Green Communities

Farm Beginnings Program in Nebraska begins May 25, 2013 The Midwest Producer reports the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension will begin its first Farm Beginnings Program on May 25 at the Lincoln-Logan-McPherson Extension Office meeting room in North Platte. The program is a training and support program for people who want assistance evaluating and planning their [...]

2013 NOFA Summer Conference Workshops Announced Join NOFA for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun with people who are transforming the food system in the Northeast. Conference registration is now open, with early bird rates through July 9th  In addition to hundreds of practical skills and farming workshops, the conference features live entertainment, children’s [...]

Gardening, Gleaning, and Farming for Food Banks in the U.S. By Domenic Vitiello, Jeane Ann Grisso, Rebecca Fischman, and Leah Whiteside A report on research funded by the Penn Center for Public Health Initiatives 2013 Excerpt: Food banks have recently enlarged their distribution and promotion of fresh vegetables and fruit. Many food banks are accomplishing this through involvement in and connections to local agriculture, in a diverse range of gardening, farming, and eld gleaning programs. Many food banks are also playing expanded roles in building community food security, especially through programs that support gardeners and farmers. As more Americans need food assistance while, at the same time, state and federal funding for food relief is shrinking, scaling up and replicating programs that distribute and support production and consumption of fresh produce oers a vital opportunity to transform food relief systems. This report summarizes the results of research examining food banks’ engagement in and with local agriculture. e report documents how food banks grow, support production, and acquire fresh fruit and vegetables directly from local farms and gardens in cities and regions across the United States. We include information about the dierent ways that food banks do this as well as estimates of how much fresh, local produce they distribute to hungry people. e report consists of: a brief introduction; a description of our methods; basic summary analysis of our findings; sections on gleaning, gardening, and farming programs, with case studies of best practices at eleven food banks and partner organizations; followed by a brief discussion of some policy implications of their work. Read the complete report here.

Terrace gardening with the Indian pioneer, Dr B.N Viswanath Home and Decor 2013 Excerpt: What inspired you to start a movement of Organic farming, especially on the terrace? Dr. Vishwanath: It happened accidentally. I was travelling from Delhi to Bangalore in 1995, as the flight couldn’t land on time due to some technical reason and flew over Bangalore city for a while… that’s when I noticed immaculate terraces reflecting sunlight. That’s when the thought came in my mind, why the constant rise of temperatures in Bangalore? .Even though, Bangalore is known as “Air conditioned city” because of the pleasant weather. It disturbed me to realize that the Garden City of India, Bangalore, has become a concrete jungle day by day. I didn’t bury that thought in me; I discussed with like minded people and friends and realized that in Bangalore every one used to have an ornamental garden in the front and vegetable garden at the back side of their house. But on the contradictory now every inch of the property is use for construction as the land becomes highly priced commodity. So I decided to bring a change by finding space that we can use effectively for cultivation. In the city I could find space nowhere but on the terrace. Then we studied and developed efficient terrace gardening methodology. Carrying the movement ahead a workshop was organized at Institution of Agricultural Technologists (IAT) Bangalore in 1995. It was inspiring insightful for us to see the large number of participants, they really wanted to know the possibility of using terrace for gardening. There were around 100 people (majority women) including Kannada heroin Ms. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan. Read the complete article here.

Pastured pork chop, zesty greens, fresh asparagus The farmer’s market in Cambridge opened for the season in Railroad Park yesterday. They say  it’s the largest farmer’s market in Washington County. By D.C. standards, it’s rather small. Still, it’s not lacking. And the vendors are not just local farmers and artisans, they’re our neighbors. They all live and grow their food with a few miles radius. What you see in the photo above is a sample from three different farms: pastured pork chop, spring greens with lots of arugula and perhaps the freshest asparagus I’ve ever tasted that wasn’t still standing in the field. Not a big farmer’s market, maybe, but potent Of particular interest to me was a young couple–Jared and Shannon Woodcock–who recently left a 10-acre property to start a bigger farm on 40 acres just a few miles south of us. Jared grew up on a small family homestead and studied ornithology. Shannon, originally from Nebraska, taught kindergarten. On their farm, called Taproots, they raise pastured pork, pastured chicken and duck, free-range eggs, pastured rabbit, organic vegetables, and “coming soon,” grass-fed beef, raw milk and honey. The couple notes in their brochure that “all of the work on the farm is done by hand.” And they really mean by hand, because “we are currently retraining a small draft horse to help us out with the heavy work.” I only wish I had started doing the same thing 30 years ago. But then, 30 years ago you would have had to be Amish to think of farming by hand. As far as sustainable farming goes, people like Jared and Shannon are the wave of the future. I think they could be models for us oldsters as well.

Sustainable Agriculture News Mid-May 2013: Grant Opportunities, Crop Insurance, etc. USDA Taking Rural Business Opportunity Grant Applications: USDA has issued a notice that the Rural Development Agency is taking applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG).  RBOG funds feasibility studies, strategic planning, leadership training and other services and activities that can foster the creation of [...]

