The greatest joys have always come through the struggles and pain.  This doing what I do even when I do not immediately feel like doing it becomes what my heart has been aching for.  The nagging started as a call I was unable to take, but slowly became what I was unwilling to do.  The busyness of the last couple of years was a walking through of what the world had served us into what God had called us to.  It's been difficult, painful and we've learned more than we could have ever imagined.

This slow, intentional move has always been part of our plan.  We would work towards full time farming and then step into a life that allowed me to be the wife, mother, friend, farmer and community worker I yearn to be.  To find balance.  Even when we were without sleep and stressed there were words spoken about this time-hope.

To have been given the vision and handed everything without all of the work would have surely left us with much more pride, idleness and extravagance than anyone ought to have.  So I sit here at this kitchen table, and walk the fields, sit and listen (really listen) to my kids, read good books and pray-thankful for what I've been through and realistic of where I am.  Learning to be who I want to be.

Part of the experience of the slow, intentional move is to go without internet and excess.  We realize that there are several options that would give us internet at the new place (and will likely choose one once we're officially moved in) but until then we are going to enjoy the quiet, the space, one another on the days we're at the "new farm".   We'll also be taking our 100 Crates over just as they are needed or when we find the right space for something that has usefulness or meaning.  Our goal is a home full of special things with enough room for special times.

On our first night at the farm we ate berries-lots of berries.  My favorite way to eat summer berries is right out of the bowl.  There is something simple and sweet about enjoying them with good conversation after a savory meal.  No dessert is required.  Our time on the farm has reminded me of the simplest food preparation and the space it allows for other things.

Tips for fresh blueberries from Kitchen Wisdom:
-There are about 3 1/2 cups of blueberries in 1 pound
-never wash the berries before storing them in the fridge.
-Well-chilled berries are less likely to become mush after being washed.
-Berries are highly crushable.  Only store them in shallow containers.

As we closed up the farm to head back home I thought about the extended family that had lived in that space over the years.  There's a photo from early to mid 1800's that shows at least 2-3 families sharing this space.  I've thought a lot about how life was once about surviving rather than acquiring.  We were once connected in deep, meaningful ways that is hard to find when all of your needs are met.  As we've transitioned to a lifestyle that was once about a better education, the next higher paying job and newer car to a life where our work becomes who we are we've learned so much.  Most of all I've learned that opportunities to have our most basic needs met are more meaningful than ever-it's where community is found.  Thinking about the reasons why kids grow up to find something safe (any education at whatever price, any career, more stuff) makes me think about what I can do for my children so they are willing to take all the risks necessary to follow their hearts and make a difference for those around them.  As we leave the farm for a few days I whisper to my son, "You've got big things to do in life, do not be afraid.  Be ready to travel where you need to go and do what you need to do.  No matter where you go in life you will always have a home and food on the table here."  He smiles.

Our farm hunting has come to an end and we'll be settling on a civil war era farmstead just south of Bowling Green in Half Way, Kentucky.  With our move comes a lot of changes including how we will be sharing our harvests with you-our farm members.  While we have loved our multi-farm CSA option many of our suppliers are finding lots of success selling directly to consumers at Community Farmers Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  As our kids grow older they are asking for their own pigs, cows and chickens.  After much prayer and consideration we'll soon be growing and raising all of the food we offer in our farm shares right on our own farm.  We will be shrinking our own CSA to meet our own financial needs while creating more opportunities fOur new farm at 395 Hickory Lane will offer opportunities for you to come work alongside us, enjoy harvest gatherings, potluck meals and more.  We are excited about what the future holds and we hope that you will consider coming along with us. 

In addition to a new "all you can eat" option that we will be offering to a small number of households we will be opening up our farm to allow beginning farmers and local food entrepreneurs take the next step towards owning their own business.  We are thrilled with the enthusiasm and excitement from Jordan & Jackson Rolett and Emily Aldridge to offer the community fresh, local food.  We hope that you will consider one of their new CSA options for the coming year.  You will also be able to find our fresh grown food at one of our community partners:  HOTEL INC, HOME Cafe & Marketplace, Bowling Green City Schools, Rian's Fatted Calf and  Community Farmers Market.  Building a stronger food system with access to more people is a priority for our farm.

