Locavore News — World

 

Good Eggs expands its delivery service

Since the company was profiled here in July, it has had to move to a larger warehouse, on Tchoupitoulas Street, and has hired several employees. This is its third expansion since beginning in a former horse stall in the Marigny in May. More than 50 local purveyors, farmers, chefs, bakers and cooks offer products through the site. Customers order online and can pick up or have orders delivered to homes or communal sites. The Times Picayune story.

Shopping locally saved family up to 20% off food bills

The Huxley family found they were regularly saving at least 10 per cent and sometimes 20 per cent on their weekly grocery bills. The figures also showed that the lower the proportion the family spent in the supermarkets, the less they spent overall. Mrs Huxley said: “Although the price of many individual items was higher in our local shop than in the supermarket, we weren’t being distracted by all the promotions and special offers which meant that overall we simply bought less. This is Cornwall story.

Executive Ulman launches Howard County Food Policy Task Force

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman on Monday announced the creation of the Howard County Food Policy Task Force, and asked the group to create a Food Hub to serve as a focal point connecting local growers with distributors and consumers. The Hub will increase the consumption of healthy and sustainably produced food. “A smart and sustainable food initiative is the next step in our efforts to make Howard County a model public health community,” County Executive Ulman said. Baltimore News Journal story.

Receive technical assistance to buy, sell local foods

Producers selling local foods can now qualify for up to $3,000 for one-on-one technical assistance. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection also encourages schools, distributors, aggregators and food hubs purchasing local foods to use this technical assistance. “This one-on-one technical assistance is part of the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Program,” said DATCP program manager Teresa Engel. “The individualized technical assistance provided will result in an increase of sales and purchases of local foods in the state.” Post Crescent post

$100K grant to promote local food in schools

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Kansas Department of Agriculture will receive a grant of $100,000 to implement a local food and agriculture education program. The award was one of 71 projects spanning 42 states that support the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s efforts to connect school cafeterias with local farmers and ranchers through its Farm to School program. Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman recognized the significance of the grant to Kansas agriculture education programs. “Teaching children about where their food comes from and how it is produced is a challenging, yet exciting opportunity,” Rodman said. Hiawatha World story.

2013 Maine Food Summit focuses on reworking Maine food production model

UMaine President Paul Ferguson opened the day presenting the responsibility he feels UMaine has as a Land Grant university to “embrace a core value of sustainability” and instill this value in its students. He said if graduates of UMaine don’t come out with an idea of sustainability, “I think we’ve missed our mark.” Mark Lapping of University of Southern Maine, spoke with two other speakers about the New England Food Vision, a report offering three options for a more sustainable and locally sourced New England food system. The plan would produce 50 percent of clean, fair, just, accessible food in New England for all New Englanders by 2060 while leaving 70 percent of New England forested, according to Lapping. The Maine Campus post.

A Meeting of the Minds for Ohio’s Local Growers, Gardeners and Foodies

As the local and organic food movement continues to grow, so does the state’s largest gathering of sustainable farmers, backyard growers and local food enthusiasts. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association is gearing up for its 35th annual conference, with more than 1,200 people from Ohio and across the nation expected to attend.  Spokeswoman Lauren Ketchum said the conference title, “Affirming Our Roots, Breaking New Ground,” speaks to the growing popularity of sustainable foods.  “We’re going to be reflecting on our roots and continuing our focus on the local and organic food movement in Ohio while breaking new ground to help farmers scale up to meet the growing demand for local and organic food,” Ketchum said. Public News Service story.

Too many foodies, not enough food producers

More and more consumers are starting to question where and how their food was produced as the locavore and slow food movements gain traction in the mainstream. Conversely, fewer and fewer young Australians are entering the food production industry, either as primary producers or in the processing and export sectors. Some industry experts are concerned that all this increased awareness of food miles and free-range stocking densities could be for naught if there’s no-one left to produce food in Australia. Food Processing.com.au post.

Do agri-environmental schemes benefit insect pollinators?

Agri-environmental schemes (AES) do successfully enhance the number and variety of insect pollinators, research suggests. They are particularly effective when implemented in arable landscapes which also contain some semi-natural habitat. Europe Science for the Environment post.

Iowa Democrats best Republicans on food and farm policy votes, study concludes

Food Policy Action, a group including the Environmental Working Group, the Humane Society of the United States and celebrity chef Tom Colicchio, was started last year to publish an annual scorecard that grades lawmakers on congressional food policy votes. This year senators were graded on six votes and House members on 13 votes selected by the coalition related to hunger, food aid, food labels and the farm bill. Each lawmaker was then given a score between 0 and 100 depending on how each legislator’s vote matched with the opinion of Food Policy Action. The full results of the survey can be found at http://www.foodpolicyaction.org/. Des Moines Register story.

 

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Russia’s Food Dictator Steps Down — Good News for Georgia?

It is a sad day for world food security. Russia’s national food-taster, the ever-bustling Gennadiy Onishchenko, is stepping down as head of the country’s federal food-safety inspectorate, Rospotrebnadzor. During his vibrant, low-carb tenure, Onishchenko ushered in an era of food-fights with Russia’s nettlesome neighbors. He put the Russians on a Georgian and Moldovan wine-free diet, outlawed Belorusian and Lithuanian dairy products, deported Ukrainian confectionary items, including its famous Kyiv cake, and dished out many other controversial bans. Eurasia Net story.

Locavore News — World

 

Viva la revolucion! Let food grower be the head chef

I think we’re seeing the stirrings of a revolution that might eventually lead to a point where, driven by a passion for the freshest and tastiest ingredients, restaurants and cafes will become food producers in their own right. And who knows, perhaps eventually the food grower will become as valued a member of the kitchen team as the head chef. It’s perhaps fitting that this should be the case in the same year that RTE aired a documentary about Myrtle Allen at Ballymaloe House, where, under her stewardship, they have been literally walking the walk on this issue since 1964. Irish Independent story.

Food swapping: a fast way to free, homegrown food

I’m at my local community centre in Altrincham, near Manchester, where the Apples for Eggs food swap is celebrating its two-year anniversary in a frenzy of cinnamon buns, fruit leather and homemade pesto. The idea is simple: three times a year, when there is a lot of produce about, members meet to swap homemade, grown or foraged food. No money changes hands, and it’s accepted that everything’s been made in a home kitchen. Swapping has proved popular as a way to absorb gluts, get hold of unusual varieties of produce and meet like-minded locals. The Guardian story.

Sustainable Agriculture: Show me the money

Farmers should be thinking about their farms in social as well as economic and environmental terms, is the message the audience heard at this year’s LEAF President’s event at HSBC’s Canary Wharf headquarters in London. “If everyone had free access to green spaces it would add £2.1 billion to the economy in terms of improved mental health and wellbeing,” said Gregor Henderson who is the head of mental health and wellbeing at the newly created Public Health England. “There is plenty of anecdotal evidence about the value of being in the countryside and interacting with nature, but initiatives such as LEAF’s and Sensory Trust’s Let Nature Feed Your Senses are demonstrating a quantifiable impact.” LEAF post.

