Flowers and Co-Ops

My sweet Valentine sent me beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day.

Can we just talk about the fact I told him tulips were my favorite flower in a random conversation a while ago, and he remembered it. Such a sweet man I have. I recently found a pin on Pinterest that sums up my Valentine.

"If he makes...makes you laugh, kisses your forehead, says he's sorry, makes an effort, holds your hand, works hard and attempts to understand you. Then, believe it or not, he's quite perfect."

And he does/has done all those things for me. I'm a lucky girl.

But enough of the mushy girl talk...Let's talk about how Redneck I am. (Is redneck a proper noun? I think not...But who's gonna stop me? Nobody.)

I may or may not have carried my coffee to work in a Tervis tumbler covered in Saran wrap.

And by that I meant I did do that this morning. And I'm totally not ashamed. To be completely honest with you, this Tervis tumbler kept my coffee warmer than any other coffee carrier I've ever used. Now that's big news. But to keep the Redneckness at bay, I'll need to get a special lid for my cup for next time.

On a completely different note, I've discovered something pretty amazing after writing yesterday's post. I've been seeing a lot of blogs promoting food co-ops for local farmers. After watching those two documentaries Monday night, I browsed one of the movies' Web sites to see what kind of resources it provided for people looking to support local farmers.

Little Rock has a local food co-op, meaning that anyone who signs up for a membership can get locally grown fruits and vegetables, among other things, each week. It's called the Little Rock Local Food Club. And I couldn't be more thrilled about it.

Unlike other food co-ops, Little Rock Local Food Club allows you to pick what goes in your box each week. Most co-ops just give you whatever, and you don't know what you get until you pick up your box each week.

Y'all this is seriously cool. And I feel like nobody knows about it. Now the Web site is not very fancy, but I feel like it's a start for Arkansas' move to sustainable living.


Our mission is to foster the local food economy and sustainable development by connecting Arkansas Farmers and Artisans with our membership. Our core values reflect that mission:
• We believe that small, diverse, family-owned farms contribute to a society’s overall health.
• We believe that Little Rock citizens should have access to local, responsibly-produced foods and artisanal products.
• We believe that it is important that farmers reestablish relationships with their customers and help them reconnect with their food supply.
• We believe that a community that respects its food sources is a community that is more connected to and caring for its environment.
• We believe that local, environmentally-friendly food systems help provide economic and environmental stability by keeping local dollars in the local economy and decreasing dependence on and consumption of non-renewable resources.
• We believe that agricultural practices should work with nature, not against it. Farming practices should rebuild topsoil and preserve fresh water.
• We believe in the humane treatment of livestock. Livestock should have access to fresh air, sunlight, and grass, with adequate space to move and interact with members of the herd/flock.
• We believe that farming practices should be transparent. Customers should know how the food they consume was produced.
• We believe that farmers should be able to earn a “living” wage and that local, responsibly produced food should be reasonably priced.

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I am going to sign up for a membership. I want to help support local farmers. I want the freshest produce I can get. I want to know where my food comes from. So go follow the Arkansas Sustainability Network on Facebook and Twitter. See what they do. And it maybe something you want to get involved in.

What are your thoughts on supporting local farmers by joining a food co-op?