Grow an Extra Row

The Mad River Valley Localvore Project and the Village Grocery are teaming up to encourage Valley residents to "Grow an Extra Row" this year. The idea of the program is to help supply fresh, local produce to area foodshelves. The program, co-sponsored by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and WCAX TV, provides free seeds to people willing to devote a little space in their garden to help a hungry neighbor.

In the Mad River Valley, people interested in participating can pick up their free seeds at the Village Grocery. Once the produce is grown and harvested the VG will be the collection point for the produce. According to Troy Kingsbury, owner of the store, "We will be collecting produce donations on Wednesdays and people dropping off vegetables will get a free 'summer treat' as a thank you."

The plan is that the Localvores will then pick up the produce on Thursday mornings and deliver it to the foodshelf. Robin McDermott, who is helping coordinate the project, says that, "Our local foodshelves are staffed by volunteers; being able to centralize the collection of the food and so it can be dropped off in one delivery will make it much easier for them. Troy is providing a great service to the community."

Kingsbury also plans to weigh and record the contributions and has offered a free tank of gas (up to $100) to the person or family who donates the most fresh food during the 2008 growing season.

Most of the free seeds are for easy to grow root crops like carrots, radishes, and beets. There are also a small number of heirloom tomato seedlings that McDermott donated that will be given out on a first come, first served basis. They will be available at the VG starting on Thursday morning, June 19.

Kingsbury is a big supporter of the local food movement in the valley. In season he offers shoppers local strawberries, lettuce and other produce from local farms. He is not worried about getting too many produce donations for the foodshelf. Although the produce is perishable, he says that if the foodshelf has too much produce in a particular week he will sell it in his store and give the money to the foodshelf or he will donate the food to a local school.

McDermott, co-founder of the Mad River Valley Localvore Project, points out that this is another program that the Localvores are involved in to help make local food accessible to all Valley residents regardless of their financial ability. "Earlier this year the Localvores donated $1200 dollars of local food to the Mad River Valley Foodshelf in the form of a $600 vegetable and fruit CSA from Hartshorn Farm and another $600 meat and egg CSA from Gaylord Farm. However, it is likely that CSAs will run out of funding sometime in August and we want to keep the stream of local food flowing to the foodshelf throughout the entire growing season. Our hope is that the "Grow an Extra Row" program will do just that."

People interested in learning more about this program can visit http://www.vermontlocalvore.org/ or stop by the VG. For information on the "Grow an Extra Row" program go to http://www.wcax.com/.

Food, Fuel & The Future of Farming

“Food, Fuel, & the Future of Farming” Conference At Vermont Law School July 24–25

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT – Against the backdrop of soaring food and gas prices, Vermont Law School will host “Food, Fuel, & the Future of Farming,” a two-day conference on sustainable agriculture to be held July 24–25, 2008 in the law school’s Chase Community Center.
The keynote speaker for the conference will be Anna Lappé, national best-selling author who with her mother, Frances Moore Lappé, leads the Small Planet Institute based in Cambridge, Mass. She will deliver her address on July 24 at 5 p.m., following a reception that will feature local and organically grown food.

The first day of the conference will explore problems related to the industrial agriculture approach and offer ideas for a better model. It will also examine how farm policy relates to industrial crop culture, and the impacts of agricultural policy on the environment and global hunger. Day two will analyze biofuels and the relationship between agriculture and climate change. The conference will close with a look at the successes and challenges of creating a model of sustainable agriculture, based on Vermont experiences.

Marc Mihaly, director of the Environmental Law Center at VLS, said the conference will offer promising alternatives to the failed policies and approaches of an industrial-based agricultural system. “We need a more sustainable economic model for modern agriculture, one that will revive the American farming sector, protect the environment and the rural landscape, and provide quality food at acceptable prices,” said Mihaly. “This conference will bring together the experts—the farmers—who will help us move us closer to that goal.”

The conference is free and open to the public, although registration is required. Vermont Bar Association CLE credit is available for this event at $125 per day. For more information on the schedule, participants, and registration, visit the conference website.

Menu for the Future

I just got back from the first meeting of our Menu for the Future discussion group. The Vermont Earth Institute helps facilitate discussion courses on a variety of topics related to sustainability and the newest topic is food! I am particularly excited about this group (I've done a few before) since I helped on the committee to select the essays in the reader (it was organized and edited by the Northwest Earth Institute in Portland, OR). Basically the idea is you get together a group of friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc to come together for 6 sessions and everyone reads a handful of essays on the session topic and have a facilitated discussion for an hour or two. The overarching purpose is — To explore food systems and their impacts on culture, society and our planet; To gain insight into agricultural and individual practices that promote personal and ecological well-being; To consider your role in creating or supporting sustainable food systems.

We chose to do ours along with a potluck dinner since the topic was food. It was great to meet some new people from Calais, Berlin and Montpelier and hear about people's experiences with food, their gardens (if they had one), and other stories. It would be great to organize a group in the Mad River Valley to start later this summer or early fall. If you're interested, email me and I'll start compiling a list and try to get a group together.

As Seen In Vermont.com

The website www.asseeninvermont.com (created by a Waitsfield resident) has created a series of community forums including one dedicated to the Mad River Valley Localvores. Check it out at: http://www.asseeninvt.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=523&func=showcat&catid=21. Feel free to post your questions, thoughts, events, etc.

Rural Vermont cooking classes

Rural Vermont is hosting a series of cooking classes this summer at member's homes in the Montpelier area. Details on the dates and menus are listed below. Contact Rural Vermont to sign up: Shelby Hammond, Rural Vermont, 15 Barre St., Suite 2. Montpelier, VT 05602. (802) 223-7222. shelby@ruralvermont.org

MONTPELIER SUMMER SEASONAL COOKING CLASSES
*note: menus and topics are subject to change, based upon availability at that weekend’s farmers’ market!

June 8 (VEGETARIAN)- crustless quich with local spinach, herbs and cheese- Salad with fresh greens- Maple Rhubarb Bread Pudding- Anything else that looks odd but fun (maybe fresh horseradish in something, such as dressing) - Will depend on what's at the market!

July 19- Marinades for grilling local meats. Maybe even grilled goat??_- Quick summer salads with what’s fresh (probably two or three, possibly with local grains if available)- Salsa options- Fun with Strawberries, dipping, and shortcake

August 17- The Moroccan Tagine (North African stew), with late summer veggies and local meats- few local veggie and cheese dips and spreads- some fun seasonal salads- Fruit crisps

September 28- Hearty stew using local beans, greens and meats (including a homemade sausage tutorial)- Root roasts and soups- Some fall pasta toppings using squash and greens- Pies: apple and pumpkin

Welcome to the NEW MRV Localvore Blog!

Dear localvores,

This blog has been set up to help our Mad River Valley localvore community share information, upcoming events, links to articles of interest, sources for specialty foods, and much more! The new format will allow us to keep this blog up to date more easily.

Thanks for reading! Anyone can post comments and if you're a member of the MRV localvore community and would like to be added as a co-author of the blog, just email me.

Kate