if you know me, or have read bella eats, you know that I am a big fan of food. especially, local food. i am passionate about cooking and eating seasonally and believe that each one of us can do a little something to support small farmers, chefs, businesses, and individuals making sustainable choices. Two years ago i chronicled brian's and my home garden on bella eats, sharing stories and images and recipes inspired by the food we were growing right in our backyard. this year, i've been lucky to have the opportunity to share a bit of space in the green house at maple hill farm, home of the Local Food Hub. If you're not familiar, the Local Food Hub is a community supported nonprofit working to strengthen and secure our local food supply by supporting small, family farms, increasing the amount of fresh food available to our community, and inspiring our next generation of farmers. I am proud to be part of a community that supports such an organization, and thrilled to have the opportunity to share images of their beautiful land and facilities with you here.

this spring, summer, and fall I will be sharing images from my time at the farm with two girlfriends, emily (local food hub) and stephanie (flavor magazine) as we grow food for our home kitchens. It will be a joint ahphoto and bella eats project, with the bulk of the place and detail photography happening over here, and the final dishes and recipes happening over there. I hope it won't be confusing, and will try to keep it simple. Let's just see how it goes.

below are images from 4 weeks ago, when Emily, Stephanie, and I ventured out to the farm on a rainy and cold March weekend to plant our seeds. We filled twelve flats...twelve! On Saturday we went back out to thin the seedlings, which had all grown to between 1 and 4 inches tall. Happy little seedlings...

week 1