I received a response from Laura Hand at WSTM in regards to my letter:

Thanks for your thoughts—
No argument, though finding spinach at this point in the season is difficult here, as you undoubtedly know. We appreciate your email.

Difficult, because it’s out of season. A solution would be to buy in bulk locally and to freeze for use during the winter. What this whole spinach debacle has shown is that there is an inherent safety issue with the wide distribution of produce from one supplier and the solution might have to involve changing your eating habits a bit from the convenient options we’ve gotten used to.

Anyway, there is one thing I’m excited about and that’s the upcoming annual conference for the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Pittsburgh at the beginning of November. I’ll be able to catch up with some of my friends and there is at least one session of particular interest to me:

Gout du Terroir (A Taste of Place): Farming, Foodways, and Local Cuisine in Rural Historic Preservation and Heritage Area Development
Food can be a powerful extension of place as the product of local resources, landscapes and culinary traditions. Get a taste of the roles food and agriculture play in rural historic preservation and learn about the related potential for agricultural heritage area development.

Another update with actual food photos will be coming in the near future!