Friday, December 30, 2011

Remember to join IWFM at the Polar Bear Pedal, Jan 2!

IWFM is a proud sponsor of the first Mayor's Polar Bear Pedal, which will happen on January 2, 2012. We need at least 10 people to help us start off the new year right with an invigorating ride from the Indy Bike Hub to the Major Taylor Velodrome and back. Enjoy coffee and snacks at 10a before we depart, and toast a pint at the Tomlinson Tap Room when we return. If you are interested in being on the IWFM team, email Molly at manager@indywinterfarmersmarket.org. Be sure your bike and winter gear are in working order beforehand by getting it checked out and prepped for the snow at BGI Downtown.


Please remember that the Indy Bike Hub and the YMCA in the East Wing of City Market have offered market-goers Free Bike Parking on Saturdays!


We hope that you will enter our Green Travel Raffle every week you bike, walk, or ride the bus to the market!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Happy Holidays - Ride your Bike!


It's hard to believe that our first 6 weeks of the market are behind us. We've had a great turn-out of customers and a wonderful group of vendors every week, and we couldn't be more thankful for both. We'd also like to extend our thanks to the market staff and maintenance crew that help us each week to prepare for the market. More than ever, we know that our market wouldn't be possible without the great community support that we receive in Indianapolis.

Please remember that we will be closed on Dec. 24th and Dec. 31st. Our next market will be on January 7, 2012. If you haven't yet checked out our new vendor calendar, you can preview the upcoming weeks here.

The New Year is always a time for resolutions, and we would like to encourage you to consider ways which you can Grow Well, Live Well, Eat Well, and Be Well in 2012. One of our favorite ways to Live Well is bicycling. Did you know that you can ride your bike throughout the winter? Check out this blog post on the INDYCOG website for some tips on how to be a winter rider.

Your next step is to join us on January 2, 2012 for Mayor Ballard's Polar Bear Pedal. Ride from the Indy Bike Hub out to the Major Taylor Velodrome and back with cold-hardy folks and Mayor Ballard! Registration begins at 10a at the Bike Hub, and we will depart around 11a for the velodrome. Upon returning to the Bike Hub, all are invited to celebrate the ride with a pint from Tomlinson Tap Room. IWFM is a sponsor of the ride, which means we need 10 people (at least!) to join us for the ride. Can you join the team? Register here or email info@indywinterfarmersmarket.org if you would like more information.


Monday, November 28, 2011

Support Local Heritage Poultry

Are you a chicken or an egg eater? Do you raise chickens or want to learn how? Check out this flyer to learn about heritage breeds you can find at the IWFM.

Some of our poultry meat vendors: KG Acres, Fruit Loop Acres, Homestead Heritage, Eden Pastures, Schacht Farm, Simpson's Farm

Some of our egg vendors: Circle L Bison, Farming For Life, Homestead Heritage, Mulberry Creek, Schacht Farm, Simpson's Farm Market, Eden Pastures

If you are interested in learning more about raising chickens in Indianapolis, check out Naptown Chickens Facebook page.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Winter Root Puree Recipe

Winter root vegetables are showing up again at the IWFM! Arriving in large quantities just last week, the carrots were beautiful and plentiful, beets are round and plump, and sweet potatoes are ready to roll! Wondering how to use them all? Get one more meal from your grill before winter sets in with a great recipe from Chef JJ's Back Yard in Broad Ripple.

Winter Root Puree
Serving size: 10

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash, peeled & seeded
1 medium celery root, peeled
3 medium potatoes
3 large carrots, peeled
3 large parsnips, peeled
Olive oil as needed
kosher salt to taste
pepper to taste
chicken or vegetable stock as needed
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter or Ghee
3 tablespoons whilling cream (optional)
ground nutmeg to taste

Directions:
1. Set up the electric/gas grill for indirect heat at 400 degrees F. Cut vegetables into 1-inch cubes. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a grill-safe dish. Pour enough stock into the dish so that it comes 2 inches up the sides. Roast until tender.
2. Puree half of the vegetables in a food processor with half of the stock. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and stock. If additional liquid is needed to process, add some cream. Once all the veggies are pureed, add the butter, nutmeg, and additional salt and pepper if needed. If you are looking for a thinner consistency or richer texture, add more cream as desired.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Parking Options at the IWFM

Wondering how to park on Saturday when you visit the market? You have a number of options!

Free Lots: There are 2 free lots available. These are usually paid, but on Saturdays the arms will be raised. The lots won't be marked "IWFM parking" but a sign will be placed at the entrance that reads, "Park at your own Risk." During the first weeks of the market, we will have a volunteer stand at the entrance to let you know which lots to park in. When you exit, the arm will be lowered, but if you approach slowly it will raise. These 2 lots will be open:



  • The northeast corner of Alabama St. and Market St. (directly across from the Indy Bike Hub sign)


  • The Arena Square bank lot on the northeast corner of New Jersey St and Washington St


Metered parking is also available on Market St, Delaware St, Wabash St, and Alabama St. Click here for a map of all parking.


Free bike parking is available near both the east and west wings of the City Market. You may also park your bicycle inside the new Indy Bike Hub for $1 an hour, or $5 a day.



Bus lines 2, 5, 8, 17, 19, and 21 make stops within walking distance of the City Market on Saturdays.


However you arrive, we can't wait to see you on Saturday!




Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Volunteer with the IWFM!

It takes the community to make the Indy Winter Farmers Market a success!

On Monday, Nov. 7 and Monday, Nov. 14, come learn about how volunteers and the community can help the IWFM this season. Familiarize yourself with our new space, get the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about volunteering, and learn about our Volunteer Challenge! (see below)

This is not a mandatory event for volunteers, but we would LOVE to see you! You can RSVP on Volunteer Spot or on our Facebook events: Nov. 7 or Nov. 14

Volunteers are needed in different shifts to help vendors unload product at the beginning of the market, reload product and tear down tables at the end of the market, and help welcome and assist shoppers at the market info table during the market. Sign up for volunteer shifts at our Volunteer Spot page!

What is our Volunteer Challenge? Glad you asked! This season, the IWFM is initiating a challenge among Indianapolis neighborhoods and local businesses/organizations. Each week, every volunteer will earn one point for either a neighborhood or organization which they support. Yes, you can bring your friends, families, and coworkers to earn points too, and you don't have to live in the neighborhood or work at the organization. There will be a tally sheet at the market so that everyone can track who's in the lead (we've already had one neighborhood guarantee that they'll win the prize!). At the end of the season, the neighborhood and the organization with the most points will each win $100 worth of vegetable seeds and starts! Ever wanted to start a community or workplace garden? This could be your chance!

The IWFM wouldn't be in existence if it weren't for great volunteers. We are so thankful for all the support we receive from our community. Thanks again and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Meet Our 2011-2012 Vendors!

The start of the IWFM is just 2 weeks away! We are excited to be back and in our new location - the West Wing of the Indianapolis City Market. The new space offers new opportunities for partnerships and events that expand our ability to serve the Indianapolis community. More fresh produce, meats, dairy and your favorite prepared foods will soon be available every Saturday morning in the heart of downtown.

