Flatbush Farm Share CSA, blog

message and opportunities from BFC.

2009-05-29T08:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for contributing to the success of the Brooklyn Food Conference. We had over 3300 people going to workshops, food demos, expos, films, lunches, dinners, speeches, and a kids’ food fair. There was so much learning and networking going on that the air was electric! We saw a broad movement for Food Democracy in Brooklyn in bloom.

Everyone is asking, "What's next?"

Neighborhood meetings
We are planning neighborhood-based meetings in June that we hope you’ll attend. In those meetings we will discuss how to advance any food projects that people in your neighborhood are interested in pursuing and what role a Brooklyn Food Coalition could play. Please let us know if you’d like to help organize a meeting in your neighborhood. We will also organize neighborhood meetings with legislators to discuss ways that our elected officials can help us change the food system. Please see our new neighborhood meetings page for updates.

Opportunities to Get Involved
We will send periodic e-blasts announcing volunteer opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of ongoing organizations and projects working on food issues in Brooklyn. For example, join up with Food Summer and help Brooklynites in low-access communities learn how to get on to food stamps and gain access to healthy food. Help win a strong Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act this year with New York Alliance for CNR. We will also post these opportunities on our Get Involved page.

We would like to thank everyone who made this conference possible!

Kim Pistone, our great executive chef for the lunch and dinner, who made some great food for us all.

Donors, big and small, including Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, Small Planet Institute, Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, New York Methodist Hospital, Lutheran Medical Center, Park Slope Civic Council.

Co-Sponsors, Brooklyn Rescue Mission, Brooklyn's bounty, Caribbean Women's Health Association, Park Slope Food Coop, World Hunger Year.

Over 200 Partners.

And you, over 3300 Conference Participants!

Yours Toward Food Democracy,

The Brooklyn Food Conference Coordinating Committee
Kathie Borowitz
Nancy Romer
Mandu Sen
Adriana Velez (website coordinator)

Food, Inc. - Special Action Packed Premiere in Brooklyn!

2009-05-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

Drinks On The Doc with Food, Inc.

Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009 7:00 PM EDT (7:00 PM Doors)
at The Bell House

As part of the Drinks on the Doc film series http://brooklynbased.net/drinks-on-the-doc/, Brooklyn Based is bringing the Brooklyn premiere of Food, Inc. to the Bell House. Doors will open at 7pm for pre-movie munchies from Roebling Tea Room www.roeblingtearoom.com and Sweet Deliverance www.sweetdelierancenyc.com, as well as several drink specials from local wine and beer producers. Following the film, food writer and Brooklyn Based editor Annaliese Griffin will moderate a q&a with director Robert Kenner and author Eric Schlosser, who also appears in the film. Food, Inc. http://www.foodincmovie.com/ What does the industrial food system actually look like? What are you voting against when you buy the organic greens at the farmer's market and the milk from upstate cows? Corporate and government nepotism, union busting, high powered lawyers and very, very unappetizing chickens. That's how director Robert Kenner tells the tale of American food production in his new documentary, Food, Inc. Featuring interviews with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) the movie explains how what we eat has become more than than a thrice daily exercise in sustanance, but a crucial opportunity to change, or support, an ailing and corrupt system of food production. Fear not, Food, Inc. isn't the film adaptation of The Jungle -- it offers hope for eaters everywhere. Interviews with entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms' Gary Hirschberg and with the inimnitable Joe Salatin of Polyface Farms illustrate that there are fearless farmers, advocates and eaters changing the system, one pig, cow, chicken and bite at a time.

Type of Ticket:

General Admission - $25.00

GET YOURS HERE: http://bit.ly/Jq8CX

The Minimalist - Out of the Wok, Tofu Stars in Dessert

2009-05-16T19:39:00.001-07:00

via nytimes.com

from MARK BITTMAN

FOR many people tofu has become a staple in their diets, and rightly so. Though it is made from soy milk in roughly the same way cheese is made from mammal milk (a curdling agent is added, and it’s drained of excess water), tofu doesn’t take nearly as many forms as cheese. But neither is it solely the stuff of stir-fries.

