Speaking of Growing Power: Urban Farms for Urban Schools

Milwaukee Public Schools Division of School Nutrition recently partnered with Growing Power to provide farm-fresh produce for MPS students throughout the school year.

The Milwaukee Recreation Department recently filmed a video describing the program and illustrating students' responses to this innovative concept.

Check it out!

This isn't the first time that Growing Power has joined forces with MPS. In 2008, the program paired up with Bradley Technical High School to build and urban agricultural training space atop a "green" garage in the Riverwest neighborhood in Milwaukee. Plans for the garage included a year-round roof-top garden. Solar panels on a rooftop shed were planned to provide energy for heating water and soil for winter food production in the rooftop hoop-houses.

True Growing Power: Will Allen and the Good-Food Movement

I absolutely LOVE it that Will Allen and Growing Power made it to the New York Times Magazine last week. And it was no "small potatoes" article either.

Now, this isn't the first time that Will Allen has made the headlines. Last October, I wrote about Growing Power as part of my Blog Action Day article. Allen had just received a $500,000 MacArthur Fellow award to support his work. And the New York Times published an article about his accomplishments. But, judging from the content of the July article, people are really starting to take notice.



If you're not familiar with Growing Power, I'd encourage you to do some reading. And check out their Web site. This humble non-profit organization works 24/7 with the mission of providing equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. GP is part of what's been called the "good-food movement." And their vision has helped countless people across the country to establish systems of growing, marketing, and distributing food in sustainable ways.

Their farm produces produce which is grown and distributed locally ALL YEAR LONG (which means I can buy locally grown lettuce and sprouts even on the coldest February days!). If that's not exciting enough, Growing Power also manages programs like the Market Basket Program, which works similarly to a CSA to supply (affordable) sustainable produce year-round to interested families. They even operate a subset of the program at Marquette University -- ensuring that interested college students can benefit from fresh produce, even while living in college apartments and dorms.

Growing Power has to be, hands down, one of my favorite local organizations. Not only because Will Allen and his staff produce such amazing produce (they do!), but also because they do it with such vigor and incredible passion. These are people who REALLY care about what they're doing. And it shows.

Allen predicts that because of high unemployment and the recent food scares, 10 million people will plant gardens for the first time this year. But two million of them will eventually drop out, he said, when the potato bugs arrive or the rain doesn’t cooperate. Still, he was sanguine. “The experience will introduce those folks to what a tomato really tastes like, so next time they’ll buy one at their greenmarket. And when we talk about farm-worker rights, we’ll have more advocates for them.” (excerpted from NYTM article)

Growing Power isn't about real food for rich people. It's about real food for ALL people. And isn't that the point?

Thankfully, we're not the only ones who are excited. Read what Food Renegade has to say about this article. And check out all the great posts at Real Food Wednesday.

Local Eating Resources for WI

As the weather warms up here in Wisconsin, we always get re-energized in our quest to find more local eats. No, you won't find a local source for avocadoes or pineapples here. But, we have access to some pretty good stuff. And here's proof.

This cool interactive map was created by students at UW-Madison. It shows food producers, restaurants, farmers' markets, and other food resources within a 100-mile radius of Madison, WI. Good stuff here, guys.

• Another great resource is the Farm Fresh Atlas, which includes nearly 100 local farms.
• Thanks to Amy over at Daily Diner, I also found a great listing of local sources for pasture-raised meats at Eat Wild (I've pointed you at the Wisconsin farms, though they provide information for farms throughout the states and Canada).

What great resources for people interested in trying to eating locally -- especially in these northern climes!

Wisconsin Foodie?

Has anyone caught this show airing on WISN (channel 12) in the Milwaukee area? Is it still running?

Wisconsin Foodie aired for the first time in May, 2008 -- and is set at the Milwaukee Public Market. We've not caught an episode yet, but it seems like something that would be right up our alley. Their focus is on local food attractions, and it could definitely have potential.

It must be spring!

Spring has got to be close at hand, cuz we're getting antsy.