Farm Fresh-But Already Fixed!-Our new farm chef Emily Aldridge will be offering a prepared food CSA with pickup at Community Farmers Market on Tuesdays.  This will be a great way for you to get the best of fresh, local food but in a convenient already prepared option.  Cost is $55 per week.
Think Little CSA-Jordan and Jackson Rolett have been farming alongside us for over a year.  We will be providing them the opportunity to start a year round small CSA.  The cost will be $20 a week for 5-7 fruits and vegetables.  Pickup will be available at Community Farmers Market on Tuesdays.
Homestead share-visit the farm each week and "take all you can eat".  That's right, you will be able to have "free choice" of all the vegetables, eggs, beef, pork, milk, prepared food and bread you can eat for the week.  You will also receive "shares" of specialty items like olive oil, real salt and fruit.  In addition, you will have the option to purchase bulk food items at wholesale costs from our new farm kitchen.  This option will allow you to play and work on the farm and enjoy a meal together around 7pm on Thursday evenings.  SOLD OUT
Protein & Vegetable share-Over the year you will receive a vegetable share (just like what you currently receive), 1/8 cow, 1/4 pig, 6 chickens (meats will be distributed monthly), 24 dozen eggs and an "extra" item like olive oil, citrus, berries, maple syrup, canned item, prepared food, bread, real salt each week.  Pickup will be at Community Farmers Market on Saturdays between 8-1.  You are invited to come out and visit us at the farm anytime.  20 spots available  SOLD OUT

All CSA options begin October 1st.

This share works best for:

·      People who want to eat local, fresh, healthy food, but whose time is limited in the kitchen.

·      People who desire to follow a clean whole-foods diet for health reasons, but may not have the energy to cook.

·      Families who need to supplement their Vegetable and Protein Share with some quicker, easier options for busier days.

·      Households that don’t prefer to cook, and like the convenience of prepared local food.

Think of this as your local version of that glorious deli case at the swanky natural foods supermarket. The goal of this share is to provide a household with several weekly items that can be mixed and matched to provide one large meal with leftovers, or several quick lunches, smaller dinners, and snacks throughout the week. Portion sizes are based on feeding 2-4 adults. If you want to eat healthy, local food, but run into the everyday obstacles of life, this Prepared Food Share provides a convenient way to nourish you and your family.

Cost: $55 per week, $120 per 4-week cycle, $2750 per year (50 weeks per year)

More Information

There will be 50 weeks of CSA boxes comprised of a variety of seasonal vegetables, fruits, herbs, and foraged items. Given the nature of this transition, we will also be purchasing items from local farmers that we consider seasonal staples, but will not have the opportunity to grow (sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, etc). The Think Little CSA is best for one to three people who want begin integrating seasonal produce into their diets while supporting a local farm family.

Twenty shares are available at the cost of $1,000 per share/year (or $20/week). We will be accepting payment for the full year, beginning in October and ending in September of next year, or quarterly via post-dated check. If you require other means of payment, please contact us through the information provided below. CSA pick-up will be at Community Farmers Market on Tuesdays between the hours of 2pm and 6pm.

To sign up for a share or for more information, please contact Jackson Rolett by:
Email: thinklittlecsa@gmail.com
Phone: (270) 943-9228

More Information

A lot of people know that I share my thoughts here on our website, but what many people do not know is that a few short years ago-about five or so, I guess-I was an anonymous moderator and writer for a popular baby website and an up and coming writer for several popular natural and attachment parenting blogs.  One day, while working through what my next project would be it hit me that writing to a national audience was pretty safe and comfortable.  Maybe, just maybe I should throw caution to the wind and write to real people right here in my hometown.  While I had built relationships with a handful of beautiful, wonderful ladies on the national stage-many of whom I still call friends-there was just something missing.  There was this authentic, messy, personal message I wanted to share and I wanted to share it with people I knew.  Several people advised against it reminding me how easy it is to remain somewhat anonymous in the online world-this was before facebook.  But one of the very things I wanted to write and share about was how lonely I sometimes felt doing this mom thing-all alone-confined to my home (minus the trips to the grocery, church, play groups and exercise classes).  What if there was something else inside of me-that if shared with others who I can meet face to face-could create something for me as a mother that was bigger than myself? 

I had to see.

There was something very safe when the words I expressed, the thoughts I shared and the weaknesses I exposed were only for those I would never meet in person.  To be vulnerable in a way that makes people uncomfortable and then risk seeing them out in public is anything but safe.  A longing in my heart to connect one on one, in real life and through shared experiences motivated me to give up my previous online responsibilities and move into something more local. 

My first SOKY Happenings article was on the subject of Faith in Childbirth, talk about going all in.  Within weeks of my debut into local writing my inbox was full of messages from local pastors concerned about my view on "faith", criticism from real life friends and some awkward moments with rare acquaintences.  But more importantly than the criticism I began to experience authentic connection to people who had struggled and worked through some of the same things I was feeling.  I was "just a mom" and later a farmer simply sharing my life-and others seemed to connect to that-in both positive and negative ways.  That began my very local efforts to help, encourage and put myself out there even when it meant concerns about this and that.  Thankfully, most of the time it meant the best.