For example, I can almost guarantee you will be impressed by this dessert, a pudding that takes about as much time to make as hot chocolate. But there are a few qualifiers. Without chocolate, the flavor is unimpressive; it tastes like sweetened tofu. Add chocolate and a few Mexican spices, however, and you have a real winner. And certainly no one I’ve fed it to had any inkling that it was dairy free.

The texture of the pudding, which must be made with silken tofu, is almost unbelievably good. The silken tofu packed in aseptic boxes yields a slightly better texture than that packed in tubs. I have no doubt that if you make your own tofu, or buy it from an artisan, you could improve the texture even further.

More important than which brand of tofu you buy is the brand of chocolate. Without mentioning names, let me just suggest that you use the highest quality chocolate — semisweet or bittersweet, please — you can lay your hands on. After all, it’s the flavor of the chocolate, not of the tofu, that will dominate.

[follow the link for a how to video that will make your mouth water. Yum.]

Posted via web from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

NYTimes.com: Heifer Runs for Her Life, and It's Working So Far

2009-05-10T16:18:00.001-07:00

I am so glad I don't eat cows - They obviously notice something is amiss on the way to slaughter!

NEW YORK REGION | May 07, 2009
Heifer Runs for Her Life, and It's Working So Far
By AL BAKER and ANN FARMER
An animal shelter in Brooklyn gives the 350-pounder who escaped in Queens a name, Molly, and a chance at a longer life.

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

from a list my dad sent me...most likely NY Times

2009-05-07T04:36:00.001-07:00

OUT Premade pie crusts. O.K., these are a real convenience, but almost all use inferior fats. I’d rather make a “pie” or quiche with no crust than use these.

IN Crumble graham crackers with melted butter and press into a pan. But really — if you put a pinch of salt, a cup of flour, a stick of very cold, cut-up butter in a food processor, then blend with a touch of water until it almost comes together — you have a dough you can refrigerate or freeze and roll out whenever you want, in five minutes.

CANNED COCONUT MILK Try this: cook some onions in oil with curry powder; stir in coconut milk; poach chicken, fish, tofu, or even meat in that. Serve over rice.

MISO PASTE Never goes bad, as far as I can tell, and its flavor is incomparable. Whisk into boiling water for real soup in three minutes; thin a bit (with sake if you have it), and smear on meat or fish that’s almost done broiling; add a spoonful to vinaigrette. Etc.

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

Taste Buddies!

2009-05-06T16:15:00.001-07:00

Join the TastebudsNYC team!
TastebudsNYC is expanding to do even more great events and fun food adventures! If you'd like to join our team and help us achieve our mission of creating a community for foodies, please respond by May 20th with the following: 1) a little about yourself 2) your interest in food 3) projects that interest you 4) anything else you'd like me to know.

"The Connection between Food and Lifestyle" workshop with holistic health counselor Erica Mather
You've heard it before-"you are what you eat," and, "junk in, junk out." These are examples of adages that express knowledge so many Americans have lost touch with: that there is a direct connection between what and how you eat, and how you feel, think, and behave. Here in this 90-minute workshop we will explore these relationships. If you're interested in learning more about the food-mood connection, how we burden food with the responsibilities of other area of our lives, and getting some new tips on how to elevate your eating habits (or gain ammunition to educate those around you!) this workshop will prove satisfying. Also, attendees will receive a special offer for a steeply discounted holistic health initial session with Erica.

Date: Wednesday, June 17th, 6:30 PM
Location: Jena Wellness Center, 1133 Broadway, Suite 1107 (26th Street)
Cost: $15
RSVP required. Please email heidi@tastebudsnyc.com

Sharecropper

2009-05-05T08:23:00.001-07:00

via sharecropperart.org

Posted via web from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

a long letter from Food Democracy Now.