Locastore

Locastore’s mission is to make eating local food more convenient by  establishing a franchised chain of attractive, micro-enterprise, off-grid stores located both on busy corners and in under-served rural areas. The stores will offer local-only fresh produce, seasonal recipes, and a wide variety of pre-packaged food items made by local food artisans. Locastore will provide a practical new way for Sonoma County residents to improve their healthy food access, and to support their local farmers, food artisans, local prosperity, and community resilience. Website.

Homegrown in Central Virginia

Last year, Jason Fowler and his wife Pam co-founded Land and Table as an offshoot of his project called Sustainable Traditions, where Christianity dovetails with conscientious-green living. The Fowlers wanted to bring those involved and interested in the food movement together not only to network and support one another, but to expand the reach of each member. In winter 2011, three local food movement advocates who believe food has to be grown and animals raised in ways that restore the land and a guest from out of town met. Land and Table was born and started its grassroots journey there. The News and Advance strory.

Elveden Farms Joins Network of LEAF Demonstration Farms

Elveden Farms has become the latest farm to join LEAF’s nationwide network of LEAF Demonstration Farms. It joins over 40 other farms across the country set up to showcase the very best of sustainable farming practices. Based in East Anglia, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, Elveden Farms is one of the largest single farm units in lowland Britain, extending to 9,100 hectares, specialising in the production of vegetables, including potatoes, onions, carrots and parsnips. It also grows a variety of cereals including barley and wheat and is the largest producer of rye in the UK. The farm is LEAF Marque certified, which means it is independently audited to ensure it meets stringent sustainable farming standards. LEAF news release.

Urban farm in Cleveland’s Forgotten Triangle

Despite a tough economy, the urban farm in Cleveland’s Forgotten Triangle doubled its greenhouse space in the last year and produced roughly 14,000 pounds of food for local residents, according to Damien Forshe, Keymah Durden and Randell McShepard, co-founders of the Rid-All Green Partnership. “It’s been mind-blowing,” said Forshe, as he stood recently on Otter Avenue near East 81st Street surveying the six greenhouses where the Green Partnership now grows food year round. “It’s a business now. But it’s a business that brings me peace.” The farm, which is mostly powered by solar energy and stands on property that had been an illegal dumping ground, is named after Forshe’s environmentally safe pest control business. It’s beginning its third year of operation. The Plain Dealer story.

No Need to ‘Reinvent Wheel’ to Increase Access to Local Produce

Supporters of local foods should work within the current food distribution system to increase its availability instead of trying to start from scratch, says a new Ohio State University study. Too often, supporters focus on alternative, direct markets to help farmers increase sales of local foods. But this ignores the reality that 90 percent of all food for home consumption is purchased at grocery stores and similar retail outlets, the researchers said. Among their findings: Existing small and mid-sized distributors in Ohio are eager to work more directly with farmers to get local foods into the marketplace. Ohio State University Extension post.

Amazon Launches Do-Good Site

On Oct. 30, Amazon.com launched AmazonSmile, a separate website that allows shoppers to direct 0.5 percent of their purchase totals toward a charitable organization of their choice. Some products sold on Amazon.com, including Kindle e-books and other digital media products, won’t be eligible for the program. But otherwise, the pricing, selection and experience customers receive on AmazonSmile.com will be identical to the regular Amazon site.Customers can choose from nearly a million charitable organizations. Users select their favorite charitable organization on the first visit to AmazonSmile. They can select a new charitable organization at any time. Retail Wire post.

New green VAT system proposed to encourage sustainable consumption and production

A new economic tool designed to encourage sustainable production and consumption has been proposed in a recent study. To ensure that the environmental impact of products is reflected in their cost, the authors of the research recommend a system of green value added tax (VAT) based on life cycle assessment (LCA). Europe Science for the Environment post.

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Running of the Bulls Comes to America

Thousands risked themselves during the Great Bull Run, an Americanized version of Spain’s running of the bulls. New York Times video.

Key Trends Influencing Aging Consumers’ Food Choices

As more consumers turn 50, the demand for fresher, less processed CPGs will increase. Gen X is more likely to seek organic foods and products, as well as meaningful food experiences via local producers. As Gen X ages, demand will increase for higher-quality, natural and organic packaged goods. Globalization has had a dramatic impact on the approach Gen X and Boomers take to wellness rituals and trends, because of the introduction of global foods, beverages, supplements and practices. Gen X and younger Boomers want their food to be inherently functional and will shun overtly scientific functional foods. Hartman Group post. Report (NOTE: this leads to promos for their services)

Locavore News — World

 

Foodie.fm Online Groceries Expands to the Baltics

Digital Foodie partners with Prisma Peremarket and open a Collect & Go service in Estonia. Digital Foodie, the creator of the award-winning Foodie.fm platform, and Prisma Peremarket, a retail chain operating in Estonia, have established a co-operation and opened a Collect & Go service in Estonia. Prisma Peremarket deploys Foodie Product Suite that includes consumer facing online services, in-store picking and quality tools. The core of the suite is the multichannel storefront built around Foodie’s behavioural recommendation engine. For consumers, Foodie offers personalised product and food recommendations that are seamlessly linked to shopping online. The tablet-based in-store tools cover everything needed to run the online operations from efficient picking to Collect & Go fulfillment. The Sacramento Bee story.

Labour unveils plan to promote food-growing culture in Britain

The UK should have fruit trees blossoming around housing estates, schools with access to vegetable gardens and council allotments for growing fresh vegetables, Labour said on Wednesday while setting out its strategy for the future of food policy. The vision of ways to bring food-growing to the masses was accompanied by measures on reforming food-safety regulations and supporting more jobs in farming. Mary Creagh, shadow environment secretary, recalled the measures taken by the post-war Labour government of Clement Attlee to green the new housing that was required all over the country. The Guardian story.

Schools and hospitals should buy more food locally, Owen Paterson says

Schools, sports centres and libraries should buy more local produce to help farmers in their local areas, Owen Paterson says today. Mr Paterson, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs secretary, said that public services had to do more to help supermarkets and businesses source locally to bring down the amount of food that is imported. Britain imports billions of pounds of food every year – nearly a quarter of all food consumed every year – and ministers are keen to encourage more local suppliers. The Telegraph story.

Freshway Foods highlights Great Lakes produce

Freshway Foods is featuring fruits and vegetables from the Great Lakes region. The Sidney, Ohio-based distributor is sourcing locally-grown produce from farms in Ohio, Michigan and New York, according to a company news release. The rich soil in the Great Lakes region is perfect for fruits and vegetables, and product spends less time getting to Freshway’s customers, according to the release. Freshway’s Great Lakes-sourced produce will be available from July 1 to Oct. 15. The Packer story.

Food festival wins national award despite only being in its second year

Organisers of a community food festival have won a national award after just two years of hosting the event. The Homegrown Food Festival, in Northallerton, took home an Action for Market Towns award in the North Social and Community category at a ceremony in Congleton, Cheshire. Organiser Sally Anderson said the Homegrown group were delighted with the award. She said: “It’s great to get the recognition from a national organisation. We have had lots of lovely feedback locally but it is fantastic to be alongside other similar events from around the country and come out as best in the north.” The Northern Echo story.

Website highlights Iowa’s farm-to-school efforts

A new website tracks statewide efforts to bring local food into Iowa schools, and is being funded through a program coordinated by Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.The website, http://www.iowafarmtoschool.org, includes resources specific to farm-to-school initiatives in Iowa along with information on school gardening projects, the procurement of local foods and nutritional education.The goal is to increase awareness of Iowa’s farm-to-school programs by finding best practices and success stories to archive online, said Flannery Cerbin, a fellow with the national FoodCorps program. Cerbin developed the website with a grant from Iowa’s Local Food and Farm Initiative, which is coordinated by ISU’s Leopold Center. Ames Tribune story.

Rural business – central to the countryside or just an add-on?

Some Local Enterprise Partnerships are setting out proposals such that any group, community or business, working to deliver their strategic objectives should be eligible to bid for funds, irrespective of their location. But others will marginalise or exclude some territories, businesses or communities including rural ones, by their design. Still others have continued weak practices and presumed rural economies only to be farming and food-dependent. Unless Defra and rural stakeholders overturn such outmoded perspectives, rural economies will remain semi-detached from this aspiration. Also, the outcome of the negotiations over CAP offer prospects for a substantial shift of funds into the rural development pillar including detailed choices for investment, environmental enhancement and climate adaptation in rural places. Arthur Rank Centre Briefing Paper 1883.

Homegrown by Heroes Program to Roll out Nationwide

Produce will start looking patriotic if U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has his way. In a conference call today, he praised Kentucky’s Homegrown by Heroes branding campaign, which could soon be in all fifty states. Red, white, and blue labels help shoppers know when food has been grown by farmers who previously served our country in the military. Farming provides a way for veterans to continue serving their country through meaningful work. Secretary Vilsack urged Congress to expedite work on the Farm Bill to support programs for veterans who want to return to their rural roots. Programs include microloans to farmers, support for farmers’ markets and food hubs where their harvests can be sold, and education to help reduce risks. Huff Post blog.

Grants offered for food organizations

The Food Security Grant application is open to all Hancock County and Washington County food security, and awards of up to $2,000 are available. Projects may include enhancing local food procurement systems (systems for purchasing, gleaning, etc.); improving food collection, storage and/or display capacity; training for staff and/or volunteers on nutrition, marketing healthier foods, & food safety; promotion and guidance of improved nutrition practices; and more. Fenceviewer story.

AgSquared Acquires Local Dirt to Bring Interoperability to Agriculture

Interoperability of data and systems are virtually non-existent when it comes to agriculture. But one company hopes to change that. On Wednesday, AgSquared, providers of cloud-based farm management software for small farms, announced that it has acquired OATV-backed Local Dirt, an online local food marketplace and sales management tool that connects consumers and wholesalers directly with farmers. AgSquared has spent the last four years working closely with small farmers – typically mixed vegetable farmers with farms that range from 1/2 an acre to 600 acres of land – to develop planning, management and record keeping software. Today, nearly 6,000 farmers in the US, Canada and 88 other countries are using its platform. Food+Tech Connect post.

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Factory-Farm-To-Table Restaurant Proudly Serves Locally Tortured Animals

Promising cuisine made from the “freshest, most inhumanely treated ingredients,” new factory-farm-to-table restaurant Cage announced this week that it is proud to serve the meat of locally tortured animals. The restaurant, which boasts that it only uses meat raised and slaughtered in abhorrent conditions within a 100-mile radius of its premises, confirmed that it works exclusively with a network of corporately owned factory farms to ensure its suppliers adhere to the highest standards of cruelty. The Onion Spoof.

Locavore News — World

 

Iowa family embraces locavore movement

“But, the customer list kept growing. There was no way we could meet the demand.’’ So, he collaborates with about a dozen “like-minded farmers’’ from throughout the Midwest to help him grow product, which allows for not only more beef, but the variety of items Wallace sells at 13 pickup spots. The system runs like a buying club. Customers order online, then pick up their orders at one of the spots; most locations get one delivery per month. Iowa Farmer Today story.

Sow It Forward

Emerging Funding Source for Food Garden Projects on Track to Double its Giving in 2014. The Maine nonprofit Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI) is pleased to announce that it is once again accepting applications for its Sow It Forward garden grants program. Sow it Forward offers $300-$500 grants of cash, seeds, supplies, educational materials and online garden planning software to groups wishing to start a new food garden project or sustain an existing one. Last year’s grantees included schools, food banks, community gardens, libraries, colleges, senior groups, tribal organizations, prisons and other nonprofit causes interested in the health and sustainability of their local communities. KGI Grants Program. Application (Word, PDF).

Alleyway bar John Mills Himself cares about drink miles

Care about your food miles? Well what about your drink miles? How far our liquor has travelled, the fuel consumed and effect on the environment is something that’s being taken seriously at Brisbane CBD’s newest bar-to-be, John Mills Himself. Seating just 21, Bird reckons John Mills Himself will be the smallest bar in Brisbane. Certainly it will be the only bar in the city that uses no imported liquor and surely the only one that has each drink on the list noted with the “drink miles” it travelled to arrive in your glass. They have also put a moratorium on multinationals, so don’t expect any big-name beers, wine or soft drinks. Instead there will be four locally brewed beers on tap plus locally made cider, Queensland wine and Australian liqueurs and mixers as well as free purified carbonated water. Good Food story.

Locavore movement continues to grow

A decade or so ago, “buy local” was a buzz phrase mainly tossed about during the holiday shopping season, encouraging consumers to pick Main Street over the mall. These days, think farm markets, community-supported agriculture, local food and wine pairing and festivals, classes, programs and contests galore. From the laboratories of Cornell University where New York produce is perfected by science, to the orchards along Lake Ontario where fruit trees fill roadsides, local is hot. It’s so hot, in fact, that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and an entourage of restaurant-industry professionals — many from the New York City area — toured the region during this year’s New York Wine & Food Classic competition, held in August. Those restaurant industry heavyweights were impressed. Penfield Post story.

Locavore

More than 250 people attended Locavore, the Ohio Buckeye Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society fundraiser held at Windows on the River in Cleveland. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, decadent desserts and fine wines provided by local vendors and wineries. Cleveland Jewish News story.

$30K grant boosts local food effort at schools

The city’s school cafeterias are going to be better connected with local farmers, courtesy of a farm-to-school grant. Deb Riso, the district’s school nutrition director, announced Friday that Portsmouth is one of 71 projects in 42 states and Washington, D.C. that will receive support this year through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Program. Portsmouth received a $30,737 planning grant that will affect 2,650 students in six schools, Riso said. The grant will support the CLIPPERS (Cultivating a Local Integrated Procurement Program that Engages Resourceful Students) farm-to-school project. Sea Coast Online story.

Farming’s economic, environmental and social trinity

LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) has a unique role in developing the social, environmental and economic aspects of farming. LEAF aims to generate and exchange knowledge, develop new markets for farmers and engage with the public. It is a bottom-up organisation that can deliver a lot of what society and Government wants in terms of improved food quality and security, environmental protection and better health and wellbeing. RuSource Briefing Paper 1877.

Ritchie named to environmental sustainability list

The New York League of Conservation Voters on Tuesday named state Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie a 2013 Eco-Star. The award honors elected leaders who present legislations to address environmental and energy challenges. Ms. Ritchie was honored for sponsoring the Food Metrics Bill, which will strengthen the state’s local food economy by requiring state agencies to establish a food-procurement tracking system, the group said in a news release. Watertown Daily Times story.

Senate Passes Food Metrics Bill!

A broad coalition of farming, conservation and environmental organizations applauded the State Senate this week for passing legislation that will strengthen the state’s local-food economy and protect New York farms. The Food Metrics Bill (S.4061/A.5102), sponsored by Sen. Patty Ritchie and Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, would require state agencies to establish a robust food purchasing, tracking and reporting system that will provide baseline data about money being spent on food and the geographic source of such food. The bill also lays the groundwork to encourage state institutions to buy more food grown on farms in New York. New York League of Conservation Voters post.

International Year of Family Farming 2014 launched

The United Nations has launched the 2014 International Year of Family Farming to stress the vast potential family farmers have to eradicate hunger and preserve natural resources.  In both developed and developing countries, over 500 million family farms, defined as farms that rely primarily on family members for labour and management, produce the food that feeds billions of people. In many developing countries family farms represent up to 80 percent of all farm holdings. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations post.

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New Wave of Garage Sales

The humble garage sale is about to get a makeover. The Garage Sale Trail will hit Perth for the first time on October 26, giving West Australians the chance to declutter or bag some bargains. Sellers can list their event online and show key items for sale so buyers can map out their day at the many garage sales on “the trail.” More than a million items are expected to be up for sale around the country. Bank of I.D.E.A.S. post.

Locavore News — World

 

How Good Eggs Raised $8.5M To Grow Its Online Local Grocery Marketplace

Distribution logistics is one of the most challenging areas to tackle when it comes to local food. Unlike books or other durable goods, food is perishable and it’s difficult to source from small producers. Traditionally, companies have addressed this by building out huge fulfillment centers where they warehouse goods and use hardware technology to automate the distribution process. Good Eggs is taking a different approach by pre-selling all goods before they arrive at its warehouse and launching multiple smaller hubs in a given region, which reduces the inventory it manages. All of this is made possible through the software solutions it’s developing, which, Spiro says, is what makes the company’s model scaleable. Food+Tech Connect post.

Light shines on our produce

The Shoalhaven is set to become the heart of Australia’s Oyster Coast under a new branding being planned. Stretching from the Shoalhaven to the Victorian border, Australia’s Oyster Coast is about to gain prominence in branding and product labelling, along with a new oyster trail being developed for lovers of the seafood, Ulladulla Oyster Bar owner Ewan McAsh told Friday night’s locavore dinner. He said the branding and trails were deigned to show how, “We have the best oysters and an amazing destination.” The locavore dinner proved to be a real education in fine food, wine and even beer as several local producers spoke about the things they made, and demonstrated the passion that drove them. Milton Ulladula Times story.

ISU researchers track local food sales in Iowa

Sales of locally grown food accounted for at least $9 million in economic activity in Iowa last year according to a new report. Researchers at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University tracked “institutional purchases” of locally grown food by grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes and schools. The researchers say this is the first attempt to try to measure the economic impact of regional food systems in Iowa. Their work went beyond the traditional concept of a grower selling to a consumer at a farmers’ market to track sales between growers and businesses. Radio Iowa story.

Sustainable Buzz Surrounds Tampa Bay’s Locavore Movement

With flavors like pumpkin-spice beckoning from nearly every coffee and pastry shop in Tampa Bay and Thanksgiving close enough to taste, the autumnal season makes it virtually impossible not to think about food.  But when was the last time you actually considered where your food comes from, and more importantly, what its journey from a farm to your table really means?  The Sustany Foundation aims to bring answers to those questions as well as a cornucopia of the best locally grown cuisine to the table at its sixth annual Sustainable Buzz Festival on November 7 at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa. 83 Degrees story.

At These Public Schools, Cafeteria Food Is Healthy, Tasty—and Locavore

School cafeteria food gets a bad rap. But the truth is, as the national farm to school movement has taken off over the past few years, schools have begun sourcing the sort of high-quality ingredients you see at your local farmers’ market. At public school lunch rooms around the country, it’s now possible to taste dishes like shrimp cocktail (with homemade cocktail sauce), grass-fed burgers with roasted potatoes, and burrito bowls with local veggies and antibiotic-free chicken. Realizing how vital farm-to-school programs are to local economies, state governments from Alaska to Texas are encouraging regional purchasing, in some cases doling out grants to districts that want to buy more local and regional food. Bon Appétit story.

National Magazine Spotlights Vineyard Schools’ ‘Locavore’ Lunches

Martha’s Vineyard public school cafeteria staff, students and especially the Island Grown Initiative got a high-profile pat on the back this week from the tastemaking foodie magazine Bon Appetit. In an article posted Friday and titled “At These Public Schools, Cafeteria Food Is Healthy, Tasty—and Locavore,” Martha’s Vineyard is on a short list of seven school systems where students are eating locally-grown food in their campus cafeterias — and even growing their own. Martha’s Vineyard Patch story.

Female hunters on the rise

This year’s hunting season brings evidence of a steady trend over recent years: More female hunters are out in the woods toting shotguns. National Geographic takes note of Census Bureau stats that show women now make up 11% of the nation’s 13.7 million hunters, up from 9% in 2006. What’s going on? The story hits on a slew of factors, including the increased popularity of the sustainable and local-food movements and their focus on paying attention to where the food on our plates comes from. “Hunting may be the next frontier for local food,” says author Lily Raff McCaulou. “I was pretty detached from what I ate before I started hunting.” (And vegetarians, take note: She also eats less meat now, she says.) USA Today story.

Liquid locavores soaking up Wisconsin-distilled products

Like their beer- and wine-producing counterparts, craft distillers produce small-batch spirits tailored to their own tastes and designed to appeal to the liquid locavore. Some of these businesses are small one-distiller operations, others are offshoots of successful wineries — and all offer a unique signature spin. Many produce vodka, the starter spirit for most craft distillers because it’s the quickest route to profitability. Others specialize in unusual concoctions, including the once-banned absinthe, “white” whiskey and “crancello,” a local version of the popular limoncello that features cranberries, one of the state’s top crops. The only limits on new products, it seems, are distillers’ imaginations. Wisconsin Gazette story.

A Locavore Bakery Opens in Rutland

The breads and pastries, all baked with King Arthur Flour, will remain, including rustic loaves such as sour wheat-barley. Billings is especially excited about the bakery’s four flavors of English muffin, perfect for his breakfast egg sandwiches. In December, he’ll introduce bagels to the menu, too. Though locals are sure to pop in for pastries and a Speeder & Earl’s Coffee raspberry mocha or peppermint hot chocolate, the Bakery’s sandwiches might tempt them to sit down and enjoy a meal in the 20-seat café. Seven Days story.

