City Folk's Farm Shop First Look

City Folk's Farm Shop opens today in North Clintonville. Located at 4760 North High Street, at the intersection of Beechwold and High, City Folk's is a sustainably-minded urban homesteading store. They stock gardening, house keeping, and animal husbandry supplies for central Ohio backyard growers. Lil and I stopped in yesterday to see the store before the soft opening.

It's hard not to scheme and dream in City Folk's. Tucked into corners of the store are charming handmade bat, bee, bird, and worm houses. A rack on the wall holds the most rustically beautiful hand tools I have ever seen. Everything a homesteader needs from laundry detergent to cheese making supplies to dehydrators are stocked in the welcoming, well lit show room.

Seeds from a variety of organic and heirloom producers are stacked in colorful packages just waiting to burst into plants. Pots in a variety of sustainably sourced materials are available to fill with bulk or bagged organic soil.

The back of the store houses a selection of chicken feed, soil, and amendments that can be loaded right out the back door into the parking lot.

City Folk's Farm Shop obviously has a preference for local, sustainably made tools - a preference I share. Shop keeper Shawn is committed to providing what local homesteaders need and welcomes our ideas. She put together a schedule of educational events to be held in store, including Backyard Chicken Basics (April 15, 3:30-4:30 pm) and Homesteading with Children (June 3, 3:30-4:30 pm) led by yours truly. See the full calendar on the City Folk's event page.

City Folk's opens today with hours from 10 am - 6 pm. They are planning a grand opening celebration for Earth Day weekend, April 21-22. Visit soon to outfit yourself for the spring growing season.

Disclosure: City Folk's hired me to write copy for their website and manage their social media account during opening. This post was not part of our agreement and opinions are my own.

Shop Wasserstrom for Kitchen Goods

When we need a kitchen tool, the first place we stop is right in the neighborhood at Wasserstrom Restaurant Supply. You can see it from I-71 between Hudson and Weber Road exits, but few home cooks know the restaurant equipment store is open to the public. In fact, individuals are quite welcome for the warehouse shopping experience. The large show room at Wasserstrom has few frills beyond the free popcorn at the door. The sales staff is friendly and always accommodating to questions.

Wasserstrom carries nearly everything a standard restaurant could need and in turn nearly everything a home cook could want.  Our kitchen is filled with Wasserstrom purchases: commercial grade hand blender, cylinder sausage stuffer, chinoise, stainless steel work tables, glassware, flour storage bins, and plastic squeeze bottles.  There are home cook recognizable name brands represented at Wasserstrom but everything is of the highest functional quality.

There is a clearance section in the back corner that is not to be missed.  Everything from single glassware pieces to beverage coolers are available with discount prices.

Next time you're in Columbus and in need of a pot or cooking thermometer or parchment paper or walk-in cooler, check out Wasserstrom.

Where Can You Get Real Food?

Wow! How do I follow up my most viewed, most commented, most retweeted post?! I am so appreciative of the interest in real food*. I am glad to be in community with people who support and practice choosing sustainable foodstuffs.

Slaughtering your own animals is not practical for most people, not even us, on a regular basis. So where are the best places to purchase real food?

1) Your Backyard - growing your own fruits and vegetables is easily the most local, delicious, and cheapest way to pack your meals with fresh ingredients. My Grow Your Garden series gives tips about how to start or expand backyard gardens. If you don't have space for a backyard garden, search for a community garden plot.

2) Direct from the Farmer - Local farmers are the best source of what you might not be able to grow yourself. Sustainable farmers are excited to share their raw milk, small batch cheeses, free ranged meat, vegetable CSA shares, and more. Find them at a farmer's market (see below) or Local Harvest. Ask around at work and in the neighborhood, as many people know a small farmer or know someone who does.

3) Farmer's Market - Our favorite markets are full of stands directly representing individual farms. Some offer CSA pickups. Producers are eager to answer your questions about the variety, farming practices, and cooking use of their produce. Many will take time to chat with you at length, forming friendships and partnerships in the food revolution.

4) Local Grocery - An independent grocer, like our local favorites Weiland's and The Hills, is more adaptable to consumer desires than a chain. If your grocery doesn't carry products you want, request that they stock seasonal produce from local farms. Ask more than once and be prepared to help source the ingredients you desire.

5) Chain Grocery - Even in a chain, you can find real food if you search it out. Read labels and choose seasonal items from as close to your location as possible. Select whole ingredients to make foods from scratch. When buying processed food, read carefully and question contents whose names you can't pronounce or understand as foodstuffs. Local managers at your grocery are sometimes willing and able to take special requests. It never hurts to ask for seasonal and local food.

Where do you shop for food?

*Real food is just another buzz word among 'organic', 'local', 'seasonal', 'sustainable', etc. What I mean in this article is food you can source to a specific producer; whole ingredients that are free from unnecessary additives and processing.