2009-05-03T09:11:00.001-07:00

Food Democracy Now! http://www.fooddemocracynow.org
The First 100 Days - Thank YOU! Together WE Made History!
Here at Food Democracy Now!, we’d like to thank everyone who signed the original petition and helped make Sustainable Change at the USDA possible. So far more than 94,000 Americans have signed up at Food Democracy Now! to send a unified voice that America must create a truly sustainable food system for the 21st century.
Because of your remarkable involvement, for the first time in our nation’s history we have a Secretary of Agriculture, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, speaking about the importance of organics, local foods and nutritious school lunches.
Not only does Secretary Vilsack speak about these important issues, he understands the role that sustainable practices will have in helping family farmers meet the challenges of 21st century agriculture. With looming water and energy shortages and the possibility of feeding a world population estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050, the only logical solution that our nation can embrace is sustainability.
Fortunately, this Administration has allowed the voice of reason back into the USDA.
With the naming of Kathleen Merrigan as Deputy Secretary, President Obama has heard the voice of the people. Not only was Deputy Secretary Merrigan one of our Sustainable Dozen, but she has also had a long and distinguished career in guiding positive change in agriculture, crafting the national organic standards and serving as the director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program at Tufts University. We are encouraged by her depth of knowledge and experience and committment to increasing opportunities for farmers.
During the cold winter months of December, January and February, when many thought that the future of agriculture was going to continue down the same old trodden path, members of the sustainable ag, farm and food community rallied at Food Democracy Now! to call for significant changes in U.S. agricultural policies that would benefit independent family farmers, protect the environment and return the right of safe and healthy food to America’s citizens
Because of your united efforts we have gained some significant changes at the USDA and beyond. Not only was Merrigan named as the USDA Deputy Secretary, but Iowa native Doug O’Brien, also a member of the Sustainable Dozen, was chosen to serve as Merrigan’s Chief of Staff.
In addition, another member of the Sustainable Dozen, Drake University professor Neil Hamilton, a fellow Iowan, was named as an informal advisor to Secretary Vilsack.
While we’d love to take credit for their selection, really it's a testament to your commitment in helping create an atmosphere where more sustainable choices were encouraged at the USDA. By coming together and presenting a united voice to the Administration, our community has shown what we can do when we work together towards a common goal.
Changing the Future of Agriculure
These selections will have a positive influence on the future of agriculture in the U.S., helping end the revolving door between government and corporations and returning the USDA to “The People’s Department” as originally envisioned by President Lincoln.
Now more than ever, it’s important that we continue to work together to help this Administration create positive change. And while we may sometimes disagree, it’s vital that we stay involved to educate leaders and citizens on how important sustainable solutions will be for our collective future.
Now is the time to plant the seeds for a truly sustainable food system for the 21st century. There will be trials ahead, but like all the great challenges in the history of our nation, these challenges will be met with enthusiasm and a spirit of cooperation to achieve a common goal.
At Food Democracy Now!, we firmly believe that a nation that can put a man on the moon will be able to meet the challenges of implementing sustainable practices in agriculture and other endeavors.
Sustainability is the future… It is ours to make together.
Let's put our shoulder to the wheel.
Many Thanks,
Food Democracy Now!
If you’d like to see Food Democracy Now!’s grassroots work continue, please consider donating as little as $10 or $25.
http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/donate/

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

Green Renter Lecture Series: Dispatches from the White House Organic Farm Project

2009-04-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 4, 7:00pm

WhereSolar One, East 23rd Street at FDR Drive, Manhattan ()

Green Renter Lecture Series: Dispatches from the White House Organic Farm Project with Daniel Bowman Simon Last year, Daniel Bowman Simon began The White House Organic Farm Project (TheWhoFarm), a quixotic quest to petition the winner of the 2008 presidential election to grow food on the White House lawn. After Waiting For Apples, a solar-powered publicity stunt held outside of Apple’s flagship store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, Daniel and his friend Casey traveled across twenty-five states and ultimately to the nation’s capital on an upside-down school bus with a rooftop vegetable garden. Everywhere they went they talked to folks of all walks to raise awareness about the White House’s edible landscape potential, and gathered heaps of signatures in support of the project. As improbable as their vision may have seemed at the outset, it is in fact, in both spirit and objective, not unlike what has actually come to pass since the White House’s current occupant has taken up residence. On March 20th, with the help of a class of DC elementary school students, First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground on an 1,100 square foot vegetable garden at The White House. Since her announcement, the First Lady of California and the Mayor of Baltimore have announced plans for their own vegetable gardens. In this presentation Daniel will share a colorful account of his experiences on the road in 2008, discuss what motivated him to pursue the project in the first place, and talk about his most recent (and more local) agrarian ambitions: a small vegetable garden at New York’s City Hall. For more information on Daniel's project, visit www.thewhofarm.org

food truths

2009-04-22T04:31:00.001-07:00

more on the movie: http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

___ food movement leaders have their say, in under 5 min.

2009-04-18T21:23:00.001-07:00

TakePart and Grist.org got together at the Slow Food Nation Convention in San Francisco recently to talk to leaders in the Food Movement. Listen to what they have to say and let them know your thoughts.

Watch videos with

Eric Schlosser, Jennifer Fearing, Andrew Kimbrell, Deborah Koons Garcia, Wes Jackson, Raj Patel, Dan Barber, and Anna Lappé

http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/hungry_for_change.php

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

2009-04-04T06:48:00.001-07:00

May 27 - Shortening the Food Chain: Agriculture in Urban Centers
One way to deal with climate change and the resources demands that traditional agriculture make could be to grow food in the urban centers where the majority of people now live. This event will look at potential strategies, including "vertical farms."

21st Century Plowshare: Pecha Kucha Tonight!

2009-03-24T08:03:00.001-07:00

Well - I went to the event I posted yesterday Pecha Kucha - It was a great time. The presentations were so diverse, the sustaining thread being PROJECTS! SO - Energy, vision, making it happen, etc were all messages of the day. People power, human inquiry, graphic messages, were the materials.

Deborah Fisher from 21st Century Plowshare posted a list of presenters and links to their projects.

Check it out, get real. 21stcenturyplowshare.com

Posted via web from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

25th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether

2009-03-13T09:24:00.001-07:00

Saturday, March 21, 2009
9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Email this Event
Add to Calendar
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You are invited on March 21 to join a thousand community gardeners and greening professionals from all over New York City for a day of learning, sharing, networking, and greening inspiration at the 25th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether!

Not only is it the 25th Annual GrowTogether, but this year also makes 30 years since GreenThumb began. This year's workshop schedule is full of fun, interesting, and educational workshops for all ages. Highlights include special anniversary events and return dance performances by the American Ballroom Theatre Youth Dance Company, the youth dancers that inspired the hit documentary Mad Hot Ballroom.
Pre-register by March 10:
$3: Breakfast, workshop, lunch, t-shirt
Register at the door on March 21:
$5: breakfast and workshop
If you do not register, you are not guaranteed lunch or t-shirt, however, t-shirts can be purchased seperately.
Location
Hostos Community College
Bronx
Contact Number
(212) 788-8073

via nycgovparks.org

[BEST deal in the city. Get your garden on!]

Posted via web from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

Pretty Girl.

2009-03-09T20:42:00.001-07:00

via CivilEats.com

March 5th, 2009 By Rose Hayden-Smith

Practical and prophetic, particular and poetic, and entirely personal, this is how I would describe Our Life in Gardens. Composed of nearly 50 essays arranged in alphabetical order, the book is termed by its authors a “gypsy trunk of this and that.” I’d think of it more as an old-time curiosity cabinet, a curio full of treasures to be pulled out and carefully savored, one by one. Part memoir, and part garden how-to, it is a completely engaging book to enjoy, perhaps while sitting in a favorite chair in the garden on a sunny afternoon, or by the fire on a cool, wet day, when gardening might be more of an intellectual pursuit. Read More

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

Sign-Up Now for a new CSA in Brooklyn

2009-03-08T13:07:00.001-07:00

SIGN-UP NOW:
Flatbush Farm Share, a new CSA in Brooklyn

Some our our CSA Core Group members with Chris, owner of the Farm at Miller's Crossing, and his son; Paula from Just Food; and Carette and Josh (VISTA volunteer) from NYC Coalition against Hunger.

FRESH ORGANIC PRODUCE AT A PRICE YOU CAN AFFORD!

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture.

A CSA is an opportunity for a group of people to form a direct relationship with a local farmer. Members of a CSA directly benefit by paying less for their produce - 20% savings in an average year - and by getting a weekly delivery of organic produce fresh from the earth. In exchange, CSA members make a financial commitment to a local farm by purchasing a share of its crops before the start of a season. This investment supports farm operating costs, and guarantees a buyer for their harvest. A CSA is great for you, for your community, for the local economy, and for the environment.

FLATBUSH FARM SHARE
Distribution site: Flatbush Reformed Church
(at Flatbush Ave and Church St)
Share Pick-up: Wednesdays, June 3 - October 28, from 5-8pm
Parking lot on site, blocks from Church Ave Q & B train, and the 41 and 35 bus routes.

The mission of Flatbush Farm Share is to make fresh, organic, produce available to any Brooklyn resident, regardless of economic status. We have 100 shares available for all income levels, and a generous subsidy program for low-income members. By joining our CSA, you are not only subscribing to a weekly basket of the most affordable, fresh, organic produce available, and supporting a family-owned farm, you are also making our mission a reality.

To become a member of the Flatbush Farm Share CSA, start by completing the form here!
Find more information at www.flatbushfarmshare.com

Looking forward!
Stephanie Pereira
Member of the Flatbush Farm Share CSA Core Group

Our partners: Hunger Action Network of New York State, Just Food, NYC Coalition Against Hunger. Our farm partner is the Farm at Miller's Crossing, a family owned and operated farm outside of Hudson, NY.

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

And one more from Organic Bytes

2009-03-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

Study-- Conventionally Grown Vegetables Have Significantly Lower Nutrient Value Than Organics:
The February issue of the Journal of HortScience reports the average vegetable found in today's supermarket is anywhere from 5% to 40% lower in minerals than those harvested just 50 years ago. As Davis points out, more than three billion people around the world suffer from malnourishment and yet, ironically, efforts to increase food production have actually produced food that is less nourishing. If you're still not buying the whole "organic-is-better" argument, this study might convince you otherwise...

More Organic Bytes: Share your Nat'l Organic Action Plan

2009-03-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

Share Your Organic Vision for a U.S. National Organic Action Plan

This week, OCA's Alexis Baden-Mayer is in LaCrosse, WI at the U.S. National Organic Action Plan summit where a grassroots group of organic producers and consumers discussed the creation of a coordinated plan articulating a shared vision, set objectives and benchmarks for measuring organic agriculture's social and environmental benefits, and proposals for the future growth of U.S. organic food and agriculture for the next decade and beyond. Countries all over the world have developed and implemented national organic action plans with clear targets, benchmarks, and protocols to facilitate public accountability of agricultural policies. The U.S. National Organic Action Plan builds on this experience, but it is driven by a non-governmental group of grassroots participants.

Read more and share your vision for the National Organic Action Plan

Via: Organic Consumer's Association newsletter

2009-03-02T10:36:00.000-08:00

Web Videos of the Week:
"Meet the Farmer" TV

This new program looks at the links between eating local and the costs of not doing so. Explore the business of small family farms, and the health benefits derived from eating organic, not to mention the economic benefits to the community from supporting local farms. We've posted two of these half-hour programs to our website for your viewing. Watch how one family starts up their own small farming operation from scratch. In the second episode, watch how this group of people fulfills Obama's request to U.S. citizens to begin volunteering one day per week when they start getting involved helping out at a local sustainable farm.

Watch

Op-ed about school lunch in the New York Times

2009-02-20T07:27:00.001-08:00

From the Chez Panisse Foundation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/opinion/20waters.html?emc=eta1

A First-Timer’s Guide to WWOOF-ing

2009-02-18T08:26:00.001-08:00

A First-Timer’s Guide to WWOOF-ing.
If you’re seeking a deeper connection to the land and local economy, WWOOF-ing takes you right to the source.

via matadorchange.com

Posted via web from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

Anti-coal protest in DC on March 2nd.

2009-02-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

Wendell Berry and Bill McKibben have planned a day of civil disobedience outside a coal-fired power plant near Capitol Hill:

http://eatthestate.org/13-11/LetterfromWendell.htm
http://www.capitolclimateaction.com/

Spread the word!

Act Local

2009-01-31T15:30:00.001-08:00

[shout-out to Ryan, whose chat message pointed me to this website]

VIDEOS: Urban Agriculture: East New York
each link below will take you to one of the five video chapters

"Urban Agriculture: East New York is a documentary video in five chapters that explains how East New York's urban agriculture movement evolved. Each chapter is dedicated to one piece of a complicated process: a portrait of a veteran local farmer in her garden; a trip to the East New York farmer's market; a look at asset mapping analysis by the Pratt Center; land transfers from HPD to Green Thumb; and the investment in the neighborhood's youth made by agricultural organizers and experts"

See the original page: http://urbanomnibus.net/tag/east-new-york/

Posted via email from Stephanie Posterizes The Cloud

Meeting tonight at the Flatbush Reformed Church!

2009-01-28T11:10:00.001-08:00

Reminder from Veda and Amy: tonight's Flatbush CSA meeting will take place at the Flatbush Reformed Church at 890 Flatbush Avenue on the corner of Flatbush and Church Avenues at 7pm tonight (Wednesday 1/28). This will be a chance for the core group to talk about roles and to meet our project partners at the NYC Coalition Against Hunger.

See you there!

Lucky Dog Farm Fundraiser on February 8.

2009-01-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

At the coop general meeting last night, a couple people spoke about a farmland preservation effort in Delaware County, New York. The people organizing the effort are from Lucky Dog Farm, and they are trying to raise money ($40k) to get a matching grant from New York State to purchase the farmland adjacent to theirs in order to protect it from development. It's a compelling story for those of us who are interested in farmland preservation!

http://www.applewoodny.com/events.html
http://luckydogorganic.com/index.html
http://www.nycwatershed.org/lc_crep_archive_lucky.html

Talking About CSAs / Just Food Workshop

2009-01-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

What is a CSA?

It is a direct market relationship in which farmers sell their produce directly to consumers, who purchase a share of the season's produce before the season begins. Through CSA, members develop a relationship with the farmer and the land on which their food is grown -- and share the risks that are inevitable during a growing season.

For talking about CSAs it is good to understand the benefits they provide all around, to farmers, to members, and to the larger community.

Benefits to Farmers:
-capital upfront
- consistent demand
- on the short term as well as year after year
- farmers say: ' don't grow anything you haven't already sold' -- and CSA allows for that!
- less work for farmer (no advertising, etc)
- members share the risks
- allows farmers to diversify
- farmers get better price because no middle man
- allows farmers to be organic (supports them in investing in better practices all aroun
- supports expansion of farmers business (like off-season enterprises such as pickles...)
- they know who is eating their food

Benefits to Members:
- knowing your farmer and his practices
- fresh, organic, local food
- being part of a shareholder community
- less packaging
- confidence that the methods advertised (organic, etc) are actually being used
- learning about food, cooking, agriculture
- eating higher proportion of nutritious food -- because you have a load to get rid of every week!
- supporting a local farmer (and not some corporation somewhere)
- better cost
- better variety

Benefits to the Community:
- increased access to fresh food
- creating a stronger urban/rural connection (economically and in our heads)
- makes organic food more affordable
- better for the environment
- supporting local economy and preservation of local farms
- brings together a broad community
- increases food security

Another way to think about CSA is to frame it as an issue of 1. economic justice and 2. environmental justice.

