The Market Is Open

Dear ALFN Members,

The market is open!

We are deep into January, but the market is still busting with beautiful produce. From Bok Choy to Cabbage to Arugula to Acorn Squash to Broccoli to Kale, there is a wide selection of fresh produce. We also have a wide selection of frozen goods that have sealed sealed summer inside.

Waste & Energy

In the same way our culture tends to hide and mask death from the living, perhaps for similar reasons, our living economy hides the waste of society in landfills seeded with grass. Waste is simply dormant energy awaiting transformation. The masses of bacteria and fungal communities are the miracle workers, but miracle workers are often viewed with the same suspicion as undertakers. Our society has cultivated a kind of mass phobia with bacteria and fungi and institutionalized discrimination towards all invertebrate communities. Yet, our unseen neighbors are what keep the revolving door of life spinning. They are resurrection workers, shamans guiding life back into birth.

Even the heinous products we forge can often be deconstructed and reconciled back into natural ingredients. I’ve been obsessed with fungi for a couple of years now. Mycologists continue to discover new fungi as well as new ecological functions of fungi. Scientists have found certain strains of fungi can breakdown oil and transform the long carbon chains into benign material. Or check out this video: Training Fungi to Eat Cigarette Butts. As the great “lovers of waste and death” (saprophytes), fungi take waste and recycle the energy back into ecosystems.

Do you know what else recycles energy in waste? Gardens. Our small, urban gardens take the substrates of waste and transform it into food and drink. The compost bin is both cemetery and birthing center. So, roll the stone away from our economic dead end, and let life come back from the grave. The gospel of gardeners suggests life comes from decomposition.

While I’m thinking about urban gardens, check out this Kickstarter for a community project called Earth Garden.

Have a great week and don’t forget to sign up for a Volunteer Spot

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager