Our Food Guidelines

Here at Full Circle Family we do our best to eat by certain guidelines that we feel create better health for us and greater health for the planet.

Lettuce and cabbage from our garden

We estimate that we grow as much as 50% of our own food. In the summers this takes the form of fresh produce out of our extensive gardens. Everything is grown organically -- with no pesticides or herbicides. In August and September we 'can' 150 to 200 quarts of fruits, vegetables, sauce and juices. Our two dehydrators are filled almost non-stop with fruits, tomatoes, onions and other foods we've grown or gathered (including Chanterelle mushrooms and hazelnuts - both of which thrive in our area.) Winter squash, onions, carrots, beets and potatoes fill our pantry and carry us far into the spring months. We dry most of our own beans as well.

Almost all the food we buy is organic. We have an excellent food co-op in Corvallis  and they have very good prices on produce and bulk foods. We also have a regular grocery store (Winco) that has a lot of organic options. Basically, if it's available organic, that's what we buy.

Our commitment to eating "local" isn't as strong as our choice to eat "organic". We do tend to eat fresh produce in season and always choose the most local product when there is a choice. But we like our coffee and bananas. And there are some bulk items we enjoy that don't grow around here: peanuts, coconut and dates.

We live 25 minutes from Corvallis and about 45 minutes from Eugene. These are the two closest cities that have  high-quality food-stores. Because of the distance, we usually only shop 2-3 times a month and buy many things by the case, or in large enough quantities to last us a long time. We have extensive pantry storage, and two refrigerators.

Home-grown berries!

All food is shared communally. No-one has a private shelf in the fridge, or cupboard. If you lived with us, you would share in the shopping, the gardening, food preparation, clean-up and food preservation. All the food we have would be available for your enjoyment. As is outlined in Steps to Membership, initially you would chip in money to the common purse to cover your share of food and utilities, but once you are a Full Member, you would no longer do so. All your living expenses would be covered. You would also begin receiving a monthly stipend which you are free to spend however you choose. This could be on specialty food items that the rest of the group doesn't wish to buy themselves, or  to go out to restaurants as well.

We feel that attitude towards what you're eating is as important as what you eat. The stories we tell ourselves transform the food into nourishment or poison. Even healthy food eaten with a sense of guilt or fear can create toxic conditions in the body. We are not "purists" about the food we eat. We have a strong tendency to eat foods that are  healthy for us: natural, organic and minimally processed; but if we have a craving for a chocolate bar (even an un-organic one) or an order of fries, or a pizza now and then, we don't beat ourselves up over it. We bless it and enjoy it fully, and return to eating our regular diet the next day.

We must be doing something right! Neither of us, the founders, has any chronic health conditions or food sensitivities; nor are we on any medications. We can't remember the last time we went to a doctor. We live active lives, pain-free and joyfully anticipate the continuation of this state of health. Would you like to join us?

Llyn and Chris at one of our favorite beaches.

A typical day...

When people are considering moving in with is, they often wonder what a typical day would be like. There is a lot of variety to how our days go, but there are some basic rhythms we usually follow.

As new people join us, we will discover what feels right in terms of how much of the day's activities will be done as a whole group and how much time it will feel right for people to have their own rhythms. We would enjoy it if we found people with whom there was a natural harmony with the rhythms we've already established. We realize that, as we incorporate other members, our days' activities might change somewhat but this is how things typically go these days.

"Farmer's Hours"

Chris has been a farmer/gardener since the late 1960's. The rhythms that make sense for growing our own food have become a way of life.. Though there's some variation from summer to winter (with the longer nights, we tend to sleep more), in general we are awake and moving between 6:00 and 6:30 am. and head to bed around 9:00. Chris goes right to sleep, and Llyn likes to read for a bit.

Morning "Rounds"

We like a cup of coffee in the morning, and usually spend 20 min., or so, checking email, and visiting a handful of websites that keep us in touch with what's going on in the world. We like to follow sites that give an alternative perspective to the mainstream news; sites that track the many weather anomalies and other shifting natural phenomenon as well as sites that remind us of "higher consciousness" ideals and spiritual values and that give examples of the many people who are focusing their lives on creating (and living) solutions to the many world's ills.

Morning Studies

We have a variety of spiritual texts from which we read regularly. The main ones that we return to are:  A Course in Miracles, and The Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East (Baird Spaulding). We have contemporary translations of the I Ching and Tao Te Ching that are often a part of our morning studies. Other writers we feel resonance with are: Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now), Osho (Sex Matters) and Arthur Gish (Living in Christian Community). Often, after reading selections, we'll sit in silent meditation for 10 minutes or so to let the teachings sink in. We have a strong commitment to applying the teachings to how we live and to helping each other remember and apply them through out the day. At this time we often stretch and do yoga in the living room. Llyn often feeds the birds during this time and we enjoy watching them have their breakfast.