Economic Justice:
- making quality fruits and vegetables available in neighborhoods that wouldn't otherwise offer these products.
- providing the farmer with a more favorable share of the profit.

Consider this: in the Upper West side there are about 7000 people per grocery store. In Bedford-Stuyvesant there are more than 63,000 people per grocery store! People in these areas are forced to buy at convenience stores which charge on average 8% more than groceries.

Meanwhile, farmers are getting only 19 cents per dollar when you buy at a grocery! All the rest goes to shipping, packaging, processing, advertising. CSAs eliminate all the middlemen and give the full dollar to the farmer.

Environmental Justice:
- providing toxin-free food to communities (especially low-income communities) that are routinely exposed to a variety of environmental toxins
- making it possible for farm workers to work in an environment free of the chemical products routinely used in conventional agriculture.

great csa precedents - from ComFood

2008-12-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.kitsilanofarms.com/index.html

http://www.cityfarmer.org/sharingBackyards.html

http://trashfactory.net/sunrootgardens/html/photos.html

http://www.myfarmsf.com/

http://campaign.constantcontact.comrender?v=001kW6HbTLC6pCjhSZLcC_igUMb7btN1sEuyTSDqyx1iBo_onO8Iz4DI7cWERR3M_TaclsmGMUvEyrQ3A99UVKvbOrUzuHO7EWlpivSd7zkAp8%3D#LETTER.BLOCK5

http://www.notfarfromthetree.org/

http://www.villageharvest.org/

AG SECRETARY BLUES

2008-12-21T05:47:00.000-08:00

There's a lot of discussion going on about how to respond to Vilsack's appointment, should we lobby, should we letter-write -- and one person on Comfood said this:

What if the popular army focused on participating in local actions that restored local food systems and regenerative agriculture to every food shed in the United States? Those local actions could range from building neighborhoods gardens to investing in local food enterprise networks. My theory is that those local actions, mounted on a massive scale, would attract the attention of policy makers through the shining example set by their constituents, by demonstrating that people indeed will build the food systems they want to deliver the healthy food they need, and ultimately by taking the market away from industrial agriculture.

Very few people have the means to petition policy makers inside the beltway. And our advocates in Washington, DC are as constrained by federal policy dynamics as any elected or appointed official. But we all live in our own neighborhoods. Let’s mobilize the popular army to do the work in each of our own neighborhoods.

Perhaps that we can actually create change first and lead the way for the policy makers to follow.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES?

2008-12-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities:

http://www.rwjf.org/applications/solicited/cfp.jsp?ID=20603

More of a designy thing but would be fun:

http://www.24-7sandwichshop.org/

THINGS FOR JANUARY MEETING

2008-12-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

There is so much going on with our little group -- I want to summarize a few of the ideas / updates so we have something of a meeting agenda in January when next we meet!

WORKSHOPS / EDUCATION
Stephanie has taken the initiative to create a fermentation workshop for those of us who want to avoid botulism on our next sauerkraut experiment. This is a great first step in what could be a series of workshops to outreach to the CSA community with educational opportunities. We have talked as a group about being something like a satellite of Just Food's education program to the community -- and inasmuch as we want to work in a neighborhood that might be unfamiliar with organic food / cooking / nutrition -- it is a great outreach idea to think about being a source of information for the community through these kinds of workshops. We should think about how we can begin to make people aware of us.

It can also of course just be info-sharing between us.

WEBSITE / IDENTITY
We're talking about naming and creating an online identity -- which will be critical for our accessibility. I think Unitey, Stephanie, and I are the only ones who have website -ish experience and are willing to work on the site. If you're interested in being involved in the technical end of the site construction, let it be known! Otherwise, I imagine it will progress with a lot of content-input from the group, but the technical parts will be handled somewhere between the 3 of us.

Naming is another matter. We will have to resolve that ASAP and need everyone's input! What it seems we agree on is that CSA is a bit too opaque a term for what we hope to be -- something very open and community-generating. It should be clear from our name what we are up to.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
um, we need a distribution site. Hopefully we'll hear from Paula soon. I think everything is progressing fine -- soon we'll all know everything we need to know.

