COVID-19 Has Changed the Way We Eat at Home

The spring of 2020 saw the shutdown of restaurant dining, bare grocery store shelves as consumers panicked, and shortages of pasta and flour.

Worries about food supply chains and insecurity fueled an unprecedented interest in local food, sign-ups for community-supported agriculture (CSAs), farmer’s markets, and home gardening.

Forced to find new ways of eating healthy at home, many of us are learning for the first time how to cook, pickle, and bake (remember the sourdough craze?).

Eight months later, COVID-19 continues to rage out of control in the US, and new lockdowns are in place in many parts of the country. Big gatherings are frowned upon, and the holidays were different this year. Zoom became the new grandma’s house as families and friends connected through a screen set atop a much emptier dining table.

For many of us this year, eating healthier has taken on new meaning because of the profound sense of loss, tragedy, and depression.

But where exactly does eating healthier food fit into all of this? With so much time at home, many of us have gone inward, reflecting and gaining a deeper appreciation and awareness of who raises, grows, and processes our food.

Be it our local organic farmer, a meatpacker, or an undocumented farmworker—who often does not have the luxury of not working if they fall ill—the way we see how our food source is changing on a profound and fundamental level.

Creative Ideas for Cooking and Eating Healthier

2020 and the pandemic also laid bare the inequities of those who have food—and those who do not. Amid record-breaking lines for food banks and pantries, too many go hungry every night, every hour.

Fortunately, those of us who cook did it more, often turning to comfort food and quarantine cuisine to soothe tattered nerves and nourish hearts as well as bodies.

Many of us have learned how to cook. Picking up a pan, a spatula, and a bottle of oil for the first time, we’re not just creating subsistence victuals, but food that looks good too!

These learning experiences for eating healthier at home will stay with us for the rest of our lives, long after we’ve returned to dining out.

Eating Healthier at Home—and How Our CSA Cookbook Can Help

Whether you’re learning how to cook for the first time or you’re a seasoned expert in the kitchen, our 700-page Bounty from the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook remains the go-to guide.

Our comprehensive cookbook provides expert advice on preparing over 90 different fruits, vegetables, and herbs—giving you inspiration and plenty of creative ideas for eating healthier at home.

If you’re throwing out spoiled fruit and veggies way too often these days, our downloadable storage guide can help you select and store them properly, saving precious food dollars.

If you’re considering joining a CSA (community-supported agriculture) at a local farm near you, our CSA blog has plenty of information to inform your decision.

We offer tips on whether or not you are deciding if a CSA is right for you and how to choose one.

Even if you don’t sign up for one, shop at your farmers market, a food co-op, or a grocery store that carries food grown by local farmers, or get take-out from a restaurant that sources from local farmers and artisans.

If you’re feeling uninspired for dinner tonight, check out our recipes section, which features more than 100 delicious, easy, healthy dishes (and we’re adding more all the time). Subscribe to our blog to get new recipes and posts when they drop.

Our CSA Resource Directory is a treasure trove of ideas and resources—

• whether you’re looking to start a home garden,
• or thinking about growing your own food this year, we have gardening resources and tips on how to start one.

Want to learn more about food issues or discover cooking blogs? We’ve got you covered.

Discover innovative kitchen products, find farm resources, or find a CSA farm near you!

Of course, if you want to suggest a resource, do not hesitate to contact us. We want to hear from you!

Eating Healthier from Farm to Table, and Tips for CSA Farmers

If you’re a farmer, we can help you provide the quality information found in our cookbook to your CSA members with special discounts on print books.

A downloadable PDF version of Bounty from the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook offers plenty of resources, crop information, and recipes that you can easily copy and paste directly into your member newsletters, blogs, and social media.

And our fruit and vegetable storage guide makes a terrific, affordable CSA sign-up gift.

In spring 2021, we’ll debut “Produce Packs”—colorful, one-page, consumer-friendly flyers to help inform your customers with practical tips for eating healthier (including fruits and veggies recipes and cooking advice). Stay tuned!

We’re here to help with the ever-deepening hunger crisis.

Bounty from the Box and our accompanying products are invaluable resources for schools, clubs, and organizations as fundraisers. With each sale, we donate generous proceeds—a win-win for everyone!

As we find our way through this global pandemic together, here’s wishing you blessings for healthier eating and a better year ahead for everyone!

— Mi Ae Lipe, Author of Bounty from the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook