Farm Fresh

Kristy Skocik and her husband, Chris, signed up for a community-supported agriculture plan last winter to ensure they would have farm-fresh fruits and vegetables in the spring for the baby they were expecting. Disappointed when that weekly plan was canceled, the Columbia couple searched for an alternative and found one, in Friends and Farms, that they say has exceeded their expectations. "We hardly ever have to go to the grocery store now because we also get dairy, meat, eggs and bread," said Skocik, a NASA engineer now working part time from home to care for 9-month-old Samantha.

While it might be tough to imagine heading out to a local farm for an armful of fresh vegetables when it's still chilly, it's almost that time of year. Harford County farms are gearing up for growing season, and that means it's time to sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture program. CSAs, if you don't know, are programs run by (usually) small farms that allow nearby residents to buy a share of their growing season crops. The result: An upfront fee gets you a weekly trip to the farm for a load of produce from about May through October or even November.

A gunman wearing a ski mask robbed a Farm Fresh store Monday afternoon and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.The man walked into the store in the first block of Hammonds Lane around 5:30 p.m. and went to the cash register. He pulled out a small-caliber silver handgun and ordered the clerk to give him all of the cash, police said.The man then reached into the register, grabbed the money and ran out of the store, police said.Searches of car, house lead to 2 drug arrestsCounty police arrested a Linthicum man and a Brooklyn Park woman on drug charges Saturday morning after searching the man's car and the woman's house, authorities said.

Kristy Skocik and her husband, Chris, signed up for a community-supported agriculture plan last winter to ensure they would have farm-fresh fruits and vegetables in the spring for the baby they were expecting. Disappointed when that weekly plan was canceled, the Columbia couple searched for an alternative and found one, in Friends and Farms, that they say has exceeded their expectations. "We hardly ever have to go to the grocery store now because we also get dairy, meat, eggs and bread," said Skocik, a NASA engineer now working part time from home to care for 9-month-old Samantha.

Here is the way customers' allegiance to a food store ends, one familiar face after another.Mike DiSantostefano, followed by Bonnie Brown.Followed by LaVerne Krinkey, followed by Robin Wise.Followed by Lauren Bryant, followed by Diane Nixon, followed by 87 more of the old Farm Fresh employees, fellows from the produce section and women from the deli counter and cashiers who know you by name, Greenspring followed by Arbutus and Southview, followed by ...By whom? Well, mainly, followed by customers who loyally shop at places like Farm Fresh, or Metro Food Market, not only for the food, and not only for the prices, but for the people who work there year after year instead of standing out here the way they were the other day, on Smith Avenue in northwest Baltimore County, at the entrance to the Greenspring Shopping Center, where they marched around and carried signs.

In the Farm Fresh produce section yesterday, there were signs advertising lettuce for 89 cents a pound and tomatoes for $1.19. But there was no lettuce, and there were no tomatoes. In the butcher shop, a guy behind the counter was telling a telephone caller, "No, sir, we don't have any product, and we're not getting any today." A bakery sign read, "Sorry, we are out of challah."And yet, at this Farm Fresh at Greenspring Shopping Center, in northwest Baltimore County, they were breathing tentative sighs of relief yesterday.

Poor judgment, not personal greed, was the driving force behind an alleged check-kiting scheme involving more than $1 million at Farm Fresh Supermarkets of Maryland Inc., sources said yesterday.Preliminary inquiries show that all Farm Fresh checks were sent out in the ordinary course of business, to creditors and for payroll purposes, and did not appear to be distributed to the two executives who resigned immediately after the irregularities were discovered, the sources said.The alleged scheme appeared to be arranged hastily to buy time, with bad checks paid out without the funds to cover them.

In a desperate attempt to save over 600 jobs and keep Farm Fresh Supermarkets of Maryland Inc. afloat, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge James F. Schneider held court with a handful of attorneys in his home late Sunday night, signing orders that were entered yesterday, temporarily approving $1.25 million in financing for the Baltimore-based chain.Richfood Inc., the giant Richmond, Va.-based food wholesaler, agreed to advance Farm Fresh up to $1 million in grocery supplies and lend a maximum of $250,000 for payroll and other working capital needs, according to court documents filed yesterday.

In an alleged check-kiting scheme involving more than $1 million, Farm Fresh Supermarkets of Maryland Inc. has lost its line of credit, been forced into U.S. Bankruptcy Court by creditors and lost control of the 10-store chain to a court-appointed trustee, according to court documents obtained yesterday by The Sun.The grocery retailer plunged into turmoil when "senior management" at Farm Fresh "resigned after a check-kiting scheme was discovered that resulted...

It wasn't the typical way to make $2.4 million: clipping and redeeming tens of thousands of price-chopping coupons that knock 50 cents off a loaf of bread or $1 off a box of detergent.But according to FBI and IRS agents, that's how the president of a once-thriving Maryland supermarket chain illegally made part of his fortune.An indictment filed this week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore charges Jack I. Millman with redeeming coupons that customers never turned in. The indictment alleges he paid people to clip coupons for dozens of products and turned them in himself, claiming that people had bought the items at one of his 10 Farm Fresh stores.

