Full Circle Farm

From where I live in Mountain View, there may be no food that is more local (other than home-grown) than the food grown at Full Circle Farm, an 11 acre non-profit farm located adjacent to Peterson Middle School off of Wolfe Road near El Camino Real. You can buy directly through their farmstand or through their CSA. Right now, they have typical California winter crops such as broccoli, cabbage, chard, carrots, collard greens, kale, leeks, sunchokes, and winter squash.

On top of that, it's a great place to take the kids to walk along the vegetable rows, see seedlings in the greenhouse, stroll through the fruit trees in the orchard, or play with Mister Andy the rooster and the chickens in the hen house. Our family has "adopted" two trees at Full Circle Farm, a satsuma orange tree and a white nectarine tree, to help us feel more connected to the farm. We hope to take our daughter Kaiya and son Austin to visit these trees often.

Last Chance for Harvest Festivals

Summer is long gone, fall is in full swing, and winter is coming soon. Berries, corn and other summer season staples are already pretty much gone from farmers' markets. The last of the tomatoes will soon be gone. Farm harvest festivals started in late September and early October, and there are are a handful left. These farm-hosted events are great family-friendly events and provide opportunities to meet the people that grow our food, see the land where our food is grown, and celebrate the bountiful summer and fall.

Here are a few last harvest festivals that I know about:

• Sat, 10/30, 12-4pm, City Slicker Farms in Oakland (non-profit that helps grow and get affordable fresh produce to West Oakland)
• Sun, 10/31, 3-6pm, Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale (non-profit co-located with a middle school in Sunnyvale that provides education and produce to the local community)
• Sat, 11/6, noon-3pm, Green Oaks Creek Farm in Pescadero (local family farm, education and retreat center)
• Sun, 11/7, noon-sunset, Freewheelin' Farm in Santa Cruz (cool local family farm that delivers their CSA shares by bicycle!)
• Sun, 11/14, Potrero Nuevo Farm in Half Moon Bay (local family farm hosting a fall festival to showcase the farm and provide information about their CSA)