There is something very similar in local farming.   That relationship between farmer and eater.  A farmer puts themselves out there hoping for the best.  They work hard from sun up to sun down and produce the best they can in an occupation they have very little control of.  The weather, wildlife and multiple other scenarios that happen on real farms can leave that farmer with something easy to criticize.  The same goes for the consumer who invests their dollars wholeheartedly into something that may not be perfect and in some cases requires their critique.  How much easier it is to walk into a grocery store and stock up on food that has been harvested, boxed, transported, packaged, and placed by faces you'll never have to see.  To have to look your farmer in the face puts yourself into a very vulnerable place.  It takes commitment and a willingness to sacrifice.  But the return is worth it just like in my writing and sharing locally was.  The real relationships-although sometimes messy-add value to our lives that are remembrance of a time far gone.  A time when people and dreams and lives were known deeply and shared.

We're thankful for the real relationships we've developed here on our farm.  With our farm members, customers at Community Farmers Market, community leaders, beginning farmers, local chefs we can not only name, but often enjoy dinner with.  We're thankful for the grace and mercy that has been shown to us as we've figured out this showing up and being vulnerable thing.  We hope that we've shown you grace and mercy as well.  For us, being local is hard, but we cannot imagine it any other way.

"Things that belong together have been taken apart. And you can’t put it all back together again. What you do is the only thing that you can do. You take two things that ought to be together and you put them back together. Two things, not all things. That’s the way the work has to go. You make connections in your work." -- Wendell Berry

The day Nathan penciled down Need More Acres as our farm name (over 8 years ago) became the day we began to dream that one day we would have a need more for more acres and the ability to make it so.  At the time we thought it would happen fairly soon-in the next year possibly.  But we had a lot of growing up to do, kids to have, lessons to learn and balance to find before we were offered this gift.  We realize that what we learned along the way during the prayers for a farm was the true gift, but this farm that found us is in many ways putting together our gifts, the needs of our community and the ability to learn from the vast history of Kentucky family farms. Farming for us is a way to spend our days well alongside our children and engaged within our community just as it's been done for centuries.

Over the last couple of years we have learned that one of the main obstacles for the local food movement is the ability for farmers to be able to grow and distribute their food directly to their community.  As governmental regulations related to sanitary requirements increased in the early to mid 1900's fewer farmers produced food for direct sale to consumers .  We all know what this has done to our local farmers, the food they grow and our communities.  In order to bring a piece of that back we hope to become a model that others can look to that is community driven, inclusive, multi faceted and financially viable.  We're currently applying for a Kiva loan (that you can lend to ) for an on farm certified kitchen.  We plan to prepare food that can be purchased by our neighbors, customers at the farmers market, schools, restaurants, food pantries and retail markets.  We will also be expanding the opportunities on our farm to beginning farmers and local food entrepreneurs who need a small business incubator. 

Our new farm is 20 acres just a few miles out of Bowling Green.  Sitting on the farm is a home built in the 1830's with a facility already plumbed for a certified kitchen.  This has presented an opportunity for our family that we are very much looking forward to.  We cannot wait to open up our home to folks across the state to learn about the history of Kentucky family farms and the food that has and will sustain us.  We will be looking to each of you for support and encouragement along the way.

If you would like to give to our Kiva loan you can use this link.  You can lend as little as $5 and you will receive your money back to keep or loan again. 

When I was first introduced to the idea of local food as a main source for nutrition there were a lot of comments about French food and Paris kitchens (aka fancy food).  In many ways that discredits the food that Kentucky farmers grow.   This is Kentucky food, grown on farms right here in Kentucky and eaten by folks like me and like you.  We want our farm to be a place that digs into the history of Kentucky farms, the division of prosperity, barriers that have separated us as a culture from the food grown in our backyard and the opportunities that were lost, but not forgotten.  I think about the food that was grown on this farm, the women who gave birth here, the men who tended the fields or went off to war only to be brought back only for burial in the family cemetery.  We want to dig into ways this farm can help overcome the obstacles that have been created while being thankful for the modern resources that are available to us.

"It is clear; then, that a family farm is not just a set of things, relationships, and practices but a set of values.  The family farm is more than soil and livestock.  It is also traditional meaning and values attached to the land."  Food and Everyday Life, Van Willigen & Van Willigen