Certification gets conservation easements on the ground faster

The nation’s top easement program for protecting fertile agricultural land is making it easier for people to enroll land through advanced certification.  The Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program is certifying eligible entities, such as states, organizations or tribes, to place lands in this Farm Bill conservation easement program.  USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service administers the program that has protected more than 2 million acres of the nation’s most valuable lands for the production of food, feed and fiber since 1996. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service post.

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Italy’s Emerging Food & Ag Tech Startup Ecosystem

Rural technology adoption in Italy is fairly limited, Helsen and Giordano tell me, as is venture funding or financing of any kind. To address these challenges, Giordano and Francesco Martusciello, co-founder of Gaff Digital Strategy and Grotta Del Sole winery, secured a 1.2 million euro grant from the government to launch Rural Hub, a physical and virtual business incubator that will offer rural startups mentorship, research and connections to funders. Rural Hub organized the rural innovation track at the Internet Festival and hosted an investor pitch day to expose the venture community to this sector. The following is a selection of some of the more promising start-ups….. Food+Tech Connect post.

Locavore News — World

 

Passionate visions lead to locavore education

Recently, I was lucky enough to witness a gathering of people whose dedication to a cause, while often inconvenient, is truly making a positive difference in the world. They did a great job showcasing Keith’s passionate vision for creating fabulous multi-course dining experiences as a platform for consumers to meet and interact with their local farmers, beekeepers, bread makers and chefs. The farmers who sponsor these meals by providing locally grown produce and meats take turns explaining to the sold-out room the health benefits and political ramifications of choosing local over mass-produced products imported from thousands of miles away. For the average Market Basket shopper, choosing to source food locally is not always convenient, but it is considerably more rewarding to go that extra mile when you understand the story behind the farm or farmer you are supporting. Nashua Telegraph post.

Social Media Helps Farmers Avoid Food Waste

Bloomfield Farms general manager Nick Papadopoulos grew increasingly frustrated as he watched his employees repeatedly return from a weekend’s worth of farmer’s markets with unsold, top quality produce that would spoil before the next market day. So he came up with a plan to offer the food at a deep discount and he spread the word by updating the farm’s Facebook status on Sunday nights. The deals were open to anyone on the social media site. One week, the vegetables were snapped up by a group of homeowners in a neighboring community. Another week, a group of friends went in on it. Voice of America story.

Transforming Milwaukee’s Vacant Lots into a New Agricultural Economy

Home Gr/own is pulling together 10 to 20 disparate food and farming related programs in the city such as Growing Power, Walnut Way, and Central Greens. The city-led effort is aimed at transforming multiple problems–unemployment, foreclosures, urban decay–into fertile ground for a new food economy. The city will supply new grower training, small stipends, business development assistance, tools, and water access, and encourage local food producers to sell their harvest directly through farm stands, restaurants, and stores. Foreclosed properties will serve as the new home for some of these endeavors. Down to Earth post.

New initiative to add value to local produce in Niue

The Niue Chamber of Commerce says a new test kitchen is being established to help add value to locally grown produce. The initiative is being spearheaded by an international organisation for food security, the Food Authority Organisation, and the Niue Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Beverley Tse was in Niue and spoke with the Business Development Manager for the Chamber of Commerce about its efforts to develop small, private business and what role the test kitchen will play. Radio New Zealand International story.

In the market for fresh local produce? Power Rangers?

On Oct. 26 and 27, organizers of morning markets across the nation will be getting together in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, for the 18th National Morning Market Summit 2013 to discuss the future of their sector and exchange opinions on the latest trends. For the layman, however, the truly enticing part of this annual event is held on its sidelines and includes a huge exhibition and sales of fresh produce from every corner of the country. A food court serving dishes using vegetables grown in Atsugi is also planned, while the city’s own morning market, which has served locals for nearly 40 years, will offer fruit and vegetables picked from nearby farms. For kids, there’s something special that you’re unlikely to see at any other kind of summit — characters from TV Asahi’s popular superhero series “Jyuden Sentai Kyoryuger” (known overseas as “Power Rangers”), who join the event on Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Japan Times story.

Programs increase children’s access to fresh produce

Eating more locally grown food could improve the health of students and the local economy.

If kids are introduced to fruits and vegetables at school, will they be more likely to choose to eat produce on an ongoing basis? That’s the hope of University of California researchers who studied schools that served meals prepared with local produce. The dramatic rise of obesity and diabetes in children has prompted nutrition experts to encourage parents to offer their children a more healthful diet with more produce. Yet fewer than 10 percent of California children consume the minimum recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, according to a 2009 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. South County Recorder Online story.

 

Get a taste of local produce

Native beef and lamb, cheese and seaweed will be among the culinary delights on offer at an event in the Clickimin complex next month. Following the success of last year’s event the Shetland Food Producers’ Group will showcase an array of produce to coincide with the Christmas Craft Fair from 15th to 17th November. Up to 20 stallholders will whet visitors’ appetites with home-grown vegetables, beef and lamb, fine cheeses, artisan bread, cakes, pies, confectionery, beers and seaweed products. Shetland Times post.

Showcase of the best in local produce

Thousands flock to the event with fantastic feedback about this popular annual event. The very best of locally produced food drew a record crowd to Llangollen at the weekend. Foodies came in record numbers for a taste of the 2013 Hamper Llangollen food festival providing a big boost to the local economy.  The town’s pavilion was packed to capacity giving visitors the opportunity to browse stalls offering everything from hand-produced liquors to spice infused honey and home churned butter to delicious decorated cup cakes. Daily Post story.

New Jacksonville store to offer local produce, 65 jobs

Much of the produce comes directly from farmers, growers and packing plants. By eliminating distribution warehouses, it gets the food faster and keeps prices lower, he said. It may carry some cheeses, but there will be little or no canned goods, dry or packaged products and minimal frozen foods, Wagner said. Freshfields grinds it own peanut butter in the store and has a soft-serve ice cream shop, where customers can add their own toppings. It will use as much local produce as possible. Florida Times-Union Call Box story.

This app can find you local produce in winter

Randy Anderson is trying to ramp up markets’ marketing game using mobile technology. His app, Foodlander, uses geotargeting and push notifications to alert shoppers when they’re in the vicinity of a farmers market, telling them what’s available and offering deals. Even in winter. The app has had about 500 downloads since launching over the summer at Green City and 61st Street markets. It’s grown to include 36 vendors at more than 60 markets in Chicago and the suburbs. Foodlander charges vendors — like Nichols Farm & Orchard, Provo’s Bakery, Sharpening by Dave — $5 a month to list their products in the app. Chicago Grid story.

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Catching the Bug for Entrepreneurship

A new food product may soon be flying — or at least hopping — off Bay Area grocery shelves: cricket protein bars. Chirp, a startup from first time Bay Area-based entrepreneur John Heylin, is attempting to create a more sustainable form of protein by convincing consumers to eat bugs. San Francisco Business Times story.