Below is the list of folks who will be at our market. Though attendance every week is different, each vendor adds their own unique product to the mix. We look forward to seeing you in 2 weeks!

240 Sweet
3 Days in Paris
3 in 1 Restaurant
Amazing Potato Chip
Artisano's Oils & Spices
Big City Farms
Body Eclectic
Bridgeton Mill
Brotgarten
Brown Family Farm
Captain Jim's Sauces
Chacewater Olive Oil
Chocolate for the Spirit
Circle City Cheesecake
Circle L Bison
Dickinson Custom Furniture
Duos
Eden Farms Inc
Eden Pastures/Full Hand Farm/Sumac Grove
Farming for Life
Fermenti Artisan
Fields Farm Fresh
Fields of Agape
Fruit Loop Acres
Good Life Farms
Growing Places Indy
Harvest Cafe Coffee Roasters
Harvest Moon
Harvestland Farm
Hidden Pond Farm
Hobbit Gardens
Hole Pottery
Homestead Growers/Local Folks
Homestead Heritage
Independence Natural Skincare
Keen-Wah
KG Acres
Lena's Mediterranean Kitchen
Lick LLC
Litterally Divine Toffee & Truffles
Ludwig Farmstead Creamery
Mozingo Farm
Mulberry Creek Farm
Natural Born Juicers
Paper or Plastic
Peace Leaf Tea
Pet Lovers Organic Bakery
Raw Gourmet Delights
Rene's Bakery
Rosie's Riblets
Sapori D'Italia
Schacht Farm
Simpson's Farm Market
Smoking Goose
South Circle Farms
Stout's Melody Acres
The Christopher Farm
The Gluten Free Measuring Cup
Tracey Clean
Traders Point Creamery
Tranquil Ridge Farm
U-Relish
Wild Alaska Salmon
Wildflower Ridge Honey
Wild Apple Farm
Yeager Farm Produce

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

White River State Park Advances Slow Food Movement

In Collaboration with Wishard Slow Food Garden and Duos Indy Mobile Kitchen’s Food Truck brings healthy lunch option to the Park each Thursday.

WHAT:

  • Visitors to White River State Park on Thursdays now have an opportunity to experience and taste the Slow Food Movement thanks to a newly formed collaboration between the Park and its Wishard Slow Food Garden and Duos Indy Mobile Kitchen.
  • Members of the media are invited to come learn more about the Slow Food Movement while sampling food* from the mobile kitchen of Duos Indy.
  • The Wishard Slow Food Garden at White River State Park (a partnership with Growing Places Indy and Slow Food Indy) is a 6,000-sq. ft. urban garden that supports education and engagement in urban gardening and healthful food, as well as provides produce for distribution through local farmers’ markets and eateries, now including Duos.
  • Adults and children visiting the Park each Thursday will be able to enjoy a healthy lunch with many local ingredients, some harvested directly from the Garden.

WHERE:

  • White River State Park at the Wishard Slow Food Garden – just north of the circle drive by the Visitors Center at 801 W. Washington St.

WHEN:

  • June 30 – Media availability and media tastings/sampling from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

WHO for media availability:

  • Bob Whitt, Executive Director, White River State Park Commission
  • Becky Hostetter, Owner/Chef, Duos Indy Mobile Kitchen/Food Truck
  • Laura Henderson, Founder/Director, Growing Places Indy and Director of the Garden

* FOOD samples for media served this Thursday June 30 2011 for media event:

  • Panzanella Salad(beautiful bread salad with veggies and basil…vegan)
  • Chicken Salad with Giardiniera and Artichoke Hearts on bed of greens
  • Grilled Portobello on open faced bread with Gorgonzola Butter and Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette (vegan option)
  • Ligurian Green Vegetable Soup (vegan)
  • Dulce De Leche Cheesecake Bars

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Neighbor Power! is this Saturday!

Join the Food Coalition this year at Neighbor Power!, a gathering to inspire communities. The event will be a place to talk about how neighbors can make the city a better place to live, work, and play, and is free and open to everyone! Presenters from all over the Indianapolis food system will be sharing their stories about their projects within the food movement and the difference they’ve made in their neighborhoods. Gardens, farms, community development, youth engagement, and many other topics will be explored, and we want you to join the discussion!

May 21, 2011
8:30am (registration) - 3pm
University of Indianapolis
Schwitzer Student Center
1400 E Hanna Ave

REGISTRATION STILL OPEN! www.neighborpowerindy.org

Continental breakfast and lunch provided

Food Coalition organized Workshops:

9:45 - 11am
Session I Workshop: It Starts with a Seed - Ginny Roberts, Linda Proffitt, and Matthew Jose - How growing food in an urban landscape can transform a neighborhood’s economy, health, and community.

9:45 - 11am
Session I Workshop: Serving Indianapolis - World CafĂ© (break-out discussion groups) provides you the opportunity to discuss the Food Coalition’s presence and influence in the Indianapolis community.

11:15 - 12:30
Session II: An Appetite for Progress - Michael Kaufmann (Wishard), Tyler Henderson (Slow Food Garden), Joel O'Neil (38th & Meridian Farmers Market), Starla Officer (Near West Community Gardens), Chris Harrell (Brownfield Redevelopment)
Learn how food projects have impacted the work of community supporters.

11:15 - 12:30
Session II: Food for Thought and Action - Hear the struggles and triumphs of two neighborhood food-coops in the making. (Organized by members of the Indy Food Cooperative's Pogue's Run Grocer and the Pleasant Run Grocer in Fountain Square)

If you have any questions, feel free to email April at april@indyfoodfarmfamily.org
or call April on her cell 317.417.8449

Sunday, May 15, 2011

IWFM Customer Survey

Please complete the IWFM customer survey. The purpose of the survey is to better understand who we are serving, how well we are serving you, and what we can do better. It is an online survey and will take only about 10 minutes to complete.

Thank you kindly!

Take the survey now!

Friday, May 13, 2011

This Old Farm Rebuilding Gala

This Old Farm Rebuilding Gala


Saturday, May 21

6-9 PM


Red Barn, Traders Point Creamery

9101 Moore Road, Zionsville


Artisan wine, cheese, meat, chocolate and pastry

tasting and purchasing opportunity

Comedy Skit by

“The Not Ready for Harvest Time Players”

Silent auction

Live Music by Chad Mills

Appetizers

Cash bar


$25 each or family of 5 for $100


Get tickets from maria@valentinehillfarm.com; at the Creamery Dairy Store; or at the

Valentine Hill Farm table at farmer’s markets (Traders Point, Binford, Broad Ripple,

Zionsville and City Market)

Monday, April 25, 2011

Call for volunteers this Saturday April 30th, 2011

Dear Family, Friends, and loyal volunteers of the Indy Winter Farmers Market,

We've come to the final week of the market season this year, and it's been another fantastic season! With fabulous vendors, ever more customers, an exciting new sponsorship, and dedicated volunteers, we could not be more pleased. We look forward to providing you with more of the best in quality local food next year.

