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		11/25 GGFN e-news: sustainability & country living workshops - and Happy Thanksgiving! IN THIS ISSUE:  – GGFN: News and Giving Thanks – GGFN: Gorge Meat Producers Roundtable Wrap-Up – WORKSHOP: Sustainable Living on a Budget, The Dalles, December 6 – WORKSHOPS: Winter Country Living Series, coming up soon – TRAINING: 2009 Master Gardener program begins January 7 – FOR SALE: Whole and half hogs raised in the Gorge! – ARTICLES: Hydroponic gardens, farm to school, rising Oregon hunger statistics
GGFN: News and Giving Thanks November 26, 2008 Here at GGFN, we're delighted to take a holiday tomorrow and give thanks for our many blessings! We are thankful to each one of you who have contributed your time, money, ideas, and well-wishes to GGFN this year. We couldn't do it without you. We hope that you too will enjoy a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, perhaps featuring local food on your menu! Read on for news of local events, news, and a selection of interesting articles as well. If there's something food- or farming-related going on that we've missed, please pass the news on and we'll get it in our next newsletter! In Gorge Grown news: ----------------------------------------- * Membership - It's always a great time to renew! You can now join Gorge Grown online! Simply visit gorgegrown.com and click on "Join Online". You can also always do it the old-fashioned way. Not sure if you're still a member? Not sure if you ever officially joined GGFN? Drop us a line at info@gorgegrown.com and we'll let you know. We'll make a big membership renewal push at the start of 2009 as part of a larger GGFN fundraising campaign - and your small membership contribution helps us leverage money from regional and national foundations! * Fundraising - Volunteers needed! Look for more information on this soon, but GGFN will be engaging in a big fundraising push in 2009 to help us strengthen our programs and improve our ability to serve the entire Gorge. If you have suggestions for local funding opportunities or would like to be on our volunteer fund development team (grant writing, research, and many other tasks), email Sarah at sarah@gorgegrown.com. * Farm to Food Bank - This fall we received a grant from the Washington Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development for a Farm to Food Bank project - we'll be working with WGAP to purchase and distribute fresh, locally grown produce, meat and dairy products to food bank recipients - a win-win for both low-income Gorge residents and for small farmers! If you are a Washington producer, interested in being a part of this project, and have not yet heard from us, please contact Sarah at sarah@gorgegrown.com. * January Member Meeting - Look for more information after the holidays about our next all-member GGFN meeting, where you'll get a chance to hear about our big plans for 2009! * There's a lot more going on here at GGFN headquarters. As always, drop us a line or give a call if you have any questions, want to get involved, or just want to share some information with us. - Sarah Hackney, Executive Director, and the GGFN Steering Committee info@gorgegrown.com 541-490-6420 Back to Top
GGFN: Gorge Meat Producers Roundtable Wrap-Up Thanks to all who came out to The Dalles last week for the first Gorge meat producers' roundtable! We had almost twice as many folks show up as we expected based on RSVPs, and everyone had valuable input and ideas. We gained valuable insight as the biggest challenges that folks raising meat animals face in this region, and developed some ideas that might help. If you're a Gorge rancher, meat producer, or processor, and you'd like to receive updates on these meetings and potential regional projects to address the challenges that meat producers and processors face, please contact Sarah at sarah@gorgegrown.com to get added to our email list. We also have meeting minutes available from the first meeting; contact Sarah if you would like a copy via email. if you weren't at the meeting, here's a chance for you to see what was discussed and offer any additional feedback you may have. Back to Top
WORKSHOP: Sustainable Living on a Budget, The Dalles, December 6 FREE Educational Workshop: Introduction to Sustainable Living on a Budget by Monique Dupre December 6, 2008 1:30-3:30pm Columbia Gorge Community College Auditorium, The Dalles, Oregon * Save money on groceries and all household items, big and small * Eliminate processed foods & trips to the grocery store * Find out how to be efficient with time to prepare healthy, whole foods * Learn how to shop and cook in season * Discover how to create daily and weekly rhythms * Figure out how to involve your children in a healthy, sustainable lifestyle * Eliminate plastics and purify your home * Make small changes with big impact on the earth * Support your local economy * Consume consciously * And much more… Visit sustainablebudget.com for more information. This free workshop is sponsored by Azure Standard, specializing in quality bulk and natural foods online. Visit www.azurestandard.com. Back to Top
WORKSHOPS: Winter Country Living Series, coming up soon Hood River County residents, keep an eye out for the next Community Ed bulletin for a continuation of the Country Living series! Featuring a wide variety of classes covering basic to advance skills that promote self-sufficiency, sustainable and improved lifestyles. This winter: seed starts for your garden, extreme recycling, garlic baskets, and more! These classes are geared to fit the age old concepts of the Grange, which promotes country living, protecting family farms, the environment while building strong communities. These classes will provide community students with solutions to rising fuel and food prices, food insecurity and environmental challenges by resurrecting some long lost skills, as well as some new, innovative ideas. So, don’t despair, be prepared while building a strong and vibrant community which will increase the quality of life for ones self, family and community. Interested in teaching a class? Contact Linda Short at lshort@gorge.net. If you’re considering teaching a class for the Spring/Summer term, it’s never too early to start thinking about it and getting the class details to Linda. The Spring/Summer term starts April 4th, and goes through summer. My print deadline is in Feb. So if you’re thinking of teaching a gardening class, composting, garlic braiding, cooking, container gardening, cheese making, canning, food drying, living with wildlife, wild harvesting, beneficial pests and insects, building root cellars, living off the grid, passive solar, drip irrigation, fruit tree, vineyards, landscaping, etc., please contact her. Back to Top
