- GGFN Event: Gorge E4 Benefit Concert at Spring House - July 31st (Support GGFN!)
- Save the Date: 3rd Annual Feast on the Farm, September 12th
- GGFN Project: Work Trade with Gorge Grown
- Volunteer Opportunity: Middle School Garden Project
- Community Project: Rainbow Valley Gleaners Harvest Project
- Farm News: Spotted Wing Drosophila East of the Cascades in Washington
- Class: Rainwater Harvesting Training Event - Oregon City, OR
- Farm Opportunity: Local Producer Loan Program with Whole Foods
- Class: Conservation Program for Small Woodland Owner - Ridgefield, WA
- Policy News: Food Policy Executive Order Signed by Governor in Washington
- Article: Arbor School Eighth-Grader Cooks Up Website and Cookbook on Healthy, Low-Cost Eating for Senior Project

On Saturday, July 31 Springhouse Cellar will host a benefit for five local non-profit organizations focused around education and sustainability. This event features live music - folk, bluegrass & funk, local beer and wine, local food snacks, and dancing!

Live music: Garett Brennan & the Great Salt Licks, Nathaniel Talbot, Hi-Fi Reset

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100% of proceeds benefit the Gorge e4 Collaborative: the convergence of 5 organizations working to cultivate the long term sustainability of the Gorge through ecology, equity, economy, and education:

- Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute
- Columbia Gorge Earth Center
- Gorge Grown Food Network
- Hood River Valley Residents' Committee
- Klahre House, a program of The Next Door

Date: July 31, 2010
Time: 7 PM (DOORS at 6:30 PM)
Location: The Ruins at Springhouse Cellar, Hood River, OR
Tickets are available for advance purchase at Springhouse Cellar or Waucoma Books.
Cost is $15, kids under 6 are free.

More event details are available at http://www.cgec.org

Save the date for this year's 3rd Annual Feast on the Farm!  It will be taking place Sunday, September 12, 2010 at Idiot's Grace in Mosier, OR.

 We're starting to plan for this event and if you like to plan parties or fundraisers we could use your help!  Join an experienced team of volunteers that makes this event unlike anything else in the Gorge -- an entirely local menu, live music, and lots of fun amidst a gorgeous cherry orchard.

If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Sarah at sarah@gorgegrown.com or 541-490-6420.

We're looking for someone who is creative and has a little bit of free time on their hands.  Gorge Grown needs a few more wooden sandwich boards that we can use to advertise for events such as our farmers' market and Feast on the Farm. We can provide modest compensation in RiverHOURS.

Please contact Sarah at sarah@gorgegrown.com or 541-490-6420 if you're interested in this work trade opportunity.

The Middle School Garden Project is a pilot program this summer educating kids about nutrition, garden practices, permaculture, and cooking. Based at Hood River Middle School, it is focused on diabetes/obesity prevention and has 30 kids being guided by teacher Michael Becker and Gorge Grown AmeriCorps member Rachel Sanders. 

They are looking for someone who can help them get ready for their farmers' market booth each Thursday from 3-5 PM for the next 5 weeks (the end of the program). They are hoping to find someone who can commit to all 5 weeks. If you like to work with kids and get hands-on time helping them make the connection between growing, selling, and eating good food, this opportunity is for you!

Please contact Ann Kramer (Gorge Grown Board of Directors) with questions or interest at her e-mail – ann@gorgegrown.com

The Washington Gorge Action Programs (WGAP) Gleaning Program has partnered with the Klickitat County Health Department to organize the Rainbow Valley Gleaners Harvest Project in an effort to help prevent homegrown food going to waste and address food insecurity in Klickitat County.

As part of the Harvest Project, a registry was designed to connect neighbors with volunteer harvesters who will collect unused fruit, nuts, and vegetables from the yards of registry participants’ at a pre-arranged date and time, take a fair share in exchange for their work, and donate the rest to local WGAP food banks. The Harvest Project is intended to create a cost-free way for low and moderate income people to obtain local, healthy foods.

Community members throughout Klickitat County are encouraged to add their fruit and nut trees and home gardens to the Harvest Project. Registration forms are available for download at www.klickitatcounty.org/health under the Rainbow Valley Gleaners Harvest Project link and can be saved and emailed to rvg_harvest_project@yahoo.com. Forms can also be picked up at the WGAP office in Bingen or the Klickitat County Health Department office at the Pioneer Center in White Salmon. Registration information is kept completely private.

Anyone who has questions about the Harvest Project can contact Meghann Dallin at the Klickitat County Health Department at 509-493-6234.

Spotted wing drosophila has recently been detected east of the Cascades in Washington State.  This has very significant ramifications for both commercial fruit producers and home gardeners.  More information on this pest can be found at http://www.ipm.wsu.edu. 
    
Soft-fruit growers of Washington and Oregon should be paying special attention to this new and potentially devastating pest as it moves north from California.  A bulletin on this pest entitled “Spotted Wing Drosophila – What You Need to Know as a Soft Fruit Grower in Washington” is available by clicking on the following link http://www.ipm.wsu.edu/small/pdf/SWD_Bulletin_Eastern_WA_v1_04.pdf .  This bulletin explains monitoring, identification, and control of the pest.
    
The latest information on SWD can be found on the WSU Mount Vernon SWD Updates <http://www.mountvernon.wsu.edu/ENTOMOLOGY/pests/SWD.html>  page and the OSU website <http://swd.hort.oregonstate.edu/>  devoted to this emerging pest.  Additional links and contacts are provided on the Small Fruits IPM subpage <http://www.ipm.wsu.edu/small/sf.html> . 
    
This insect will be a problem for home owners as well as commercial growers in both Western and Eastern Washington, and it will be very important to raise awareness and knowledge of the pest state-wide.

