What's better than dinner and a movie? How about lunch on a Florida farm with Francesca's Terra Verde Farm Club. This past summer I got to tour C & B Farm, and taste some delicious Florida sourced food made by club co-owner R. Francesca Golub.
I and a handful of club members climbed into a small minivan, rented by Terra Verde staff, on a warm summer morning in May. Then we drove out, past green fields of corn and canals filled with alligators, to C & B's 600-acre property, just south of Lake Okeechobee.
We were greeted by farmer Charles Overn who invited us to gather around him so he could tell us the story of farming in his part of Florida. He talked of the challenges NAFTA's free-trade agreement put on his farm especially when it came to tomato prices. The imported ones were so inexpensive this year he could not sell his Florida grown ones.
Then it was time to see more of the farm. So we piled back into the minivan and drove deeper into the property past manicured rows of fresh herbs. At one stop, members were encouraged to pick as many herbs as they wanted to take home. Francesca showed us how, pulling a large fennel plant from the sandy soil.
Soon the tour came to an end. We walked quickly into the break room where Francesca had a gourmet Florida sourced lunch waiting for us. It included sour orange flavored pork, grass-fed beef, sweet white yams, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce and other vegetables.
The only items that were not produced in Florida were the condiments, burger buns, and spices. Francesca said that someday she hopes to get many more of these types of items from Florida and offer them to her members.
Francesca's Terra Verde Farm Club also has pastured eggs, tropical fruit (sometimes including ginger), ethically-raised meat, citrus, and berries. These items are grown on 20 Florida farms and ranches.
UPDATE 2016: Francesca's Terra Verde Farm Club has now closed.
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| Florida sourced lunch put on by Francesca's Terra Verde Farm Club owners, C & B Farm, Clewiston, Fla. Copyright 2012 by Helen A Lockey |
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| Farmer Charles during tour of C & B Farm, Clewiston, Fla. Copyright 2012 by Helen A Lockey |
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| Francesca Golum shows off fennel plant at C & B Farm, Clewiston, Fla. Copyright 2012 by Helen A Lockey |
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| Francesca's Terra Verde Farm Club lunch at C & B Farm, Clewiston, Fla. Copyright 2012 by Helen A Lockey |
The only items that were not produced in Florida were the condiments, burger buns, and spices. Francesca said that someday she hopes to get many more of these types of items from Florida and offer them to her members.
Francesca's Terra Verde Farm Club also has pastured eggs, tropical fruit (sometimes including ginger), ethically-raised meat, citrus, and berries. These items are grown on 20 Florida farms and ranches.
UPDATE 2016: Francesca's Terra Verde Farm Club has now closed.
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