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Sent November 11th, 2007
I.
II. Root Crops Available
III. Localvore Summit Notes
IV. Localvore Wish List
V. State Buy Local Efforts
Don’t forget the
BLACKWELL ROOTS FARM & WINTER CROPS
Blackwell Roots Farm, in Cabot, is selling root vegetables from the farm on Saturdays while supplies last. See their website at: http://blackwellroots.com/
LOCALVORE
Localvores from around the region hold periodic summits and the most recent one happened at the Cobb Hill community in Hartland. Flo Miller, Sharon Plumb, Anita Kelman and Helen Labun Jordan went from the
WISH LIST OF FOODS
Anita has started a list of foods that could be available in a localvore version but currently aren’t (or not in large quantities). See what she has thought of so far at http://centralvtlocalvores.pbwiki.com and add your thoughts!
STATE & BUY LOCAL
The Times Argus ran a story today (Sunday) on plans to increase state government purchasing for local foods. The link is below and the text follows the localvore summit highlights at the end of this e-mail. To be fair, the state is definitely not starting from zero. For example, Helm is quoted about the State House cafeteria not purchasing his beef. . . the cafeteria has actually carried local beef for several years. But that’s not to say that more can’t be done.
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071111/NEWS02/711110384/1003/NEWS02
LOCALVORE
Thanks to all who brought their wonderful energy, great ideas . ..
and delicious food to our Localvore gathering on Saturday. Here are some
highlights from our day together:
Sharing of activities and news
Sharon Mueller, who organized the first Springfield Localvore Challenge
this summer, reported that 40-45 people were involved. They organized
a well-attended Farm and Garden Tour, made a presentation at the
Mad
Robin McDermott summarized some of their many activities.
280+ people took the one-week challenge. There were farmers market
events: Bread & Puppet helped dramatize the issue of the "chicken"
legislation and there was a chef demonstrating what to do with a whole
chicken. (Robin passed around a handout "Working with a Whole Chicken.)
They had a gazpacho tasting, an heirloom tomato tasting (comparing
with store-bought tomatoes!) beef sampling, etc and sold Localvore
Starter Kits. They also organized "socials" hosted in various homes:
salsa-making, kimchi and saurkraut, elderberry jelly, preserving tomatoes, medicinal herbs. (They charged a nominal materials fee to cover costs.) They publicized the Challenge by placing handmade "campaign" signs on lawns and at farms around town and along RT 100 "Eat Local Squash", "Eat Local Carrots", "Take the Eat Local Challenge", etc Robin shared some of their menu cards and info sheets ("Confused about Fat? Choose Grass-fed!") which are beautifully done. A MRV group has organized
to purchase a 20 acre farm with help from Vermont Land Trust. They
are looking for someone interested in farming the land which comes
with a house, barn and 5-bay garage. (11 acres are farmable. Interested
parties should call 802-496-3567.) Thirteen restaurants and four inns
took part in the challenge, and a gas station convenience store. One
inn indicated that with 6 months lead time they could organize a localvore "package" week or weekend. Schools participated in the challenge. Their high school has hired a chef Paul Morris (who immediately converted the cafeteria from paper and plastic to real plates and silverware); he offered Localvore lunches. Several MRV Localvores did a tasting at the school, having students compare local carrots and apples to non-local store-bought. Use of Technology: Communication was through
"Constant Contact" which facilitates newsletter creation and manages
data bases. Not-for-profit price is $200/year and, conceivably, all
Localvore groups could be organized through this system. They plan
to make attractive packages (popcorn, cornmeal, dried beans, etc with
"Food with a Story" info) for holiday gift-giving.
Helen Jordan reports that about 70 people signed up for the Challenge.
