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The Solari Report – 15 Oct 2009
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On this week’s Solari Report, we will be talking about fresh food.
Let’s say my normal practice is to grab take-out on the way home from work or hit the grocery store at high speed to buy food processed by strangers thousands of miles away.
How do I instead delight in a dinner made of ingredients that came off the vine and out of the ground that day, having been grown by people I know and trust?
The question for most of us is “how?”
Reconnecting with the soil, with farmers and intimate food systems is a learning journey. You begin with practical steps that work for you and grow your local food IQ as time, taste buds and networks inspire.
Joining me will be Jean Hamilton from the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont where she is the Direct Marketing and Community Food Security Programs Coordinator.
Jean is one of those wonderful members of a younger, vibrant generation that is helping to build local organic food capacity, having spent seven years working on organic farms before her current position. Speaking with her gets you excited about what is possible.
Jean develops direct farmer to consumer marketing opportunities through farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs in Vermont. She coordinates initiatives to make local and organic food more accessible, including promoting stronger farm to school connections, linking food stamp benefits to farmers’ markets, and coordinating a statewide-subsidized CSA share program.
Topics include:
- Terms: Organic, biodynamic, permaculture, local
- Farmers’ markets
- Community supported agriculture (CSA)
- Community gardens
- Community kitchens
- Food coops
- Gardening, orchards and edible landscapes
- Local nurseries and seed companies
- Seed banks
- Farm to consumer initiatives
- Farm to school connections
- Going local with food stamps
- Restaurants and grocery stores
- Learning more: workshops, websites, magazines and mapping
- Using Solari Circles to build local food networks
- Opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors
- Investing in farmland and farmers
- Food banks
Jean will join me for our Let’s Go to the Movies segment. We will be discussing the fascinating documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John about farmer John Peterson’s transition from operating a traditional family farm to a biodynamic farm that operates a successful CSA in Illinois, Angelic Organics.
In our Money and Markets segment, I will address current events, including why awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama is an important part of keeping the economic slow burn going. In Ask Catherine, I will respond to more great subscriber questions.
If you would like to learn more about The Solari Report and subscribe, click here. Subscribers access our complete mp3 archive.
For the rest of October, we are donating $75 for every annual subscription received to support GATA’s Freedom of Information lawsuit against the Federal Reserve.
LINKS:
View this week’s Money & Markets Charts, to be posted this Thursday.
Here are links to help you connect with local food and agriculture networks in your region that we anticipate referring to in this week’s discussion:
- Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
- Local Harvest: Information about CSA, farmers’ markets, and farms nationwide
- Coop Directory: Information about natural food co-ops and buying clubs nationwide.
- Edible Communities: Community of magazines focused on local food communities around the USA.
- Joel Salatin and Polyface Farm
- National Farm to School Network
- Slow Food: International organization with local regional chapters focused on sustainable agriculture and gastronomic traditions.
- Weston Price Foundation
- WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
- High Mowing Organic Seeds
- Johnny’s Selected Seeds
- Organic Seed Alliance
- Small Farmers Journals