Locavore News — World

 

Oregon Farm to School Program

FoodHub boasts a list of over 230 pre-schools, K-12 schools, colleges, and health care facilities interested in purchasing locally. Logon for free at http://www.food-hub.org and start meeting schools interested in purchasing locally. What locally produced foods are schools buying? Everything! Many farm to school efforts start off with schools purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables directly from neighboring farmers. Schools want fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables, as well as multi-ingredient menu items. Increasingly, schools are interested in locally produced grains, beef, and seafood. Oregon Department of Agriculture website.

Assemblyman Gordon Supports Local Agriculture with New ‘Farm to Fork’ Legislation

As Sacramento debuts its inaugural Farm-to-Fork Week earlier this month, Governor Brown signed a measure that will help bring consumers closer to the farmers and ranchers who produce the food we eat. Authored by Assemblyman Rich Gordon (Menlo Park), AB 224 leads the country in defining Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs into statute and provides guidance over the development of CSA regulations. Half Moon Bay Patch story.

Small-scale farming of diversified crops offers sustainable solution to global hunger

“Small-scale farmers hold the key to cultivating and preserving biodiversity in agriculture. They grow indigenous fruits, vegetables, and legumes all over the world that not only make up diverse, healthy diets, but also provide much-needed nourishment for soils, conserve limited water resources, and cut down on the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” says Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank’s co-founder. High Plains Journal post.

New California law aims to cultivate urban agriculture

Like many of California’s urban agriculture practitioners, however, Caitlyn Galloway is plagued by a key uncertainty: She is on a month-to-month lease with a landlord who must recoup the lot’s steep property taxes and may soon sell or develop. Now, California cities and counties eager to encourage community gardens and small-scale farms in urban pockets have a novel tool at their disposal that could help solve Galloway’s problem. Legislation recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown will allow municipalities to lower the assessed value — and property taxes — on plots of three acres or less if owners pledge to dedicate them to growing food for at least five years. Los Angeles Times story.

23 Mobile Apps Changing the Food System

There are lots of apps for those interested in eating more healthful food, wasting less food, finding sustainable sources of seafood, or buying seasonally. These 23 apps for mobile devices and tablets are helping eaters, producers, advocates, and activists lead less wasteful and more environmentally sustainable, healthy, and delicious lives. FoodTank post.

Boris’s gardens to feed pupils

Every school in London (UK) is to have a vegetable garden, mayor Boris Johnson will announce this week, as a poll reveals that one in three children in the capital is too hungry to concentrate in class. The push to give every school a garden is one of several steps being taken by Johnson and his food adviser, journalist Rosie Boycott, to encourage poorer families to eat more healthily. Sunday Times story.

The 2nd Annual Locavore Challenge

The Cornwall Community Co-op invites anyone who would like to become a Locavore and participate with us in the Locavore Challenge for the month of September. To the best of our ability, we will eat food grown, raised or caught within 100 miles of Cornwall for the entire month. The Co-op will have information about the Locavore Challenge at the Co-op table at every Farmers Market. Stop by and get your Locavore Card punched and questions answered. Let’s have some fun and promote health within Cornwall by eating locally all month long! Cornwall on Hudson post.

Farm Aid 2013 HOMEGROWN Village

Savvy Farm Aid fans know that main stage music isn’t the only source of fun and excitement during the annual concert. And this year’s HOMEGROWN Village, open all afternoon and located on the back lawn of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, is going to be bigger and better than ever! Inside the HOMEGROWN Village, over 50 food and farm groups, artists and DIY agrarians from across the country—from the local to the national—will offer a wealth of interactive exhibits for your entertainment and edification. Come on out to the Village and get your hands dirty! Farm aid post.

UW-W Garden Aims to Sustain, Teach

The organic garden on campus aims to not only feed the community but teach students about sustainability. The project began after garden adviser Tom Karthausser read “The Good Food Revolution” by Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power. This book describes Allen’s transition from an executive at Kentucky Fried Chicken to a small-scale urban farmer in the Milwaukee area. The book stresses the importance of local farming and health. The Learning Communities department deployed Karthausser and fellow garden adviser Kara Meissen to a Growing Power conference in Milwaukee to learn from others around the country about the opportunity to begin an organic food revolution of their own on campus. Royal Purple News post.

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Healthier croissants and Danishes, better WOW from smarter drinks and soy-dairy cheese tech on offer from University of Guelph to global agri-businesses

Agri-food companies from 14 countries have spent $24 million over past five years to take advantage of University of Guelph research capability, with Americans and Germans in the lead. Whether it’s building a better Danish, expanding the types of ingredients that can be used in the next generation of smart beverages or a new soft-ripened cheese made healthier by soy products, the Ontario Food Cluster is inviting global agri-food firms to set up subsidiaries in Canada’s largest province. As part of Ontario’s 3,200-company, $39 billion agri-food sector, these companies can take advantage of University of Guelph (U of G) research programs that produce partnership and licensing opportunities on innovations like these. Ontario Food Cluster post.

Locavore News — World

 

Top 3 US cities for locavores

Estately puts it this way: A hundred years ago, most Americans were unintentional locavores, consuming the majority of their calories from nearby farms, if not their own….. All that changed with globalization, and pretty soon Americans were eating exotic fruits from the tropics and Peruvian asparagus in November. Things were grand until suddenly there was a food revolution and millions of Americans decided they preferred locally-sourced foods because the flavor was better and the carbon footprint was smaller. But not all cities are conducive to this movement. Harsh climates, poor terrain,  and lack of open land for farming make eating locally difficult for some parts of the country, and not all locations are acculterated to care about such concerns. Yet other cities are uniquely qualified to please the locavore. Estately has rated the top 6 such cities, and today we bring you the top 3 (in the gallery above), of which San Francisco takes third place. SFGate post.

Poste’s Plan to Corner the Locavore Market

Seasoned toque Dennis Marron got a taste of what it’s like to partner with surrounding farms and small-batch producers while juggling cooking duties at the twin Kimpton Hotels properties across the river in Alexandria, Va., the swanky Grille at Morrison House and presidentially inspired Jackson 20. He’s kept up that tradition — nay, deftly improved on it — since moving to Penn Quarter, choreographing an “all local” happy hour at Poste Moderne Brasserie (555 Eighth St. NW) that spotlights many rising stars from the area. The eco-minded program was launched in February with sustainability and local supping/slurping in mind. Roll Call story.

Take the Locavore Challenge

Shopping with your local farmer is just one way of strengthening our local food system. But we can’t eat our way to sustainability. Only by providing a voice to the food movement will we collectively facilitate change. We can do this by educating ourselves, sharing that knowledge with others, and advocating for change by voting with our forks and our ballots. You can get started today, simply by taking the NY Locavore Challenge. Watershed Agricultural Council post.

Texas ranks last in Vermont group’s local food index

Strolling of the Heifers, a Vermont-based local food advocacy group, released its second annual Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index, ranking the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of their commitment to local foods. Using recent indicator data from multiple sources, the index incorporates farmers markets, consumer-supported agriculture operations (CSAs) and food hubs in its per-capita comparison of consumers’ interest in eating locally-sourced foods — also known as locavorism. The top five states for locavorism, according to the index, in order, are Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Iowa, while the bottom five are Nevada, Arizona, Louisiana, Florida and Texas. Strolling of the Heifers Executive Director Orly Munzing said the purpose of the index is to encourage local food efforts in every state. Times Record News Wichita Fall, Texas story.