TRAINING: 2009 Master Gardener program begins January 7 Thinking of becoming a Master Gardener? Hood River County Master Gardener Program Update: Training for new and returning master gardeners will begin on January 7 and end on March 11. Classes will be held on consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and every other Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. beginning January 10. Applications are being taken for the 2009 OSU Master Gardener Training from now until the end of November. Applications can be downloaded at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/hoodriver/ What can you do? If you know anyone that might be interested in taking the training, encourage them to apply. If you have a friend or know of someone that has taken the training and took some time off, encourage them to join again. Folks who have had the training only need to apply as a returning Master Gardener. Back to Top
FOR SALE: Whole and half hogs raised in the Gorge! Raised locally by Mike Foss and family. Home grown pork, you can order a whole or half a hog. Ready for market in Jan. and Feb. $300 to $375 gets your hog to Mt. Valley Meats, you pay for processing. A $100 deposit reserves your hog. Please call: 509-493-2389, or email: sfosx@gorge.net Back to Top
ARTICLES: Hydroponic gardens, farm to school, rising Oregon hunger statistics Promedica Announces First Harvest at its Vertical Hydroponics Garden Originally published by the Center for Innovative Food Technology On June 30, 2008, representatives of ProMedica Health System (PHS), displayed the fruits of their harvest from the area's first vertical hydroponic garden. The garden, installed at Flower Hospital in Sylvania, Ohio, is a collaborative effort between CIFT and ProMedica designed to increase good nutrition awareness while showcasing non-traditional methods of food production particularly suited for urban settings. The high density, vertical hydroponic growing system, manufactured by Verti-Gro and supplied by Earthsafe Ozone of Lima, Ohio, was installed on Flower Hospital grounds in early June. This system enables plants to be grown in non-traditional environments without the use of soil. This, along with the vertical plant arrangement, significantly reduces the plot footprint and can be constructed on anything from patios to parking lots. The pots can be installed outside as a garden or inside a greenhouse or hoophouse for an extended growing season. In urban settings, vacant lots or unused parking lots are prime locations where food can be grown to support the local community. Read the whole article HERE. Seeds of Change for Baltimore city schools By Jill Rosen Originally published in the Baltimore Sun, 11/24/2008 Driving on U.S. 40, shoving along with the traffic past strip malls, gas stations and drive-through restaurants, there's no apparent reason to give Nuwood Road, landmarked by an auto supply store, a second glance. But if one did turn in and hang a quick right, he or she would see what could soon become the linchpin for bringing wholesome eating to Baltimore City schools. Tony Geraci, the system's new food service director, plans to turn the 33 surprisingly rural acres in Baltimore County into an organic farm where schoolchildren will learn about healthy food and sustainable living, by digging in the dirt, planting seeds and watching fruits and vegetables come to life. It's to be called Fresh Start Farm, because, as Geraci says, Baltimore, with its disheartening poverty and obesity rates, needs a fresh start. Read the entire article HERE. Oregon #3 in nation for high percentage of hungry citizens Portland, OR – Nov. 18, 2008 – Oregon had 12.4 percent of its population (458,000 people) living in households that struggled with hunger or were “food insecure” during the 2005-2007 period, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recently released annual report. Food insecurity is the USDA term given to describe households that struggle with affording enough food. Nationally, more than 36.2 million people lived in households that were food insecure in 2007 – up from 35.5 million in 2006 and 33.2 million in 2000. “We were expecting to see an increase in food insecurity because wages have not kept up with the cost of basic items such as food, shelter and utilities,” said Patti Whitney-Wise, executive director of the Oregon Hunger Task Force. “We have seen a rapid rise in food stamp applications, more than 50,000 new people over the past year, bringing the total to nearly 500,000 Oregonians. And requests for food boxes are higher than ever. What worries us most is that this report covers information from a year ago. Everything we are seeing in Oregon tells us that a new survey taken today would undoubtedly show considerably higher numbers of food insecure people.” Oregon worked hard to impact hunger over the past 8 years, when it was dubbed the “Hungriest State in the Nation” in 2000. The Task Force and other anti-hunger advocates joined forces and worked closely with the Governor to bring attention to the issue and created the Act to End Hunger, a 5-year plan to reduce hunger in Oregon. And it was successful: 26 of the 40 actions were accomplished. In 2005, Oregon dropped from #1 to #17, a statistically significant improvement. However, rising joblessness, falling wages, and rapidly rising food and fuel costs have meant that more and more families are stretched to the limit and beyond. “Oregonians are going to need help. Oregon’s unemployment rate is 7.3 percent, and people are competing for scarcer jobs.” said Whitney-Wise. "To get us through this crisis we need to preserve safety net services, on both the state and federal level. With help, families can rebound more quickly and will be less vulnerable to the ravages of poverty. Without help, families become homeless, children go hungry, the elderly get sick, and our communities languish.” The Task Force has asked the Governor to prioritize human services in his 2009-11 budget. The Task Force has also joined the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in calling for Congress to pass an economic recovery package that first and foremost includes an extension to unemployment insurance and a boost in SNAP/Food Stamps benefits (SNAP is the acronym for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the new national name for the Food Stamp Program). During his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama committed to end childhood hunger in this country by 2015. The Task Force has joined FRAC in pledging to work with the new Administration, the 111th Congress, and state and local officials to put this plan into motion. “People with the lowest incomes face the most serious threats. We must not fail to invest in rebuilding our economy while also preventing hunger and poverty,” said Whitney-Wise. Full report available HERE. Back to Top
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