Are you ever green with envy?
In the food world, the concept of fresh and healthy is important. That means green.
That is where Garden of Eden Organic Farms comes in. It is a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, program. La Jollan Vaudois Handley works with Garden of Eden to make deliveries to the home and office.
“I contract with Garden of Eden,” Handley said. “They contract with the local organic farms. I get the produce wholesale and sell it retail.”
Handley’s innovative service is simple: the concept of delivering locally grown organic produce right to the door.
Handley calls it local eating for global change. What a refreshing concept.
And how simple it is. Handley delivers only certified organic produce grown in San Diego County that is sourced by Garden of Eden Organic Farms.
Each week, customers receive a box of assorted seasonal organic fruit and vegetables. Most of Handley’s accounts become regular or repeat customers.
Recent deliveries included organic spinach, chard, kale, lettuce, beets, avocados, tangerines, star fruit, apples, dates and more.
Handley says that in the CSA program, local farmers are paid in advance to grow for Garden of Eden Organic Farms.
“The more customers we have, the more we will have them grow for our CSA program,” he said.
Best yet, growing top-quality organic food locally helps remove expensive transportations costs.
Handley said that most of the food or average ingredients on store shelves has traveled about 1,500 miles.
“The ecological and environmental impacts of transporting food are more significant than if that food were grown locally,” Handley said. “In addition, by buying locally, we can assure our customers that they are getting organic produce.”
Handley references Mark Lynas’ handbook “Carbon Counter,” which says the farther the distance, the bigger the carbon penalty. Food worth its weight in jet fuel is wasteful, meaning the overhead, effort and fuel costs just to get fresh stuff to a distant customer are high.
By providing fresh greens and vegetables from local growers, the planet benefits.
Researchers at the University of Iowa tracked road miles of commercially grown food. Food most people buy at a given grocery store has road miles 27 times higher than food grown in local areas.
In the old days, and often now in other countries, people grew food and took it to market for sale. Handley notes that many people don’t have access to a farmers-style market and if they do, they have no way of knowing where the product was grown.
“By working with Garden of Eden, we are assured that our customers are getting the freshest locally grown produce, and we are definitely impacting our carbon footprint,” Handley said.
Garden of Eden picks up fresh at each farm it is associated with and then makes its delivery.
One of the things that give Handley and Garden of Eden a colorful twist is that local customers are introduced to new products and flavors.
“I deliver to La Jolla first, then work east,” Handley added. “Delivery is made by truck.”
Handley is in touch with the “green” side of doing business. Currently his delivery truck is a diesel.
“I will be converting it to bio-diesel soon,” he said.
The deliveries sometimes include tips for preparation as well.
“Many of our customers weren’t familiar with how to prepare chard or dandelion greens. These are two wonderful and very nutritious greens,” Handley said. “We gave them [customers] recipes showing how to serve these foods. We often have ‘heritage’ varieties that are not available at supermarkets locally.”
Handley is a lifelong resident of La Jolla. His father lived on the family ranch in the La Jolla Shores area.
“Dad rode a horse to La Jolla High School,” Handley said. “Dad sold family grown organic produce to local stores and neighbors as well.
“We have all gotten used to having the luxuries of fruits and vegetables out of season flown in from all over the world without thinking about the effect of burning all that fuel. Our generation is the generation that is championing green resources and promoting burning less fuel.”
Handley says that average La Jollans are pretty well informed about what they put into their bodies.
“They take the time to purchase organic foods already. The next step for them is to support local organic growers,” Handley said.
That is how Handley is giving back to the Earth and its resources.
“I am really excited to be able to have a business that supports local agriculture,” Handley said. “Available soon on my Web site will be locally caught seafood. My existing organics customers will be able to order fresh local seafood to be delivered with their organics box.”
Fresh produce can also be found every Sunday at La Jolla’s Open Aire Market at La Jolla Elementary School.
To contact Handley, visit http://vaudoishandleyfoods.com/, call (858) 454-6993 or e-mail [email protected].