Springfield Community Gardens

Last week we got to spend some time filming and talking about one of our favorite subjects: local food. We visited Tasty Acres Farm, Van Gogh’s and La Roux, following local food from the people who grow it to the people who turn it into something delicious. Because local food is so much more than what ends up on the plate!

Something sweet is happening in the SCG Test Kitchen!
Blueberry flavored local honey was on the menu this week, and we love seeing the variety of products being made right here in our kitchen. This space gives local makers a place to create, experiment and grow their businesses using products grown by local farmers and we get a front-row seat to some pretty delicious things along the way.

You can tell the seasons are changing by what starts filling the harvest bins. Fall in the Ozarks means peppers and squash!
Sweet peppers, hot peppers, winter squash in every shape and size, the colors of the season are starting to show up on our farms and in our local markets.

Eating with the seasons means the plate changes right along with the landscape, and this time of year might be one of our favorites.

98 degrees today in the Ozarks! The kind of heat where the air feels heavy, the steering wheel burns your hands, and you start sweating before you’ve even made it out to the field. And still, things need picked. Things need watered. Markets need to be filled. Food keeps growing. There’s nothing glamorous about farming on days like this. It’s hot, dirty, exhausting work. But somewhere tonight, someone will slice into a tomato, cut up a cucumber, cook a pepper or feed their family something that was standing in an Ozarks field this morning. That part is pretty special.

A week in the life of our Kitchen Manager, Jessi, can look a little different every day. One day she might be unloading fresh, local produce at senior centers across the Ozarks, and another she’s at the SCG Test Kitchen rescuing food and making sure it gets where it can do the most good.
There are so many moving parts behind the work we do and so many hands that keep them moving. We’re incredibly grateful for Jessi and our entire team who show up week after week to grow, gather, prepare, move and share food throughout our community!

We love promoting local food! Today we joined Harvick Farms on Ozarks First to do just that!

Eating The Ozarks With Rachel West And Lainey Harvick With Harvick Farms Eating The Ozarks With Rachel West And Lainey Harvick With Harvick Farms

We had fun shooting for a documentary with Ozark Vitality!