Crepes and Container Farming

Gordon Foods

Last week I was supposed to go on a mini tour of a place called Feeding America. It’s a nationwide organization that, according to the tour teaser in the senior hall newsletter says it, “reclaims large amounts of surplus food from farmers and retailers and manufacturers, redistributing it to their network of roughly 900 hunger-relief agencies.” I canceled my RSVP which means I lost my six bucks for the mini bus ride but I don’t care. They had a long waiting list so my cancellation made someone happy. I got over booked through no fault of my own. Since I signed up for the mini tour, the CCC where I’m moving invited its future residents like me to a crepe breakfast and I also had plans to go to an annual Art in the Park fair on Saturday. I just couldn’t take three days in a row for socializing and stay on my downsizing schedule. Winter is coming and I won't be able to work in the garage, aka e-Bay Center, much longer. So I opted out of the mini tour in favor of building relationships with my future neighbors.

The crepe breakfast was something else! The chefs from the CCC made four different kind---a spinach crepe with basal, a chicken alfredo, an eggs scramble and a dessert crepe, in mini sizes so we could try them all. They sourced all the herbs and vegetables out of their campus gardens. This time there were only nine of us there who’ve already paid our deposit down on a unit and about 25 others who are still in the investigative stages of making their decision. 

The CEO of the entire non-profit organization that is building this place and runs their other campuses and I had a great conversation afterward. I wanted to know more details about the process of qualifying me, specifically are they absolutely sure I’ll have enough money to live there for the rest of my life. The bottom line is: Yes, it’s a thorough process of doing the math on their part factoring in my banking, income and health profiles. “Obviously, we hope and believe you won’t run out of money but you have our promise of continuing care if you do.” I also, learned there is a new twist to their planned fourth building on the campus. That building which would have been my main view is now a planned green space for the next 12-15 years. Levi---the tree peeing machine---and I are elated with that news. It will probably also give me more north light for painting. That lack of a view was the only thing I was dreading with the move but it was offset by the fact that I could get to the lake and a wooded trail within a two-three minute walk from my door. Now there is no trade-off and I couldn't be happier. The final building approval and permits from the city also happened this week. Progress! October will bring a ground breaking party.

The crepe breakfast was held at the corporate headquarters of Gordon Foods. I mention the name because they have foods distribution facilities in fourteen states and several places in Canada. If you’re in an area serviced by them, chances are you’ve eaten their foods. They supply restaurants with a wide variety of pantry goods, frozen and fresh foods including deli salads and desserts. They also have 175 retail outlets where people doing foods for weddings, large parties and schools can go in and shop. I knew their headquarters was in a near-by town but I had no idea of how large this privately held place is! It's almost a city block long, not including food preparation and distribution---those facilities are at different locations. This "green-built" building is 384,000 square feet with 11,662 square feet of the roof planted with vegetation. 40% of their outdoor acreage is kept open to native trees, grasses and shrubs to help preserve wildlife habitats. In one area of their campus where they do container farming they grow 55,000 pounds of pesticide-free herbs annually. This place is amazing and I've barely shared from the two page list of innovated ways this building and campus are constructed to lessen its impact on the environment including they have 400 feet deep geothermal wells that store summer-time heat to be released back into the building in the winter.

We watched three chefs make crepes and talk food in a huge kitchen/meeting space at Gordon Foods. Its primary use is for classes and seminars to train young people on how to be successful indoor container gardeners/farmers to supply food services, local restaurants and farmers markets---the next-generation of farming is local sourcing, they said. Everything that was old is new again and I'm thinking of my mother-in-law who every day walked into town to sell eggs to the local grocery store. I still own her egg basket...but I digress. Their literature says that the average age of farmers in America is 58 years old, which doesn’t bode well for keeping our farms from being absorbed into and controlled by large, foreign factory farms (think China). I don’t know about you, but it made me feel good to know that a successful family-run business like Gordon Foods is so forward looking. And I didn’t need to go on the Feeding America tour to find out that they donate millions of pounds of product annually to food pantries, homeless shelters and missions in all their locations. I love a day when fun and educational information comes strolling into my life hand-in-hand.  ©

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