Local Food Citizen: The Foodshed Market on Atlantic Ave

Today, on opening day of the Foodshed Market held at the community space known as The Commons Brooklyn (a.k.a., The Commons), I heard one of my most favorite quotes in a while:

“Forget about beating your head against chem agriculture — big agriculture — and just go ahead and start creating a new food system.”

Foodshed Market at 388 Atlantic Avenue - Now Every Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

The words were from Melissa Ennen, who along with Lauren McGrath of Rick’s Picks, were hostessing with the most-tess-ing, outside the new neighborhood food spot.  Melissa was describing a 1990s article that started building the concept of a “foodshed.”  Just like a city sources water from the surrounding area for its watershed, a foodshed is a network of growers from outside the city.  The distribution of resources is direct, transparent, and neighborly.

“It’s not necessarily a matter of miles, but definitely a question of sustainability, energy use and transportation, and creating community…not just growing vegetables and food, but growing community,” she further explained.

While touring the vendor tables, I was reminded of the study that showed we have as many as 10 times more social interactions at a farmers’ market than in a conventional store.  (And that’s before the food talks back to you.  One vendor, The Brooklyn Salsa Company, caps their jars with GET INTO IT! and TAKE the lid OFF, among other ready-to-rumble phrases.  Then with the taste, you wave the white flag of surrender.)

The market is a commercial venture by The Commons Brooklyn, an organization self-described as “a skill-sharing space in the heart of Brooklyn”.  They host classes and offer office rental for compatible organizations, such as The Brooklyn Food Coalition.  There’s a great list of classes this fall, all with an eye towards training people for sustainable food jobs in the future.

To borrow language from the investor world, the Foodshed market is one way for them to build a “diversified portfolio of income”.  Recent history has shown that businesses and non-profits alike have to become financially viable.  Many organizations have seen their grant funds sputter out, and now such groups are developing new means of earned income.  Simply stated, if we lose money building our new food system, then it won’t be sustainable in any sense of the word.

Local, Seasonal, Fresh

With white walls and light wooden floors, the market space evokes an art gallery — with master works of artisanal cheeses, breads, and specialities crafted by love and enterprise.  It’s also part farmer’s market, stocked with well-priced produce from the fields of Migliorelli Farm, near Tivoli, New York, among other vendors.  There’s a lot to choose from, and all the sellers offer samples of their edibles, so you’ll find your favorites fast.  As one fellow shopper, Maria, said: “When you get to try so many different things, you don’t just ‘go to the market’.  You’re in it.  You live it.”

Ripe for the Picking

Migliorelli Farm: Quality Produce, Honest Questions

Upcoming Classes at the Foodshed Market - and more events to come!

Happy Upon Departure

Still Life with Foodshed: My Loot

 

Hey Brooklyn and Beyond! FARM CITY.US Starts this Sunday, 9/12 from 11am – 4 pm

FREE and open to the public:  If Brooklyn had a county fair, this would be it.  And like every good county fair, people would come from far and wide for the cook-offs and blue ribbon winners.  Farm City.US, brought to us by Derek Dencla and his comrades at the French Institute/Alliance Française, is a series celebrating the edible that begins this Sunday.  Derek has his sensibilities in both the art and local food worlds, so I anticipate a unique vision behind all the happenings.

The venue is in the spacious art gallery, the Invisible Dog in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.  Bring your best blue ribbon game face and find the full list of events here!

**Closing hour update from the newsroom on Friday, September 10th:  Kerry Trueman has posted a wonderful exchange with Derek on Civil Eats.  From her questions, Derek explains both the road leading to FarmCity.US and the possible promised land of urban agriculture in our future.**

 

Local Food Citizen: Brooklyn Grange

Under the Vines and Above Our Heads

The poet Mary Oliver once wrote of “the patience of vegetables and saints.”  Yesterday, above the endless activity that is New York, I caught a peek at this patience.  It’s there, in a squash blossom, under the vines and care of Ben Flanner.  This little flower is one of the many saintly jewels growing at the Brooklyn Grange, an 18,000 square foot rooftop farm located in Queens.  (Our guess is right: the name came before the location.)

