January Open Networking Meeting: TedxManhattan Screening with Brooklyn Food Coalition

Submitted by gabrielle on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 10:51

Food Systems Network and Brooklyn Food Coalition present

TedxManhattan: Changing the Way We Eat

For our January Open Networking Meeeting, FSNYC will partner with the Brooklyn Food Coalition to host a viewing party for a live telecast of the TedXMahattan conference on January 21st, 2012 from 10am-6pm.

Viewing Party
Where: Brooklyn Food Coalition Office,  33 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Date: Saturday, January 21st
Time:  10:00am- 6:00pm
Cost:  Free!
Please note: Attendees are not required to stay for the entire event
and may come and go as they wish. If you are feeling inspired, please
bring a dish to share with the group!

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives.The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to organize independent, TED-like events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Shale Gas Drilling and the Food Shed: Head of Environmental Health at CDC Expresses Concern

Submitted by gabrielle on Tue, 01/10/2012 - 16:11

January 8, 2012

by Ken Jaffe


Below is the full text of last week’s email from Dr. Christopher Portier, head of CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).  I believe it’s the first publication of the full text, which I obtained through the CDC press office.  The  story was covered on 1/5/12 by Kevin Begos of the APquoting excerpts of the email.

As dry as the document is, in several ways it represents a major change in mainstream scientific thinking about public health risks of gas drilling.

1.    Dr. Portier essentially states that he cannot say that hydrofracking is safe. This is said in a veiled way, by stating that he cannot confirm that it poses a risk to public health, but that he has “data of concern”.  If you think about it for a moment, saying he cannot confirm that drilling is unsafe is he same as saying he cannot confirm that it’s safe. (Two mutually exclusive options—safe/unsafe. Uncertainty about whether one option being true is really uncertainty about whether either option is true.)  So in stating that he cannot confirm that drilling is unsafe he is also stating that he cannot confirm that fracking does not poses a risk to public health–but that he had data of concern.  It’s just a shade less in-your-face in our current regulatory world, where it’s hard for someone whose job is protecting public health to state outright, yet,  that the gas industry poses a risk to public health. Given the ATSDR reputation for not making waves, this statement is pretty bold.

CLASS: Policy for New York Food System Change

Submitted by gabrielle on Tue, 01/10/2012 - 14:12

By Thomas Forster

This month a New School continuing education course that provides citizen activists and working professionals with a foundation in food and farm policy change for New York, the nation and our world will begin its fifth season. “Food Policy for the Local Food Revolution” is taught by former farmer and policy campaigner Thomas Forster over 15 Monday evenings at 6 pm from January 23 to May 14. This course gives tools through readings, discussion and guest lectures to policy learners from beginning to advanced levels so they may comprehend and engage city, state, national and international food and farm policy processes.

Winter and spring 2012 is a critical year for food and agriculture policy. The class will learn about NYC City Council FoodWorks agenda and about new interest in the resilience of the food system at City Hall. The federal food and farm bill will be debated in Congress during this class, and students will learn just how important New York is to the national debate on the future of food.  At the international level the UN headquarters in New York will be the venue for a global debate about the nexus of food security, climate change and economic volatility. This class gives students much more than an armchair view of these linked processes, bringing them up close to policy actors and organizations in real time policy research and action.

For more information about this and other New School continuing education classes, visit the online catalogue at http://ceregistration.newschool.edu/register/index.cfm

Food Detective: Plovgh

Submitted by gabrielle on Tue, 01/10/2012 - 11:48

by Erick Brenner with Jessica Scheer, both of FamilyCook Productions

When I first became involved in Dekalb Market, a new local shopping venue in Downtown Brooklyn, part of the discussion was building the perfect urban farm stand. As a farmer, I understood the many hurdles facing small farms in establishing themselves in city markets: time constraints, long commutes in and out of the city at ungodly hours, establishing oneself in the flush Greenmarket. For Dekalb’s purposes there would be the added hurdle of stocking a seven-day-a-week operation with “fresh-from-the–farm” produce. The developers of Dekalb Market approached several larger grocers to try fill this void before stumbling upon Plovgh.com.

What initially appealed to me about Plovgh is their purpose: they function primarily as an online Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) alternative and farm-stand.   Their model can work because they understand the hurdles farmers face in meeting their markets and have created an extremely user-friendly process for both farmers and veggie-hungry consumers.  

JOB: President at Glynwood Center Inc.

Submitted by gabrielle on Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:48

Job Position: President (chief executive) of Glynwood Center, Inc.
Submission Deadline: February 10, 2012

Glynwood Center, Inc. is one of the nation’s premier nonprofit organizations in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural community development. We are now seeking a new President (chief executive) to take us into our next era of growth and expansion, building on a remarkable 17-year history of creative successes.

About Glynwood.

Glynwood’s mission is to enhance and strengthen the regional food system in the greater Hudson River Valley. Our home-base is a 225 acre farm and homestead in Cold Spring NY (approximately 90 minutes north of New York City in Putnam County), which encompasses a fully working demonstration farm with livestock, crops, an apprentice program and CSA; offices and meeting rooms (in former stables); and several homes and houses (staff housing and conference facility).

In addition to farming, educational and public activities at our facilities in Cold Spring, Glynwood also conducts a number of outreach programs, and develops model pilot projects. All our efforts are designed to improve the quality and expand the capacity of the regional food system, and to engender a rural community context in which local agriculture and its culture can flourish. Over the years, we have built a large and loyal network of people, organizations and communities -- local, regional, national, and international -- that turns to Glynwood for leadership, guidance and information about the growth and development of regional food systems and rural community development.

Glynwood’s immediate service region, the Greater Hudson River Valley, extends from the tri-state metro area of New York City, north to the state’s capital region in Albany and beyond; and from the Catskill Mountains to Western Massachusetts. Currently, we maintain a staff of 13 full-time and 3 part-time employees, and have an annual budget of approximately $2.9 million. Our endowment draw is applied toward our site operations, and we maintain an active ongoing resource and fund development program.

Uncommon Goods: A Man and His Ox

Submitted by gabrielle on Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:04

by: Ed Yowell

“Whoa, farming with oxen…there’s a story,” I thought when, at a Wednesday, Union Square Greenmarket, I spoke to farmer and friend Mike Betit, of Tamarack Hollow Farm in Burlington, Vermont.  (Some Newsletter readers may remember Mike as one of four, a farmer, Mike, two butchers, and a chef, who returned to omnivorous ways after their adventures in vegetarianism, as recounted in ‘Born Again Omnivores.”

Mike, and his partner Amanda Andrews, farm 88 acres, with about six acres under organic cultivation in 2011 and with plans to increase to ten acres this spring.  Tamarack Hollow started transitioning from being primarily a pig farm to a more diversified operation in 2008.  With the Great Recession, Mike saw the demand for his sustainably raised, pastured pigs start to decrease…he produced 300 pigs in 2008 and 70 in 2011.  Mike said, "Prior to 2008, the demand for good protein was increasing, and supply increased to meet the demand.”  He continued, “With the recession, people just weren't buying high-priced protein. It was one of the first things they cut."  Consequently, Mike and Amanda’s fresh and smoked pork products at market are now increasingly supplemented by organic produce including greens and cabbages and turnips, radishes, and other root vegetables.  

Edible Schoolyard NYC Showcase School Application Now Available

Submitted by gabrielle on Mon, 01/09/2012 - 14:55

Edible Schoolyard NYC is excited to announce an incredible opportunity for New York City public elementary schools that are looking to bring a unique health, wellness and sustainability program to their schools.  After establishing a successful program in Brooklyn we are expanding to the other four boroughs and are looking for our next partner schools!  Edible Schoolyard NYC is currently accepting applications from Title 1 elementary schools in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island that would like to become the next Edible Schoolyard NYC Showcase School.

Edible Schoolyard NYC is a nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to build gardens and kitchen classrooms where children can engage in hands-on learning. Our goal is to provide students with the knowledge, skills and environment required to make healthier choices and change the way they eat…for life.

To learn more about becoming a Showcase School, please visit www.esynyc.org/becomeashowcaseschool. And if you know of a school that is ripe for an edible education, please forward this application!   