We have been very lucky to use the Maxwell space this year, and in order to make sure we leave the space in good order, we need to have an intensive cleaning and tear-down this Saturday after the market. We will be taking down lights, cleaning the floors, moving out tables & chairs, taking down the cloud curtains, and more. We really need volunteers to help us finish this task as quickly as possible, so we're asking you to help us. We will stay after the market until around 3pm cleaning and closing out the Maxwell. If you can join for any or all of this time, please let us know. We know that the market wouldn't be what it is without our dedicated volunteers, and we are very grateful for all the help you've given us this season.

Grow well, Eat well, Live well, Be well -
IWFM Staff

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Lemon Garlic Zucchini Pasta with Tomato Basil Garnish and Mac Nut Cheeze


via Audrey Barron (thanks Audrey!)

Lemon Garlic Zucchini Pasta
with Tomato Basil Garnish and Mac Nut Cheeze

Makes 2-4 servings

Lemon Garlic Sauce
  • 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 small garlic cloves
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons water
Pasta
  • 2 large zucchini, peeled and cut in half horizontally
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 12-15 leaves of fresh basil (available at the IWFM!)
  • 4 whole macadamia nuts
  1. To make garlic sauce, blend first five ingredients in high-speed blender until smooth and macadamia nuts are completely blended. Add the water and blend until completely combined. Set aside.
  2. Use spiralizer to create pasta from your zucchini noodles.
  3. Cut your basil into thin strips.
  4. Pour sauce over pasta, sprinkle with basil and tomato. Use microplane or small grater to grate the macadamia nuts over pasta like parmesan cheese.
  5. Enjoy with someone you love :)
NOTE:
  • If you don't have a spiralizer, use a vegetable peeler or mandolin to make your noodles.
  • Make extra sauce to use for pasta during the week

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

4 More Weeks of Indy Winter Farmers Market

Only 4 more weeks remaining in the Indy Winter Farmers Market season! Be sure to join us to celebrate the last four weeks of the wonderful collection of IWFM growers and producers all in one place, as well as our last four weeks in the fabulous Maxwell location. We know that April is a busy month, with lots of events and the excitement of warmer weather and things to be done outside. Please know how deeply the IWFM staff, vendors and volunteers appreciate your continued commitment to the great local products we work hard to make available, and your continued presence at the IWFM throughout the month of April. Don't stop now!


Many, many thanks to those who took our flyer, donated for a raffle ticket, button t-shirt, or just to support the IWFM and Wishard Health Services vision for making the good food offered at the IWFM available to individuals who don't have adequate access. Just this week the IWFM received approval from the USDA Food & Nutrition Service to accept Electronic Benefits Transfer through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) beginning in November 2011. This is a huge win! Additionally, we are working with Wishard Health Services to implement other methods for bringing good food to more people and more people to good food.


Your support of these programs is critical to their success. Please help us meet our goal of raising $5,000 in the month of April to support this new programming. We know that creating meaningful change in our community is a collective effort. It requires individuals, institutions, policy makers - all as part of the same community - to be willing to step up in whatever way they can to individually contribute to a collective effort for change.


I'm writing from Los Angeles this week, where I am meeting and learning from individuals, institutions and policy makers who are working to create lasting, positive change in the lives of individuals in order to do the same in communities. One of the many amazing people I've met so far, said the question we must ask is "How are the children?" If the answer is not that they are healthy, happy, and well, then we are not doing the work that needs to be done. When one in three children in Indiana is overweight or obese, when diabetes is epidemic, when children are malnourished AND obese, when children cannot achieve their potential because they are hungry and undernourished, when the answer to the question is "Not okay" - then WE know WE have a lot of work to do. There is no WE without each and every one of us, and together we can create meaningful change.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

IWFM Vendors & Local Businesses Contributing Raffle Prizes

Many thanks to the IWFM Vendors and Local Businesses that have contributed Raffle Prizes for our effort to raise a minimum of $5000 in April. These funds will go directly to the development, implementation and operations of programming that will make the good food available at the IWFM accessible to food insecure individuals in Indianapolis. For every $1 Raffle ticket you purchase this month at the IWFM, you increase your chances of winning one or more great prizes from our generous prize contributors! Plus, you'll be helping to ensure everyone has the opportunity to Grow well. Eat well. Live well. & Be well.

Watch for more each week!

Prizes from IWFM Vendors:
240 Sweet
3 Days in Paris - Market Fresh Crepes
Artisano's Oils & Spices
Bee Free Bakery
Dickinson Custom Kitchenware
KGAcres
Lena's Mediterranean Kitchen
Local Folks Foods
Natural Born Juicers
Raw Gourmet Delights
Rene's Bakery
Tracey Clean

Prizes from Local Businesses:
Best Chocolate in Town
Calvin Fletcher Coffee Shop
City Dogs
Cityoga
Edible Indy
Flat12 Bierwerks
Good Earth Natural Foods
H2O Sushi
INDYCOG
Indy's Kitchen
Invoke Studio
Mass Ave. Toys
Mass Ave. Wine Shoppe
Monon Coffee Shop
Pizzology
RBistro
Silver in the City/At Home in the City
SunKing Brewery
Tomlinson Tap Room

Have a prize to offer for next week's raffle? Contact info@indywinterfarmersmarket.org to make your raffle prize contribution. We'll add you to the e-newsletter announcement, and post your business' name at the IWFM.

Fundraising for Good Food for All!


Please read here about our new sponsorship from Wishard Health Services.

Each week in April you will have the opportunity to help us raise a minimum of $5,000 toward the goal of making the IWFM more accessible to individuals of all income levels in Indianapolis (programming to begin in November 2011). We believe that people have a right to decide what they eat, and yet it can be hard to eat well when the junk foods provide the cheapest calories. With your help, we can give more people the opportunity to both choose and afford good food.


IWFM T-shirt - The first ever IWFM t-shirt will be available for sale, $20 each. T-shirts are available in both men's and women's sizes, while supplies last.

Raffle Tickets - Each week you can enter to win from a great array of exciting Raffle Prizes. Tickets are $1 each, or eleven for $10. We will draw winners at the end of the market on April 2, 9, 16 and 23. Winners can pick up their prizes the following week at the IWFM.

Buttons - Be the first to sport the full series of four buttons for only $1 per button! Or pick your favorite and buy some for friends! Each represents one phrase in our motto: - Grow well. - Eat well. - Live well. - Be well.

Give - If t-shirts, buttons and raffle prizes aren't your thing, we still welcome you to express the Power of One individual to make a difference as part of a collective effort by contributing $1, or whatever amount you choose. * Each $1 will go toward our minimum goal of raising $5,000 in the month of April. All funds raised will directly contribute to the development, implementation and on-going operations of new programming that will make the IWFM accessible to more individuals in Indianapolis, regardless of income level.

* Please note, the IWFM is not a 501c3 organization, therefore donations are not tax deductible.

Adding a New Sponsor, Growing our Community

Grow well. Eat well. Live well. This is the motto of the Indy Winter Farmers Market (IWFM). We believe it represents a full-circle vision for food systems and community health. We must grow our food well, in ways that nurture farmland ecology and all who eat from it. We must eat well, choosing foods and eating habits that will nourish our bodies and minds, as well as inspire pleasure in the experience of eating healthy, whole foods. We must live well, enjoying quality of life and making lifestyle choices that respect each other, our communities, the environment, and ourselves.


We are pleased to announce a new partner in this vision, Wishard Health Services. Wishard believes that these three elements are critical contributors to helping people be well. When we have access to food that is grown well; when we have the information and resources to eat well; when we are empowered within our community to live well; then we greatly enhance our capacity to be well.


Wishard Health Services is partnering with the IWFM to sponsor a new food access program that will make the good food available at the IWFM accessible to a broader scope of the central Indianapolis population. Wishard is a core provider of service and care to our community’s most vulnerable, and it has long supported food access and community health. Providing healthful food options is an integral part of the community’s health and the Wishard model of care. Nutrition is a serious challenge for many in the urban population, and Wishard is proud to serve as an advocate and resource for advancing awareness and adoption of healthy lifestyles and food choices to support improved health outcomes.


We are deeply grateful to Wishard Health Services for their sponsorship, which provides the seed to make it happen. However, as we all know, it takes more than seeds to grow a successful garden.


Together Wishard Health Services and the IWFM are issuing a challenge to the community to help raise the funds to make this program a success. Our goal is to raise a minimum of $5,000 in the month of April to contribute to the development, implementation and on-going operations of this new program. If each person who visits the market gave only $1 per visit, we could easily exceed this minimum goal in one month. We will have t-shirts, buttons and fantastic raffle prizes each week in April, to make giving more fun! Be the first to sport our fantastically updated logo. Read more below.


We hope you will help us meet this goal. It takes the commitment of a community to ensure everyone has the opportunity to: Grow well. Eat well. Live well. & Be well.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Raw Mediterranean Kale Salad - Audrey Barron

Yield: 3 Cups (2 -3 Servings)
  • ½ bunch kale, de-stemmed (about 1 cup packed) and cut into thin ribbons (chiffonade)
  • 1/8 head cabbage, shredded (1 ¼ cups)
  • 2 tablespoon red onion, finely julienned
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon light miso
  • ½ tablespoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
  • ½ tablespoon orange juice, fresh squeezed
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • ½ tablespoon raw honey
  • ½ red jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (or substitute a dash cayenne pepper)
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon powdered mustard
  • ½ teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • 2 tablespoon oil-packed capers, optional
  • ¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped, optional
  • 2 tablespoons dulse flakes, optional
1. For the dressing: Combine the oils, miso, lemon juice, orange juice, honey, onion powder, mustard powder, and crushed garlic in a bowl and use a whisk to combine. In a large bowl, massage the kale well for a couple of minutes to soften.

2. Add the cabbage, tomato, jalapeno, pine nuts and red onion to the bowl of softened kale. Pour the dressing over the mixture, toss, and season with salt to taste. Garnish with the optional capers, dulse and olives and serve

3. This salad is best served immediately, but it can also be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Audrey Barron is a Certified Raw Food Chef that offers lectures, classes and retreats on preparation of delicious living food dishes, healthy eating, wellness and benefits of raw/living foods.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Retaining the Power of Choice

What if we lost the option to choose chemical-free and organic produce, grass fed beef and dairy, humanely raised meats or an exclusively vegan diet? What if we lost our right to choose locally or sustainably grown foods? What if we lost the option to purchase those foods directly from farmers? What if direct from a farmer was the only way to ensure choice?

What if we lost the right to grow our own gardens and save our own seeds? What if we did not have the option to choose to eat foods that have not been genetically altered? What if all we had were groceries filled with chemically treated produce, meat and dairy laced with synthetic hormone, antibiotic, steroid and other residual chemical products, and aisle after aisle of highly processed boxed, bagged and bottled calories labeled and sold as food?

If you had all the choices in the world, you could eat anything and everything you want, what would you choose? Would you choose to eat foods that contribute to the destruction of the environment? How about foods grown and produced using inhumane labor practices? Does it sounds appetizing to eat foods produced in a system in which a food industry conglomerate owns or otherwise controls a farmer’s access to and selection of seeds, or animal breeds, or farming practices? How about food from a farm that has created air and water pollution to the point that farmers, fisherman, neighbors have become chronically ill or experienced neurological damage? Would you choose to eat primarily foods that will increase your chances of diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, asthma and other chronic diseases? If you faced any of these health problems, would you select foods that decrease your ability to heal and recover?

The reality is that probably each and every one of us would answer NO! to the questions above. And the reality is that probably each and every one of us eats these foods every day. Most people ONLY eat these foods and do not have the knowledge, access or financial means to choose from other options. Perhaps most ironically, this includes many American farmers and farmers worldwide who do no longer have the necessary local systems and community networks available to afford the choice to farm or eat outside the agribusiness system.

How do you want to feed your children? How do you want to feed to the world’s most vulnerable, most disadvantaged, most diseased, most hungry people? Would you choose whatever is most convenient, fast, cheap, and easy? Are fast, cheap, easy, empty calories the long-term solution? Do we care enough to commit to a better future by actively working to create a sustainable supply of real, whole, nutritious, health promoting food to break the cycle of poverty and hunger? Or is that idealistic, unrealistic? Or is it more than we are willing to invest for a certain low to loss financial return?

Retaining the power to choose what and how we eat and grow food is already an effectively become a privilege, and one that we must actually work very hard to maintain. We must care enough to educate ourselves and take action to protect the power of choice. It is no longer sufficient to vote with our forks alone. We must make time to be educated on the issues. We must know the issues facing the farmers, the producers, the food entrepreneurs, the restaurateurs, the school cafeterias, the local distributors, the doctors and teachers and the city and state planners. We must demand these issues be part of social and political conversation. We must empower or friends, and we must vote with our votes. Otherwise we will quickly, quietly and potentially entirely loose the power of choice.

Right now we still have the power of choice! Right here in Indianapolis organizations, farmers, locally based food businesses and individuals are working hard to create the path to a future in which choice could again be a right, not just a privilege. We must care enough to educate ourselves and take action to protect the power of choice. We must make time to be educated on the issues. We must know the issues facing the farmers, the producers, the food entrepreneurs, the restaurateurs, the school cafeterias, the local distributors, the doctors and teachers and the city and state planners. We must demand these issues be part of social and political conversation. We must empower our friends, and we must vote with our votes, as well as our forks.

Know enough to know that just because we want utopia, doesn’t make it so. We must recognize that the steps toward progress can only walk the path that exists, in the process of building a new one. Know enough not to be fooled by a wolf in sheep’s clothing – AND - Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Talk to those you disagree with, it’s one of the best ways to learn. Don’t give up or resign because it is hard or you don’t know enough yet. Stay involved.

