Our Team

This post was originally published a couple years ago.  I revised it a bit to reflect our current operations. 

This morning I met with a man who was very excited about our farm. He works in the medical field and thought that our food would be valuable for his clients. BUT he thought we had it right now. He said, “I didn’t know you had to grow it.”

For most people a farm is just a factory. If you want strawberries for Christmas dinner, no problem. Tomatoes all winter? You’re covered. Need an extra 10# of potatoes for a big dinner party? Just go pick some up.

In the industrial model we ship our food in from incredible distances so our concept of what is really available and seasonal is way off.

This gentleman explained to me that his clients want food now – not 3 months from now. Why should they pay us in February for food in May or June? That’s a good question. Here’s the answer:

A farm is not a factory. We can’t instantly increase production. We can’t work overtime one day and harvest more food the next. A family farm doesn’t fit the industrial model.

Food needs to grow – especially real food.  It can’t be rushed.  We can give it an optimal environment and optimal nutrition but we can’t make it grow any faster. Unless, of course, we use chemicals which will compromise the soil and the plant’s ability to take up the nutrition it needs. The fact is it takes time to create great food.

We’ve chosen to grow food for families in Utah Valley, Park City and Salt Lake this year in addition to supplying some restaurants. When those shares are gone they’re gone. If someone begs us for food in June we can’t just plant another row of vegetables and have food for them next week.

The whole point of the community supported agriculture model is to offer you an opportunity to be a part of creating a community around Jacob’s Cove. We become your family’s farmer.  Is there a variety of tomato you haven’t eaten since you were a child?  Ask us to grow it.  Is there a vegetable you’ve never eaten fresh from the garden but would like to try it?  Ask us to grow it.  Do you need some advice on how to prepare a vegetable?  Ask my mother.

As a part of this community you are welcome to visit your food as often as you like. Or you are free to ignore your food until it is safely and deliciously on your plate.

Please remember the following:

• We will grow food for a few hundred families. That’s it for now. I’m not sure how many shares are left but people are signing up every day.
• We have started 12,000 seeds in the past month. They are almost ready to go in the ground.
• Our greenhouse structure should have the plastic on next week.  We’ll prep the soil and the plants will go into the warm ground (no matter how cold it is outside the greenhouse).
• We believe you’ll be receiving your first food delivery in May.

We are excited to grow for you. We love doing this. We’ve got some big plans for this farm and our CSA members will always get first pick. Together we can change our food culture for the better and enjoy every bite!

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