Announcements

Screening of Big River to Benefit Food Systems Network NYC

NYC Debut of the Sequel to King Corn

Following up on their Peabody Award-winning documentary, King Corn, the filmmakers, Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney, return to the heartland on a new mission: to begin an investigation of the downstream environmental impact of their little acre of Iowa corn.

They paddle from Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico in a canoe, seeing for themselves the bigger world their little acre has affected, knowing that half of Iowa's topsoil has washed downstream and that, with it, fertilizer run-off has created a toxic "Dead Zone" in the Gulf.

Join us for the NYC debut of Big River. The evening kicks-off with a networking cocktail hour, featuring craft beers, New York State wines, and local snacks, followed by the film screening and panel discussion. Filmmakers Ian Cheney, Curt Ellis and Aaron Woolf will be joined on the panel by Hudson Valley farmer and MacArthur Genius award-winner Cheryl Rogowski and Senior Vice President of Scenic Hudson Steve Rosenberg, to discuss the film as it relates to NYC and the region.

Monday, March 15, 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (Screening at 7:00 PM)

Brecht Forum
451 West Street
(btwn. Bank and Bethune Sts.)
Manhattan

Tickets
FSNYC Members - $25
Non-members - $35

Students/AmeriCorps - $15

Tickets may be purchased here.

Do you have an environmental project for your neighborhood that could
use some love? Does your project need funding or volunteers? Do you
have a community garden that needs some plants and flowers? Do you have
a vision for a green roof or clean energy on the roof of your community
center or school? Is there an abandoned lot in your neighborhood that
could use attention? Do you want to organize some friends to pick up
trash in the park where your pets and children play every day?

Spring
is almost here. Soon we’ll be waking up our garden beds, rolling over
our compost piles, and installing solar panels and wind turbines on our
roofs. When the winter thaws, we’ll be itching to get outdoors on the
weekends and get involved in the neighborhood. ioby is here to help.

If
you have an environmental project that is discrete, site-specific in a
NYC neighborhood, with a small budget that needs funding or volunteers,
apply to post your project on ioby.org.
ioby stands for “in our backyards” and through a web platform connects
donors and volunteers to environmental projects in their neighborhoods.
To post a project, just go to ioby.org/projects/submit,
create a username and password and fill out the online application.  
For more information about what makes an ioby project, check out our
criteria (http://ioby.org/projects/criteria ), our eligibility ( http://ioby.org/projects/eligible ), and our tips for applying (http://ioby.org/projects/tips ).

Hablamos español. Contáctenos a 212-228-6947.
ioby.org

This year marks 40 years of working alongside citizens to improve New York City's environment, and we decided that the time was ripe for a makeover.

I am thrilled to report that CENYC will henceforth be known as GrowNYC.

Our new name and logo better communicate the way we improve the city: block by block and neighborhood by neighborhood.

Though our name has changed, our values and programs remain the same. We are proud of our four decades of achievement and are extremely excited about what the future holds for GrowNYC.

For forty years, CENYC - now GrowNYC - has been an essential resource for New Yorkers looking to make the city a better and more sustainable place to live, work and play.

In the future, we envision a New York City filled with:

Greenmarket sustainability centers that are a source for fresh, healthy, local produce, and a place for residents to drop their food scraps, textiles, batteries and learn about environmental issues;
a generation who will consider the concept of "garbage" obsolete;
more gardens and green spaces that harvest rainwater, grow food and serve as oases and living classrooms for all;
and New Yorkers who dig in and restore the environment around them, in the process gaining the interest and knowledge to solve future problems.
With your support, we will continue to make our city a better place to live for the next 40 years and beyond.

 From http://www.good.is/post/contest-make-a-healthy-delicious-student-lunch/

Good Magazine is obsessed with food. Specifically, what kids are given to eat every day at school for lunch. They thought a contest was in order, complete with a $50 gift card from Whole Foods Market for the five best entries. 

The rules are below:

the OBJECTIVE

Create an ideal student lunch, photograph it and submit it.

the ASSIGNMENT

Since the federal government reimburses up to $2.68 per lunch per day
(and keeping in mind that they buy in bulk, and the ingredients they
buy aren't always of the highest quality), we have made our price limit
roughly double that, assuming that if a school were to actually buy
these things in large enough quantities they would total out at well
under $5 per meal.

the REQUIREMENTS

—Ingredients must total $5 bucks or less.

—It must be a balanced meal and contain a protein, a fruit/vegetable, a grain and a dairy or dairy substitute.

—It needn't include meat, but it can; organic and sustainable ingredients are encouraged.

—It must be something that a kid might actually eat.

—Include a menu and a brief description about why your lunch is great.

—Be creative!

the SUBMISSION

Send your lunch to projects(at)goodinc(dot)com. Every submission will
be posted, and the five best will be gifted a $50 card from Whole Foods
Market. Full contest rules and regulations can be found here. Deadline: February 28th at Midnight PST.

Happy lunch-making!

More than ever before, we need to tell our state leaders why they have to invest in New York’s farm and food system.  Severe and disproportionate cuts to New York’s food, environment and agricultural programs have been proposed in Governor Paterson’s 2010-2011 State Budget. 

