Idaho's Bounty offers you 10% off your order this week! We're celebrating our newly designed web site. Check out www.idahosbounty.org and order up the freshest local foods. Remember you can always join for the low cost of $10. Our local food co-op brings you the best quality foods from farmers practicing sustainable growing methods. Get to know us and you'll see we provide you with convenience, competitive prices and simply the best food. Call 721-8074 for more information.

New this year is a partnership with Idaho's Bounty and the Sawtooth Botanical Garden through our Locavore Series! We will be offering a joint class each month through August connecting local producers with our Valley.  Classes will cover everything from Honey to Canning Asparagus…

 If you sign up for an entire series you will receive a 20% discount on class fees. For a full schedule contact the Sawtooth Botanical Garden at 726-9358.

Locavore Series Presents: Raising & Cooking Elk

Thursday, March 3 @ 5:30pm

Sawtooth Botanical Garden

Instructor: Gail Ansley from CA Bull Elk Ranch in Hazelton, Idaho

Gail will share tips on how to prepare elk and her experience as a local producer.  This is sure to be a delicious class leaving you craving more! Gail will also have elk for sale after the class. Participants’ are encouraged to bring a bottle to share to accompany the meat.  Please pre-register by calling the Sawtooth Botanical Garden (208)726-9358 Garden & Bounty Members $10  NM: $15

More Information about CA Bull Elk Ranch:

Here at CA Bull Elk Ranch we raise Rocky Mountain elk and ring neck pheasants. We sell USDA inspected elk and Idaho inspected pheasant. Our antler art is made by my husband from the antlers we have grown. We also offer pet supplements and antler bones. Our elk tri-tip is featured on the menu at Galena Lodge in Ketchum, ID. We have 120 acres where we grow the hay we feed. We have 40 acres fenced for the elk. They are never fed hormones or anti-biotics. They are on desert pastures with free choice alfalfa hay and usually a roughage like barley straw. They are also given a free choice mineral. We rarely feed grain. If we have an animal that needs special attention they would be given grain. The pheasant we grow are free range birds. They spend most of their lives in a 50X100 flight pen. We welcome farm tours by appointment!

Beginning March 1st, Idaho's Bounty, your local food one-stop co-op, will offer $10/year memberships. Individual retail customers as well as all new wholesale accounts (restaurants and more) will have access to the freshest, largest selection of local food through the www.idahosbounty.org web ordering system for this low rate. Founding Idaho's Bounty members who previously paid a one-time $75 membership fee will not pay again; their greatly appreciated support from 2007 to present has helped the Co-op grow by 30% a year. We thank you mightily for helping establish a sustainable local food network.

To celebrate and assist people who would like to sign up, we will have launch parties in Hailey and Ketchum this Friday, March 4th from 3-5pm.

Idaho's Bounty staff will present a tasting of Fair Mountain Farm products, Prairie Sun Farm, Ballard Cheese, and Julie Foods crackers and dips from Julie Johnson herself and help with member sign-ups at Nourishme on Main Street in Ketchum.

South Valley residents can sign up at the Sustainability Center at 308 South River St. in Hailey.

Increased Convenience

Idaho's Bounty has partnered with the Sustainability Center of Hailey to further enhance the convenience of local food. Pick up of Hailey orders will move to the Center starting March 9 for Wednesday evening, as well as for an all-new Thursday pick-up schedule. Limited Thursday pickup will be available at Nourish Me in Ketchum, due to smaller available storage space. Both of these stores are committed to supporting local food, and Idaho's Bounty is proud to work with them to engage more of our community in access to local food. Look for future press releases announcing joint educational efforts with these groups and more.

Please contact Lynea Newcomer, General Manager, at 721-3107 for any questions.

Carrots came to Carol Rast when she was three years old. "I learned how to write my name by first writing the word carrot. That all probably got me started," she says. Many years beyond her introduction to this flashy orange vegetable, she still loves the varieties, sizes and colors. The tastiest and most beautiful of these comprise much of her business at Prairie Sun Farm, outside of Fairfield Idaho. Purple, yellow, magenta and good old orange make up her Rainbow bags, truly one of the most beautiful snacks you could crunch into.

In order to provide her customers with carrots throughout the winter, Carol plants ad infinitum. "Then we harvest 8 to 10 hours a day for 3 to 4 weeks when it's storage time (roughly September and on). We cut the tops off and leave them in the field," she adds.  "They turn under and become green compost for next year's soil. Then I wash very carefully with a pressure washer. I may have seven layers of clothes on while I'm doing this, and a couple rain layers,  three layers of gloves.  It is always cold!"

