Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Connecting people with their farmers

Face Your Farmer:



We connect people with their Farmers.
Do you know where your food and farm products come from?

‘Face Your Farmer’ connects people in cities to those in rural areas who are our Farmers. We strive to build communities without borders and remove the veil of mystery that separates people from farms.

In this age we face seemingly insurmountable problems with food security, food freedom and awareness around how food gets from farm to table. With a dwindling oil supply, local economies are becoming a necessity. We explore this new economic reality and will bridge this gap through education, advocacy and fun!

These photos capture some of the great interactions from the 'Face Your Farmer' community.

Veronica Daryl Hannah Samantha JohnMarilyn Dee Alex noelle christy Helen Mark Rachelgodfrey Arthur tim 




Monday, June 25, 2012

Prinzessinnengärten

"Moritzplatz, a once thriving community of shopping and commerce, hid in the shadows of the Berlin Wall. In 2009, the sun returned to this forgotten corner of the world. An enterprising group of ‘nomadic agriculturalists’ have freed up the 6,000 square feet of unused land, and turned it all into a 'Prinzessinnengärten'! (or “princess garden”).

The Prinzessinnengärten is a place where families, neighbours, experts of sorts and those curious can come together and build an organic vegetable garden. Everything is grown in up-cycled containers; re-purposed boxes, milk cartons and large sacks for rice, all of which makes for easy transport. When the weather turns cold, the whole garden moves down the block for the winter!

In the Prinzessinnengärten, community gathering is encouraged. On summer nights, large groups of locals meet for family-style dinners. There is also a small cafe (housed in an up-cycled shipping container!), serving organic beverages and an outdoor restaurant which features dishes made from fresh ingredients gathered in the garden and with tables and chairs scattered between green dappled sunbeams.

During the ‘hiver’, or wintertime, the crops are sold at the Markthalle (covered markets) and on Sommernächte, or summer nights when the air is warm, the menus are decided by what is in season..."

Kinfolk Magazine









Friday, June 22, 2012

FarmPlate


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RESOURCES

Trying to find answers to your questions on the web is a little like weeding an overgrown garden—it’s a tedious process. So we’ve gone ahead and done most of the work by picking out the best resources we could find for the sustainable foods community and compiling them into one easy-to-explore list. Whether you’re looking for an extensive list of best practices for organic farming or a trustworthy pocket-guide to sustainable seafood, let us help you find your way.
Need more help or have a suggestion? Contact us and let us know. We’re just getting started and appreciate your input. Have fun learning and exploring!



Thursday, June 21, 2012

Young Farmers: Doug DeCandia

The FarmPlate Young Farmers Series
NAME: DOUGLASS DECANDIA  
FARM: FOOD BANK FOR WESTCHESTER FOOD GROWING PROGRAM
AGE: 26

Give a description of your farm and how you got into farming:

The Food Growing Program is a production operation and a vocational program. At each of our gardens, I, along with students, inmates and community volunteers grow food which is donated to the Food Bank and distributed throughout the county to individuals experiencing hunger. We have gardens on five sites throughout Westchester County (NY) including:

1) Leake & Watts - school for emotionally disabled youth (Yonkers)
2) Woodfield Cottage - school and juvenile corrections facility (Valhalla)
3) Westchester County Jail - penitentiary (Valhalla)
4) Edenwald - school for emotionally disabled youth (Pleasantville)
5) Westchester Land Trust - private residence (Bedford Hills)

Our production practices focus on producing high quality food through supporting a healthy soil environment. We feel strongly that a healthy soil produces healthy plants and thus healthy people who eat those plants. At each of our garden sites we provide a hands on education to as well as work directly with the "at-risk" populations at the site (students and inmates) to grow the food, all of which is donated to the Food Bank for Westchester.

I got into farming after learning about current environmental and social issues that are facing our local and international communities. I wanted to be a part of the progression toward what I feel are better ways, and to be active and connected while doing it.

What did you do before you started farming? Have you found it be an easy transition from your previous job?

I began my agricultural work while I was in college in Vermont. I did not have a career, other than a student, before then. I did find the transition from an “inside” student and idealist to an “outside” student and practitioner an easy one.

What made you choose New York?

I grew up in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York, in the town of Katonah in Westchester County. I went away to college, and while living and attending college in Vermont developed a passion for good work, environmental health and social well-being. I found that I could further develop these passions as well as my physical, emotional and spiritual journey through the practice of an ecological agriculture. I wanted to bring what I had learned, and what I had yet to learn, back to my home. So I returned and am grateful that I did.

What do you produce?

We grow vegetables and provide vocation skills training to “at risk” individuals.

What difficulties have you had, or are you overcoming, and how?

One of the biggest difficulties I have had is how to make money growing food. After a few years of producing food for sale, I found I did not enjoy the marketing or the limitations it created to who received the food I grew. I needed to find a way to make money growing food and to be able to provide what I grew to individuals with limited access to good food, without selling it. I found that ability through the Food Bank, who I currently work with.