It is pure inspiration to walk a rooftop farm.  As we look to use our urban space better, as well as shorten the travel distance for our food, I hope the these farms become commonplace.  I also hope that we’ll always keep the feeling of awe that they spark.  The contrast of green leaves fluttering against a backdrop of skyscrapers is striking and lovely all at once.

You may remember Ben from a story last summer about his initial rooftop farm project in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  I got curious to see his latest effort — a farm three times the size as last year! — so I stopped by the market at Brooklyn Grange.  It’s open every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon in the lobby of the building, among other times and places.

The market trip reminded me of another quote, often said by a friend of mine:  “May you live in interesting times.”  Indeed.  How wonderful that a trip to pick up tomatoes and Swiss chard included these images:

From the Street: First Sign of Grange

A New Way to See the Citicorp Building

The Contrast of City Street and Leafy Green

American Ingenuity

The Subway as Backdrop

Peppers and Visitors

To the Market!

Market Choices in the Lobby on Northern Boulevard

Why, Hello There, New York City

 

What’s Organic About Organic? + Slow Food = Show Me State Happiness

Now for the best story of Summer 2010.  A couple of weeks ago, I went to Springfield, Missouri, the land of my high school and my Dad’s side of the family.  You may know it as the Queen City of the Ozarks.  Or the hometown of Brad Pitt.  Or perhaps the birthplace of the über-famous Bass Pro Shops.

Today the city has a new source of renown:  They just started a Slow Food chapter, called Slow Food Southwest Missouri.  I was thrilled to be a part of the chapter’s inaugural event on July 26th — and for reasons I did not anticipate.

As part of the trip, I wanted to learn about the local food scene in Springfield and connect with the people who are building it.  I sent an email to my friend and food activist, Melissa Millsap.  She’s the Wonder Woman behind Urban Roots Farm, as well as the edible garden program of the Springfield school system.  It also turns out that she’s on the council, if you will, of local superheroes in the movement for good, clean food.

For the event, it was decided that we’d host a farm-to-table dinner, along with a screening of Shelley Roger’s lively documentary, What’s Organic About Organic?.  Amanda Millsap Owen, owner of Home Grown Food, a sweet marketplace that sources all its products from nearby farms, offered the lot next to her store as the venue.  A local artist created a beautiful promotional poster and the ticket sales took off.  By the morning of the event, we had over 65 tickets sold.  We were thrilled.  (And little nervous — could we pull it off?)

On the day of the event, a team of guys put up a huge white tent.  They hung rows of lights and set up the audio visual system.  Another group set the tables.  It was hot and humid, but we were a steady machine.  A big thunderstorm rolled through around 5 o’clock, and we kept on.  The Do-It-Yourself talents of this crowd got it done.

People were due to arrive at 8 pm, and we were ready for them by 6:30 pm.  And then…

Continued below

Hours Into The Original Venue

The Lights Go Up!

We decided one side of the tent should be a little more taunt.  We pulled up one of the rope lines, adjusted it to a few feet away, and started to hammer in the new stake.

WE HIT A GAS LINE.

Suddenly the whole lot reeked of gas.  There was no avoiding it.  A call went out to City Utilities.  They came down and ordered us to leave the premises.  They said — under no uncertain terms — that we could not host our public event there.

I would have photos of this part, but at the time, it was too tense to whip out a camera. Homer says it best.

Amanda, and her husband Ryan, then made an amazing offer.  “We just moved into a house two blocks away, why don’t we hold it in our backyard?,” they suggested.  And with that, the crew picked up every table and chair and walked it all down the gravel alley way to their yard.  The guys set up the screen in its new place on the side of the garage.  We hung white lanterns on the clothes line to help people find their way.  What happened then was a beautiful dinner, followed by an inspiring film, all under the stars.

Thank you to everyone involved — it was an unforgettable night.  The only way I can describe it is to say, “it did my heart good.”  I could not wish for than this:  A breezy summer night, breaking bread with friends and family, and conversations fueled by the spirit to make our world better.  Thank you to everyone in the Slow Food SW Missouri chapter for making it possible.  Now to many more!