Carol stores the carrots in her work room, which is held at roughly 40 degrees throughout the winter. Using a space heater to regulate, she also has to keep the carrots at 90 % humidity or they'll go bad. And boy has she figured this out! "I began back in 1987 with a seed packet of 5,000, and I only got 17 carrots . . . so I've had to learn a lot. Everyone here in Fairfield said I'd never be able to have the garden I now have. I didn't know any better, so I tried. I really enjoy what i do and it's a part of my identity. When you can find something like this, that means so much to you, you can put your whole heart in it and it works."

You may know Carol from the Ketchum Farmers Market. In the winter you can find her delicious carrots, as well as beets and her homemade breads, cookies and jams online at Idaho's Bounty. See www.idahosbounty.org or email info@idahosbounty.org for more info on how to become a member. 

When the sun rises on Treasured Sunrise Acres, the family in its entirety rolls out of bed ready to work. Ten people in all, Debra Jantzi and her nine children, aged 3 to 25, get busy to make sure Idaho's Bounty customers and others receive quality raw milk. While the three-year-old sits pretty on a tractor driving brother's lap, everyone else hustles to make sure the animals are healthy, bred, milked, fed and tested for the highest dairy standards.

Over 100 goats and just five cows comprise the dairy's milking operation. Most goat milk goes to Boise customers, while Bounty customers are fast catching on to the delights of fresh, raw, cow milk. My own boyfriend downed a pint without blinking an eye; "ahhhhhh" was the only sound he could manage. Jantzi and family come to the dairy business from an experienced hobby history of 4-H projects; when Debra and her children faced the need to provide for themselves independently, they decided to do what they knew and enjoyed the best.

Idaho offered better laws as they made the move from Oregon several years ago, and Jantzi was committed to doing a dairy using methods she believes offer the best nutrition to people. "When you pasteurize you heat your milk," she explains. "You kill bad bacteria, but you also kill good bacteria which is what your body uses to help digest the food you eat. So, you loose the vitamins and minerals when you do this and change the milk so that your body can't even use it any more." Jantzi swears by the health of her own children to the benefits of raw milk.

Look for Treasured Sunrise Acres to expand into soft and hard cheese and yogurt sometime soon. To try the Jantzi's local raw goat milk, go to Nourishme in Ketchum, or shop online from Thursday to Monday at www.idahosbounty.org/shop, and pick up your order on Wednesday. More info at www.idahosbounty.org.

There's less than a week until the 3rd annual Taste of Idaho’s Bounty Fundraiser and Local Food Fair! The event will take place on Thursday, November 4th, from 4-9 p.m. at the Elkhorn Restaurant in Sun Valley. Food will be served from 4-8, then stay until 9 for wine and music.

Join us in celebration of Idaho’s sustainable food producers, food, and chefs! The festival will feature 10 local food producers, including Mike Heath of M & M Heath Farms, Tona and Clarence Stilwill of Fair Mountain Farm, and many more who will have food samples and stories to share.

Delicious “locavore” dishes will be prepared by Valley chefs Chris Kastner of CK’s, Tyler Stokes of Globus, Scott Mason of Ketchum Grill, Mike Diem of the Valley Club, chefs from Nourishme and Glow, Nancy Rutherford of Rolling in Dough, and private chefs Brent Barsotti, and Becky Ludwig.

There will be a wide variety of foods to choose from, including local sturgeon, kid’s meals and vegetarian options. Local wine and beer will be available to sample or purchase from 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards, Holesinsky Organic Vineyards, Frenchman's Bend Vineyard and Sun Valley Brewery. This is a family friendly community event and all are welcome to attend.

There will be live music, a cider press, and activities and food for kids. Advance tickets are $30 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under, and children 3 and under are free, at Nourishme in Ketchum or online at idahosbounty.org. Tickets will be available at the door, with cash or check only, for $35.  Reserve a spot by emailing jaugustus@idahosbounty.org. For more information please call 721-1412.

Tickets for the "Taste of Idaho's Bounty" will be available starting Thursday October 7th at Nourishme in Ketchum and online at idahosbounty.org.

 The 3rd annual Taste of Idaho’s Bounty Fundraiser and Local Food Fair will take place on Thursday, November 4th, from 4-9 p.m. at the Elkhorn Restaurant in Sun Valley. Food will be served from 4-8, and stay until 9 for wine and music. Join us in celebration of Idaho’s sustainable food producers, food, and chefs!

The festival will feature 10 local food producers, including Mike Heath of M & M Heath Farms, Tona and Clarence Stilwill of Fair Mountain Farm, and many more who will have food samples and stories to share.