The American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) will be giving two classes in August at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Oregon. 

The first class on August 30th, from 8:30am to 5:00pm, will be a one-day session for anyone interested in general knowledge about rainwater harvesting for non-potable applications.  Cost is $50.

The second class on August 31st and September 1st, from 8:30am to 5:00pm each day, will be a two-day, in-depth rainwater harvesting course required for those seeking ARCSA Accredited Professional (AP) status.  Cost is $295 or $445 for workshop fee plus ARCSA accreditation exam fee.

For more information call 503-665-3144.  Registration at www.arcsa.org

Whole Foods Market® is committed to the concept of fresh, healthy, local foods. Since the beginning, we’ve supported local products and those who supply them. In addition to featuring local products in our stores, we’re putting our money where our mouths are by providing up to $10 million in low-interest loans to independent local farmers and food artisans. We’re proud to support small producers who need a hand, not a handout, to help make their dreams reality.

Producers:
- Must meet Whole Foods Market’s Quality Standards and standards for animal welfare
- Use funds for expansion and capital expenditures (e.g., buy more animals, invest in new equipment and infrastructure, or expand crops), not operating expenses
- Have a viable business plan and adequate cash flow to service debt

The Process:
- Streamlined process with fees, interest rates, and paperwork minimized
- Targeted loan amounts between $1,000 and $100,000 (maximum $25,000 for start-ups)
- Loan amount not to exceed 80% of total project cost
- Low, fixed interest rates (currently between 5% and 9%)
- No penalty for early repayment
- Collateral required
- One-time minimal processing fee covers administrative expenses, including credit report
- Approval and terms dependent on product characteristics, risk assessments and use of proceeds
- Opportunity to apply for additional financing after one year if initial loan is in good standing
- Existing vendor relationship with Whole Foods Market preferred
- Applications accepted on a rolling basis

For an application, please contact Denise Breyley: denise.breyley@wholefoods.com
or visit us online at wholefoodsmarket.com/loans

For general information, email us at LPLP@wholefoods.com or call 512-482-0895.

Many small woodland owners in the Northwest are interested in the long-term conservation of their forests.  Today there are a wide range of private and public programs that can help landowners generate income from their land while protecting and enhancing its conservation values into the future.

This workshop will introduce landowners to four primary programs and market-based opportunities for optimizing the conservation value of their forestland:

• FSC Certification & Markets
• Carbon Offset Markets
• Working Forest Conservation Easements
• Federal Conservation “cost-share” Programs

Through a series of interactive “coached” classroom sessions, landowners will have an opportunity to talk directly with specialists about how these programs can apply to the unique circumstances of their land.

Prior to the workshop, registrants will receive a copy of Northwest Certified Forestry’s new publication “Financing Stewardship Forestry: A Guide to Conservation-based Markets and Programs for Small Forest Landowners”.  This guidebook provides a thorough overview of each of the four primary conservation opportunities listed above, and will help landowners be fully prepared for the coached workshop.

When: July 26th, 1-5pm
Where: Ridgefield, WA (25 miles north of Vancouver, WA)
Cost: $10 per person.

To download a registration form visit: http://nnrg.org/news-events/events/7-26-conservation-programs-for-small-woodland-owners-ridgefield-wa/

For more information please contact Kirk Hanson at kirk@nnrg.org or 360-316-9317

Editors Note: Gorge Grown is pleased to see that Washington is recognizing the importance of food systems work in Washington State, and we look forward to working with our state partners to provide information on our Gorge region for this effort.

Gregoire signed the order, entitled “Strengthening Washington’s Food Systems through Policy and Collaboration,” at the Food Systems Strategies Summit on the University of Washington campus. The event was sponsored by the Access to Healthy Foods Coalition, a collection of businesses and organizations working together to positively influence health and nutrition in Washington State by improving the access to healthier foods for Washington citizens.

In the executive order, Gregoire calls for a report to her and the Legislature to be completed by December 31, 2011. This report will provide an assessment of existing food policies and programs as well as identify gaps and issues that need to be addressed.
 
Governor Gregoire signed the Executive Order this week with Network Director and Co-Chair of the Good Food Coaltion, Ellen Gray and Network Board Members Paul Benz - Lutheran Public Policy Office, and Tim Crosby - NW Agriculture Business Center.  Good Food Coalition Co-Chair Kerri Cechovic from Washington Environmental Council, and coalition members Erin MacDougall from Public Health Seattle King County , Victor Coleman from Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, Nadia Beckwith-Stanley from Children's Alliance, Sara Garitone Wilcox of Pierce Conservation District, Alex Moore from Cascade Harvest Coalition were also among the on-lookers! 
 
See the Governor's press release at http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1518&newsType=1

By Colleen Stewart
Friday, June 25, 2010
Source: www.oregonlive.com

Natalie Lerner, 14, flips through the green hardback cookbook she wrote and sets it on a stand, open toher Pasta Primavera recipe.

One serving costs just $2.66 and is a healthy, balanced meal that could be prepared by anyeighth-grader.

Wearing a T-shirt she designed that reads "It's cookin'" on the back and "kidskitchencoach.com" -- the name of her website -- on the front, she begins to prepare a meal for her family.

Natalie is out to disprove some culinary misconceptions: the first being that kids can't cook, the second being that healthy food is expensive and difficult to make.

She turns on the stove in her Northeast Portland  home, boils pasta and prepares vegetables, as her dad washes strawberries at the sink, not once looking over her shoulder to coach or critique.

Continue reading here: http://www.oregonlive.com/tualatin/index.ssf/2010/06/arbor_school_eighth-grader_cooks_up_website_and_cookbook_on_healthy_low-cost_eating_for_senior_proje.html