Webinar tomorrow on funding opportunities for farm to school programs

Funding Partnerships: Farm to School & Farm Credit

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 12pm CST

Join the National Farm to School Network and Farm Credit for a webinar highlighting innovative ways to partner with you local Farm Credit association, and learn how your program can grow with creative funding and partnership opportunities. Register here. 

Webinar on the economic impact of local food systems

In October 2015 the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems convened a special one-day invitational workshop focused on the economic impacts of  local and regional food systems.  The core of the workshop was based on a USDA-funded local food economic toolkit project

Because there was so much interest in the workshop, the Center for Regional Food Systems is working with the (workshop) instructors to offer a special webinar on Monday, December 14th from 1:30 to 2:30 pm EST.  This webinar will provide an overview of what was covered in the October workshop. Instructors will be Dawn Thilmany and Becca Jablonski from Colorado State University.

To  register for this webinar and receive an e-mail confirmation with information to join the webinar please click the link below

https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/3737f4e2e499c77c66858a512be5123a

You must register in order to join the webinar. The webinar will be recorded and the link posted on the Center for Regional Food System's website within a few days after the webinar.

Online courses in sustainable food and farming

UMass winter online classes are beginning to fill up and they are also registering for spring semester.  Offerings include:

Winter Courses (December 21 – January 16, 2016)

• STOCKSCH 100 – Botany for Gardeners (GenEd-BS)
• STOCKSCH 197 A – Backyard Homesteading
• STOCKSCH 258 – Urban Agriculture
• STOCKSCH 355 – Community Food Systems
• STOCKSCH 397 ES – Exploring Success in Sustainability
• STOCKSCH 397NP – Non-profit Management for Community Food Programs

Registration for spring semester is now open.

Spring Courses (January 19 – April 27, 2016)

• STOCKSCH 197 G – Introduction to Permaculture
• STOCKSCH 265 – Sustainable Agriculture
• STOCKSCH 297 PP – Pastured Poultry
• STOCKSCH 297 FP – Farm Planning, Marketing & Management
• STOCKSCH 397 GF – Global Food Systems
• STOCKSCH 397 S – Sustainable Site Planning and Design
• STOCKSCH 397 SP – Social Permaculture for Food Justice

To begin planning for the future, see….

Annual Class Schedule

Junior Iron Chef registration open

4th Annual North Country Jr. Iron Chef is Coming! ncjrironchef.org Registration is Open Online Space is limited, don't delay! FORM teams of 3 to 5 middle or high school age youth CREATE healthy recipes using a combination of Local & USDA commodity foods COMPETE against teams from Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis & St. Lawrence counties JOIN US! March 12, 2016 at  A.A.K. Middle School, Potsdam Check out event guidelines, see pictures and videos, & browse cookbooks at ncjrironchef.org North Country Jr. Iron Chef is a project of the Health Initiative.         North Country Jr. Iron Chef 2016 Platinum Presenter Sponsor: North Country Jr. Iron Chef | Health Initiative, Inc. | 315.261.4760|ncjrironchef@gethealthyslc.org| ncjrironchef.org

Announcing the 2015 Growing Community Award

Each year GardenShare recognizes an individual or organization whose efforts strengthen food security in northern New York State with the Growing Community Award.  Past recipients have included farmers, food service staff, a food bank, community groups, and others.  Individuals, families, or organizations who are making progress in solving the problem of hunger through policy and advocacy work or by building a stronger food system to better serve all North Country residents may be nominated for this recognition. 

We are pleased to announce that the recipients of the 2015 Growing Community Award are:

Bob Washo and Flip Filippi of 

littleGrasse Foodworks in Canton

GardenShare intern, Anna Kowanko, wrote this profile of Bob and Flip and their work:

Bob Washo has said, “we’re not in the business of selling food, but in the business of feeding people.” While this statement may seem obvious, it is actually a paradigm shift from the industrial food system so many of us must rely on today where there is a vast disconnect between growers and consumers. Bob Washo and Flip Filippi, the founders of littleGrasse Foodworks in Canton, NY, have a farm surrounding this principle, the principle of creating more than food, but forming a community. According to Bob and Flip, "litleGrasse is a community farm open to all people interested in engaging with our local food system in a meaningful way."

