Help a Family in Need Receive a Bread Share

Quick note: You may have noticed, we redesigned our blog!  Opinions please...

Now, for why you're here:
Nick and I feel passionately that All Good should not just be community supported, we should also help support our community.  We've been brainstorming some ways to bring our breads to people in Albany without affordable, convenient access to healthy, daily breads.  While we'd prefer to reach a large number of those in Capital Region food deserts right away, sometimes these ideas start small. We can begin with one family...and you can help. 

For every 13 new memberships we receive for the second half of our season, we will donate one bread share to a family in Albany without regular access to affordable, healthy foods. 

We have 13 weeks remaining in our first season, so every shareholder in each group of 13 will effectively sponsor one loaf of bread per week for a needy family, for the rest of the season.  Everyone deserves to eat food that won't damage their bodies.  Consuming whole grain flours (with germ) versus refined white flours (no fiber content), on a regular basis, fights diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular and heart disease, and hypertension.   

The 45 families who have joined us so far have enabled us to begin this community supported enterprise.  Becoming a shareholder in our CSB now will help you and All Good give back some of the bounty we all share.  The second half of our season begins next Wednesday, February 2nd, so this week is the right time to join.  Our website has all of our sign-up information (you can email us your order and deliver payment with your first pick-up if that will help make it more convenient).

The Hunger Action Network of NY cites a number of reasons some local people lack affordable, healthy food access; here are a few:

• Not enough locally-grown, organic food
• Lack of supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods and transportation to reach the ones that are nearest
• Prices are high at convenience stores, people are forced to choose between food and fuel
• Growing food costs money and requires skill
• Programs often can't give perishables because distribution requires refrigeration, many people have health problems that prohibit them from consuming the canned fruits and vegetables they receive
• Inability to use Food Stamps at buying clubs and most farmer's markets

We would like to take recommendations from you to nominate a family in need!  Maybe there's a family you know who wants to improve their organic grain consumption, but can't afford the cost increase?  We trust that you will choose carefully.  If we are unable to find a family this way, we will locate one (or more) through a reputable community program. 

We look forward to getting to know you if you decide to become a shareholder, and we thank you if, together, we are are able to help a family in our community achieve greater food security!

Your bakers,
Britin & Nick 

p.s. Flour update:  with the recent storms, Champlain Valley Milling is experiencing a bit of delay receiving their latest shipment of locally-grown flour (it is delivered by rail).  We were supposed to get the 100% NY White tomorrow, but it looks like that date has been pushed to Feb. 8.  We'll continue using the Greenmarket blend AP for now.  The Wheat flour we are using now is 90% NY-Grown, our Spelt is 100% from NY State.  We'll keep you posted on developments about the NY White.

Here's a drool-worthy photo of Nick's Focaccia (our Specialty Loaf today): 

The Flour Factor: Just How Local is Local Wheat?

We've been working on getting some answers about the locations of wheat growers who supply our flours.  Hillcrest Foods (our flour distributor) was unable to provide definitive information, so we decided to go to the next source in our short supply chain, Champlain Valley Milling in Westport.  Investigating how our vendor-partners work with their raw ingredients helps us become more aware of the integrity of our materials and the views of the people producing them.  After conducting some research, we discovered CVM's owner, Sam Sherman, is dedicated to helping NY grain growers perfect and distribute their wheat.  On an active and ongoing basis, he collaborates with farmers, bakers and organizations like NOFA to help boost NY organic grain production and use.  Mr. Sherman started the company in 1985, it remains family-owned and they process only organic wheat (absolutely no GMO).  We order almost all of our flours from them and we're very happy to be partnering with a small (in comparison to some other mills), local company whose values are inline with our own with regard to supporting local, sustainable farming.

This morning, I (Britin) spoke with Sam's daughter, Arya, who helps run the mill; she graciously answered all of my questions.  Here's a rundown of what I discovered:

• In general, most of Champlain Valley's wheat comes from the Midwest, but there are a few farms in Central NY that provide them organic grains.  Arya (pronounced "Era") explained to me that CV is reluctant to give out the names of the farms due to an incident with a business owner who circumvented the miller, went straight to the farmer and then handled the whole affair in a, shall we say politely, less than forthcoming manner.  Champlain Valley doesn't give out the names of their grain partners any longer in an effort to protect the farmers they are trying to help support. They do an admirable job of distributing their local flours affordably, with a low carbon footprint (the grain takes a direct route to the mill).  We're okay with this for the time being, what do you think?