Fried pollack with sides of slaw and macaroni salad The lilacs are in glorious full bloom here in Washington County, adding great gobs of color to the roadside scene as I tooled my way to Salem on Friday and the Knights of Columbus’ annual “Moby Dick” fish fry. As you can see from the photo, the portions were more than generous for the $9 admission. Pollock was fried to perfection in a kitchen truck outside Holy Cross Church. The parish ladies set out of buffet of sides, including at least five interpretations of cole slaw and two macaroni salads, one with hard-boiled egg, the other without. I couldn’t help myself: I had two servings. And then dessert, a brownie with vanilla ice cream. Was there a rule that everyone in the basement dining hall had to be retirement age? Where were all the young people? Apparently, anyone under 70 has no idea where the good food is. I had a blast introducing myself as the new guy in town and chatting up the longtime residents. Owner Joe Messina give an evening tour of the vineyards Then it was a 25 mile drive in the pickup to Amorici Vineyards in Valley Falls and the kickoff event for the annual Cambridge hot air balloon festival in June. For the bargain price of $10 you got three glasses of wine from a choice of the vineyard’s product, plus an all-you-can-eat buffet of cheese, hors d’ouevres and desserts. I particularly liked the chocolate mousse-in-a-cup. I took home a bottle of Amorici’s excellent dry Riesling, as well as some rose and a bottle of “apple honey port.” Who knew they were making wine in Washington County? This is an important week coming up in these parts as voters across New York will be giving thumbs up or thumbs down to local school budgets. Here in Cambridge, the school district is seeking approval of an $18.8 million budget, up $1.5 million, one of the largest increases in the area. The district wants to add five teaching positions. The cost of health insurance is up $348,500 and pensions will cost an extra $324,000. Get out your checkbooks, taxpayers. Meanwhile, the federal budget “sequester” is making itself felt even here. Should the sequester continue, according to one report, Head Start services in New York State may be eliminated for as many as 4,300 children. In Washington County, Head Start has had to cut $201,370 from the budget. Meanwhile, all kinds of things are happening in our town of Cambridge. Local Brownie Girl Scout Troop 3627 recently visited the Second Chance Animal Shelter to donate collars, food bowls, pet food and other items purchased with proceeds from their cookie sales. The girls scouts would like to thank everyone who bought cookies this year. The Cambridge Food Pantry, on the first floor of handicap-accessible Embury United Methodist Church, will be open from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday, and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays, “with few exceptions.” Today is opening day of the Cambridge Farmer’s Market, which has moved back to its original location in Railroad Park across from the Cambridge Hotel. This is the largest farmer’s market in Washington County, open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the growing season. You can win a hot air balloon ride, sponsored by the Cambridge Valley Chamber of Commerce, by making a purchase at any number of participating stores. In fact, I was entered after buying some decaf coffee at the food co-0p this week. The winning entry will be drawn by the balloon festival committee June 6. The winner should report to the chamber’s merchandise booth around 6 p.m., or well before the expected take off. On Wednesday, May 22, from 4 to 6 p.m., kids can “climb in, on and through” a variety of trucks and cars that work in the community. Light food and refreshments will be served at the event in Bob Durrin Memorial Park. Students at Cambridge Central School are engaged in a “read-a-thon” in which they raise a penn

The rearing of insects can be carried out in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Insect consumption is a part of the diets of over 2 billion people worldwide! By Arnold van Huis Joost Van Itterbeeck Harmke Klunder Esther Mertens Afton Halloran Giulia Muir and Paul Vantomme Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations Rome, 2013 “Edible insects: future prospective for food and feed security” was launched on May 13th during the International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition. This publication describes the contribution of insects to food security. It shows the many traditional and potential new uses of insects for direct human consumption and the opportunities for and constraints to farming them for food and feed. It examines the body of research on issues such as insect nutrition and food safety, the use of insects as animal feed, and the processing and preservation of insects and their products. Download the book here (201 pages). A 4 page information guide summarizing the findings of the publication can be downloaded here in: English: Français: Espagnol:

Needing $50,000 to manufacture their product Take the guesswork out of growing your own fresh, nutritious herbs and greens with Let’s Patch! Our lightweight, self-watering Patch Planters are user-friendly for kids, grownups and, well, everyone! After a soft launch with our local community and a bunch of elementary school classrooms, we have come up with the perfect formula for fresh, healthy herbs and greens every time. With your support we can go from beta to mega, bringing Patch Planters and a healthy, sustainable food source into more homes around the world. When it comes to food, if you grow it you will eat it. Especially with kids. Imagine if we all started to grow even just a small amount of our own food. Think of how this would benefit our health and lifestyle. Imagine 20 years down the line if kids started growing their own food now. Our current food systems are broken. Let’s Patch it up! Our low-tech, self-watering Patch Planter makes growing good food easy peasy. See their Kickstarter page here.

Developing an Urban Agriculture Master Plan for the City will lead to a sustainable urban system of food production and distribution City of Omaha Website May 10, 2013 Farms to Omaha will be the driving element of Omaha’s urban agricultural programming. The initiative will be farmer-based, with the goal of increasing access to local high-quality produce in our restaurants, grocery stores, and community at large. “The Farms to Omaha coalition will bring about important changes in our how our citizens access food,” said Mayor Jim Suttle. “This coalition of farmers, distributors, and restaurant owners will bring local grains and produce directly to individuals who lack access to local, nutritious food. This will promote healthy lifestyles, strengthen our neighborhoods, create jobs, and keep our food economy local.” In addition to promoting the growth of local urban farms, the Farms to Omaha program will provide resources to support the development of community gardens in North and South Omaha. Furthermore, through a partnership with the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the “Farms to Omaha” program will help strengthen the business development of the urban agriculture economy in Omaha. Read the complete article here.