Delicious “locavore” dishes will be prepared by Valley chefs Chris Kastner of CK’s, Tyler Stokes of Globus, Scott Mason of Ketchum Grill, Mike Diem of the Valley Club, chefs from Nourishme and Glow, Nancy Rutherford of Rolling in Dough, and private chefs Brent Barsotti, and Becky Ludwig.  There will be a wide variety of foods to choose from, including local goat meat, kid’s meals and vegetarian options. Local wine and beer will be available from 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards, Holesinsky Organic Vineyards and more.  

This is a family friendly community event and all are welcome to attend.  There will be live music, a cider press, a cheese making demonstration, activities and food for kids.

Advance tickets are $30 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under, and children 3 and under are free. Tickets will be available at the door, with cash or check only,  for $35.

Starting October 7th tickets will be available at Nourishme in Ketchum or online at idahosbounty.org. Reserve a spot by emailing jaugustus@idahosbounty.org. For more information please call 721-8074.

Join Idaho’s Bounty on Saturday,  August 21st as we visit three Fairfield area farms: Petra, Prairie Sun and Fair Mountain Farm.

Participants will carpool to meet at Petra at 10 a.m., where Teri Backstrom will introduce us to her herd of goats, give us a milking demonstration and give us some goat cheese samples.

Next stop will be at Carol and Jeff Rast’s Prairie Sun Farm where we’ll learn about growing vegetables - including Carol’s famous carrots - in the harsh climate of the camas prairie.

Our final stop will be up towards Soldier Mountain at Fair Mountain Farm, owned and run by Clarence and Tona Stilwill. Clarence and Tona will show us their ancient orchard, herb garden, and gorgeous beds of greens.

Idaho’s Bounty will coordinate carpooling from the Wood River Valley. Please bring water and snacks if needed, and wear appropriate outdoor clothing. This event is suitable for people of all ages, and children are encouraged to attend and learn about where food comes from!

The cost is $5/person or $15/car, payable to Idaho’s Bounty. For more questions and to register, please call Julia Augustus at  208.721.1412 or email jaugustus@idahosbounty.org More information is also available at www.idahosbounty.org

The Advocates' Raffle Prize Winners Richard and Judith Smooke Donate $1500 Idaho's Bounty Gift Certificate to feed the hungry 

Idaho's Bounty, a local food co-op based out of the Wood River Valley that provides healthy, local and ethically produced food to customers direct from producers in Southwest Idaho, today announced that the Co-op's raffle prize support of The Advocates' 2010 Gala resulted in $1,500 in food from Idaho's Bounty being donated to the Hunger Coalition. 

"The 2010 Advocates Annual Gala: Black & White Soiree raised $200,000 this year with strong support from Idaho's Bounty," said The Advocates Executive Director Tricia Swartling. "The funds that Idaho's Bounty helped generate through its raffle prize donation and raffle ticket sales will help us continue to provide free education, shelter and support services for women and children in need and will also feed the hungry fresh, local foods from Idaho's Bounty." 

The Advocates' teamed with Idaho's Bounty to offer a $1,500 gift certificate to Idaho's Bounty Co-op as one of the annual raffle's large raffle prizes. One half or $750 of the $1,500 certificate was purchased and donated to The Advocates by Idaho's Bounty members Leslie and Neil Bradshaw. The Advocate's purchased the other half. 

Idaho's Bounty sold 30 tickets to its members to help support The Advocates' fund raising efforts. Richard and Judith Smooke, Idaho's Bounty co-op members, purchased five The Advocates raffle tickets and on the evening of the Gala, they won the $1,500 Idaho's Bounty gift certificate. In a  wonderful show of generosity, the Smookes donated the gift certificate to the Hunger Coalition. 

Because of this collaboration between the  Advocates and Idaho's Bounty, the Hunger Coalition now has a $1500 credit towards fresh, local food. The Hunger Coalition strives to end hunger in our community by providing wholesome food to those in need and by promoting solutions to the underlying causes of hunger through collaboration, education and advocacy.

“This gift from the Smookes truly illustrates the value of compassion in our community and offers real hope to those who most need it...the ones experiencing hunger,” Hunger Coalition Executive Director Jeanne Liston explained.  This generosity is part of a local trend, as Jeanne has realized that “Despite the continuing economic difficulties facing so many, the Hunger Coalition is witnessing greater acts of kindness and thoughtfulness from across our community.”  

To learn more about supporting The Hunger Coalition: www.thehungercoalition.org

To learn more about The Advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault:www.theadvocates-aplacetogo.org

To learn more about Idaho's Bounty Co-op membership: www.idahosbounty.org