Up and Running at the New Venue!

The Crowd Gathers for the First Event of Slow Food SW Missouri

The Backyard is Set for Farm-to-Table Dinner

With a Toast to Our Local Farmers!

I LOVED This Menu -- Both Its Design & Content -- Thank you all!

 

Inspiration from a Global Hero: Dr. Vandana Shiva Lectures in NYC

Dr. Vandana Shiva; Photo courtesy of The Center for the Study of Science and Religion

Last week I got to hear one of my heroes speak:  Dr. Vandana Shiva.  As she took the stage, Reverend Arnold Thomas of Riverside Church introduced her as the “world-renowned environmentalist.”  To many she is best known for her interviews in movies such as The Corporation.  To the growing community of food activists, she is the pioneer who delivers the precision cut message.  The international effort to fix our food is an emerging movement; new ideas come fast and fervent.  Dr. Shiva is the steadfast voice, now decades in progress, that deeply resonates.

In her words, she started her organization, Navdanya, in 1987 once “I realized seeds were being patented.”  The main corporation to patent seeds is, of course, Monsanto.  They do a good job of telling the world that they are up to good deeds — potentially ending famine, for example, by creating drought-resistant crops.  Dr. Shiva, however, explained the danger at hand in an analogy to the BP oil spill.  Consider her words:

In the Gulf of Mexico…I keep thinking, ‘This is supposed to be a high tech industry in a high tech society.  And they can’t figure out how to stop that leak’….Just as BP doesn’t know how to shut down the oil spill, Monsanto doesn’t really know how to control pests…Every season, you have new pests….The consequences are a 30-40 times increase in pesticides.  And this technology was supposed to replace pesticides.  In your country, the herbicide-resistant crops have created superweeds to such a large extent that 5.4 million acres have been overtaken by superweeds.

For the past four months, the world has watched unending amounts of oil being unleashed into the Gulf.  At the risk of sounding alarmist, imagine if such a disaster hit our food supply.  We know now that BP was not ready for its worst-case scenario.  Is Monsanto?  Do we really want to wait and see?

At another point in her talk, Dr. Shiva told the story of a 1983 Indian court case that halted destructive limestone mining in that country.  The judge in the case ruled, “If commerce starts to destroy life support systems, commerce must stop because life must carry on.”

Yes, this landmark case in India occurred prior to our current era of intense globalization.  Yet it’s basic premise has not changed.  It’s not tree hugging; it’s common sense.  “We are first and foremost still citizens,” said Dr. Shiva, “And our highest duty is to maintain the living systems of the Earth that support our life.”

Rabbi Lawrence Troster of GreenFaith and Dr. Vandana Shiva

Well Attended at Riverside Church South Hall

 

Happy July 4th Weekend with Summertime Surprises on Every Corner

Remember earlier this spring when we talked about the leaf-a-licious pouches in Union Square, an exhibit brought to us by Woolly Pockets?

I’m happy to say they are growing.  These photographs were taken this week in SoHo.  I love unexpected moments like this in the city.  Let’s consider this a postcard from NYC to everyone — here and around the country and world — who is building a more sustainable food system for all of us.  You have my kinship.

The plants on this urban corner, surprising many, yet steadfast in their purpose, remind me of efforts big and small taken by people who care.  Simply stated, “small things become big things.”  Our influence is growing, too.  As the summertime begins to yield its best, here’s a toast to you!

Happy July 4th, everyone.  May we take this time to smell the roses and photograph the greens.

Sprouting Up Everywhere - NYC Goes Green

We're All Just Hanging Out

 

Chefs Move to Schools Campaign: Michelle Obama Enlists An Army in White

One of the great emerging stories in American food is the comeback of the school lunch.  We’re waking up to the idea that our just-add-water starches aren’t working and we need to serve “real food” once again.  Earlier this month, First Lady Michelle Obama rolled out her Chefs Move to Schools Campaign, a visionary plan for our best culinary talent to work with school kitchens.  It’s part of her broader Let’s Move! effort that has the goal of “solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.”  (Read: THIS generation.)  It’s an incredible news story; you’ll find full details here through the blog, ObamaFoodORama.