14 Initiatives Educating Youth about Agriculture

It’s back-to-school time for children, adolescents, and young adults in many countries all over the world. Once these students have returned to their classrooms, however, it’s unlikely that they’ll be learning about food and nutrition. According to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, in the United States alone, elementary school students only receive an average of 3.4 hours of food education per year. Food Tank has compiled a list of 14 initiatives all over the world that are educating youth about agriculture, and creating a genuine interest in safe, sustainable, and healthy food. FoodTank post.

St. Peter Cafe to be Featured in Locavore TV Program

The locavore movement, doing your best to eat food that travels the *least to your dinner table, is gaining in popularity. So much so, that a television series on local examples is in the works right now. Host Mary LaHammer says, “It’s called Farm Fresh Road Trip. We take a road trip all around the state and show people you can eat an entire meal in different parts of the state. An appetizer, lunch, dinner and a dessert. And dessert is right here at River Rock in St. Peter.” Mary LaHammer, host of At the Capitol on TPT’s latest project will scour the restaurants, cafes and coffee shops of Greater Minnesota looking for the best locavore cuisine. KEYC TV Mankato story.

“Locavore” Dinner to Feature 12 Farmer/Chef Pairs

Next Saturday, in celebration of Kā’anapali Beach’s latest accolade as Trip Advisor’s “#1 Beach in the Nation” and the resort’s 50th anniversary, Kā’anapali Beach Resort will be hosting an open-air event. The oddly named “5-0 Book ʻEm Dinner” begins at 6:30 p.m. on the third hole of the Kā’anapali Golf Course. Twelve of Kāʻanapali’s best chefs are pairing up with Maui farmers to present “farm to fork” cuisine with wine selected by Southern Wine & Spirits. Show up hungry, because each chef will be making two dishes – one hot and one cold – each. Maui Now story.

Anger as prisoners, not pupils, given local food

Parents are spitting feathers after it emerged schoolkids are being fed chicken imported from as far away as Thailand – prompting claims children are being treated like “second-class citizens”. Chicken served to children in Edinburgh and East Lothian is shipped from countries including Poland, Thailand, Holland and Brazil according to revelations unearthed under Freedom of Information (FOI) powers. The news – which comes fresh on the back of the horsemeat scandal – has been compounded by the revelation that convicts at Saughton Prison are fed chicken from a firm which sources produce locally from farms in “Aberdeenshire, Speyside and Ayrshire”. The Scotsman story.

San Francisco’s Problem with Homeless Chickens

Animal lovers are squawking over what they say is the dark side of the locavore movement. The idea of living life like a locavore is to limit food and drink to locally produced goods. For many, being a locavore means raising chickens in their backyards. Unfortunately, some locavores have a change of heart, and are abandoning the fowl, much to the dismay of San Francisco’s Animal Care and Control. “More often than not we end up with roosters from people who decided urban farming was a great idea, wanted fresh eggs, and as the chick grew up it turned out not to be a hen laying eggs but rather a rooster so they turn them in.” SF Bay Area story.

A Greedy Man In A hungry World

My 95 year old mom thinks that Peruvian asparagus airfreighted to her grocery is the apex of human civilization and technology; she’s still amazed that she can eat fresh spears all year and does, day in and day out. When I tell her she shouldn’t, she says I’m crazy and reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking. So when I read British restaurant critic Jay Rayner’s article in the Guardian, Why worrying about food miles is missing the point, I felt I had to respond, a matter of defending Our Way of Life™. Rayner left a long and thoughtful comment on the post. TreeHugger book review.

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Military Supermarkets Testing E-commerce Tech

Active duty military personnel and their families can now order groceries at near-wholesale prices online. The Pentagon is testing a new e-commerce program for commissaries, Click2Go, which lets customers order groceries online and then do curbside pickup and payment at their base commissary. Fast Company post.

Locavore News — World

 

118 Twitter Feeds Every Food Activist Needs to Follow

For anyone interested in changing the food system today, Twitter has proven to be a valuable tool for getting updated on current events, taking inspiration from individuals and organizations in the field, and simply gaining publicity. With an estimated 200 million active users sending out a collective 400 million Tweets per day, it’s an effective and engaging forum for food movement activists – eaters, farmers, writers, and researchers all over the world. FoodTank post.

 

Praise for food sourcing policy

Stirling is the only area in the country where schoolchildren can lunch on chicken reared in Scotland. An investigation by the Scottish Green Party found that of the eight city councils in Scotland, only seven serve in their schools chicken sourced from abroad. In comparison, 90 per cent of the chicken served up in Stirling Council’s schools comes from Scotland, while the other 10 per cent comes from the rest of the UK. Stirling is involved in the Soil Association’s Food for Life scheme, which sets out the standards for sourcing food locally. Stirling Observer story.

 

Soil Association’s Food for Life Partnership

programme founded in 2007 and developed with five years’ (£16.9 million) of BIG Lottery funding. It is now being commissioned by local authorities and public health teams around England due to its proven positive impact on children’s health and wellbeing. Our network of schools and communities across England is committed to transforming food culture by: a) Revolutionising school meals to be fresh, seasonal, local and organic; b) Reconnecting young people with where their food comes from; and c) Inspiring families and communities to grow and cook food. Website.

 

Are payments for environment services (PES) a glass half full or half empty?

For two scientists, the goals and potential impact of PES are part of a longstanding debate that recently took a new turn. Along with 32 other authors, Roldan Muradian – a senior researcher at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands – published ”Payments for ecosystem services and the fatal attraction of win-win solutions” in Conservation Letters, a journal that focuses on biological and social sciences.

Sven Wunder, a principal scientist with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), published a response in the same journal: “When payments for environmental services will work for conservation”. Thompson Reuters Foundation post.

 

Live Nation commits to local produce, humane meat at outdoor venues

Live Nation is swapping out its conventional fast-food offerings for hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages with humane bona fides at its 38 amphitheaters in the United States, and will only source produce from a 100-mile radius of the venue. (The change is only at its amphitheaters, which include the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel and the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden — serving locally-sourced produce at indoor venues in February might mean a lot of baked potatoes.) NewJersey.com story. Live Nation press release.

 

Michael Pollan Talks ‘Cooked’ On ‘Colbert Report’

Michael Pollan stopped by “The Colbert Report” last night to talk about his new book (out today!), “Cooked: A Natural History Of Transformation.” “What’s the latest locavore flim-flam in this one?,” Colbert ask Pollan. Pollan offers a compelling answer. “The most important thing about your diet is not a nutrient, but an activity: cooking.” Huffington Post.

 

State launches ‘Choose Colorado’ tour to promote local food

Colorado Department of Agriculture officials are hitting the road for their first-ever statewide “Choose Colorado” tour this month, heading to communities to pump up their 14-year-old Colorado Proud program for labeling and promoting locally made agriculture and food products. Standing just inside a Safeway store in south Denver Thursday, Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar noted there now are more than 1,900 companies in the initiative, ranging from farms to food manufaturers to breweries and wineries. Denver Business Journal story.

