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...

Recipes and local produce

For anyone who hasn't visited the FIG Facebook page, here are a couple of recipes and links to recipes our Facebook team have used to cook some of the yummy produce found in the FIG boxes.

As members walk along the tables and pack their weekly produce, there is often talk amongst them about how to prepare and cook the various vegetables. Even a stint in the desk queue can provide some great tips and hints!

Here's one:

"While I was nosing around the extras table, I heard two lovely ladies talk about how they were going to make a vegetable lasagne with pumpkin and spinach. They inspired me, so yesterday I made my own ricotta (using this method http://typicallyred.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/say-cheese.html

) and made a tomato sauce with onion, garlic and lots of carrot. Softened some chopped zucchini and mushroom and mixed in the ricotta, some creme fraiche and parmesan. Then layered it all up with lasagne sheets. Everyone loved it!"

That sounds sooooo scrumptious! Tuckerflora Organically certified mushrooms are going to be in the boxes tomorrow with the usual multitude-of-green choices, zucchini has been ordered for the extras tables, with carrots, garlic and new season brown onions as well.

Here's a link to another recipe Figgies have made:

"How about a lovely recipe for provencal vegetables?

http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/2012/10/alain-ducasses-provencal-vegetables/#more-5135"

This week we have ordered the normal red beetroot as well as "candy striped beetroot"(Chioggia) from Ed, our 80-something, newly certified organic local farmer! Some weeks Ed will have red, chioggia and gold beetroot. What a great selection. If FIG members would like to see more beetroot on the extras table, all they need to do is email in about five days in advance and request it. If it's available, Ed will supply it. Great for pickling recipes, juicing in quantities (both the beetROOT and the beet greens), roasting and dips, and grated raw in salads. Here's a beetroot recipe Figgies have used: http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/salads/goat-cheese-and-roasted-beet-salad-with-lemon-vinaigrette

This week local (Cooranbong to Mangrove Mountain) broccolini from Bill, broccoli, cauliflowers and sugarloaf cabbages from Peter will be in the boxes, on their own or in choices, as well as Ed's french leeks, Jean and Allen's (Tuckerflora) avocados, various greens from Ed, Bill and Michael, citrus from The Mountain and John Priestly's Biodynamic farm, and much more.

Order forms for this fortnight's bulk order will be sent out to members this morning.

See you at the co-op!

Edited to say that Blogger has gone a little astray this morning and keeps putting extra spaces in between some paragraphs whilst removing them in others, and all manner of little annoying features! We hope the end product is readable...

A brief update...

Mandarins (or mandarines) are back! The first local mandos will be in the boxes this week. Still a little sharp but still very good, and full of crucial vitamins and nutrients.

The weather seems to have been stable - oh, for about a week! - and our farmers are busily planting their seedlings and new crops. It was too wet to pick the local potatoes and we're not sure if we'll get any more local spuds this season. Oranges are soft but sweet and juicy, and are nearly finished, so grab some whilst you can. It will be a few weeks until the navels are coming through. Sadly, Jean's local avocados are finished for the year. We shall miss them!

We're seeing Tamarillos, or Tree Tomatoes, in from the backyards of members, and some good ol' chokoes too, plus some hot red chillies and some mild green ones. Yum! One of our members recently brought in some perilla leaves, another had white mulberries, and yet another shared some Australian Native Finger Limes with us: absolutely delicious, with an explosion of citrus in the mouth! It's great to see the range of produce coming through the FIG doors between the efforts of the farmers and our members.

For the bulk orders, organic Granny Smith apples are back, although these are not local, of course. Bananas are now cheaper in price, thank goodness, and we continue to order them in from NSW and Queensland for the bulk orders and the extras table.

Royal Gala apples have been arriving from Kirkconnell and we're informed Pink Ladies will be on the list soon - woohoo! These had the most amount of positive feedback of any produce in all the history of FIG with members of all ages telling us that they were The Best Apple Ever! Bosc pears are back, too, and in the boxes this week.

We're currently taking organic seedling orders from Delightfully Fresh Organics, so prepare those garden beds and ready yourself for planting!

See you at the co-op...

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 updates 22nd March

Just a quick update today, to keep you informed of what's a-happening...

The biggest and latest news is that FIG has really, finally, become officially Incorporated, and is now known as Food Integrity Group Co-operative Limited. We have now received our Certificate of Incorporation and are currently in the process of changing the bank account and notifying suppliers of our new ABN and so forth.

Five Directors were elected and members will be kept informed of meeting schedules, including when the AGM shall be held, shortly, via emails and notices here on the blog.

Due to the bank account change, those members on automatic direct debits for the payment of their FIG boxes, or who pay online for their produce and/or bulk orders, will be sent an email shortly outlining the new details with a request to update their records.

Last week, the FIG box contents were 100% local, which was fantastic, and something we are aiming for, eventually for every week.