PRESS!
We were video-ed at our PotLuck the other night by Lisa and Deanna for what might become a segment of a documentary. I think they'll be showing up here and there at our events, which is great.

Also a lingering opportunity that no one has expressed interest in: there's a book that wants to give us a chapter, to be out next year. But I need help!

POTLUCKS
Ghost-member Paula Crossfield was unable to make our meeting last Sunday, but she's very tied into the NYC food community as a writer for SLow Food, and suggested we should have monthly potlucks not limited to our CSA group. She'd like to host one in January (I think you said that Paula ! -- and can I recommend the 22nd? ). It'll be great for networking and getting ideas for what we can do as a group.

FARM TRIPS
Leah is initiating a trip to Stone Barnes, and it might be nice to visit a few farms in the area if they accommodate that kind of thing. I went up to a farm to plant garlic a few weeks ago -- and while it was terrible experience -- it puts real perspective on the issues farmers are facing. Very powerful.

FOOD-EXTENSIONS
Leah is excited to think beyond farmshares and into eggs, milk, composting -- etc. I'm a bit into Fair Trade too, which may or may not have a place in our little group. Things to keep in mind.

GRANTS
Just Food is doing quite a bit of work for us, but Paula mentioned at our last meeting that we might look out for grants, ourselves. The more money we have, of course, the more we can do!

I'm sure there are things I'm leaving out. Let me know. We're bouncing a lot of ideas around all the time, and I don't want to lose track of them. I am seeing a nonprofit or something developing out of everyone's synergy. It's great to be a part of!

Legalize beekeeping in New York City!

2008-12-15T10:13:00.001-08:00

From Just Food, a petition to sign:

http://www.justfood.org/issues/index.html

Just Food's CSA meeting schedule: web link.

2008-12-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here's the Just Food CSA schedule for the year:
http://www.justfood.org/csa/workshops/

Name?

2008-12-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

Howdy!

One thing to think about is a name for our CSA. We could stick with the very simple "Flatbush CSA" or go for something funner. Thoughts?

ra

Flatbush Farm Share CSA, blog

message and opportunities from BFC.

Food, Inc. - Special Action Packed Premiere in Brooklyn!

The Minimalist - Out of the Wok, Tofu Stars in Dessert

NYTimes.com: Heifer Runs for Her Life, and It's Working So Far

from a list my dad sent me...most likely NY Times

Taste Buddies!

Sharecropper

a long letter from Food Democracy Now.

Green Renter Lecture Series: Dispatches from the White House Organic Farm Project

food truths

___ food movement leaders have their say, in under 5 min.

Eric Schlosser, Jennifer Fearing, Andrew Kimbrell, Deborah Koons Garcia, Wes Jackson, Raj Patel, Dan Barber, and Anna Lappé

21st Century Plowshare: Pecha Kucha Tonight!

25th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether

Location

Contact Number

Pretty Girl.

Sign-Up Now for a new CSA in Brooklyn

SIGN-UP NOW:Flatbush Farm Share, a new CSA in Brooklyn

FRESH ORGANIC PRODUCE AT A PRICE YOU CAN AFFORD!

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture.

And one more from Organic Bytes

More Organic Bytes: Share your Nat'l Organic Action Plan

Via: Organic Consumer's Association newsletter

Op-ed about school lunch in the New York Times

A First-Timer’s Guide to WWOOF-ing

Anti-coal protest in DC on March 2nd.

Act Local

Meeting tonight at the Flatbush Reformed Church!

Lucky Dog Farm Fundraiser on February 8.

Talking About CSAs / Just Food Workshop

great csa precedents - from ComFood

AG SECRETARY BLUES

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES?

THINGS FOR JANUARY MEETING

Legalize beekeeping in New York City!

Just Food's CSA meeting schedule: web link.

Name?

SIGN-UP NOW:
Flatbush Farm Share, a new CSA in Brooklyn