 

Who Buys Food Directly from Producers in the Southeastern United States?

Selling food direct from the farm? Ask consumers about their family illnesses. That advice came from 2012 research among consumers in four major cities in the southeastern region of the U.S. When researchers examined who buys food directly from producers they discovered impact related to: a) Illness among respondents and their related family members. On average, about half reported that they and/or immediate family members had experienced four occurrences of illnesses involving cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity; b) Relatively greater understanding of the agriculture industry; and c) •Higher levels of physical activity. Paper.

 

Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act

In order to create, strengthen, and expand local farm and food economies throughout Illinois, it shall be the goal of this State that 20% of all food and food products purchased by State agencies and State-owned facilities, including, without limitation, facilities for persons with mental health and developmental disabilities, correctional facilities, and public universities, shall, by 2020, be local farm or food products. The Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council established under this Act shall support and encourage that 10% of food and food products purchased by entities funded in part or in by State dollars, which spend more than $25,000 per year on food or food products for its students, residents, or clients, including, without limitation, public schools, child care facilities, after-school programs, and hospitals, shall, by 2020, be local farm or food products. Illinois Act.

 

Library Program Focuses on Local Food

Are you interested in learning more about local food and how local produce can generate economic growth in a community? If so, you may want to check out a program at the Grayslake Public Library from 7 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 21 titled: “The Green Series: 20% Local Food by 2020.” The 2007 Illinois Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act calls for a statewide 20 percent procurement goal of local food by the year 2020, according to the Grayslake Area Public Library. The seminar will be presented by Gianna Fazioli, the Local Foods Coordinator at College of Lake County and a part-time faculty for the Horticulture Department. Grayslake Patch story.

 

Illinois Local Food Farms and Jobs Council

Our educational purpose will help achieve the Illinois General Assembly purpose for the Council which is as follows: To facilitate the growth of an Illinois-based local farm and food product economy that revitalizes rural and urban communities, promotes healthy eating with access to fresh foods, creates jobs, ensures a readily available supply of safe food in an emergency event and supports economic growth through making local farm or food products available to all Illinois citizens. Website.

 

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Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen Parody

You cannot beat the farmin’ life

I love it so much

Just to letcha’ know that

I love it so, so much

 

Video produced by Justin, written by our cousin Sam and Justin, helped by Jake. Inspired by ” I’m Farming and I Grow It ” by The Peterson Farm Bros. YouTube video.

Locavore News — World

 

How Social Media and Online Grocers Transformed the Food Business

The public, it is clear, is going back to its hunter-gatherer roots, but the bows and stone knives are now blog posts and tweets. A study by The Hartman Group points out that social media is changing “the way we think about, talk about and experience food,” finding that 52 percent of Americans have “liked” a food brand on Facebook while 43 percent regularly use social platforms to plan their meals. AdWeek story. Hartman Group study.

Dig, Eat, & Be Healthy: A Guide to Growing Food on Public Property

Growing food on public property – from vacant fields, to schoolyards, parks, utility rights-of-way,  and even the rooftops of public buildings – can yield a diverse crop of community benefits. Fresh, healthy food is just the beginning: growing food on public property can also promote civic participation, public safety, food literacy, job skills, and urban greening – in short, healthier, more vibrant places. This guide provides users with the tools they need to access public land for growing food. ChangeLab Solutions post.

Maine at pinnacle of ‘locavore’ agriculture

Maine’s third largest export product is its potato crop, largely restricted to Aroostook County. But that could be changing. A very, very quiet revolution is taking place in Maine’s countryside, and it has the potential to change how we grow and purchase the food we eat, but also what we eat. I am speaking of the locavore movement, which is changing farming forever, and in a very good way. The Times Record story.

The No Nonsense Guide to World Food

It’s not a worm’s eye view of the food world, but then it’s not a bird’s eye view either. The brand new and totally rewritten edition of the No Nonsense Guide to World Food is written by Wayne Roberts, longtime manager of the Toronto Food Policy Council, who sees the world from between the blades of a grassroots movement, mainly in Ontario, where he’s lived most of his life. Friendly and down-to-earth. Nourishing Communities post.

Fifth Annual Backyard Locavore Day

The fifth annual Backyard Locavore Day, hosted by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension program, will visit gardens in 10 communities in southern Maine, among them Jeanne Christie’s vegetable, fruit and herb gardens in North Windham. The Backyard Locavore Day is rising in popularity, with 150 tickets sold last year and about 300 people expected to attend this year, said organizer Andrea Herr of UMaine Cooperative Extension, based at Tidewater Farm in Falmouth. Lakes Region Weekly story.

Landscape scale agri-environment schemes

A landscape-scale approach to agri-environment schemes might improve their success but this would involve more partnership working for farmers and would require policies to encourage collaboration Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University. Arthur Rank Centre briefing.

Oak Cliff’s Urban Acres tops $30,000 Kickstarter goal for farmstead at new location

Wow! I just checked the Kickstarter website, and Urban Acres is within $1,000 of its $30,000 goal with eight days left in the campaign. I can’t help but think that Tiffany Le’s Dallas Morning News Metro cover story this morning gave the cooperative-CSA hybrid a boost, describing plans/aspirations for its new North Oak Cliff location, which includes room for an aquaponic garden, a bee and butterfly garden, porch with rocking chairs, coffee bar and more. The Dallas Morning News story.

Kickstarter Campaign Launched for on-Line Cooking Show Montana Locavore

The goal of this project is to produce an on-line cooking show that explores local food culture in Montana. We will feature a wide range of local chefs preparing simple and inspiring recipes that promote products from local farms and food producers.  Montana Locavore will be released quarterly on-line. Each episode will feature four recipes, two local chef’s each preparing two recipes of their choice. Each recipe will generally be 20-35 minutes in length. Each episode will contain over two hours of video content. Each chef will use one featured ingredient from a local farm or food producer that will be accompanied by a local business profile. SBWire post.

The Culticycle: a Pedal-Powered Tractor

The Culticycle is a pedal powered tractor that can cultivate, seed, spray, or pull gear for most low horsepower tasks. Small tractors do many jobs very well and very fast, but also consume fuel, compact soil, cost a lot, and cause physical damage to the operator -– mainly spine and joint problems. Many of their jobs could be done, slower but better, by human pedal power. No Tech Magazine post. Picture.

Locavore Wood and Grass Energy Conference

The Virginia Bioenergy Network invites the public to a first of its kind, day long discussion on opportunities for growing local wood and grass energy crops to serve schools and other public buildings. Attendees will learn how “locavore energy” can be used for meeting heating, cooling and power needs, providing a stable and low-cost energy alternative to fuel oil and propane. WatchList News post.

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£200 million programme delivers growth support for England’s most ambitious small businesses.

“The UK boasts vibrant small and medium sized businesses that have the chance to become the household names of tomorrow. “With targeted support we are giving entrepreneurs a fantastic opportunity to take their businesses forward to succeed both here and abroad. I look forward to seeing what this great programme helps them achieve in the future.” UK Government announcement.