Growing new farmers

http://thegreenhorns.wordpress.com/
is a blog with information for new farmers and on the site there are wonderful links

http://thegreenhorns.net/ is a site about a documentary film on new farmers

http://beginningfarmers.org/
is an online resource of information

WHAT?!? Frito- Lay is going local?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/dining/13local.html

Read the article in the NY TIMES, here's an excerpt:

"Frito-Lay is one of several big companies that, along with some large-scale farming concerns, are embracing a broad interpretation of what eating locally means. This mission creep has the original locavores choking on their yerba mate. But food executives who measure marketing budgets in the millions say they are mining the concept because consumers care more than ever about where their food comes from.

“Local for us has two appeals,” said Aurora Gonzalez, director of public relations for Frito-Lay North America, which is owned by PepsiCo. “We are interested in quality and quickness because we want consumers to get the freshest product possible, but we have a fairly significant sustainability program, and local is part of that. We want to do business more efficiently, but do it in a more environmentally conscious way.”

The original “eat local” movement, an amalgam of food and environmental politics, came of age a decade or so before the term locavore was coined in 2005.

"To a certain set of believers, supporting locally grown food is part of a broad philosophical viewpoint that eschews large farming operations, the heavy use of chemicals and certain agricultural practices, like raising animals in large, confined areas.

“The local foods movement is about an ethic of food that values reviving small scale, ecological, place-based, and relationship-based food systems,” Ms. Prentice said. “Large corporations peddling junk food are the exact opposite of what this is about.”

"But people on the other side of the argument say the widening view of what it means to eat locally is similar to the changes the term organic went through as it grew from a countercultural ideal in the 1960s and 1970s to an industry with nearly $25 billion in sales last year. A related debate about how to define sustainable farming is now gathering force in government, agriculture and business."

Chefs created Farmed & Foraged Menus for May 15 -17th

Delicious spring flavors described here

Ruralintelligence.com Reporter Marilyn Bethany forages with Old Inn on the Green Chef Peter Platt

Michael Pollan on What to Eat

Pollan talks with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now about food, farming, Michelle Obama's organic garden at the White House, the new Secretary of Agriculture, and School Lunches
Read the interview here

An Interview with Jennifer Foley of Berkshire Co-op Market

Looking to find lots of local produce and products in a one-stop shop? Then check out the Berkshire Co-op Market on 42 Bridge Street in Great Barrington. This Member/Owner-owned operation offers organic produce and groceries, and is open to all Owners and shoppers. The Co-op also has a large hot bar and salad bar selection, a cafe, and Grab-and-Go choices. You can find the updated hot bar menu here. To learn more about cooperatives, check out the National Cooperative Grocer's Association.

Thanks to Jennifer Foley, Marketing & Owner Services Manager, for conducting this interview.

How does Berkshire Co-op Market link with local producers?

The Berkshire Co-op Market connects with our local producers in many ways. At the beginning of the growing season, the Co-op hosts a Local Grower/Producer meeting to let our local vendors know what the Co-op’s guidelines to selling product and what our needs will be in the upcoming season. At the same time, the Co-op explains what ways we will be promoting local products, and asks local producers what they need from the Co-op.

The Co-op also offers farmers and producers the opportunity to participate in our Farm Tour program, which the Co-op invites and promotes the showcased farms and production sites to our Owners and shoppers. This gives the community an opportunity to see and learn first-hand about the food they buy and the people that produce it.

In each issue of our quarterly newsletter, the Co-op features a local grower/producer, which again allows readers to learn more about the local people who are producing their food. We also invite and encourage our local vendors to come in to the store and demo their products and meet our Owners and shoppers face-to-face. The Co-op is also a member of Berkshire Grown and attends meetings and events with local farmers and producers which allow us the opportunity to mingle and brainstorm throughout the year.

Tell us about your education programs. How do you educate the community, and what subjects do you focus on?

We currently have a thriving “Healthy Snacks” program that we bring to local schools to teach children about healthier choices in snacking. We bring natural and organic versions of “conventional” snack items as well as different seasonal, local fruits and vegetables with which the children may not be familiar. In addition to the tasting, the children learn to read nutritional labels, and in some instances help to create simple recipes. We have been collaborating with the Community Health Program (CHP) Nutrition Center to present some of these classes, as well as partnering with schools as a part of their grant initiatives.

Again, our Farm Tours are very popular and educational. Just this year we have brought groups to Mead’s Maple Syrup Farm in Canaan, CT where participants learned the process of maple syrup production and enjoyed a pancake breakfast featuring Mead’s Maple Syrup, and to Berkshire Mountain Bakery where we learned what goes into creating the delicious breads we sell at the Co-op. More Farm Tours are being scheduled for the rest of the season.

Also, each year we send “Free Local Apple” Coupons to the 2 school districts with an educational piece about why local is better for the environment and for the local economy. As a regular practice, we also participate in tabling at various events in the community, always promoting healthier choices, local choices and sustainability.