This is a lifelong journey, but it’s one to which we must commit, whether we get to enjoy the future we’re working for ourselves, or whether our children or grandchildren enjoy a future of choice because of the work we do now.

The Genetically Modified Foods Choice

What is the problem with genetically modified/engineered/altered (GMO or GE) foods? We’re told there is no evidence that GMO corn, soy, alfalfa and sugar beets are unsafe, and we don’t eat biotech corn for ethanol production anyway?

No one will tell you. There will be no warning or differentiating labels, whether it’s a simple cut of grass fed meat, or a lovely cake, or a bottle of juice, or a can of tomato sauce. You won’t know what contains GMO ingredients and what does not. This is not a concern of the future. It is the current reality.

GMO foods will not be organic, as these GMOs are engineered to require proprietary chemical application to grow.

GMOs cannot be isolated to specific fields, certain farms, or select countries. GMOs will affect the entire food chain.

The farmers you trust to offer you choice will find it harder and harder and eventually impossible to source GMO free grain or hay, or to protect their own fields from cross-pollination and thus genetic contamination. Following on the transition of grains and commodities, GMO technology will spread for use in vegetables, and the same potential for cross-pollination will occur. Vegetable farmers will face the fate of commodity farmers – denied the right or ability to save their own seed and sued by patent-holding corporations when acts of nature bring patented GMO seeds onto their property.

No one predicted that the transition to a faster, more efficient, cheaper way of producing food would lead to the health, environmental and economic crises now directly linked to the transitions brought about by agribusiness and food science. Are you willing to wager our collective future on what the interests promoting GMOs are NOT publically predicting?

In the past month, the USDA has approved three new biotech crops for use in the US: Roundup Ready GMO alfalfa, Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets and a new biotech corn for ethanol production. These crops could go into fields as early as this spring. It is widely acknowledged that these crops will contaminate the genetic make-up of both conventional and organic farmers’ non-GMO crops.

This decision will do more to eliminate our power of choice in what we eat than potentially anything has thus far. If left standing, this decision will further erode the ability of farmers to choose what and how they want to grow on their land. If left standing, this decision will make it increasingly more difficult as a consumer to access organic or sustainably grown food, even as more and more people are demanding improved access to choice.

You can take action to make your voice heard and support the effort to stop our loss of the power to choose. Sign the petition at Food Democracy Now.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

In Indiana we must Stop GMOs on our farmland!

We encourage you to take action. In the state of Indiana, our farmland will be used to grow these crops. It will hurt our farmland, farmers, our farmers markets and our inherent right to eat foods we can trust. This alfalfa will contaminate our grassfed animals, this biotech corn will take over more valuable acres in our state while cross-pollinating and thus contaminating non GMO corn, and these sugar beets will be in your food - unlabeled as GMO. You will not be able to control or even know whether or not you are eating GMO contaminated foods, and the chances will be better than not that you will be eating them all the time if these three crops are allowed into our fields.

Re-posted From Food Democracy Now:
Unbelievably, in the past 3 weeks, the Obama administration has approved 3 GMO crops. First it was Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa, then Monsanto’s GMO sugar beets and just last Friday, as Egypt celebrated it’s freedom, the Obama U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the go ahead to a GMO variety of industrial corn to be used to produce ethanol.1

That’s right, 3 GMO crops got the Obama Rubber Stamp in the past 3 weeks.

At a time when the Obama administration should be forging ahead to make agriculture more sustainable, encouraging more farmers to convert to organic farming practices, they’ve decided to double down on an unproven and untested technology over the objections of millions of Americans and a growing chorus of food manufacturers, both organic and conventional, who find these lab engineered food products to be worrisome for a variety of reasons.

Already more than 75,000 American citizens and two dozen farm, food and agricultural organizations have signed a letter to President Obama asking him to retract his recent decisions on GMO alfalfa and sugar beets.

Clearly the President and his staff have not gotten the message!

If you’ve already signed this letter, thank you, but ask that you forward this message to 3 of your friends so that they can have the opportunity to sign it as well. If everyone who has signed it had 1 friend sign as well, more than 150,000 people will have signed this letter.

If you haven't signed, please click on the link below and then forward this to 3 friends you know who care about this critical issue — Help us get more than 100,000 signatures — we need to keep the pressure on!

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/347?akid=298.65136.XqXv6Q&t=7

Here's a brief recap of the Obama administration's appalling cave to Monsanto and the biotech industry in just the last 3 weeks.

1. Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GMO alfalfa - Jan. 27th, 2011 - Over the objections of hundreds of thousands of American citizens, the White House approved this unnecessary crop - despite the fact that 93% of alfalfa hay grown in the U.S. does not use herbicides and that genetic contamination with conventional, non-GMO and organic alfalfa threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of family farmers and the food choices of more than 50 million organic consumers.2

2. Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets - Feb. 4, 2011 - Defying a court order to complete a proper Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) the USDA announced that it is granting a “partial” approval of Monsanto’s GMO sugar beets, giving farmers and seed dealers the clear signal that final approval is right around the corner. By the time the EIS is expected to be complete, sometime in May, farmers will have already started planting their crop for the next year since the USDA says it gave the green light to avert a “sugar shortage” in the U.S. Sugar beets comprise some 54% of U.S. sugar found in everything from soda, other beverages, candy bars3

3. Syngenta’s Enogen Alpha-Amylase Corn for Ethanol - Feb 11, 2011 - This new GMO amylase corn product contains an enzyme that allegedly allows an increase in ethanol production with a reduction of natural gas and water usage, thus saving ethanol plants money. While caving to the biotech and ethanol industries, the Obama administration basically ignored the concerns of leading food manufacturers who fear that if this new industrial corn cross-pollinates with or is accidentally mixed with corn used to make food products, it could lead to crumbly corn chips, soggy cereal and a host of other food processing disasters.4

Despite being comprised of more than 43 powerful companies such as General Mills, ConAgra Mills, ADM Milling and Quaker Oats, the Obama administration completely dismissed the concerns of the North American Miller’s Association, comprised of some of the largest food manufacturers in U.S. in order to favor the biotech and ethanol corporate agenda, both industries with checkered pasts and products of dubious benefit.

Please take a moment to tell President Obama that you’re outraged over his decision to approve a crop technology that has not lived up to its marketing promises, increasingly harms farmer profitability and has potential negative human health and environmental consequences.

Click on the link below to tell President Obama that you're outraged by these recent decisions and care about how your food is produced and what it’s in it and that it’s time to put the health and safety of farmers and America’s 50 million organic consumers over corporate profits.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/347?akid=298.65136.XqXv6Q&t=9

Thanks for taking action — your support is greatly appreciated! We need your help to keep the pressure on! If you can, please consider chipping in as little as $10 to help us continue this fight.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/donate/133?akid=298.65136.XqXv6Q&t=12

We rely on folks like you to keep us going. Thanks again for your support.

Thank you for participating in food democracy — your action today may help save the organic industry.