I've got my seed catalogs in hand. And, although I haven't committed to exactly what's going to take up space in our two little raised beds, I'm eager to begin getting my hands dirty. Paul is also dusting off his "honorary farmer" clothes in preparation for the work that lies ahead. He pointed out to me that we can "almost see dirt" underneath all that snow. So, summer is due anytime now.

Secondly, we've started to think about a CSA membership. We belonged to TIPI last year (we split a share with our friends Steph & Nate). This year, we're not only contemplating switching farms, but we're also thinking about whether or not we can tackle a share on our own.

It's always a tough decision. After all, we LOVE spending time at the farmer's markets in town. And we love having our own (albeit small) urban vegetable garden. And a full share (meant to feed two voracious veg-heads, or an average family of 4) might just give us enough food so that we wouldn't have much need for those backyard tomatoes or an extra trip to the market. THEN AGAIN, we also love the idea of storing up extra veggies for the long Wisconsin winter. And a full share would give us a chance to do a bit more of that. So, we're going to give the idea a fair shot.
Right now, here's a sampling of the farms in the running:

• Jen Ehr Farm (Sun Prairie, WI) http://www.wisconsingrown.com/
• Pinehold Gardens (Oak Creek, WI) -- OK, I just found out this morning that they're "full up" for 2008... guess that's one less we have to consider.
• Rare Earth Farm http://www.rareearthfarm.com/
• Springdale Farm (Plymouth, WI) http://userfs.cec.wustl.edu/~sb2/SpringdaleFarm
• Afterglow Farm (Port Washington, WI) -- we're in love with the owners of this farm, and wish that their drop off sites were just a WEE bit closer! We may bite anyhow.
• LotFotL Community Farm (East Troy, WI) www.myspace.com/lotfotl-- These guys would be an interesting bet, as they're really new to the CSA game.

Something I Read Today: Forbidden Fruits

I ran across this article from the NY Times yesterday, and took it home to read last night.

I was attracted to it, in part, because it's written by a farmer -- and I was interested in his point of view.

I'm now wondering if this is one of the reasons why our friends, living in Fargo, can't find a decent farmer's market in their area. Maybe the farmers can't afford to grow (and sell) local fruits and veggies in the first place...

*growl*

It's CHEESE, Grommit!

OOOh. Now, here is something about which Peef and Lo can get excited! Artisanal cheese!

Our local co-op has a very nice selection of cheeses made by local artisans... and, of course, our local (but evil) Whole Foods has a nice offering as well. But, this store sounds like a place where we'll have to visit the next time we're in the Madison area. With a name like Fromagination, who could possibly resist??

Speaking of cheese -- Lo is going to the doctor on Monday. And she will be undergoing a cholesterol screening. Despite the fact that her numbers came out JUST FINE in 2005, she's a bit nervous. After all, she does love her cheese...

Sustainable Thinking

As most of you know, Peef and I are pretty devoted to the idea of eating locally and supporting the philosophies of slow food. We haven't gotten to the point where I feel that we really do enough; but, we've made progress. We belong to a CSA, we make weekly trips to the farmer's market, we belong to a local co-op. Despite our lack of acreage, we even cultivate a small yard of vegetables and herbs during Wisconsin's short summers. Sometimes we pay just a little bit more for food that we know is ultra-fresh and flavorful. We also spend time nurturing our families and friends with food that we prepared with them in mind.

But, despite those things, it occurred to me that we probably haven't taken the time to really lay out the details of why we do what we do. So, I took the time this week to get down to business. And here are some of the reasons why we've chosen to support local agriculture. Some of the answers are familiar (trite, even). Others maybe not quite so much. You can decide for yourself.

1. Local food just tastes better. No lies... that warm sun-kissed tomato I just picked from the backyard will ALWAYS win when compared to the pale, under-ripe variety I can find at the grocery store.
   
2. Nutrition. Pure and simple. Some would argue that the jury is still out on whether organic is more nutritious than conventional produce. But, I have a hard time believing that food produced on factory farms and transported sometimes thousands of miles before it gets to market can beat out locally-grown produce. Well-balanced soils produce strong, healthy plants that become truly nourishing food. So, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is.


