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Welcome to September

It has been an incredible summer! While we still have a month to go, August has felt more like September. Here at Klesick Family Farm, we love September. Next week, we start to dig our potatoes—it has been a super “spudtacular” season—I am eager to get those reds and yellows out of the field and onto your plates. Plus, with everything being early, most of the winter squash crop is ripening up as well. We are also starting to see a trickle of our fall raspberries and strawberries, plus a nice crop of apples and pears. September is also soccer season, when Farmer Tristan becomes Coach Tristan to a rambunctious group of six year old boys. This September, we have two other great events/initiatives planned to make our/your September even more fun.

GMO Labeling:
For the month of September, the Klesick Family Farm is going to donate up to $5,000 towards GMO labeling initiatives. We firmly believe that everyone has the right to know if their food is GENETICALLY MODIFIED or altered or engineered. So, I need your help. Here is what I am proposing:  For every new customer that signs up in September, KFF will donate 50% of their first delivery to a labeling initiative. Also, as a thank you for every referral we receive from our existing customers, we will donate 50% of the referring customer’s next delivery as well. Back to school is a great time to encourage our friends to eat more local organic fruits and vegetables, so let’s partner together—you share our service and we make a donation towards GMO labeling!

Water Wells in Kenya:
As a family and a farm, we partner with Crossway International in the drilling of fresh water wells. We believe that access to fresh water is the first step to breaking the cycle of poverty and disease. So this year we are ultra-excited to host the Harvest 5k Fun Run on Saturday, September 28th. This is going to be an on road/off road run. (It may even be a mudder run, depending on the weather.) 100% of the proceeds generated will be donated to Crossway International to drill a well in a community in Kenya. Visit www.harvest5k.org or Facebook “Harvest 5k Run Stanwood” to get more details. Let’s make this a big splash for a local community in Kenya!

The Klesick family is only able to be a partner in accomplishing good because you are our partners. Without your “box of good” purchases, we wouldn’t be able to plow our profits back into these types of great causes. Let’s make September 2013 “the month of good.”

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Our Right to Know

I always thought of myself as a food purist: I believe food should be natural, local and seasonal. Recently, I have learned that all those “labels” do not ensure my diet is as “pure” as I thought it would be. Unfortunately GMO-free is a whole new category. 

Running the risk of sounding ignorant, up until a few years ago, I was not aware of GM foods. Earlier this year I decided to adopt a “mostly” vegan, “mostly“ gluten-free eating lifestyle after a friend of ours, challenged my husband and I to go on a 30-day challenge. No animal products, no sugar, no caffeine, no gluten, no alcohol and exercise. After the 30-day period was over we decided to adapt these new eating habits to our lifestyle but that did not ensure we would stay away from GM foods.

A few documentaries such as, Hungry for Change and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, served as inspiration and education to reinforce our decision. It has not always been convenient; we have to plan our meals ahead of time, shop for groceries every couple of days and read every label. The frustrating part is that doing all of this homework does not ensure our food is GMO-free.

GMO-free was not part of the challenge but almost every documentary talked about the impact GM foods have in our health as a society. But, what is Genetic Modification of food? In short, the transformation of an aspect of an organism’s DNA blueprint, often using recombinant DNA technology. There is current evidence that alteration of plant DNA results in many hazardous effects such as poor crop performance, toxic effects, allergic reactions, and damage to the environment. [Source: GM Crops – Just the Science, 2009] – and that to me does not sound natural. The promise of 100% natural, preservative free, coloring free, etc … does not ensure GMO-free! Shouldn’t genetically modified organisms be considered unnatural? The name itself says Genetically Modified Organisms. 

GM foods have been on the market only since 1994, and research on their long-term effects on humans is scarce. To date most studies have been done on animals; worryingly, some of those studies link GM foods to altered metabolism, inflammation, kidney and liver malfunction and reduced fertility. Why are we willing to offer ourselves as test lab subjects? Shouldn’t we have the right to know what we feed our families? Shouldn’t it be OUR decision what we put in our bodies?


Sara Balcazar-Greene
Food Blogger
PeruvianChick.com

For more information on Yes for the 522 Campaign on Labeling please visit: http://yeson522.com/

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Annual Farm Festival and Vintage Market!

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Come on out to Klesick Family Farm this Saturday and join us for an old fashioned farm celebration!

Celebrate the season with us by enjoying a fun-filled day with live music, vintage market, wagon rides, pioneer play area, tug-o-war, balloon toss, gunny sack race, raffle prizes, farm walks, BBQ, espresso and produce stand – all set in the picturesque Stillaguamish River Valley.