When we first started this company, we didn’t foresee a couple of the challenges that would face us in that first year. One of the biggest (literally), were the cantaloupes.

We had not yet started working closely enough with the growers to have a say in what they planted each season so we just bought the normal size of everything they grow. Cantaloupes, Water melons, butternut squash, cabbage...all TOO DANG BIG to even fit in our cardboard boxes!!

We have a tradition here at the Yellowbird warehouse.

Whenever the first corn on the cob arrives, we stop what we are doing and we pay homage. We do this by grabbing an ear, pulling back the husk, and eating the corn raw, right off the cob.

Our new employees usually look at us like we are crazy (which we are). But, then they see the look of pure bliss that only the sweetest of corn can deliver.

For those of you keeping score at home, this is week 27 of our deliveries for the year 2021! #halfwaytochristmas

This is our “wheelhouse”, where we start to see so much produce that we can’t even decide what we should buy each week because it is ALL so yummy. #tasty

Cherry Bomb!

There are not many of them available from our local farms but the ones we could find we grabbed...and for this particular week we grabbed a LOT...enjoy!

Ohio Blueberries are ripening fast and furious and we are having them picked, literally as I write this. They require so much time and labor to pick that it’s almost an around the clock job when they ripen. If you don’t get them this week, there should be plenty for everyone in the coming weeks.

Sometimes I need to let you behind the curtain on why our food system is the way it is.

Here at the warehouse we do most of our food pickups on Tuesday. 48 hours prior to that we have been on the phone with somewhere between 20-30 growers for that given week and given them what we think will be a solid order for the week.

Yes, folks, we have come to the end of the line on roots. You have been patient and we thank you for that as we obviously committed ourselves many months ago to many pounds of the sacred roots.

Thanks to everyone for all your support each week as we continue to move through the ups and downs of spring weather and temperatures.

We are just seeing our first flush of asparagus and just like the ramps, we will have just enough for a few people at first, but over the course of the next month, you will get pounds of it no matter what size box you have.

We are closing in on two great holidays...Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day!

For Cinco de Mayo, we partnered with Shagbark to bring you a bag of Corn Cracker Mini to use for your favorite dish. This week I would add these items to my cart to make sure I could at least make nachos.

“Violet, you’re turning violet!

Oompa, Loompa, Loopity, Da
If you like blueberries, you will go far!!

This week we have enough blueberries AND ramps to make sure everybody gets some.

ROOT SLAW!!

What is it??

Rainbow Carrots - 29%

Beets - 29%

Parsnips - 29%

Black Radish - 5%

Chioggia Beets - 5%

Pink Daikon Radish - 3%

This weather has us skeptically hopeful for an awesome spring produce season!

We have an item going in Base’s and Full’s that I have never even actually seen before. They are called Jerusalem Artichoke’s and they look like Ginger and Potato had a baby.

RAMPS!!!

They aren’t quite scallions, they aren’t quite garlic, and they aren’t quite leeks.

BUT, they are a little of all of those things.

They grow wild in the woods and they have one or two flat, broad leaves.

Ramps are only in season for about a month (sometimes less), and both the leaves and the bulbs are edible.

Last week the “Dirty Dozen” list came out.

The dirty dozen are the 12 varieties of produce that were tested to have the highest levels of chemicals on them.

You can check the list at the link, but I wanted to highlight something very important. When I saw this list last Tuesday, I noticed that apples were #5.

HAPPY ST. PADDY's DAY!! White potatoes are featured this week.

Believe it or not, we are getting to the end of our storage crops (I say that sarcastically, as of course, we have all been eating these items for what feels like an eternal winter) like potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and apples.

WHAT THAT MEANS IS….wait for it….SPRING is right around the corner. There are three items that we are always looking for to signify that SPRING is actually here and this week we heard reports that one of them has been sighted.

Have we made it? Are we out of the woods? Is Winter officially behind us?

I’ll believe it in July.

This week is a radical break from the norm in our boxes as we gearing up for one of our favorite “unofficial” holidays...Pi day.

WINTER SPINACH!!

This is the “sexy” item of the week…

Side Bar...was I right about those yellow tater’s last week? Winter spinach is some of the most flavorful and nutrient dense greens we can be eating this time of year. It also has a “sweet” flavor that only develops in cold temperatures.

When we started this company in 2014, there was one other group that was doing a similar project that was completely local food. They were called Great River Organics and then had a really nice program and following.

Over the years, they decided to do what they do best which is GROW FOOD. They no longer have a membership base, but they sell wholesale to places like Whole Foods, and over the last 18 months or so they have brought us MANY wonderful foods from their collection of Ohio Organic Farms.

What a week it’s been!

Hopefully this email finds you with food, warmth, and health. As you can imagine, when you are in the fresh food industry, bad weather can sure throw a wrench in your plans. Hopefully (as I type this on Tuesday), everything will have gone off without a hitch throughout the week. We continue to bring a mix of greens, roots, citrus, and storage crops. It is such a luxury to walk through the warehouse and look at the gorgeous colors as the food arrives each week. I am keenly aware that we might literally be a part of the most impactful food system (foodshed) in this part of the country.

Keep eating consciously. Keep improving the planet by improving what’s on your plate!

Random fact: Almost everyday, for as long as I can remember, I have spilled something. Trust me, that is a LOT of spills. Spilled my drink twice today already.

Side bar from the random fact: I still get mad almost every time I do it.

Moving on: We are doing a segment each week called “Mailbag Monday”. Here is the first one about plastic usage.

School this week has us learning about SWEET POTATOES! First, what it is NOT.
It is NOT
-part of the potato family
-a yam
-a member of the nightshade family

What it IS
-a bindweed
-part of the morning glory family
-tuber
-one of most nutrient dense vegetables with high Vitamin A, C and a great source of antioxidants