3. Doing what feels right keeps us healthier. Totally getting a kick out of eating luscious, local strawberries (or apples, or soybeans, or chard) means that, in the end, we eat more fruits and vegetables. How can that be a bad thing?


4. Buying local supports the local economy. I mean -- why not? We live here.


5. Buying local conserves fuel. Australian apples? I don't care HOW organic they are! Give me freshness from my own backyard as often as possible.


6. It's fun to buy from someone you know. Don't you have more fun when you buy your veggies at the farmer's market? For me, nothing beats meeting the farmer that grew my veg. And talking with him about how much he enjoys his work.


7. So really -- the final reason really is that buying local FEELS good. And right.

Busy Is As Busy Does

So, Peef and Lo have been busy. And apparently Being Busy makes us Bad Bloggers.

What, exactly, HAVE we been up to?

Well...

1. HOUSE PROJECTS: We spent our weekend painting our hallway (Athenian Green) and searching for new hardware for the many cabinet doors IN the hallway.
2. THE BATHROOM REMODEL: We met with our contractor about the bathroom rennovations -- and have been trying to make appointments with some of the local showrooms to view possibilities for fixtures, tiles, and the like.
3. IN OUR QUEST TO REMAIN LOCOVORES: Last night, we spent a good portion of our evening searching Milwaukee for locally produced BREAD to make our first BLT's of the season (with tomatoes from our garden)... and ended up getting bread made in Minnesota (the closest we could come, apparently).
4. NEW TOYS: We have been playing with our new digital camera -- but have yet to try downloading any of the photos.
5. NEW FOOD: We've sampled the foodstuffs at a new local joint. Read about that, eventually, on our BURP! blog.

So, don't despair. We'll be back to blog about any number of these exciting items. Just as soon as we can manage to sit down for a few moments.

Almost Locovores

So, ever since we didn't make the deadline for One Local Summer, we've had local eating on the brain.

It seems, lately, that every meal we make turns into a discussion of where the ingredients originated -- and whether or not we're eating as "locovores." Does it count if our ketchup is manufactured locally? Does the local bread we're eating have to be made with locally grown wheat?

We've already decided that some basic rules apply. While we have access to a local spice distributor, we're CERTAIN we have to rely on imported spices. Likewise, we've determined that our sources for local FLOUR are fairly slim; so we'll have to rely on bread baked by local (independent) bakeries.

Just the other night, as we were feasting on the fruits of our trip to the farmer's market, we managed to pull off a meal in which almost 100% of the ingredients were local. We had grilled corn (from a farm within 30 miles of our home), turkey burgers (made from free-range turkey -- also from a farm in WI) on locally baked multi-grain sourdough bread topped with locally raised portabello mushroom caps. Even the lovely beer we drank (the ever lovely Furthermore Knot Stock -- ale brewed with black pepper) was a local brew -- and one, at that, which would make any beer-loving Wisconsinite proud.

So, what ingredient threw everything off? The ketchup. Which was organic and lovely. But manufactured in California.

We're not sure if we should worry over a condiment or two.
But it's good local food for thought.

Really Cool Idea -- One Local Summer

So, Pocket Farm has announced One Local Summer. This is an extraordinarily cool idea... so I'm lamenting the fact that I didn't read about it earlier. The concept is to choose one night per week to eat food that is completely local.

Now -- Peef and I have made it one of our goals to eat AS MUCH local food AS POSSIBLE. We are constantly checking packages for information about where a product is made (and therefore how FAR it had to go to get to us). So, this is right up our alley.

Sign up is closed for this year. But I could see this being a really interesting project. We could TOTALLY do this during the summer in Wisconsin (and we've been focusing a great deal lately on buying local and supporting local agriculture) -- so it's something I'll have to keep in mind for future years. On top of all of that, it would give us something to yak about on our BURP! blog (which is always a bonus)!

You can check out what meals look like regionally on the One Local Summer blog.