Fortune Organics delivers fresh produce right to your door and farmer Becky Townsend is helped by Nadine Winspur (left) and Rachel Leslie. Townsend believes “local” food is becoming more important to the consumer. Guardian photo by Steve Sharratt

Becky Townsend of Fortune Organics bringing back the novelty of purple carrots and beans while her orders for home delivery of weekly boxes full of fresh produce are rapidly growing. ROLLO BAY — While turning the red to go green, Becky Townsend found purple. It was there all along, but the young organic farmer near Souris just rediscovered some traits from the past. “I can’t tell you the secret but they are popular,” she says, handing out fresh beans and carrots. But these aren’t the green beans and orange carrots mother used to serve. These delicious fresh-grown veggies are purple. And it’s just part of the folklore that has accompanied the young farmer on her voyage into a less intensive and colourful style of farming. She’s a fully certified organic farmer, but Fortune Organics is taking a page out of the old days and promoting the whole idea of “local” food. Apparently, there were purple carrots and beans grown centuries ago that just fell out of fashion. Townsend is bringing back the novelty along with a field freshness that can’t be beat.

“I’m just growing food the way my grandfather or great-grandfather would have done it before chemicals arrived on the scene,” says the hopeful soil turner.

“I think the concept of eating local food over imports will be bigger than organics.”

And so far her prognostication is holding true.

This is only the second growing season for the rookie company, but the purple producing planting team is taking wing.

Instead of heading to the grocery store to buy imported carrots from Mexico or Swiss chard from California, Becky Townsend hopes more and more Islanders — and visitors — will consider seeking fresh local produce.

And with help from two business pals, her orders for home delivery are growing faster than the sunflowers in her fields.

“The big part of our business is the weekly vegetable boxes,” she explained as her younger sister distributes freshly washed carrots in a basket for a mid-morning snack.

“When people hear about the option, they phone us up.”

Right now the team is only delivering in the Souris school area, but has every intention to expand to Morell and St. Peters and into Montague if they can get enough customers.

They pick a basket of fresh veggies — with purple veggies — and deliver it right to your door and that includes a bouquet of flowers.

The current price in Souris is $25 and a basket could include potatoes, beets, beet greens, beans and carrots — or whatever might be ripening at the time — such as strawberries.

Townsend’s organic operation was part of a Tuesday farm tour sponsored by the P.E.I. Enhanced Environmental Farm Plan program. A bus load of Island farmers toured a number of sites in eastern P.E.I., including the wind farm and a 400- year-old elm tree.

The visit included the farm of Peter and Lynn Townsend, the most recent winners of the Gilbert R. Clements Award for Environmental Farm Planning.

“I like to offer high quality gourmet style veggies and right now we average about 40 boxes a week,” she said.

“It’s a lot of work, but as long as we have a market, we’ll continue to expand.”

Townsend’s father Peter is a well-known potato farmer who has won awards for his land stewardship, but Becky admits there’s a few chats at the dinner table over the merits of farming practices.

“We have some lively debates, but most conventional farmers are on to things and they look at their pesticide and fertilizer bills and say there’s got to be a better way.

But I stand by conventional farmers. I grew up on a potato farm and I know how tough it is and how slim the profit margins can be.”

By STEVE SHARRATT, from the CHARLOTTETOWN GUARDIAN, August 1, 2007.

Copyright
Waldron H. Leard