We see 2012 as a period of growth for FIG. As more people hear of us; as we find suitable venues with storage facilities and increased refrigeration, and as the farmers grow more to supply us, we can supply YOU, the residents of the Central Coast, with safe, healthy food for your families.

Something we really want to develop this year in earnest is the FIG Friend, or Box Buddy, system, where members take away a few food boxes so that other members can collect from the FIG Friend homes instead of everyone driving singularly to FIG each week. If you are keen to be a pick up point - a FIG Friend - or would like to join FIG and cannot get there during operating hours, then please email us on info@fig.org.au and we'll see what we can do to help set up something in your area.

Come visit us any time during operating hours, to see what we do and order a FIG box to try the following week, or email your enquiries to info@fig.org.au.

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!

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.

A long time since Easter!

It's been a few weeks since Easter and we've all been rather busy, running the co-op and ensuring, to the best of our abilities, that it goes along as smoothly as possible - and haven't returned to update the blog. Dearie me!

Our special Easter week co-op at Jilliby went well. Whilst there was a reduction in numbers due to the distance some of our members would need to drive, and no public transport, we still had orders for at least a third of our usual number of boxes and many of those commented on the beautiful surroundings, the peaceful valley and the great hall - and put forth the suggestion that co-op was held there every week! One of our Wyong members was overdue in having her baby and wasn't sure if she'd make it there that day. She did, but perhaps driving over that fairly short piece of rutted and corrugated road stirred up something more than a desire to get some land for her family and live out of town, as the very next day her baby was born! Congratulations to all.

The weather is growing colder as one would expect at this time of year and the more sensitive produce is slowing down or stopped for the year. Our Kirkconnell growers had 15 cms/6 inches of snow last week, and I think we were feeling the affects here on the Coast at the time.

Cold, frosty weather is good for sweetening up the oranges, we're told, so look out soon for yummy Navel oranges in the FIG boxes. We've already been enjoying mandarins, lemons and limes for a while now.

We've been trialling some potatoes from south of Sydney and they've been great, although a bit more expensive that what we normally pay. As with the produce from Kirkconnell, the potato farmer delivers to the Sydney organic markets and our driver collects them early Monday morning and then delivers it all to us. It's a great system and means no extra fuel or time is spent obtaining their vegetables. One trip does it all! For those of you keen to eat within a 160 km radius (as per the "100 mile diet"), both the Kirkconnell and Southern Highlands farms scrape in within that distance from Ourimbah.

This week we are going to be trying some Pink Lady apples from the Kirkconnell region as well. We've had some of their Gala apples and also a few Fujis, and Pink Ladies, a favourite of many, will be in the boxes today and tomorrow.

We're also hoping to have a few dragonfruit on the extras table to try, although they aren't grown locally. Kel will again be supplying his beautiful coriander and purple radishes and those superb turnips. Turnip leaves and nettle recipes will be posted here shortly.

Call back soon, or press the Follow button (scroll down in the right column) for instant notification whenever an article is published here.

See you at the co-op...

Updates, mid August

Just a quick update today...

Fingers crossed we'll have some paw paw and papaya on the extras table tomorrow, grown locally in a Permaculture back yard! Yum!!

Kel from Cooranbong is back with his lovely kale (as well as other produce of course, including those amazing purple radishes) so we have oodles of that tomorrow as well.

The first Aquaponics tour and talk went well and we look forward to the next one, on the 28th August. The kiwi wine is in the drums and is sitting there fermenting away for a few more weeks before being transferred to the stainless steel vat, and unfortunately the family day at the kiwi fruit vines was rained out and it seems we may not have another weekend spare to organise another date. We hope to have a picking day on a Monday and this will be announced to our members soon.

Please check out the recipe page (link in sidebar on the left) for a growing selection of recipes shared by FIG members and others. We're gathering together a recipe team who will cover recipes for both cooked and raw dishes and cooking tips for the produce you find in your FIG boxes.

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

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!

Expressions of Interest - all are welcome to join

Originally posted September 2008

If you would like access to fresh, organic food....local to the central coast AND/OR you would like to become a member....please register your interest at fig.centralcoast@gmail.com.

We would also love to hear from growers (backyard/commercial) who can supply us with safe, unsprayed fresh food.

In the beginning...

Originally posted on 20th August, 2008

Welcome to our new blogspot FIG-Food Integrity Group.

The idea of FIG came together when a small group of people realised there was a larger demand within the local community for fresh, affordable organic/biodynamic produce.This created a start for a few informal meetings and a basic survey to gather an idea of exactly what the majority of people were looking for.

It has now evolved into a more formal group of 7 core ‘members’ who have put together the following charter and outline of a proposed collective community buying/growing group.

As we grow in awareness of the fragility of the current system of food production and food distribution and its consequential damage to the environment our health and community, FIG aims to promote/support/grow food that decreases the stress on the environment and ultimately the stress on our health and community through education and the provision of fresh/dried organic, local, homegrown/community/locally grown affordable food.