For months now my family has had the blessing of fresh, locally picked, organic produce from the Givens Farm (no relation to my own family…my last name doesn’t have an ‘s’). Once a week we pick up a CSA (community supported agriculture) box to use throughout the next week. It has kept us healthier, encouraged and enabled us to eat more seasonal produce than we otherwise would, saved us tons of money on produce, and allowed me to freeze and save extras for future use when I need something in a pinch. Our pick-up site is within walking distance, and my toddler absolutely loves sorting through the box with me when we bring it home. It’s allowed him to learn about seasonal and heritage vegetables he may not otherwise come across.

I love supporting Something Good Organics! If you’re local to the Santa Barbara area, check out Something Good Organics here: http://somethinggoodorganics.com and mention Madeline Nutrition at checkout!

I spoke with Carolyn Givens of SGO recently and she let us in on some farm secrets and educational information. Enjoy!

Where is your amazing food grown? Are there different farm plots?

All of our food is grown right here in Santa Barbara County. We have plots from Goleta to Buellton and a few spots in between. About 180 acres total at the current time.

When did Givens Farm start?

My father-in-law started farming in the late 70s so he could feed his family organic food. It blossomed into what it is today from that point.

Who all is involved in the family business? Where else can people purchase your produce?

The farm employs about 50-60 people from our surrounding community. That includes all the field workers, farmers market employees, sales manager, etc.

People can purchase our produce at any local farmers market, through our CSA program and at local health food stores like Lazy Acres, Gelson’s and Whole Foods. If you ever find yourself in Cottage Hospital, their cafeteria purchases primarily organic and local produce so you can probably even get a meal there that’s prepared from our produce.

What is your favorite thing that you grow?

It's hard to name my absolute favorite thing. Before I knew about this produce, I wasn't very likely to eat a lot of vegetables. It felt more like a chore because produce from the grocery store just doesn't taste that good. It's picked before it's ripe and shipped in from all parts of our planet. When I was introduced to Givens produce in my late 20s, it changed my health, my career and my whole being.

How does farm life differ from season to season?

Farm life varies greatly depending on what's happening during a certain season. If it's raining heavily, then we are really limited to what we can do as far as planting and picking. As seasons cool down, so do the growth of plants and harvesting, and we find ourselves getting a little extra time to catch up. As seasons warm up there's a lot of planting and harvesting and defending your crops from bugs, squirrels, gophers, birds…etc. It's all a delicate balance as we transition from one season to the next. There are few holidays and vacations as there's always work to be done on the farm. Farming has just become more complicated lately as well, with more paperwork to fill out instead of time in the field.

How do you think operating an organic farm affects the health of your family?

Coming from an office environment, I can see a lot of ways working the land affects the health of our family. I am more in tune with the world and the environment as I'm outside daily in it and definitely at its mercy. We are dialed into the seasons of the year and we know that eating food that grows during those seasons not only tastes better, but highly benefits our health.

Is there a seasonal recipe you'd like to share?

I thought I'd share a good zucchini recipe with summer squash still going strong. I think this zucchini hummus recipe is always a crowd pleaser and is one of my favorites!. http://somethinggoodorganics.com/recipes/zucchini-hummus.html