Dave, Lisa and the Food Democracy Now! Team

Sources:

1. “Vilsack Clears Industrial Biotech Corn”, Des Moines Register, February 11, 2011.
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/343?akid=298.65136.XqXv6Q&t=14

2. “U.S. Approves Gene-Altered Alfalfa, Fails to Protect Organic Farms”, Rodale News, January 27, 2011.
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/344?akid=298.65136.XqXv6Q&t=16

3. “USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets Without Ample Review”, Rodale News, February 4, 2011
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/345?akid=298.65136.XqXv6Q&t=18

4. “How Ethanol Production Could Make for Crumbly Corn Chips”, The Christian Science Monitor, February 15, 2011.
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/346?akid=298.65136.XqXv6Q&t=20

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Love the Indy Winter Farmers Market? Then we want to talk to you!

The IWFM has partnered with Butler University students studying Research Methods for Public Relations and Advertising to learn more about why you choose to shop at the Market. As a part of our information gathering, students will be conducting focus groups and we want you to participate.

Participants can choose from one of two upcoming focus groups:

Saturday, March 5th at 1:30 PM or

Monday, March 7th at 6:45 PM.

The focus group will last approximately one hour and will be held on Butler’s campus. Your participation will contribute greatly to students' experience in the class, and the findings will be shared with the IWFM. For more information, or to sign up for one of these focus groups, please contact Dr. Mark Rademacher, Butler University College of Communication, at mrademac@butler.edu or (317) 940-9823.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Growing

This week was our fourth week of planting - starting seeds. I've had my first heartbreaking loss of the season already. Nearly one-third of my artichoke sprouts perished from too much heat/lack of water as we learn how to grow in our new indoor set up. That's the way life goes; some things flourish, while others perish. I took a few minutes to be angry and heartbroken and then went back to planting more seeds of various types of vegetables. We can't be stopped by our losses or failures, but we can learn from them.

It has been an amazing experience to be part of and witness Indy's local food movement take root and begin to flourish. Neither the process of growth, nor the community itself has been without loss. A look back at the list of our first and second season vendors shows loss and addition within our growth to season three. A look back at the Indianapolis local food scene from 2008 to present is equally striking. Yet, no loss or failure has brought the movement to a halt. On the contrary, I think we have learned and grown stronger. In the first two months of 2011, new and exciting developments have been realized that are sure to bring only more growth - new farms, new farmers, new food education coalitions, new food and beverage establishments and more. Even as we are losing farmers, losing farmland, and losing out to Agribusiness interests. We can only hope the balance continues to work itself out in favor of the farmers, consumers, environment and future generations. I believe it will, if we keep learning and observing and supporting each other as community in our work.

One of the most exciting new programs to grow at the IWFM this year has been a voucher program for low-income seniors. This voucher program was made possible by funding from Gleaners Food Bank and a partnership with the Indiana Housing Agency. Over the course of the season we have had voucher recipients come to the market to buy produce, meats and other whole foods. Last week we had a record number of attendees in one week. It reinforced two things for me. First, that the IWFM is and has been more diverse in population served than it is often credited. Second, that there is tremendous potential and receptivity to better serve a diverse population. Together, we can tip the balance in favor of healthier communities, in which we are all more invested in each other and our equal and unlimited ability to flourish.

We promise that the IWFM will continue to work to grow and nurture new and returning farmers and food producers, while seeking continuously to better serve a broader spectrum of the populations with access to "Good, Clean, Fair food."

~ Laura Henderson, IWFM Founder & Executive Director

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Do you think we need to change the way we eat in this country?



Repost via Slow Food USA...


On February 12, that will be the topic of discussion for an amazing array of speakers - including Slow Food USA's President Josh Viertel. It's part of the TEDx events: short, carefully prepared talks to share 'ideas worth spreading'. And the good news is you can be a part of it!

Joining Josh at the one day event will be over 20 high-profile speakers including the makers of "King Corn", the first farmer to receive a MacArthur 'Genius' Fellowship, and the USDA's coordinator of 'Know Your Farmer, Know your Food', all sharing ideas about how we can shift our industrial food system to one that provides good, clean, fair food for all.

This is a fantastic opportunity to stimulate these conversations in your local area. And a great excuse to get together with like-minded people in your community! Click here to find out how to host or attend a live 'Viewing Party' on Saturday February 12:

http://tedxmanhattan.org/viewing-parties/

Can't make a Viewing Party? No problem! We'll be live-streaming the TEDx talks on our website, so you can take part in the conversation from the comfort of your own home.

TEDx talks feature thought leaders at the cutting edge of their industry. This day is focused entirely on food - a testament to the importance of finding new ways to redefine the way we grow and eat food.

The thought-provoking speakers can be broadcast right into your home, cafe, town hall - or wherever you want to gather to share these ideas in your community. Click here to find out more: http://tedxmanhattan.org/viewing-parties/

Thanks for being a part f the solution,
The Slow Food USA team

PS - There's an amazing event happening in Manhattan on February 12 - but it will be just like you're there, when we be beam it live from coast to coast! If you'd like to host a live 'Viewing Party' in your area, or find one to attend, click here.

"If nothing matters, there is nothing to save."

Author Jonathan Safran Foer attributes this quote to his grandmother, in his recent non-fiction book, Eating Animals. His grandmother survived the Holocaust by running and hiding through the forests and countryside in Europe during WWII. He relates a conversation with her, in which she tells about being at the point where she did not know if she would make it another day. A Russian farmer sees her and offers her a piece of meat. Safran Foer comments to his grandmother that this farmer saved her life, but her response is that she did not eat the meat. It was pork, and she could not eat pork because it is not kosher. Astounded he replies, “But not even to save your life?” His grandmother’s response is simple and yet deeply profound, “If nothing matters, there is nothing to save.”

Safran Foer goes on to consider that food ethics are in part so complex because food and taste are inherently bound to our personal stories, our family histories, as well as social geography and cultural history. It is impossible to comment on food choice, food behaviors, and thus food ethics without it being, or at least seeming, personal. Therefore, in order not to offend, we often choose not to discuss food ethics. The IWFM walks the tight-rope of 1) serving a mission to provide and preserve consumer choices that are an alternative to the industrial food products (including fresh meats and produce) that make up 95-99% of the food supply, and 2) not lecturing or dictating about what you “should” or “should not” be eating, which might offend or alienate customers. Vendors selling value-added food products weigh similar considerations. They can provide a product that is less expensive with ingredients from industrial farms. Or, they have to charge more for a product made with ingredients purchased from local growers we can trust and whose farms we can visit to see for ourselves the farm practices that produce the food we eat. You have to let them know what you prefer.

It would seem these decisions would be straightforward and easy, but they are not. For example, say you were advising someone on the difference between chicken from IWFM farmers Schacht Farm or Simpson Family Farm, and HarvestlandĂ’Purely All-natural chicken, available at Marsh, Walmart and other retailers. Each provides chicken that is hormone, steroid and antibiotic free, cage-free, all-natural, and raised by family farmers. What’s the difference? Is there a difference? Is one a more ethical food choice than the other? Is it the place of a Farmers Market to make that call and prohibit the sale of products that contain ingredients from the industrial agriculture food chain, even if those products seem to meet the same criteria? With the advent of Genetically Modified and Genetically Engineered crops like soy and corn being grown across the country, and now Genetically Engineered Alfalfa deregulated by the USDA, is it even still possible to grow and eat food that is not altered by industrial agriculture practices?