• The Greenmarket Blend All Purpose White and Whole Wheat Flours we just received contain 25% Regional Grain (from just over the border in Canada).  The rest comes from Montana.  While 25% local wheat is higher than the (apparently rigorous) standards required of Greenmarket NYC vendors of 15%, this percentage doesn't jive with our idea of truly local flour.  If it was all we could get, then we'd be glad to buy it regularly, fortunately there are other options.  

• Other materials we use in our bakery (dairy products, vegetables, some fruits, honey and maple syrup) are fairly easy to obtain within the proscribed 100 mile radius that is generally understood as local, but wheat is a different story and a fascinating one.  Wheat had been grown for centuries here - originally on Long Island - but is only recently making a comeback in our state (lengthy history & current info on NY wheat: http://www.foodsystemsnyc.org/node/1073).  The short story is: wheat crops in NY can be difficult to regulate due to the weather and there are ongoing experiments with (often ancient) varieties that produce high enough protein levels to be appropriate for modern bread baking.  According to Ayra, in the last several years local farmers have been encouraged to grow organic wheat and last year's crop was superb, but even with a high level of interest expressed by the NY baking community and the ability to distribute it, Champlain Valley only sold about 2,000 pounds of local flour in 2010.

• The Organic Whole Spelt Flour we have been using for some time is grown 100% in NY State and supplied by one farm.  We use the spelt in our (aptly named) Spelt loaf and some of our Muffins.

• Champlain Valley Milling does have available a 100% NY-grown All Purpose White flour for a comparable price.  It will be available from Hillcrest on January 24 and we'll be exchanging some of the 50# bags of the Greenmarket Blend we received for that as soon as possible.  Nick blends a bit of AP in our Spelt, Rye and Whole Wheat loaves and we use it for our Bialys, Croissants, Scones and Cakes.

• CV also has an Organic Whole Wheat that is 90% NY-grown (better than 25% and from a NY farmer, we'll take it).  We'll have to cycle through the Greenmarket sack we have now before we can order it again.  We use it for our Whole Wheat and Hearty Multigrain loaves and most of our Muffins.

• According to Ayra, our Rye comes from South Dakota, but there are some NY farmers working on growing a suitable variety.  If any becomes available, you can be sure we'll be trying it.

• Our Mt. Marcy Hi-Gluten flour (used in our Bialys and Vegan Cinnamon Buns) hails from Montana - we're not able to get locally-grown right now (as far as we know).

Discovering just the right questions to ask our suppliers in order to maintain our values of supporting local farms, refraining from consuming pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and GMO foods, and understanding the detailed outlook of the small business owners we partner is often like navigating through a maze!  We're happy to make the effort, because we care where our food (and the food we're offering to you) comes from.  Part of building a small, growing business is learning about and understanding the issues of people we come in contact with (suppliers & consumers alike).  We welcome your contribution to our discussion about local wheat and other local food issues.  Don't be afraid to comment!

Your bakers,

Britin & Nick

AGB Weekly Roundup

All Good has got so much good news to share this week, we thought we'd post a roundup!

First, and most importantly, we've finally got more local flour in our bakery.  Our delivery this week from Champlain Valley Milling included locally-grown, organic Greenmarket All Purpose and Wheat flours.  We've been occasionally using a local Stoneground white, but this is the first local flour in bulk we've received.  We're very excited to begin using it and still working on the farm-source question.  Here's a (long) discussion about local wheat if you're interested in knowing more about it and local bakers using it: http://www.valleytable.com/article.php?article=002+Features%2FHudson+Valley+wheat%2C+the+next+frontier

We've finalized our regular delivery of local free-range eggs this week.  Our friends from our days at the New Baltimore Farmer's Market, Ross & Liz of Raven's Roost Farms (in NB) will be driving up to exchange bread for eggs every two weeks.  Ross & Liz are prime examples of our area's small working farmers and they "strive to be wise stewards of the land".  They raise a small number of grass-fed lambs & pastured poultry, and Liz spins & felts beautiful wool (our daughter has one of her hats).  Their animals are fed without the use of pesticides.  Raven's Roost is a member of the Delmar Farmer's Market now, please plan to stop and see them once we open again in Spring. 

