Is it really already December? Seems like just yesterday we were harvesting our fall vegetables - winter squash, kale, carrots - and enjoying the fall leaves. Now the fields are bedded down for winter and the trees are bare.

Life doesn't slow down a whole lot in the winter at Gorge Grown. We are hard at work behind the scenes, working to grow and expand our projects for next year and launch several new ones.

Hopefully by now you've checked out our new website - if not, by all means do! - with improved event listings, a bulletin board for farm products, and our Who's Your Farmer? producer listings online and searchable! (Note: If you are a producer and you know you were listed in the print WYF but don't see yourself online, have no fear! We are still uploading records.)

We have a few more tricks up our sleeve for the coming weeks, too - this newsletter you're reading has gotten a visual facelift, and we'll continue to make behind the scene improvements over the holidays to make it more useful for all of YOU.

And we are extremely pleased to announce that Gorge Grown has been awarded a Meyer Memorial Trust Grassroots Grant to pilot a brand new program this winter and spring 2010! The Community Food Leaders program will work with pilot teams in The Dalles and Stevenson to learn valuable leadership skills paired with food systems education. Food-specific topics will include the basics of issues like food security and the economics of food systems, locally-generated information on what our region produces and consumes, and specific activities and instruction on how to talk about and take action on food and farm issues - all through the lens of community leadership, thanks to our partnership with WSU Horizons and its LeadershipPlenty trainers. Other partners include WSU Extension Skamania County and Oregon Food Bank. Want to learn more? Contact us!

Until then - thanks to all of you for everything you do to support our regional food system. We couldn't do it without you!

Sarah Hackney, Gorge Grown Executive Director

Todd Dierker, Market Manager

Kate Stoysich, Project Manager

and the Gorge Grown Board of Directors

As part of our Community Food Assessment project in Klickitat and Skamania Counties, we are coordinating producer focus groups to hear from farms of all sizes and experience levels in an open conversation about farming issues and ideas for the region - we've worked with many of you through our farmers' market and Who's Your Farmer? guide, and now we want to open the conversation up to bigger ideas and challenges. 

We would love for you to participate and share your opinions, experiences and perspectives as a producer in Klickitat (or eastern Skamania) County. 

Thursday, December 3
6 - 8pm
Solstice Wood Fire Café
Bingen, WA (on Hwy 14 on the west side of town)

If you're unable to attend, we'd love to find a time we could chat with you for 15 minutes informally on the phone instead and complete a short survey. The outcome from these conversations will be an assessment of local farmers' most pressing needs - and ideas for regional solutions - that we can use to move forward together!

We know that for folks living in eastern Klickitat County, it may not be possible to make the drive - so we especially want to make sure we find time to talk to you on the phone. Look to hear from us soon - or feel free to call us anytime at 541-490-6420.

This Fall and Winter, the Oregon nonprofit Friends of Family Farmers is hosting 15 or more community meetings throughout the state to engage farmers and rural residents in the shaping of our state's food and agricultural system. Their primary goals are to:

- Identify roadblocks and opportunities for family-scale agriculture to thrive in our state and ensure the survival of socially responsible farmers,

- Elect Farmer Delegates to represent their communities in the drafting of the Agricultural Reclamation Act,

- Provide rural communities with tools and techniques so that farmers and their neighbors can develop solutions to local challenges with local partners like Gorge Grown.

GGFN will be present as a regional partner in this effort and to share results from our community food assessment work as it relates to local food and farm issues.

We have one meeting scheduled in the Gorge:

Monday, December 7th
6:00-8:00 PM
Rockford Grange
4520 Barrett Drive
Hood River, OR

Hood River's annual Alternative Gift Fair is an event that encourages shoppers to donate money to non-profit organizations as holiday gifts for friends and loved ones.

Gorge Grown is one of the local non-profit organizations that shoppers may support through their donations, along with dozens of other wonderful local causes, including FISH Food Bank and The Next Door, Inc.

Small Planet Trading is graciously hosting the event in their store Nov. 27 - Dec. 23, 200. Stop by for holiday shopping!

Small Planet Trading
202 Cascade - in Mall 202
Hood River, OR

Hours: Mon 10am - 6pm, Tues - Closed, Wed - Sat 10am - 6pm, Sun 12 - 4pm

http://www.smallplanettrading.com/

Columbia River Fellowship and Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship have sponsored the event.

Looking to start - or improve - a small farm enterprise in the Gorge?

Washington State University Extension and the Oregon State University Extension Service are currently conducting an educational program called the "Mid-Columbia Farm Enterprise Investigation Series." This program is designed for experienced agricultural producers interested in changing, adding or expanding their enterprise(s) as well as new landowners interested in investigating agricultural production options for their property. At the conclusion of the series, participants will have produced a farm enterprise plan and be able to make a decision about viability of the enterprise they are considering.

The series is already in progress, and farmers can still join in at the Mountain View Grange, 1085 Main St. in White Salmon, WA on Nov. 14, Nov. 21, Dec. 5, Dec. 12, Jan. 9 and Jan. 23. Topics to be addressed include Developing a Farm Plan; Sustainability Concepts; Farm Resource Evaluation and Financing; Enterprise Assessment; Equipment and Facilities; Sustainable Crop Production; Soil Properties and Management; Pest and Weed Management; Sustainable Animal Production; Sustainable Grazing Management; Direct Marketing; E-Commerce; Developing a Marketing Plan; Enterprise Budgets and Financial Viability; and Tools for Success. Local and regional presenters will include experienced farmers, agency representatives, Extension educators and other experts. Each session will include time for questions and answers, networking and discussion.

The cost of the series is $25 per family; need-based scholarships are available. Please pre-register by contacting Tim Shatraw at 509-773-5817 or tshatraw@wsu.edu.

Visit http://skamania.wsu.edu/MCFEIS.html for class announcements.

This program is sponsored in part by the Western Center for Risk Management Education, WSU Extension-Skamania and Klickitat Counties, the OSU-Wasco County Extension Service and Gorge Grown Food Network.