With the lockdown looking like it will remain in place for a while longer, and after the exciting launch of Fruitfull’s Lockdown series last week, we’ve been thinking a lot about the farming communities that tend, raise, and nourish our food at the very beginning of its journey.
Without restaurants, schools, chefs, and cooks to turn their produce into the meals we love, farmers are facing a difficult future in one of our society’s most crucial industries. We all eat, so we all need them. But it’s the business of food that’s changing. Thankfully, a few courageous players are stepping up to keep farmers in work.
Bo.lan in Bangkok is run and owned by chefs Bo and Dylan (hence the restaurant name—clever, right?), two loud proponents of what they describe as community-supported agriculture, or CSA. Community-supported agriculture favours family-run, small-scale farming that lifts up an ecosystem of connected households and individuals through an integrated model. It sounds complicated, but it’s one of the most simple and traditional ways of farming: you own the land, you tend the land, you raise your crops and livestock, and you sell it to commercial or retail customers. What makes it special is the support—the money stays in the hands of workers, owners, and communities that benefit from the process.
CSA farms are the source of the many fresh ingredients that are transformed into Michelin-starred Thai fare in the kitchens of Bo.lan. It’s a system that not only works for the farmers and the chefs, but ensures the highest quality of produce for the demands of a fine dining restaurant.
Faced with the same crisis as the rest of the hospitality industry, Bo and Dylan turned their attentions to the farms that rely on a bustling dining room for a living—because a closed restaurant means fewer customers, which means fewer orders. To continue to support the families who supply their restaurant, Bo.lan has launched community-supported agriculture grocery boxes.
You can order a box of fresh, organic vegetables, spices, herbs and ingredients direct from Bo.lan, they will pack it with produce from the farmers they know, and deliver it to socially-distanced diners at home. The chefs have prepared some incredible recipes for Thai staples, so you’ll never have to wonder how to use everything in the box.
Like this one:
Order a CSA grocery box from Bo.lan Grocer, support the farmers who need your help, and cook up a family-impressing storm. The boxes are currently only available in Bangkok. Should we have led with that?