We (and other Delmar Market vendors) are working with market member Cheryl Franzten of Franzten's Scenic Acres (http://www.frantzensscenicacres.com/) to organize a monthly drop-off in Delmar of various farm and other agricultural products.  If you don't currently have a source for humanely-raised organic chicken, grass-fed beef & pork, eggs, locally-sourced baked goods and other fresh foods, please email Cheryl with your interest. (frantzenc@msn.com)  First drop-off should be in a couple of weeks.  More small farmers & producers are coming together to pave their own way!

Dan Livingston, the food coordinator for the Northeastern Organic Farmer's Association conference in Saratoga January 21-23, in search of a local bakery, Googled "Albany organic bread" and called us a few days ago!  We've been commissioned for 84 dozen hamburger/sandwich buns (1008 to be exact).  They've got great wheat connections in NY so we'll be starting a dialogue soon with them about that and Dan helps distribute local farm stuffs in Binghamton via an online Farmer's Market there.  https://www.nofany.org/events/winter-conference

We've become proud sponsors of Tri-City Trad's Jam & Sing Thing January 14, 15 & 16 at the Christ United Methodist Church in Troy (35 State St.).  We'll be providing our Vegan Cornbread for Saturday night's dinner, personal 8 oz loaves of bread for lunches and Vegan Cinnamon Buns for breakfast.  Our CSB members Jen & Fritz Stafford are organizing this (sure to be very cool) event.  The Jam & Sing is "A weekend of jamming, singing, and celebrating the wonderful genres of traditional music together." Mark your calender and join the fun! http://2011jamsingthing.webs.com/

If you read our last blog post, you know our 5 Daily Breads are now available from the Heldeberg Market, Albany's Online Farmer's Market.  Be sure to get your orders in by Tuesday nights!  http://www.heldebergmarket.com/HeldebergMarket/All_Good_Bakers.html

Britin was pre-interviewed by Cory at Dick Gordon's "The Story" (a radio show broadcast on various NPR stations).  Mr. Gordon interviewed Shannon Hayes this week for his series on people who have made big changes in their lives.  I wrote on their Facebook page how Shannon's story & book ("Radical Homemakers") inspired us to live less of a mainstream lifestyle, there may or not be a follow-up interview - guess it depends on how interesting they find our story!  Listen to Shannon's fascinating interview here: http://thestory.org/archive/The_Story_010311_Full_Story.mp3/view.

And finally, our camera is working again!  Here are some recent photos of our breads & baked goods.

(More details about ingredients & such on our Facebook & web pages)

Hope you all are staying warm & well! As Shannon says in her interview, "Hope is a renewable resource."  We're already hoping for an early spring!

Your bakers,

Britin & Nick

All Good Joins Albany's Heldeberg Market!

Great news AGB Fans!  You now have a new source for your All Good Daily Bread, Albany's Online Farmer's Market, Heldeberg Market (www.heldebergmarket.com).  Starting tomorrow, you can order our 5 Daily Breads online, with delivery (Hearty Multigrain, Whole Wheat, Rustic Italian, Rye and Spelt).  If you're not ready to join our Community Supported Bakery, this is a great way to receive our breads on a more occasional basis.


From creator Sarah Gordon's website: "The Heldeberg Market is a venture that has stemmed from a lifetime of involvement in the agricultural industry, and deep beliefs in promoting local agriculture, as well as economic and environmental sustainability."  Sarah works with local farmers who follow organic or organic-practices guidelines and the Heldeberg Market offers a wide swath of farm products (grass-fed meats, free-range chicken & eggs, produce - yes even now, maple syrup, honey, wool, teas, even pet treats & gift items).  

You know we're all about supporting local farmers, so partnering with this market feels like a good match for us.  All Good is now number 13 in the Heldeberg Market's arsenal of local producers working everyday  (and sometimes nights) to bring more people in the Capital Region sustainable food.

It works like this: Selections go online Wednesday of each week (starting this week for AGB), place your order online at your convenience anytime before Tuesday night, have our bread and other fresh, delicious local food delivered to your home or office on Thursday!  There is a delivery/handling fee, but with the wide range of items offered from local farms, you can order all your fresh food at home...warm...on your sofa - think of it as saving gas and time at the store (not to mention all that layering).

We sure would appreciate it if you're able to share this information with your friends, family and coworkers who might like to give All Good a try.  Your support means a lot to us, and helps propel our goals aimed at benefiting our larger community forward!

Your bakers,
Britin & Nick