Some proposed cuts eliminate programs that help farmers make a good living, such as the Farmers Market Grants program and the New York Farm Viability Institute. Other programs have been slashed. The Farmland Protection Program, the premier state program for protecting irreplaceable farmland from development, may be shut down for at least two years.  Meanwhile, the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps provide nutritious food to food pantries, is being cut by $1 million. 

These cuts are not inevitable! Current funding for farms and food represent far less than one percent of the state’s $130 billion budget. There are other solutions to our budget woes than slashing programs that invest in a farm and food system which strengthens the economy, feeds people and protects the environment. 

Make a statement about your food priorities.  Send a message to state leaders.  Join the No Farms No Food Rally on March 15th at the State Capitol in Albany. Ask your local farmers market, community garden, coop or other organizations to sign on as a supporter of the No Farms, No Food agenda.

For more information or to take action, go to American Farmland Trust’s New York website at www.farmland.org/newyork, e-mail newyork@farmland.org or call (518) 581-0078. 

JOB OPENING

Riverdale Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

SITE MANAGER/VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

CSA is a unique partnership between specific farmers and consumers that enables consumers to cooperatively purchase weekly shares of fresh produce directly from participating farms. The Riverdale-Hawthorne Valley Farm CSA, established in 1996, is seeking a SITE MANAGER/VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR to manage its weekly distribution of produce.

The manager/coordinator will elicit volunteer sign-up for opening, running, and closing the delivery site at the Riverdale Neighborhood House on Thursday afternoons from mid-June to mid-November. The Site Manager/Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for

·                Overseeing and coordinating activities at the distribution site each week

·                Being sure that the distribution site is adequately staffed by CSA members

WHO:              A responsible, reliable individual who is able to work well with members, direct volunteers, and do moderate to heavy lifting.  Must be familiar with or interested in organic farming and the philosophy of CSA.

WHEN:              Must be present every Thursday afternoon from 2:00 to 7:15 p.m. from early June through mid-November.  Hours are non-negotiable.

Confirm that there is adequate member staffing for the site for the coming delivery; this can be done from home.

WHERE:              The CSA pick-up site:  Riverdale Neighborhood House on Mosholu Avenue in Riverdale, the Bronx.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

ð              Meet the truck when it arrives from the farm each Thursday

President Obama’s Feb. 1st  budget
proposal includes $1 Billion per year in additional funding for Child
Nutrition Reauthorization. But this investment won’t happen unless we
let Congress know that it’s important to us. We must act now to
communicate to the entire NY delegation our support for this proposal
and especially Senator Gillibrand, Senator Schumer, Congresswoman
Clarke, and House Ways and Means Chairman Rangel. For letters to
download and more details: http://nycforcnr.org/?page_id=107

Love honey?  Interested in bees and in joining the growing ranks of urban beekeepers?

The New York City Beekeepers Association (http://www.nyc-bees.org/) is offering two courses in 2010 for the absolute beginner and novice beekeeper.

Each course is 12 hours long, spread out over four Sundays.

Classes will meet at University Settlement at the Houston Street Center
273 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
12:00 – 3:00PM
on the dates below.

The cost of the course is $100.00 for the entire twelve-hour course,
all of which goes towards room rental and the NYCBA. Our volunteer
instructors are professional beekeepers with a collective half century
of experience.

February course:
Sundays, February 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th
12:00 - 3:00 pm

March course:
Sundays, March 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th
12:00 - 3:00 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This twelve-hour course will teach you everything you need to know to safely start and maintain a beehive.

*construction of a bee hive

* safe hive placement

* general maintenance

* troubleshooting in the hive

* processes and lifecycle within the colony

* diseases and treatments

Learn how to invigorate your vegetables and fortify your flowers
(and those of the neighborhood) while contributing to the environment
and ensuring yourself as much as 120 lbs of pure raw honey per year per
hive. This course teaches everything you need to know to start
orcontinue your fascinating love story with the bees. Learn about this
fulfilling and rewarding hobby. Become a beekeeper. It is easier than
you may think, and more rewarding than you might imagine.

Concrete Safaris is looking for a kid-friendly, part-time volunteer, urban farmer with the goal of growing produce for East Harlem residents.

They connect underserved youth to nature through hikes outside of the city and urban agriculture in Harlem.  They are seeking a part-time urban farmer to help manage the farm site which is located on NYCHA property in East Harlem.  She is hoping to help students grow at least 1,000 lbs of food next season. 

Here is a description of the work:

Concrete Safaris is seeking part-time volunteer gardeners (10 - 20 hours/week) for Mad Fun Farm, a youth-centered farm located at Washington Houses in East Harlem. Activities include planting, weeding, raking leaves and wood chips, shoveling compost and topsoil, pruning, watering, and ensuring cleanliness. Individuals who are great with children and the earth are encouraged to apply. Afternoon/evening availability a plus.

If you or anyone you know might be interested, get in touch with Mac (mac@concretesafaris.org).  Feel free to pass this info along, as well.

The University of Californian Press has released Jan Poppendieck's book on school food, Free for All: Fixing School Food in America ahead of schedule.  The book is now in the warehouse and orders are being shipped.  Using the attached flier, FSNYC members can save 20 percent when ordering a copy directly from the Press.