What are your goals in the next 5-10 years?


To continue my education and skills as a practitioner of an agriculture which is based in ecology and focused on nutrition.

What advice do you have for any other young farmers who are just starting out?

Have fun.

Note: This post is part of FarmPlate's new series about young farmers.
Contact Jeff Gangemi at jgangemi@farmplate.com

Meet the Newest Crop of Farmers!


American Neo-Gothic: Meet the Newest Crop of Farmers! 






In a time of deep economic uncertainty and concerns with our food system, interest is gaining around one of the oldest and most noble vocations. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Philomath, Oregon, these 21 young farmers are knee deep in local agriculture and despite the tremendous challenges of making a living farming, they're thrilled with their calling. Meet the newest crop of American farmers.

Photos courtesy of FarmPlate.com
>> To learn more, check out 'FarmPlate's' young farmers profile series.

GOOD

Monday, June 18, 2012

Woman Sues City of Tulsa For Cutting Down Her Edible Garden

Tulsa Cuts Down Edible Garden


TULSA, Oklahoma -

A Tulsa woman is suing the city's code enforcement officers after she said they cut down her garden with no cause. Denise Morrison said she has more than 100 plant varieties in her front and back yards and all of them are edible and have a purpose.

She knows which ones will treat arthritis, which will make your food spicy, which ones keep mosquitoes away and treat bug bites, but she said none of that matter to city inspectors.

Last August, Morrison's front and back yards were filled with flowers in bloom, lemon, stevia, garlic chives, grapes, strawberries, apple mint, spearmint, peppermint, an apple tree, walnut tree, pecan trees and much more.

She got a letter from the city saying there had been a complaint about her yard.
She said she took pictures to meet with city inspectors, but they wouldn't listen, so she invited them to her home so they could point out the problem areas.

"Everything, everything needs to go," Morrison said they told her.
When she heard they wanted to cut it all down, she called police. The officer issued her a citation so it could be worked out in court.

She said she went to court on August 15, and the judge told them to come back in October. But the very next day, men were cutting down most of her plants.

They even cut down some of her trees -– ones that bore fruit and nuts -– and went up next to her house and basically removed everything in her front flower bed.

"I came back three days later, sat in my driveway, cried and left," Morrison said.
Morrison said she had a problem at her last property with code enforcement, so this time, she read the ordinance, which says plants can't be over 12-inches tall unless they're used for human consumption. She made sure everything she grew could be eaten, which she told the inspectors.
"Every word out of their mouth was, 'we don't care,'" Morrison said.

Morrison said she used many of the plants that were destroyed to treat her diabetes, high-blood pressure and arthritis.

"Not only are the plants my livelihood, they're my food and I was unemployed at the time and had no food left, no medicine left, and I didn't have insurance," Morrison said. "They took away my life and livelihood."

Morrison finally went to court last week for the citation she got last August at another property. The garden portion of the citation was dismissed and she pleaded no contest to having an inoperable truck in her driveway.

She filed a civil rights lawsuit this week, accusing the inspectors of overstepping their authority.
The City of Tulsa said it hasn't received the lawsuit yet, so it couldn't comment.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

NAVS

North American Vegetarian Society
38th Annual Conference 
http://vegetariansummerfest.org/2012SummerfestProgram.pdf


Vegetarian Summerfest | 2012 Program
Celebrating 38 Years of Advocating Healthy, Compassionate and Ecological Living




PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), narrated by Alec Baldwin. Powerful advocacy tool shows footage (much of it undercover) of abusive, standard practices within animal agribusiness. Documentary systematically chronicles what happens to each of the most exploited species within animal industries. Available on video & DVD, 13 min.   


Friday, June 15, 2012

Urban farming in LA


Silver Lake Farms
Silver Lake Farms blog
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SILVERLAKE FARMS at the  LA FOOD SWAP
http://lafoodswap.com/



3700 Sunset Blvd, 
Los Angeles, CA 90026
323.644.3700

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(Photo by Jo Ann Santangelo) Last spring, a couple months after I started the LA Food Swap, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my inspirations. Kate Payne is author of The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking and co-founder of our modern food swap movement in Brooklyn, as well as the swap in Austin, [...]

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Sometimes, my situation is like this: after a long day, I come home to a semi-empty fridge, relieved that there are still leftovers to eat for dinner. My idea of a good time involves showering, catching up on odds and ends, talking to a friend on the phone, and then going to sleep, ideally by 10:30pm. Very [...]

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From taking cooking classes in India to teaching Tuscan Prince and Princesses how to make marshmallows, Christy Larsen is a doer of culinary generosity. What she learns elsewhere is often interpreted once again in her own kitchen, and then into gifts [...]

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