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): 

Happy New Year from All Good

We've been taking a much-needed break over the holidays and hope you've had at least some relaxing time to yourselves too.  Nick and I do everything ourselves (baking & delivering are really the last component, there's a lot of business planning, contact cultivating, marketing & creative effort that comes first). The last several, thankfully busy, months have left us needing a little recuperation and family time.  Time at home, often by the fire doing projects with our little family has been welcomed with gratefulness.  Not to say we haven't still been working!  We've got some exciting plans in store, for the far and immediate future, but we're not quite ready to share everything yet as they are still in various processes of development. 

A few tidbits we can let you in on:

Our most recent delivery of flour from Champlain Valley Milling included an organic NY-grown (and milled) all-purpose white/wheat! We'll start using it next week as soon as our supply of other AP runs out.  Strangely (we thought), Champlain Valley said they weren't able to share the name of the wheat farm with us.  We ordered the flour anyway and will soon be asking them why they aren't giving out that information.  We like to verify exactly where our ingredients are coming from and we look for supporting information that the farms in question follow organic, organic-practices, or certified naturally grown guidelines.  We'll keep you posted on developments.

We tried a new muffin this week, Spiced Apple Butter, made with our own CSB member Jen Stafford's homemade apple butter!  With a moist center of whole wheat flour, oatbran, apple cider, rapadura sugar, Siggi's yogurt, maple syrup & crunchy topping of strudel and finely chopped walnuts.  Since we only had one member who asked for muffins this week and I'm all about quality control, one was consumed warm, another after the insides had some time to set properly.  We've got some delicious muffins, but this one really exceeded my expectations.  Taking a moment in our cozy bakery to savor the fruits of our labor is an enjoyable task.

I was asked recently to share the story of how our Community Supported Bakery came about by Homegrown.org, Farm Aid's online community website.  I've written professionally in an administrative environment and here on our blog, but this is my first, real, published article!  Read more about it here: http://homegrown.org/blog/2010/12/all-good-bakers-a-community-supported-bakery/

Some of our fans know that we drive a bright yellow 1978 Volkswagen Bus (Daisy).  Maybe you've seen us around town?  She was acting up last Wednesday (our CSB delivery day, crisis!) and had to spend some time in our driveway.  Luckily, we have a friend who is a fellow bus owner with loads of spare parts and repair experience - he fixed a blown fuse in minutes!  We'd like to give a big shout out to Jules Herr for coming to All Good's rescue.  Give him a honk and a peace sign if you see his '74 Orange Westy driving by!  Some other friends, Megan & Tom offered us the use of their extra car during the crisis (it's got heat! Which Daisy lacks - so we're going to hold on to it for a little bit, that heat is a luxury).  We couldn't have completed our deliveries without these people willing to lend a helping hand.  Daisy's all fixed up and don't worry, she'll be back on the road when some of that rust-eroding salt clears up.

(That's Nick laying down on a much warmer day than today.)

More exciting opportunities are on our horizon!  The first being a pot-luck tonight where we're sure to be fed well in good company.  We hope you all have an equally peaceful, safe and satisfying New Year Celebration.

Britin (& Nick)

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