Thank you for your belief in our work to change the way New York City public school students eat...for life. If you have any questions, please contact Heidi Exline at hexline@esynyc.org or at (347) 565-0100.

JOB: Part Time Dietitian at Lantern Community Services

Submitted by gabrielle on Wed, 12/14/2011 - 11:26

Lantern Community Services ("LCS") is the social service wing of the Lantern Group, a not-for-profit housing developer and service provider, established in 1997 to participate in activities that strengthen New York City communities. LCS provides services to residents living in more than 1000 units of permanent affordable and supportive housing for low-income families and individuals living with special needs including mental illness, HIV/AIDS, as well as young adults aging out of foster care.

Lantern Ventures is a subsidiary of the Lantern Group that helps Lantern tenants develop greater social and economic independence through food and nutrition programming, employment services, and job opportunities at Lantern-run food businesses.

Location:
New York, NY

Job Description:
Lantern Ventures has recently launched several new programs intended to increase the independence of our tenants. These programs include Lantern Catering, a Lantern-Ventures-run food service enterprise that provides daily meals at Lantern housing sites, incorporating healthy  food;  a supported employment program, two food retail establishments that serve as job training programs for individuals with mental illness; and agency-wide health and nutrition programming, including food guidelines, the promotion of EBT-use at farmers markets, and nutrition workshops.

December Open Networking Meeting: Dekalb Market

Submitted by gabrielle on Tue, 12/06/2011 - 11:33

Holiday Networking with Food Entrepreneurs at Dekalb Market



Celebrate local food entrepreneurship with FSNYC on a tour of Dekalb Market
where you'll find recycled shipping containers teeming with Brooklyn’s
entrepreneurs and chefs. The setting is also home to FOOD 360, an
innovative farm to fork job training program and partnership between the Market, FSNYC member FamilyCook Productions, and the new kitchen incubator: Market Share. We suggest you plan to arrive at 12:00, enjoy lunch from the delicious eateries that are part of the market, or buy local produce from the market’s farm stand at Plough. At 12:30, there will be hot cider and nibbles with the project participants:



Eldon Scott, Urban Space, developers of Dekalb Market



Michael Silver, Workforce Development and NYC Small Business Solutions



Lynn Fredericks, FamilyCook Productions, Food 360 @Dekalb Market



Erica Brenner, FamilyCook Productions, Food 360 Farmer



Rich Awn, Market Share, kitchen incubator & retailer @Dekalb Market



 

Tours of the market and the farm/kitchen will be organized starting at 1:00 pm. Plan to come early and stay late! 

Date: December 13, 2011


Time: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM


Location:  Dekalb Market, 138 Willoughby, Brooklyn, NY (enter from Flatbush Avenue Extension and turn right toward the 'farm' along Willoughby street where we will gather at 12:30 !)

Suggested donation: $5 for non-members, though no one will be turned
away for lack of funds. Avoid the fee by joining now! Visit:
http://foodsystemsnyc.org/joinnow

Farm Bill 1.08

Submitted by gabrielle on Tue, 12/06/2011 - 09:22

Subsidizing the National Breadbasket
By Abby Youngblood and Ed Yowell

A Little Farm Subsidy History
During the Great Depression, rural poverty and non-rural hunger were profound.  The nation’s first Farm Bill, the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act, was a part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal.  In it, commodity crop-specific price and income support programs were established to assist farmers economically and to help feed the hungry.  Since that time, these supports have been a core part of agricultural policy in the United States, comprising the most significant portion of the “farm safety net.”  Successive Farm Bills, from the second, the 1936 Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, to the most recent, the 2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act, perpetuated the farm safety net.  However, both the structure of the farm safety net and scale and character of farming in the United States have changed dramatically since the first farm bill was introduced in 1933.  

The original farm safety net helped support the small, labor intensive, diversified farms that then characterized farming in the United States.  The 1936 Farm Bill linked commodity programs and soil conservation and encouraged farmers to idle some of their land to avoid overproduction.  The following Farm Bills, of 1949, 1954, and 1956, continued to rely on price supports and supply control (farmers being paid to leave land unused or to put crops into storage).  However, since World War II, farming changed in a number of ways: 

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