Yet there are stories told by reporters — and then there are sparks of fire ignited by friends.  Soon after the event, my friend Cathy Conway of Avalon Catering in Atlanta, GA, was tagged in these photos from Mary Moore of The Cook’s Warehouse.  How inspiring to see someone I have long admired — and cooked with in her kitchen years ago! — in the middle of it all.  In response to the photos, Cathy wrote:

“…Ready to dive deeper in my commitment to Grady High School [in Atlanta]…I feel like I can influence these young adults. Teach them: the pleasure of sharing at the table; the taste of a vegetable from the garden and quickly prepared in the pan; the importance of local; the power of voting with food dollars; the influence in their choices…”.

How wonderful to see this local movement happening — a local movement that is happening everywhere.  Congratulations, chefs!  Can’t wait to hear more.

Sea of Green and White

Mary Moore, Cathy Conway and Barbara Petit in the White House Garden

The First Lady with White House Chef Sam Kass

 

I Present You: The Urban Scarecrow (The Scarepige?)

All the scarecrows I know are good at singing and dancing — and eventually — math equations.  And like a good English noun, their name explains their function.  They scare crows.  Songs, math, and directions back to Kansas are frills.

But Brooklyn always has a different take on the usual.  Recently, from the windows of a friend’s house in Williamsburg, I enjoyed seeing what we’ve come to call The Urban Scarecrow.  Or shall we say, The Scarepige?

These are two beautiful urban backyards where the owners have been planting for decades.  The plastic bags are used to scare away pigeons.  I’m told the birds go after the tomato plants, but as you’ll see in the photo below, the spooky bags have them dining elsewhere.

Happy Monday in another lovely week of summer!

Pigeons Be Gone! (Note: Deer in photo is not real)

 

Slow Money National Gathering: Investing in the Soil by Derek Denckla

Dear Readers:  I am thrilled to introduce our guest blogger, Derek Denckla.  He’s an esteemed chief of the urban ag tribe in NYC and it’s an honor to have him contribute here.  Here’s his thoughts from Day 1 of the Slow Money National Gathering in Vermont.  To read more of Derek’s work, see www.thegreenest.net.

The Venue; Photo Courtesy of Shelburne Farms

“Food is the field in which we daily explore our harming of the world.”

– Gary Snyder (as quoted by Woody Tasch)

I am attending the 2nd Slow Money National Gathering in Shelburne Farms, Vermont.  18 months after writing his book, The Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Matter (Chelsea Green), Woody Tasch has organized a growing movement of investors, businesses and farmers to bring his ideas about saving the planet through “nurture capital” through the nascent Slow Money Alliance.

Woody Tasch, Author of "The Nature of Slow Money" at the podium

Slow Money Alliance has developed support for its idea to foster entrepreneurial finance supporting soil fertility, carrying capacity, sense of place, diversity and nonviolence.  It has issued six “Slow Money Principles” that set out a vision of the destructive world of Fast Money and how Slow Money responds and restores balance and peace.

At this gathering in Vermont, Tasch has set a course for action to enact Slow Money Principles across the US.  His goal is to have 1 million people invest 1% of their income in soil fertility in the next ten years.  He announced the creation of the Soil Trust as a first step in this goal, aiming to collect $25 from 1 million people.  The money from the Soil Trust would fund local funds that would invest directly into land conservation and businesses that practice sustainable agriculture.

The conference began with remarks from Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, who framed the urgency of the need to invest in a restorative model for agriculture that would address disastrous climate impacts caused by industrial agriculture over the last 50 years.  Repeatedly, he and other speakers emphasized the ways in which industrialized farming harms the air, water and soil as well as our bodies.

