When I met up with Carissa, she mentioned she had recently been featured in the Daily News and wondered if I'd still want to interview her.  Of course, I did - she is a delightful young woman.

Carissa's volunteer job at the Co-op is working with the FACT (Farmer's Advocacy Cooperative Team.)   Friday afternoons she offers samples of prepared recipes and helps inform people about seasonal local food.  Recipe cards are available so you can recreate what you liked at home.

Carissa's work at the Co-op ties in nicely with her volunteer work for the WSU Organic Farm. She works on the harvest end of things – picking, cleaning, and packing produce for the CSA boxes people in the community have signed up for.  For her labors, she gets her CSA box free.   The week I talked to Carissa she'd found bok choy in her box – something she had never tasted before.  So she whipped up a stir fry and fed it to her family. 

Carissa and her husband, Jarod, returned to Boise after she graduated from the University of Idaho, with a Bachelor's degree in psychology.  While in Boise she  earned her Masters in social work. After her son Decker was born, their family moved to Alaska for two years so Jarod could work on an advanced degree in Natural Resources.  They returned to Boise, where their second son, Marshall, was born.  Jarod's pursuit of his PhD drew them to Moscow about a year ago.

Previously, Carissa didn't have an awareness of the sustainable/organic food movement.  But after shopping at the Co-op and reading a very influential book, “Food Revolution”, by John Robbins, her awareness grew.  She found “the more you inform yourself about food and it's impact on the world, the more overwhelming it is.” Being more aware led Carissa to make changes in how she feeds her family, including serving less meat and “being very mindful of the various phases of how the animal was raised.” While much of this is new to her, she wants to get to the place where the changes become easy and natural.  She finds living in Moscow helps because there is so much fresh produce raised nearby.

If a job comes up for her husband when he finishes his degree, Carissa would be happy to stay around Moscow. She's found a good church, is involved in the Co-op, and finds Moscow to be very family friendly with lots of activities for stay at home moms and their children. Wherever they settle, she hopes to get some land where they could grow their own food.

Carissa shared an inspiring quote from “Food Revolution”: “It takes effort to question whether our conventional ways of thinking and acting truly serve us.  It takes effort to ask whether our lives are in alignment with the prayers and deeper purposes of our hearts. It takes effort to consciously make choices that deviate from the cultural norms,  yet bring us closer to our wholeness and true health.”

Terri is looking forward to a sunny summer stay-cation on the beautiful Palouse.