Ep. 66 - Two Decades Supporting Local Schools with Fresh, Nutritious, Delicious Organic Produce. Citrus for a Healthier Heart. Old Grove Orange.

On this episode we are grateful to have Anna Knight.  Her family has farmed citrus trees, and now berries and vegetables for five generations in Redlands, CA. Their farm has partnered with School Food Professionals to support local students for two decades. For Anna, the large purchases schools make from her farm enabled her family to pay for her and her brother's college education. Her mission is to ensure that small family farms in her community can continue to operate and thrive in perpetuity.   We are having this conversation at Anna's Orange Grove outside of LA.  Anna and I met when she was a guest speaker at Alice Waters Farm to School event last October at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.     eatbetterfoodtoday #localingredients #longevity #health #foodismedicine #oldgroveorange   Please visit our website https://eatbetterfoodtoday.com  for this week's recipe, interviews, books, research, videos.   Look for information on Anna Knight at https://oldgroveorange.com    Other Mentions  www.ecoliteracy.org   www.farmpreneurs.org   www.edibleschoolyard.com   www.caff.org    What's In Season https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/    Cleveland Kitchen: https://www.clevelandkitchen.com/   Segment Notes: Breakfast  1:46 Five Generations  2:18 -        Many decades ago farmers markets were illegal -        115 Year Old Trees in the Grove – sweeter First Career was Not Farming – by Design  7:24 -        College then Investment Banking for 10 years -        But "that work did not fill my cup" What is Farm to School  11:26 -        San Bernardino County 80% of farmers make $50K or less -        Farmer paid $1 for 50lbs that sell retail for $70 -        Eliminate distribution time and cost and your picking oranges, strawberries at peak ripeness, flavor, nutrition and delivering to schools the next day -        Dealing with seasonality   -        Universal School Meals – it takes time to get to local -        Place for small, medium and large farms – hopefully all producing regeneratively some day Center for Eco-Literacy, Farmpreneurs  26:31 -        Partnering with the Community Alliance for Family Farms, the Alice Waters Institute -        Farmpreneurs is like business school for farmers, especially small and medium farms Vegetable SuperPowers: Citrus for a Healthier Heart  33:24 Regionalized Food, Farmer Food Hubs  36:07  -        Old Grove Orange is the name of her farm and the local Food Hub of 27 farmers o        Variety of produce with Shared resources – invoicing, cold storage, pickers, truckers Growing Interest in Healthy Food – Visit a Farm!  40:48 -        Nutrition, farming, economics, taste and being disconnected from our food origins First Step to Healthier Food  45:00  -        Support Your Farmers Market, Weekly -        Know Your Farmers, Visit their Farms  -        Support CSAs -        Show up at School Board meetings and ask for local Local supports Better Climate  49:51 -        Adapted and pulled out 14 acres of Kiwi fruit and replaced with blackberries -        Oct-2023 to Aug 2024 not allowed to sell produce from the farm due to Oriental Fruit Flies o        Small farms had to close -        Small organic, regenerative farm can help improve them climate The Recipe: Citrius Salad  55:27 This Podcast is a production of Sante Strategies, LLC.   Sante translated is - Health Means Everything.   This is the company I have started to begin this health and longevity journey, focused on food.   Disclaimer: We are sharing our experiences on this Podcast. Please be sure to consult a medical professional.