It’s heavy stuff, and so we often want to turn away and just enjoy the pleasures of eating “good food.” At some point we have to ask, is that enough? If we keep turning away, how will we know whether there is still “good food” left to eat?

The IWFM vision is for a world in which we not only the have right, but we preserve the ability to eat good food. That is food that is grown, developed and adapted in partnership with the environment, rather than in competition to or mastery over it.

Our vision is for a world in which farmers are able to make a living wage at their work, are able to own their land and act as stewards of their farmland ecology. We believe farmers, not corporations, should own the animals, seeds and crops they raise and make decisions based on the welfare of those animals, seeds, crops and the people who will ultimately eat them, rather than on the welfare of a corporate bottom line.

Our vision is for a world in which we don’t have to “eat in fear,” or sacrifice the nutrient density of our family meals because it’s what “the system” enables us to afford. We believe in a future in which a conversation of food ethics can be a conversation of how food choices relate to religious or cultural beliefs and rituals, not whether the food we are eating is being ethically grown and produced. We believe in making the choices we have to make now, in order to support growers and producers who are moving our nation back to a reality in which all the food we eat is ethically grown, and into a new reality in which it is ethically produced.

This is not a simplistic vision, nor is it a simple task to achieve. Shopping at the farmers market is not action enough to make this vision reality. We must be willing to have frank, open and respectful conversations. We must be willing to set our personal stories aside, so that conversations are not emotionally driven. We must be willing to change our own choices, to speak up for truth, and to hear truth – even when it’s not what we want to hear.

These are very complicated issues. For example, consider that the rising demand for compostable cups and utensils, soy plastics for our cars, and bio-ethanol for fuel all mean more farmland being planted in commodity grains, enhance the argument for GMOs since these crops are not being eaten, and drive up the price of feed grain to the point that the small-scale farmers we wish to support may be driven out of the business. One market, one city, one state, one nation cannot change the course of the future alone, but if we aren’t willing to be the change we wish to see, then how can we expect it of anyone else?

Here is a final quote for Jonathan Safran Foer’s non-fiction book, Eating Animals: “The choice-obsessed modern West is probably more accommodating to individuals who choose to eat differently than any culture has ever been, but ironically, the utterly unselective omnivore – “I’m easy; I’ll eat anything” – can appear more socially sensitive than the individual who tries to eat in a way that is good for society. Food choices are determined by many factors, but reason (even consciousness) is not generally high on the list.”

~ Laura Henderson, founder & executive director of the IWFM

Friday, January 28, 2011

Slow Food Indy Annual Meeting Summary

Hello Locavores, Progressives, Environmentalists, IWFM-supporters, and Slowfoodites, and Slowfoodettes --

It's Patch here writing for those of you who weren't able to make it to the fairgrounds on Sunday.

After everyone stacked their bring-your-own-plates with home-made food, a few local organizational issues were addressed -- a little forecasting about some changes which are going to be voted on at the next meeting, like the fact that for a given committee within Slow Food Indy, all chairmembers must also be team-leaders, of which we only keep about 6. It's been deemed that this needs to change, given that there are far more issues than team-leaders, and, as great as they are, they've found they cannot keep up with everything without loosing their dayjobs.

We had a pair of Hendersons get up and tell us about the great fundraising achievements of the year amounting to about $21,000. We were also approached by Jack Johnson, who keeps -- as a number of with-it musical artists do today -- up on a bit of continual philanthropy for good causes such as what perhaps includes our own.
The past seasons were too a mixed blessing given the news of Kelly Funk, with many of our and others' fundraising dollars going to assist with keeping things in order during her recovery.
Tyler announced the establishment of an official account set aside for such grievous events befalling our local producers called simply: the Farmer Support Fund: money set aside to help area farmers when in times of dire need.

On this note, Jessica from This Little Farm storage and processing facility got up and explained what had happened. A fire began in the main building and though it was evacuated quickly, the approximately 1-year-old facility was all but lost. Much of the savings of the crew of This Little Farm had gone into construction and equipment for the facility. It was erected as a way to enable small producers to create product without investing undue amounts of time or money in packaging, rendering, or storage. Although they had already begun to see some returns on the investment, the blaze was a spanner in the works. The team had already landed grants to proceed with operations and improve their process. At present, they are still bound by the obligations of the grants, but are suddenly without the capability to fulfill them. Given that so much literally went up in flames, they are looking for help.

More details should be available about this and internal proceedings at the upcoming 7-O'clock assembly on the evening of the 24th at New Day Meadery in Fountain Square, or by e-mailing the any of the Slow Food leadership.

After the team-leader -candidates are announced, we have Slow Food USA's Josh Viertel to the stage.

He begins with a story about hitchhiking in Sicily. He explains briefly that with the course of his philosophical education, he dealt with a lot of rhetoric about the nature of physical work in one aspect as a means to verify and concrete reality for oneself. He realized that for all his confidence in the words, he did not himself feel confident what physical work meant and was. After speaking with an advisor, and then flagrantly disregarding the advice of said advisor, he put school on hold and left to begin shepherding and farming. It was somewhere in the middle of that that the diminutive Fiat 500 rolled to a stop to pick him up by the shoulder. Josh struck up a conversation with the driver, explaining among other things what had brought him there. It seemed that much of it did not connect, but an aha-moment came when the man seemed to come abreast of what he was saying. He explained back essentially that wisdom comes not strictly from exercising the mind in itself, elucidating properwisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from touching, seeing, and thinking, and that Josh had intuitively detected some imbalance or injustice within himself that he lacked in one department. The driver was himself introspective, feeling he lacked in much the opposite way.

Josh then gives us a piece of his reflection on what perhaps originally leant him to the attraction toward such a position as president of Slow Food. He explained that much of his childhood was spent playing on the kitchen floor, with one of his favourite toys being one of those metal flower-shaped folding vegetable steamers. He speculates he absorbed some his foundations from the time spent on that floor: the ideal that regardless of the circumstances within his family -- good times and hard -- they would always sit down together for dinner. Food was a medium over which to commune and address problems together. He took with him that people deserve this time spent together, regardless of their economic situation, or walk in life.

