Our carrot farmers are struggling with the heat and lack of water in the Queensland summer… but what is a local-food-loving CSA in Brisbane to do?
Would you be happy to go without carrots until June?
Or would it be ok to go beyond the 5 hour drive radius and get some carrots from Victoria? The carrots would of course be sourced from a sustainable farmer, and would be available as extras only, i.e. not in the boxes.
Let us know what you think by adding a comment below!
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
I think considering Food Connect are all about being local first that we can survive without carrots for a while. I enjoy carrots but would prefer that Food Connect stick with its local principles. I guess its also possible that the carrots could arrive earlier than June – you never know! Think positive!
I don’t think it’s worth exponentially increasing food miles for the sake of the carrots… Mind you I’m sure there’s some carrot lovers out there!
Wow – the delimmas of eating local!!
I love carrots (especially the sweet juicy ones from FC). I guess I should just be able to go without for a while, but I REALLY love carrots. I would totally rather buy a bag of extra carrots through FC from a good farmer in Victoria than a bag of carrots from my local supermarket.
I buy FC produce because it is local, so I would have to vote against Victorian carrots. If I desperately need something that is not supplied by FC that week, then I am happy to source my own supply. I can buy organic anywhere. I want to know that FC is LOCAL. If we start getting carrots from Victoria, it seems like the thin edge of the wedge to me. Before long it will be mangoes from some far-flung place in June, because we simply can’t live without those either. Stick to your principles, FC!
Not always being able to get what I want, when I want it is a price I gladly pay for food grown locally and sustainably. So, while carrots are about the only vegetable that everyone in my family loves, we’re happy to wait until June.
I’m another one who would vote to go without the carrots. Even though I love carrots (and espescially the FC carrots) I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing our principles so that we can have them when they can’t grow locally.
Much better to learn to eat with the seasons I think.
I agree with the previous comments. On principle, if a product is not available locally then we should not have it.
I remember when I received my first FC box how amazed I was by the flavour of the carrots compared to those I had eaten in the past from supermarkets or markets. I never knew that carrots could taste that good. I am happy to wait, knowing that I will appreciate the intense sweetness and superior quality of the local carrots all the more when they come through in June.
We’re happy to go without carrots until June … it’s no different to waiting each summer for mangos and lychees.
If people can’t live without carrots, they can always pop along to their local market or green grocer and source their own supply.
One more vote against the non-local carrots. While we also like our carrots, but we are willing to do without them for a few months in support of eating locally. They will definitely taste better when they are fresh and in season locally!
IMO, it is not worth abandoning FC’s local principles when they are not as convenient as we’d like, and generally we are pretty well off compared to the previous CSA I belonged to in the northeastern US! If we start introducing a small number of non-local items, it could start us down a slippery slope, adding more and more every time we miss something that is not in season.
im with the ‘without’ team, keep it local.local.
Whilst I agree in part with some others whom have indicated that we keep it local, I feel that seeing the carrots are only being offered as an extra and not automatically in our boxes, it gives those families who would buy elsewhere when not available from local produce, the opportunity to perhaps help other biological and sustainable farmers in Victoria.
To support the concept of keeping it local, I am happy to go without carrots till June. Imagine how good that first one will taste!
We prefer not to have carrots or any other produce until they are available locally. We joined Food Connect on the understanding that we were endorsing the principles of sustainable agriculture and suporting local farmers. We hope that will not change.
We love our carrots and will source them elsewhere if you don’t have them, but if we were able to buy carrots from a Victorian farmer that you guys supported, we would prefer them over the fruit shop carrots anyday.
Carrots are important in our house… If you can source some from down south that could be offered as an extra we would appreciate it!
I vote no.
Local veggies make my tummy yummy
I do think though, if you are going to bend the rules, having them as extras rather than in the boxes is the right approach.
I vote no too. Not a big fan of carrots … so if there is an alternative, I’d go with that.
I vote stick with the local … but are there other locally available vegies in the orange/yellow/red colours to contribute to the vegie boxes? More pumpkins, red capsicum, sweet potatoes etc?
I would say no too! I’m happy to do without and use other vegetable instead for now! I’m sure we can do without so when they come back in we will enjoy them so much more! Well worth waiting for! Besides we have a great organic farmers market on the coast so I even might be able to get some from there but if not, doesn’t matter. This is why I buy from Food Connect so we are eating within the seasons and it is local produce. I’m not going to die for not eating carrots until June and beside let’s hope they come in early.
keep it all local!
I am happy to do without until June. I joined Food Connect to buy seasonal and local vegetables, and I understand that at times that will mean going without things that are not available.
I vote yes to Victorian carrots! I eat them all year round and would love to be getting them from a good source rather than the supermarkets.
Vote = No.
Keep to your principles – we can live without.
Just means we get something else instead!
I vote yes for Victorian carrots… I really love them in my diet all year round and wish I could get them from Food Connect rather than other (less wholesome!) sources.
One of the things I love best about FC is the variety experienced with the seasons. As much as my family loves carrots, we are happy to receive them when they grow locally and go without the rest of the time.
I vote no to Victorian carrots. Looking forward to the sweet taste of local carrots in June! Stick to your ethos Food Connect.
PS: love carrots nearly as much as Kumera (yellow sweet potato). Can we have MORE Kumera now and into the future? Is this possible for our farmers?
Yes, more sweet potatoes would be great. I’d prefer Food Connect to stick with local products.
I would prefer to keep it local
As a mother and grandmother I know how challenging it can be to feed selective tastes of children and maintain nutrition intake. If we buy carrots from Victoria as extras for those who choose to buy them, I am happy to support that choice. Every organic farmer is precious and so is our children’s health.
I would much rather eat CSA carrots from Victoria and support farmers with FC principles (even though they’re not local) than the alternative – we will end up buying non-local carrots from a supermarket chain or market – I do not want to do this but I do want carrots. So *yes* to Victorian carrots from our family. I also understand this is an exceptional case, and not the thin edge of the wedge.
Given they’d be available as extras only then people can choose if they want them anyway?
I really like carrots and they are a big part of our diet…BUT I really think FC should stay local ‘cos that is what CSA is about.
I bought a bag of Tasmanian carrots from my local supermarket the other day. After the delicious Food Connect carrots that used to come in my box these ones were very limp and unsatisfying – never again!!
The main concern Food Connect has is the subscriber buying carrots from an unknown source and/or from a supermarket.
Next year we will continue with trials growing local carrots during summer so let’s hope that all works out.
Cheers
Am voting for going without carrots …stay local!