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Bob made it to Canton in 2000, and as he put it, “fell in love with the place.” Outside of the farm Bob is a chair of the Canton Sustainability Committee and has recently been elected to the Town of Canton Board. He was also an active member of the discussion and planning at the Local Food, Local Places planning project. Growing up in a homestead in the North Country, Flip returned in 2008, excited to become part of the community again in a meaningful way. Flip is currently earning an M.Ed. degree at St. Lawrence University. Her thesis investigates how individuals who were shareholders at littleGrasse as college students are interacting with food systems in their post-graduation life. Generally, she is interested in experiential teaching environments that immerse students in the subject matter in meaningful and engaging ways.
Bob and Flip started littleGrasse in 2009, fulfilling both of their passions,  little Grasse itself is a CSA with about 55-60 shareholders. Bob is now in his third decade as a CSA grower.  At the farm they teach shareholders about seasonality and the constraints of a Northern climate. They provide workshops to show families how to begin feeding themselves locally for twelve months a year.

They are in close contact with local college students providing them with summer internships, Community Based Learning volunteer positions, as well fall farm shares. littleGrasse also participates in GardenShare’s Bonus Bucks Program, receiving about six applications this past year, which helps to support a wider range of local residents. Monthly potlucks are held at the farm to encourage community members of all ages to come together.

Carol Pynchon explained in her nomination submission, “Bob and Flip are a force in the local food movement in the Canton area, and in educating people about the benefits of growing and eating locally.”  

“Bob and Flip both take the time to explain and teach with such patience and incredible knowledge,” wrote Jenelle Matthews in a separate nomination, “they both deserve recognition for their time and efforts, which they display to spread their 'growing' knowledge on a daily basis.”

With two separate nominations coming in, the choice was clear for the GardenShare Board of Directors!  We hope you will join us to honor Bob and Flip's work.

GardenShare Growing Community Award

January 30, 2016

2:00 PM

TAUNY, Main Street, Canton, NY

Introducing the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors

Sarah at work with some of the
tools of her trade!

Name:  Sarah Bentley-Garfinkel

Town of residence: Canton

Role at GardenShare:  Vice-President of the Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Outreach and Education Committee

How long?  I’m about to begin my 6^th year on the Board.

Why I do what I do:  I believe access to tasty, nutritious food is a basic human right, and GardenShare has a strong history of working diligently and with care to build a community where this is the reality for all people, every day.  It’s also an opportunity to foster collaboration between GardenShare and the Health Initiative, the agency where I work on issues of school wellness and child nutrition.  (And our founder, Phil Harnden, is one of my heroes.)

Role outside of GardenShare:  School Program Director, Health Initiative

What has changed the most in your time at GardenShare?  The structure of the organization - now with fabulous paid staff, and highly functional committees made up of board members and community volunteers.

What has stayed the same?  The passion behind the mission, fueled by our staff, board, volunteers, and supporters.

Share something about yourself that few people know:  I’ve always loved ballet and took regular dance classes from ages five through twenty.

What are you most proud of?  My children

What would I find in your refrigerator right now?  Bacon and tofu, half-empty containers of milk and white wine, lots of maple syrup from the trees in our yard, and last night’s roasted veggies and chicken (yay, leftovers!).

Giving Tuesday and all month long

GardenShare’s programs are connecting local people in need with locally grown food.  We are making a difference by assisting low-income families in purchasing CSA shares as well as making it possible for SNAP recipients to shop at local farmers markets.

“We love the program, it's the only way we could do a CSA.  As long as it's offered,
we'll stick with it. Grocery store fresh produce is outrageous!”

Rebecca, CSA Bonus Bucks participant, Potsdam

In addition to those direct services to low-income families, GardenShare has an active, volunteer-driven outreach and education program to let people know about hunger in the North Country and how they can help.  Our recent North Country Food Day Youth Summit was a great success, bringing almost 100 participants from 12 area schools together to learn about food, hunger, and agriculture issues.

This kind of education and outreach is important.  A mission like GardenShare's, "to solve the problem of hunger," will only be accomplished byengaging everyone in the community in a variety of ways. 

Hunger is a complex problem that will require a variety of strategies to find a solution.  Building bigger food pantries or opening more free will dinners won't solve the problem.  As a community, we need to  find multiple plans of attack for this problem.

Providing people with food in times of crisis is important, but to solve the problem, we have to look bigger - at policies and systems.  To find solutions, we need to engage government programs, local nonprofits, faith communities, businesses, farmers, and yes, the people who are struggling to put food on the table.

Doing this work requires a broad range of support - volunteers and donations of funds, goods, and services.  Will you consider how you can support GardenShare? 

Go to http://gardenshare.org/donate to make a gift today.  Or mail your gift to GardenShare, PO Box 516, Canton, NY  13617.

Got someone who is hard to shop for?  Consider a gift in that person's honor this holiday season.  Send us their name and address with the gift and we will let them know of your thoughtfulness.

Thank you, in advance, for considering a gift.  Please visit us online at www.gardenshare.org or on our Facebook page to keep up with our work.