Their group started a web site and have about 200 people on their
mailing list. She reported on the Leadership Challenge and the Kick-Off
Cook-Off which drew about 400 people. (These are both amazing and
well-reported events which one can Google for more info) Helen is
leaving her post as Contact and chief organizer for Central VT to
organize Vermont's Buy Local campaign.( The new Contac are Sharon Plumb <sharon.plumb@gmail.com> and Flo Miller<florence.miller@gmail.com>
Upper Valley:
The Upper Valley Localvores had a month-long September Challenge with 60-80 people participating. There was a Kick-Off event; UV Steering Committee provided refreshments and all others were asked
to bring local food door prizes, from their gardens or kitchens,
etc.( A Localvore Scavenger hunt was very successful as an ice-breaker
activity. Folks had to find a gardener, wild edibles forager, food
preserver, etc and interview them . . there was a great buzz of local
foods talk!) There was support from 7 restaurants( the post-challenge
survey indicated that most people did not avail themselves of that
option given that most of the restaurants were high-end.) There were
several work-based localvore activities: Mt. Ascutney Hospital Localvores
organized a challenge week with a daily farmers market at the hospital;
Dartmouth's Health Awareness Program focused on eating local foods
all summer with info on their web site and forwarded all Upper Valley
Localvore emailings to the 70-80 Dartmouth College employees who
had registered; the Student Conservation Association (North Charlestown, NH) hosted a potluck Localvore lunch with Pat McGovern and Sharon Mueller talking about Localvore, and they posted Localvore info on their web site. There was a Wild Edibles Foraging Tour in May, a Root Cellar/Greenhouse tour in October (two of the hosts were Deb Jones (at Cobb Hill) and Sylvia Davatz), as well as an afternoon of free applepicking and cider making at Kye Cochran's farm. Frugal Localvore columns were run in the Upper Valley Food Co-op newsletter, written by various Localvores.
The post-challenge survey indicated that TIME was the major concern
with the 100-mile diet. Good news from the area: there will be a Winter
Farmers Market in
Farmers Market in
to offer a farm-stored winter CSA. Sad news was that Great River Farm
lost their wheat crop ( appreciation was expressed for "
Local Banquet" article on wheat growing. It's encouraging to know
that work is being done to develop a wheat that will do well in this
climate.)
Helen Jordan reported on some of Post-Oil's Localvore
activity, having recently met with Tim Stevenson. November 3rd was
the opening day of their winter farmers market - in its second year.
They are planning to open a
which will include a community kitchen . They have worked with Brattleboro Food Co-op to highlight local foods in the store and there is a plan to expand the locally grown options. The deli now has local labeling on prepared foods.
Hannah Grimes Localvores:
Helen reports that they are about to launch an updated localvore website.
There was no representation from
but Nancy Turner reports that City Market Co-op was a strong supporter
of the CV September Challenge There was a huge banner announcing
the Localvore Challenge and they carried the Localvore bread made
by Red Hen. (So Nicole and Eric did not have to act as bread brokers.)
Nancy Turner reports that Ginger Nickerson is currently on a sub-committee of the Sustainable Ag Research Committee. (This
committee could have done the grains survey of bakeries and co-ops
that the Grains and Beans Localvores did last year.)
Anita Kelman passed around a list of foods that could be grown in
our region, but are not done so commercially. (I am hoping Anita will
send this list to all of us - maybe some of these things are being
done somewhere?) Anita would like to work with a group of interested
people on expanding the repetoire; if interested, contact Anita. (Sylvia
Davatz is particularly interested in season-extending varieties and
has done much work in this area and is interested in collaborating
with Anita.)
Kye Cochran reported on the Neighboring Co-ops collaboration. 13
co-ops from VT, NH, and northwestern MA have issued a "Middlebury
Manifesto" which, among other commitments, pledges the group's support
for local growers and local agricultural. Root veggie storage facilities? Cooperative cannery? Incubator farm? Their first step is to map the
territory delineating agriculture infrastructure. (Helen suggested
collaboration with Sustainable Ag and New England Grassroots which
have a similar mapping goal.) Both Kye and Sharon Mueller have been
involved and I am hoping one of them will send all of us the manifesto
with its stirring words!
At lunch we discussed "How to Engage the "Seasoned" Localvore." After
a few challenges, some challenge-takers have questioned the value
of a strict 100-mile diet. We have learned a lot about the food shed,
experimented with new foods and recipes, and changed our diets to
a preponderance of local foods. Those who were eager to take the
challenge once or twice may drop away from the group . is there
a way to engage them such that we have a growing population of Localvores
. . or local foods advocates? Here are a few of the ideas generated:
* Encourage seasoned localvores to become mentors of those taking
the Challenge for the first time.
* Ask them to sponsor Localvore potlucks in their homes.
* Develop a speakers bureau of those who can give presentations of
their experience . . . and maybe develop a power point or other presentation material that facilitates their talk.
* Ask seasoned Localvores to map where the items in their pantry
and fridge come from. Is the premponderance local?
* Organize field trips to interesting food places.
* Offer workshops and socials of interest
* Suggest that instead of doing the challenge they write a commitment.
Ex. "I am always going to buy local FILL IN THE BLANK (Milk?) (Cheese?)(Eggs?) (Meat)
* Ask those who garden to experiment with foods not readily available
locally. (ex. Sylvia Davatz grows peanuts and experimented with chick
peas this summer. She also grew
for 4 months. Kye Cochran grew Styrian pumpkins which are pumpkin
seed oil pumpkins.)