Breakfast

We've written elsewhere about a typical breakfast. We almost never skip breakfast, as a hearty meal helps us stay productive in the garden or doing other projects around the house. We take turns with cooking and clean-up.

Garden time

Morning Projects

We tend to use our mornings to focus on more energy-intensive projects, either in the Sharing Gardens, or around our home.

Our lives follow the rhythm of the seasons. The cycle of growing food begins in early February; sifting soil and starting seeds in our greenhouses. March through June, we continue to plant seeds; some plants are ready to be transplanted outside. June through September are the busiest times in the garden - both growing and harvesting the food but also preserving food for winter-use. October and November, we begin to put the gardens to bed. December and January are the quietest times but there are still plenty of activites such as preparing beds in the greenhouses and pruning fruit trees that keep us connected with the gardens. We LOVE to garden as a way to relax and connect with the beauty and miracle of life.

Other morning activities might include:  home repair/maintenance, house cleaning, shopping trips for food or materials.

Occasionally, we are offered "odd jobs"  such as yard work, handy-man projects etc. We prefer to do these in the morning also.

Lunch and Rest

Sometimes, if we're really hungry, we'll eat first but often we'll take a short rest and then get up for lunch and an afternoon cup of coffee. Rest-time can be as short as 20-minutes, or stretch up to an hour. Even if we don't actually fall asleep we find that "getting still" and "going within" helps us stay centered and gives us a gentle re-charge for the afternoon's activities.

Making applesauce.

Afternoon activities

Typically the afternoon is saved for activities that don't require as much energy output as morning projects. Some afternoon projects might include: working on our websites/answering e-mails, art projects (Chris has been getting back into air-brush painting; Llyn has been doing some illustrations with water-colors and markers and is figuring out how to do wood-block prints), canning and food preservation, nut-cracking/grain-grinding, and making large batches of our corn-bread or pancake mixes. We like some recreation too! We often take trips to the coast (about 75 min. drive), or hikes at the local waterfalls/state park (20 min. drive). We also enjoy movies in Eugene and go to the matinées or early evening shows. Our movie choices tend to run to the PG options: we love the Pixar and Disney and other animated films. We also like science fiction and super-hero movies as long as they're not too violent or "dark".

Dinner and evenings

We usually have dinner at about 6:00. We often watch DVD's (from the library), or YouTube, PBS shows or Hulu shows while we eat. We like documentaries about Nature and UFO's and eating/living healthy. We like Antiques Road Show and even sometimes enjoy watching the auditions for America's Got Talent (true confessions!) We also love science fiction and have watched the complete episodes of all the Star Trek and Stargate TV series. We've imagined, as our community grows, that evenings (after dinner) might be spent making music (Chris and Llyn are both singers/songwriters and play guitar. Chris is a percussionist as well). We picture some people making music while others are cracking nuts, working on hand-crafts, or playing games. For now though, we find that, by the end of the day, we just want to sit back and watch something entertaining or educational.

Time at the ocean...

What Do We Do About "Lazy People"?

 What do we do about a person who doesn’t want to participate and contribute his/her share of the basic support? Do we kick ‘em out, threaten them with no place at the table, deny them privileges? This is always a very difficult and sensitive issue to deal with. Perhaps it helps to get a different perspective for a moment. Let’s consider, for example, that, in today’s society, there are many people holding so-called respectable jobs, who seem to be very productive members of society. And yet if we take a closer look we find that many of these people are producing useless pieces of junk or providing "services" that do not "serve" (or actually undermine the health of the planet and culture). In addition, they are using up our precious natural resources, contributing to the waste stream, and polluting our environment in the process.

So, these people are certainly going through the motions of being productive members of society but is society really any better off for their contributions, or are we in fact, worse off?

Could it be, ironically speaking, that the person who sits around and does absolutely nothing, is not the problem we should be most concerned with, but rather, all those people who go about business as usual motivated only by profit-making, who are unconsciously destroying this beautiful planet, while producing nothing of real value?

In a communal society the person who sits around doing nothing is missing out on all the fun, and is a rare occurrence. The utter joy and deep sense of pleasure generated by a sharing, creative and positive group of people with a purpose, is nearly irresistible. 

So instead of coming down on these people we would try to help, love and lift them regardless of what they do, or don’t do. As the old saying goes, "You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.”