Who knew that Goose Feathers could slide like silk going down the throat? Or that Cow's Feet really hit the sweet spot on the tastebuds? Apparently David and Kelly Keyes of Keyes Creamery at Mt. Felix Farm found these secret ingredients and ice cream lovers in Harford County can be glad they did. Ice cream never tasted so fresh as it does scooped into a bowl or in one of their famous ice cream pies. That's because the frozen treat is made from milk harvested only during the grazing season, which makes all the difference in taste, whether it's black raspberry or cappuccino crunch.

Bridget McMahon - former vegetarian and current foodie - took red chard home for the first time last week. The very same day, Kelly Barner - homeless and so new to veggies that she calls asparagus a "prickly thing" - got her first look at the chard, too. The dark leafy greens with strawberry-red stems came to both women by way of a fast-growing program known as Community Supported Agriculture. CSAs, which number more than 12,500 nationwide, allow consumers to buy produce directly from local farms, and it's the farmer and the season that dictate which fruits and vegetables - and how much of them - are delivered each week.

I once read a startling account in Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, about a youngster who was intrigued with his neighbor's harvest. As he dug in the garden, the neighbor asked, "Which vegetable, other than a carrot, would be considered a root vegetable?" The kid answered, "Spaghetti?" As startling as this answer is, I know of another child who thought that milk was cow's urine. It is disturbing to realize how ignorant some children are about their food. The Farm to School program, a promising nationwide program with participants in our region, wants to change that.

Bonnie Sorak can't wait to sample a romanesco this summer. The Ellicott City resident and her family are vegans and eat only plant products, but she just recently heard of the pale-green vegetable that's a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. As tantalizing as the prospect of tasting the unusual cruciferous vegetable is the satisfaction of knowing it will be just one of an array of farm products that will be delivered to her at peak freshness all season long. Sorak's family and 84 other area households have contracted to try a symbiotic concept called "community supported agriculture," in what organizers believe is the first-ever arrangement between a county farm and a trio of school PTAs.

For months, Mark Haley of Jarrettsville had been driving past the "coming soon" sign on Route 543 in Bel Air, waiting for the new ice cream shop to open. Finally, on Thursday, he was able to step inside the newly opened Broom's Bloom Creamery and order a waffle cone filled with rich pecan brittle ice cream. Haley, who declared the ice cream "as good as Ben and Jerry's" joined other customers, including Gloria Montague of Bel Air and Elmer Smith of Fallston, who were enjoying scoops during the shop's second day of business.

ALTHOUGH THE suburbs are fast engulfing South County, one undeniable sign remains that the country survives out here - roadside farm stands. These are not the roadside stands of the suburbs, where vendors display produce trucked in from a distant farmer's auction. These are small family stands owned and operated by farmers who grow their product right there, on land within shouting distance of the weathered wooden tables and crates in which they display it. It doesn't get any fresher than that.

In the first move to dismantle scandal-ridden Farm Fresh Supermarkets of Maryland Inc., eight of the Baltimore chain's 10 supermarkets will be sold to Richfood Holdings Inc. for $6.75 million, pending court approval, documents show.The sale is not expected to affect an ongoing investigation by the court-appointed trustee operating Farm Fresh, which was forced into involuntary bankruptcy proceedings last month amid allegations of fraud involving more than $1 million. The FBI also is conducting a "preliminary inquiry" into the matter.

The FBI confirmed yesterday that it has set in motion a "preliminary inquiry" into an alleged check-kiting scheme involving more than $1 million at Farm Fresh Supermarkets of Maryland Inc.But in a new development, sources said, a third Farm Freshemployee left the company as the alleged check-kiting scheme played out.The events unraveling at Farm Fresh have left its principal investor, B. Green, puzzled."

Hundreds of people braved a blazing sun in downtown Towson yesterday in search of black raspberries, Yukon gold potatoes, baguettes and fresh-cut flowers. The only thing missing was sweet corn. But that should be available next week. The occasion? The first day of the Towson Farmers' Market, which is in its 22nd year. The market is a favorite of many downtown office workers, who stop by on their lunch breaks. "I got this wonderful salad today," said Barbara Raine, who works in the clerk's office of the county Circuit Court.

It used to be difficult for a city dweller, and even a local, to find straight-from-the-farm beef and vegetables in Carroll County - until now. A directory of Carroll farm products is showing up in library branches and tourism offices. The Carroll County Farm Product and Service Directory is a 56-page booklet listing 81 farms that sell meat, produce, milk, herbs, flowers, bedding plants, baked goods, Christmas trees, wool, llama fiber, straw and other items. Each farm has a number, and the numbers show up on a corresponding map of the county.