Wendy Sue Harper from NOFA-VT presented a wonderful brainstorm list
of possibilities for veggie season-extension, looking at education
for individuals and for farmers, the roles of distributors and markets,
and even the possible use of armories for veggie storage. Some of
the suggestions went immediately to a list for inclusion at the NOFA-VT
Winter Conference. Wendy Sue would appreciate feedback. (The list
was sent out previously; if you need a copy, contact <wsh@gmavt.net> )
Meg Klepak from NOFA-VT asked the group for suggestions for the Winter
Conference in February. There was no shortage of ideas suggested!
There was much more to discuss, but our time had run out. Some took
advantage of Deb Jones' offer to tour the Cobb Hill root cellar and
greenhouses. We will need to set a date for our next gathering, place
to be determined. It is hoped that the new group(s) in southeastern
VT will be able to attend, as well as others who were unavailable
this past Saturday.
Great to see you all! Thanks for making the trek and for the commitment
that you all have made to greater local food self-reliance. Special thanks to Deb Jones for hosting us at Cobb Hill, a great meeting space!
“STATE TO TAKE OWN ‘BUY LOCAL’ ADVICE”
TIMES ARGUS ARTICLE
State to take own 'Buy Local' advice
November 11, 2007
According to a Nov. 1 report, the state exceeds its "Buy Local" standard of 10 percent of food dollars for state institutions going to local products, but state agencies believe they can do better.
"The trend over the last few years is we're just trying to encourage consumers to buy local products. It helps the local economy and consumers know where the food comes from and support neighbors," said Anson Tebbetts, deputy secretary of agriculture. "Step two is to encourage bigger buyers, like institutions – colleges, state government – to work closely with farmers."
The report, a mandate of Act 38, which addresses the viability of
"The Frozen Butcher," as Notterman is known at farmers markets across central
Notterman said he, along with other local food producers, presented his beef products in 2003 to Statehouse cafeteria management and staff and talked to them about what he does and how he does it. Notterman left samples of his beef and "never heard a word."
That experience prompted Notterman to create a survey he sent out in 2005 and again in 2007 to legislators asking them about their awareness of locally produced foods in the Statehouse cafeteria. Notterman said the results of his 2007 survey were more encouraging than the first, and that data indicated people were noticing local food products in the cafeteria more than they were before. Still, he remains frustrated.
"I sent copies of that survey to everybody that responded (in 2005) and everybody in the Agency of Agriculture, and you know what? The silence was absolutely deafening," he said. "I understand that everybody's on a budget but if they're going to promote
State officials agree that they could do more to learn about how farmers operate and how they can make the bidding process more accessible to farmers.
Recommendations illustrated in the report to facilitate communication between farmers and vendors include: hosting a one-day training session for institutional purchasers, farmers and distributors; developing follow-up trainings and linking state institutions with farmers for pre-season planning.
One issue might be the state bidding process and whether it's in line with farmers' planning, said Robin Orr, director of purchasing and contract administration for the state. The vendor fair could be a way of getting "the people who are doing the buying talking to the farmers in advance to tell them what they need to set up a successful bid," she said. "(Because) if the bid process starts too late a small farmer might have been able to develop that capacity but those decisions have already been made."
The cafeteria at the Statehouse was recently taken over by the Abbey Group, a Sheldon food service company, that says it does its best to incorporate locally produced foods but cites such issues as communication, availability, transportation of foods and a lack of standardized billings systems as getting in the way of that effort.
"You have to go out of your way to make these connections with these farmers," said Scott Choiniere, vice president of operations. "If I had somebody coming to my back door saying 'I'd like to sell you lettuce, tomatoes and onions.' I'd say 'yeah.'"
The Abbey Group cited approximately 60 local food producers they already do business with providing food services to schools and institutions in the state. Doing business with local farmers means getting out of the office and finding out what is available and then getting the food to the vendor, another major issue.
"The biggest thing for most people is getting the product to us, that's the biggest challenge," Choiniere said.
A report of strategies for increasing the amount of local foods purchased by government entities was presented to the joint agriculture committee on Nov. 1 and seeks to address issues raised both by local farmers who are frustrated with trying to sell to the state and vendors who would like to buy more food from food producers in the state.
Contact Daphne Larkin at (802) 479-0191 ext.1171 or daphne.larkin@timesargus.com.
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