He describes next a conversation about hearing the other side. About sitting down and talking with someone who is not family, in fact who considers him to be an antagonist. He is on a plane. He's sitting next to a man in plain clothes with a hat which gives him away as a fishing enthusiast. Josh, partial to fishing himself, strikes up a conversation with the man, learning that he has a daytime profession as a conventional commodity-crop -grower of corn or soybeans. When it comes time for Josh to explain himself, he does and receives a curt reaction, something like, "Oh, so you're the people that I hate." Surprised but persisting, Josh encourages the man (Bill) to explain his position. He felt belittled and devalued by the perception that what he was doing was somehow bad or wrong. He was proud of what he had, proud of doing farmwork. He was afraid it would be taken away from him. Afraid of foreclosure if he could not keep up. Angry with the seed companies, and their growing model. He explained how great that first year had been. How everything had gone like clockwork, how a cropdusting had never delivered such results. But then, the continual need to purchase more seed, and the climbing input-requirements of fertilizer and pesticides. The rising debts. He felt in a way, duped. Slow Food USA was really the very least of his enemies. Josh had just been a vent for frustration, but had listened. He explained that the ideals of the organization were, albeit for different reasons, quite in line with the man's complaints, and how he felt they should be addressed.
By the end, Josh said, it had not been an entirely comfortable flight, but he was glad to have had the conversation, and at least briefly step out of the bubble of abuzzly contentment that we all know can come so gladly from great potlucks with great food, and good company.

Halfway between New York and Berkley and California, he mentions the importance of his stop here in Indianapolis. One of his fears when he's lobbying in Washington later this year is that after his initial explanation of what he and his organization are after is that he'll immediately get the question, "Well, where are your offices?" And if he answers "Ah, well, they're all in New York." then he'll be swiftly written off for being disconnected from where it is all happening, and how it really works.
He urged us as more representative members of the Midwest to continue to speak our message and talk with conventional growers about the state of our food system in the US.

The effort is for a simple purpose; people are connected by having had food together, clearly, and once this bond is established, addressing other problems, such as rebuilding from tragedy is but a small thing. Josh tells us of his vision where all of America comes together one day a week to share a meal. Suddenly, the issues we have all start to seem that much more surmountable.

He finally tells us of a story from one year's Terra Madre, as he's stuck as an English-speaking envoy with another party waiting on one more before they can leave on the shuttle. They are only a short leg away from hotels and other services, and Josh has been underway for more than a half day and is ofcourse fancies himself quite tired. Josh keeps being given the bad news of more delays every half-hour, and reluctantly but faithfully keeps up his end, reporting the coming tidings. He talks a bit with the translator for the group to whom he's passing the messages, and it turns out that their journey had begun with a two-day walk to a bus-station, and had lasted far, far longer than his own. Again a brief aside with the Italian organizer. Another delay. Another. Josh dutifully keeps passing it along, each time with a more grievous apology. The translator to whom he's passing the messages for the group tells him to stop saying sorry. Once he's got his attention he explains easily, "Listen. You all have the watches, _we_ have the time."

After a few questions are fielded, we're reminded that the upcoming Farm Bill is our most important goal at present. We're left with one more quote before parting, repeated a few times for emphasis: "You can't get to Heaven with the contents of your totebag from the farmer's market," and paired secondhand from Tyler, "Think not how you spend your time, but how you spend [and invest] yourself." We're then encouraged as members and enthusiasts to become otherwise engaged, and do more for good food, fair food, and sustainability.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Indy's Kitchen - Culinary Sampler

Sunday January 30th from 2pm to 5 pm.

Join Indy's Kitchen to celebrate chefs and bakers. You will enjoy:

  • Samples from caterers and bakers
  • Drawing for a party at Indy's Kitchen for 30 people or more
  • Monon Coffee samples and your favorite drinks
  • Conversation with food Entrepreneurs

Indy's Kitchen is a shared-use kitchen that rents by the hour. We help food businesses get started without high financial risk.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Irvington Green Initiative Soup Swap Day

On Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Irvington Green Initiative is hosting a soup swap in honor of National Soup Swap Day/Indiana Local Food Soup Swap Day. Bring up to 6 quarts of frozen soup, featuring at least one local ingredient, and copies of the recipe/ingredients list. You'll leave with as many quarts as you bring.

Also bring a can of soup to contribute to Gaia Works' food pantry.

Miranda will have tea, sandwiches, salads, soups, and sweets available (minimum $5 purchase if ordering food).

All are welcome! Please RSVP on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/4chaapz
or by calling Shawndra at 359-2206.

When: 6-8pm Wednesday, Jan. 26
Where: Irvington Iris Tea Room, 130 S. Audubon

National Soup Swap: http://tinyurl.com/4f28bny
Indiana Local Food Soup Swap: http://tinyurl.com/4qgj4k7

Sunday, January 23, 2011

A message from the Cornucopia Institute regarding Genetically Engineered Alfalfa

Tell President Obama that you don’t want organic and conventional agriculture contaminated by GE Alfalfa, and that you have a right to eat meat, dairy, and eggs from livestock who consume non-genetically engineered crops.

Monsanto’s controversial genetically engineered alfalfa threatens to contaminate both conventional and organic agriculture year after year with the spread of its foreign DNA. Alfalfa, a perennial crop with a pollination radius as large as 5 miles, is open-pollinated by bees and other insects. It is the fourth most widely grown crop in the U.S. and a fundamental source of livestock forage for dairy and beef farmers. And don't forget to tell him that you don't want to eat honey contaminated with man-made genetic material either! Ask the president if he trusts this, untested, novel approach to producing food for his two girls.

Unfortunately, the USDA is moving towards approval of GE Alfalfa. Contact President Obama today and let him hear your voice. To view Cornucopia’s alfalfa factsheet, click here.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

A Message from This Old Farm - Colfax, IN

This Old Farm (Erick and Jessica Smith) lost their entire meat processing operation due to a fire in the smokehouse on Monday, Dec. 27. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the live animals were saved, but all the meat carcasses waiting to be processed, plus the freezer inventory, were a total loss. Many farmers in the community relied on This Old Farm for timely, humane, and safe processing of their livestock, in order to sell at the IWFM, Traders Point Creamery Winter Market, summer farmers markets, and other retail outlets. This is a huge loss to the farming community. Please read the following letter from This Old Farm.
_______
Hello This Old Farm Customers and Friends,

We want to take a moment to thank you all for your prayers and support. It has been comforting to hear the concern and understanding in the voices of those who have contacted us in regards to the loss from the fire. We are working on finding a facility to have a temporary partner relationship with while we rebuild our processing facility. As we explore this option, we ask that you continue to be patient while we take the time needed to pursue a new plan.

Many kind-hearted people have offered to help in any way they can. Thank you so much for that generous offer. This Old Farm was insured at the time of the fire. However, the funds provided will not cover the cost to rebuild the facility. We thought it would be helpful to us and to you to provide a list of ways you are able to help.

Our “Wish List” is as follows:

  • Prayers
  • Financial contribution of any amount (proceeds to rebuild the facility)
  • Equipment storage while we rebuild
  • Volunteers for clean-up crew or anyone with professional experience
  • Ideas to help our efforts
  • Pledges for restoration and supplies
  • Meat processing equipment and stainless steel tables
  • Office equipment (nearly new computers, executive desks, phone systems, folding chairs and tables)

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers and patience. You are very important to us. We look forward to providing healthy foods to the community in the New Year!

Sincerely,

The This Old Farm Team

9572 W Co Rd 650 S

Colfax, IN 46035