Your All-Organic Thanksgiving

We are honored, humbled and motivated to think of how many of you will be sharing some of the food we raise with your friends and family over the next few weeks. Our turkeys will grace the tables of family celebrations not just across the Bluegrass but across the country!

At this year’s intimate gathering, you will have the opportunity to share what you have learned over the year(s) about how we grow this food and why we are so dedicated to organic production. Let me share some ideas for the conversation leading up to and around the table this year.

As you serve various dishes this year, see what response you get without informing your guests of how special this food is. Then be ready to spread the gospel of why it is so flavorful and good for them and the environment. (In summary: It’s because it’s locally produced, all organic, and harvested on our family farm before being brought straight into your home. It’s not shipped across the country, sprayed with who-knows-what kind of chemical, handled by farmhands, packers, distributors and grocery store clerks and then sat on a grocery store shelf for a week-plus.)  

On the converse, bring in the pride you have for sourcing local, organic foods as part of casual conversation to stimulate a similar conversation about food quality. Be prepared to hear all sorts of thoughts people have about what is important and what is not in their food choices. There are so many misconceptions out there about farming practices and nutrition, you might pick and choose those you delve into further. You might want to review some past blog entries to be better prepared to lead the naysayers toward the land of enchantment. 

Some of you will undoubtedly strive for everything at your Thanksgiving meal to be organic. We do this daily, so we know it’s a challenge, but the buying power of consumers continues to drive more retailers to supply more organic products. In the Elmwood Stock Farm online store, your organic produce, meats and many pantry items are covered. You should also have no trouble finding organic dairy products, cranberries, wine and everything else you might want to serve. 

Back in the day, our Thanksgiving involved a fun, informal points system for how much food on our table was from our farm or other farmers-market vendors, and the points offered were doubled for organic. Now mostly all we eat is organic, and mostly from this farm.

Because not everyone eats alike, you may find yourself at another table filled with non-organic dishes. Take comfort in the fact that you eat organic to the greatest extent possible while at home, and you can just relax and enjoy the meal and time with friends and family. In these instances, you find yourself with an opportunity to discuss food systems, but tread lightly and without judgement toward yourself or your loved ones. 

Knowing that many of you have an Elmwood Stock Farm organic, pasture-raised turkey as the signature symbol of your Thanksgiving meal, along with all the wholesome, nutritious and delicious trimmings around it, is very humbling indeed. As we do the same, we will be giving thanks for our relationship with each of you. And be sure to listen to what the kids have to say about it all. 

Share photos and tales of your Thanksgiving dishes and discoveries by tagging us on Facebook and Instagram, @ElmwoodStockFarm. —Mac Stone