coast will be holding their next Information Evening at Tuggerah with April Sampson-Kelly of Permaculture Visions as guest speaker. If you are keen on growing your own food and wish to live a more sustaining life, have been wanting to complete a Permaculture Design Course but cannot get to one, then April conducts courses by distance education which may suit.

One of our members is building a rammed earth and strawbale home at Ourimbah and is going to be conducting some working bees. If you are interested in helping out and even learning from this experience in view to building your own home, please contact FIG and will we pass your details on.

Don't forget the management meeting next Monday, due to start as soon as we're packed up and swept up after co-op has finished for the day. The end of the financial year is looming which represents the end of an official FIG year too, with only two meetings left to go after this one. We think this is a good time to reassess our method of operation and whether we bring in any changes from July. If you are a member and would like to be included in on the discussion, please come along.


See you at the co-op...

Harvesting the olives and Easter trading

FIG co-op members would know by now we have been invited to participate in olive harvesting next weekend.

Chris and Gloria from Peacock Grove, FIG's Biodynamic olive and oil supplier, have invited interested FIG members to participate in olive picking at the farm over either day of the last weekend in March - Saturday 27th or Sunday 28th. It's an early start (8.30am in the Hunter, 12 minutes from Maitland) and a full day, and lunch will be provided. If you are keen on knowing more about olives and spending some time in the fresh air, what better way than to spend a few hours with the farmers, amongst the olive trees!

Those interested must RSVP asap to FIG at fig.centralcoast @ gmail.com (minus the spaces!).


Easter is fast approaching. FIG will NOT be open on Easter Monday and will be operating at the normal times on TUESDAY, 6th April, instead.

See you on Monday at the coop!

Where we're at, March 2010

Well, well, it's been quite a year. So much to catch up on and to tell - but we'll stick to the basics!

FIG has just celebrated it's FIRST BIRTHDAY, Woohoo!!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

We began operating on 23rd February, 2009, and the first co-op day was held at the Cedar Valley Centre Hall at Jilliby. This was a bit too far for our delivery guy and many of our local families to drive however a venue was urgently needed and we're very grateful the hall was available. We were able to quickly organise another venue at Ourimbah, where we remain today, and began operating in our current format, dealing directly with local organic farmers and suppliers, at the beginning of June, 2009.

It's been an exciting time in which we've been involved with the Central Coast branch of the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance and the subseqent Food Forum in Wyong; were announced as the Community Environment Network's Environment Group of the Month; witnessed our local avocado supplier newly being certified for mushrooms as well (and they're beautiful!); commenced bulk ordering of organic meats and bulk fruit as an additional service; welcomed Antje turning up weekly with her yummy home made, hand-kneaded, bread; organised a community harvest event on a local kiwi fruit farm and subsequently included the produce in the weekly FIG boxes and a jam making session; held some workshops and information sessions, and steadily increased our numbers. The feedback from our members after using the produce from the FIG boxes in meals for their families has been positive and wonderful to hear. Some of our aims were to give local farmers a fair price for their produce and to also make it affordable to local families and we think we're doing that. Thank you, everyone, for your comments.

Special thanks must go to Michael Champion, local organic farmer, for not only supporting FIG but co-ordinating several farming families here on the Central Coast and Kirkconnell (west of Sydney and just within a radius of 160 kms from here) to bring a larger range of local, seasonal, fresh produce to us weekly.

Thanks also to the key management group for getting us this far so successfully and with very few glitches; to Andrew who continues to advise on all matters co-op, and to Lani who hosted us all in her loungeroom when we were getting together and chatting about how we could go about all this. And where would we be without our members who support the co-op week in, week out, supply us with their surplus herbs and eggs and vegetables, and regular volunteers who help set up, pack up, bag vegies, wipe benches, vacuum the floor, etc?!

THANK YOU TO EACH & EVERY ONE OF YOU!

Now to some details for anyone new reading this or wanting a refresher: FIG operates weekly from 3-5.30pm each Monday - except for when Monday is a public holiday and we move to Tuesday. Address, phone number and email address are to be found in the bar on the right.

Our first priority is to order from what is available locally and then, depending on the weather, rabbits, varieties and quantities planted and so forth, we have to supplement our order with produce from an organic supplier in Sydney. As our members also like to have carrots, potatoes and some fruits such as bananas in their boxes, we generally order these weekly from Sydney as well. One day more of these items may be grown organically on the coast, in which case most of our FIG boxes would be sourced locally.

More information to come shortly.

Bye for now from all of us at FIG!

Where we're at...

Originally posted 2nd September 2008

Quite a few hours and a few meetings later we are now at the stage where we are facing one of the biggest hurdles...supply. There are relatively few organic farms on the coast that can supply us with what we are looking for.

One idea that we are currently exploring is growing our own....enough to support all members of FIG and their families with supplementation from local farms.

This can be done with a combination of FIG members utililising their own backyards to grow food as well as utilising privately owned land that has been generously offered to us for our own use.

There have been a few local landowners who have generously offered FIG the use of their properties for growing etc. To reduce the risk for FIG members and private landowners we are considering growing our basic intensive annuals on privately owned properties and are in the process of finding publicly owned/funded land to develop with longer term plants and perrenials or a permaculture based system.