Tasch introduced the next two speakers with a reference to the contrasting views on how to grow sustainable food businesses.  ”On the one hand, Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface farm, told me that ‘We are not part of an industry, we are a part of a movement.  On the other hand, Gary Hirschberg, CEO of Stonyfield Farms, told me ‘I hate using that word ‘Movement’ for our business.  We are trying to make sustainable businesses that make change on a massive scale which can only be achieved by industry.”

“As far as I see it,” Tasch continued, “I agree with them both and see them as the separate halves of the whole discussion here about how to grow sustainable food business.”

Throughout the amazing day, the speakers represented the luminaries from the sustainable food movement who emphasized the need for investment in differing strategies for changing business as usual.  Joel Salatin, author, farmer central character in Michael Pollan’s book, Omnivore’s Dilemma, spoke about sticking to your principles as a way to deal with scaling your enterprise.  He said that scale was not a problem if you stay true to your beliefs and set goals with your soul not your sales target.  He emphasized that the quality of his product and relationships with customers made his success.

Gary Hirschberg described his beginings as director of New Alchemy, an experimental self-sustaining agricultural center in the 1970s.  ”It was a perfect agricultural system with solar heated greenhouses and aquaponics in a closed loop.  But it was not a good business and it failed.”

“I set out to start Stonyfield to correct what New Alchemy lacked: a business. However, it took nine years of struggle before Stoneyfield made a nickel.  297 courageous patient capitalists gave me the funds to start.  Many of them have done very well, as aresult. Today, Stonyfield Farms is a $355 million company.”

Hirschberg went on to say that our economy is based on myths that sustainable business seeks to dispel by facing the real consequences and costs of ignoring the impact of traditional business practices.  Hirschberg described how Stonyfield has adopted changes in doing business step-by-step, incrementally to become more environmentally sensitive.

“Industrial food businesses make their product as cheaply as possible to get the widest margin in order to outspend the competition on advertising.  We spend more on the product, spend close to nothing on ads, and make a better return than most traditional food businesses, like those in our corporate parent, Danone.”  (Stonyfield was bought in 2001 by the Danone Group, a $25 billion food company.  Although Hirschberg retains control over Stonyfield’s business operation.)  Hirschberg agreed with Salatin that quality and loyalty were his best assets.

“This is a critical moment for the food movement.  We are charged with nothing less than saving the world.”  Hirschberg said.  He closed with a Gandhi quote: “Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never been in bed with a mosquito.”

All of the speakers conveyed an abiding passion for their work.  Will Rapp from Gardener’s Supply who pioneered composting techniques and greened the Intervale in Burlington, VT. Tom Stearns, founder of High Mowing Seeds, who spoke about all the sustainable businesses in his town of Hardwick, VT who meet to discuss issues and how to support each others work. Eliot Coleman, founder of Four Seasons Farm and author of New Organic Grower, outlined his Feast Philosophy with a common sense approach to growing food that delights and nourishes the person and the soil.  Each enterprise presented a different facet of how business might express environmental goals and personal ethics.  The ideas were filled with joy of creativity and life but the moral task was seen in sober terms of war.

It was no accident then, that one of the speakers quoted a war-time President, Franklin Delanor Roosevelt, who warned:   “A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself”  It was a day of ideas that were both sobering and inspiring in equal measure.

 

Ripple Effects of the Groundswell: Simply Orange Marketing Campaign

Live from the Union Square subway:  A big food message that tips its hat to changing consumer perception.  When I saw this poster, the first thing I thought of was the film King Corn.  The filmmakers explain that grass-fed cows used to take 2-3 years to get fat and ready for our beef consumption.  Once we started feeding them corn, however, they got to the same weight in just 15 months.  By changing the diet of our cows, we’re forcing them into false maturation.  With this, and so many of our industrial food ways, we wrestle nature into the ground.

More and more, activist groups like Slow Food USA, are putting reason back on the table.  It takes time and thoughtfulness to make real food.  This Simply Orange ad isn’t all good, nor all bad.  But it’s interesting to think about its context.  Why would this be their message now?  The food revolution is making its way through the mass media channels.  What do you think?

Live from the Union Square Subway