Welcome to the first Fresh Picks Newsletter and to the start of the 2006 growing season! We are launching Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks^SM and this newsletter to connect Chicago to our local farmers and build a healthy way to bring fresh local food to our tables. The farmers we have met with and whose amazing food we have tasted are excited to turn more acres to organic practices knowing we will help them get their ripe flavorful harvest to your door within hours of leaving the farm.

     Happy Spring!

     Irv & Shelly

We spoke to our friends at Grass Point Farms, who produce dairy products from family farms in Wisconsin where the cows graze on open pastures. They explained more about the benefits of grass fed dairy products.

• Our Health. Studies show that the right balance of good and bad Omega fats may help reduce the risk of a variety of medical problems including: obesity, heart disease, arthritis, insulin resistance, mental disorders, allergies and certain types of cancer. Grass fed cows also produce dairy products that have increased levels of CLA, conjugated linoleic acid. Studies on animals show that CLA helps reduce body fat, combat clogged arteries, prevent or delay the onset of diabetes and fight cancer.
• Healthy Cows. Allowing cows to roam the pastures and eat their natural diet of grasses produces cows that live longer, have fewer health problems and produce higher quality milk. This humane treatment of the cows that allows them to eat their natural diet and exercise their natural grazing behaviors, is very different than the treatment and health of most cows (even certified organic cows) that eat grain diets and live in confinement at factory farms.
• Healthy Environment.  Allowing cows to graze is better for the soil and water supply because fertilizers and pesticides are not used as with grain feeding. And because the cows go to their source of food, all the fuel typically used for harvesting and delivering feed in a confinement operation is saved. Grazing also means that manure is continually present as a welcome nutrient on the pastures to aid in healthy grassland management.

Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks^SM will carry the delicious glass bottled milk, a variety of specialty cheeses and butter products produced by Grass Point Farms and its group of family farmers.