AERO KUFM Commentary Archives

“Salsa Day Celebrates Farms, Community and Food;

A Winning Combination”

September 22, 2005

Brett Tallman

 

A week ago Sunday was Salsa Day at the Purple Frog Farm near Whitefish. Purple Frog Farm is about ten acres of cultivated vegetable gardens and green houses complete with free-range chickens and ducks and a small group of highly dedicated gardeners. It is owned and run by Pam Gerwe and her partner, Mike Jopek, one of our state representatives. Salsa Day has become a tradition over the last 9 years. On this day, a large group of people descend upon the farm for an afternoon of music, healthy food, and vegetable and fruit chopping . By the end of the day, these vegetables and fruits have been combined into gallons of melon, peach, pear, and the more traditional tomato- and pepper-based salsas. It’s a day where young and old can belly up to a cutting board and spend a couple of hours getting to know each other. And it’s a day when all the excess produce can be made into something both tasty and useful before it rots on the vine. It’s really an old-time notion, this getting together during the harvest, yet one that has been all but forgotten in our fast-paced supermarket society.

 

Salsa Day, on paper, is a mere break-even proposition. Yet, in reality, literally hundreds of man-hours go unaccounted for, from the organizing to the volunteer chopping. So what is this urge, this notion of getting together, that in the end produces about three quarts of salsa for each volunteer who pays twelve dollars for the privilege to chop? It starts with someone’s inspiration: a heartfelt urge to create something valuable for the community and to bring people back into a largely forgotten enterprise-the farm.

 

In a world where speed and television and hi-tech gadgetry rule, inspiration gets pushed aside for lack of time or patience to follow through with things. This is not to say that people aren’t at times inspired, but the demands of society tend to dictate that we not follow through. What happens, according to Lance Secretan, author of, Inspire, What Great Leaders Do, is that, rather than concentrating on things, we are motivated instead to multitask, and there is little time left for inspiration. We confuse motivation with inspiration, yet motivation and inspiration are almost opposites. Motivation, Secretan says, stems from fear. “It is reward and incentive based.” We are motivated by the fear of what might go wrong if we don’t get what we want. “Motivation creates an attitude of scarcity and self-concern”, he says. Inspiration, on the other hand, “plays a central role in helping people live fulfilling lives and creating good societies.” In short, Secretan concludes, “inspiration comes from the heart, from a place of abundance and service to others with no strings attached.”

 

As a member of the Alternative Energy Resouces Organization , I’ve had the privilege to meet and work withpeople from all over the state who willingly share their inspirations on organic farming practices and energy efficiency. Like Pam and Mike and the others at the Purple Frog Farm, these people are excited and passionate about passing on their knowledge-usually to anyone who will listen. These growing networks of local Montana farmers all share a common creed: we must do the right thing for the health our citizens, the local economy, and the environment. With energy prices silently chewing away our bank accounts, this network will become more and more imperative in years to come. The network must grow in order to shorten the distance from farm to market. Not only must we ease the fossil-fuel burden through reduced delivery distances, we must also ease the burden of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides on our lands.

 

Pam Gerwe estimates that about fifteen hundred pounds of produce is chopped and mixed each year on Salsa Day. Last year, about 800 pounds of that had to be brought in from as far away as Idaho. This year she had to scrounge for locally grown tomatoes and peppers as three of her main suppliers either gotten out of the business or had trouble producing. There is definitely room for others who are also inspired to grow produce. Driving across Montana reveals thousands of homes on fertile acreage just waiting for someone’s inspired green thumb to join Purple Frog and the other like-minded farmers to make a better future for Montana. A good way to get connected is to contact AERO and learn what exciting agricultural and energy programs are happening across the state.

I’m Brett Tallman for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO welcomes your comments and perspectives. AERO is a grassroots membership organization working to help create farm, food, energy and growth solutions for communities throughout Montana. For more information about our programs call us in Helena at 406-443-7272.”