Our December potluck will be Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at 1105 N.E. Johnson Street in McMInnville. The theme is Christmas around the World, with northwest ingredients. Please join us for a merry time.
Nicole
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Nov. 15 board meeting minutes
November 15, 2008 Minutes
Attend: Lucy, Nanette, Judi, Nicole; Absent: Susan (excused)
4:05 p.m. -7:50 p.m.
Slow Food- To be or not to be.
Discussion. NM- Yes, embodies our intent; JH: yes- we are establishing and growing, need to talk to SF about reducing fees; NV: yes, want to learn more about and get more knowledge; LF: yes, many people are recognizing it and expressing enthusiasm.
NF: motioned to remain with SF; LF: Second. In favor: unanimous.
NM to put together an ‘insert’ of where the SF application fee money goes (to what causes). This will go in brochure.
Associate member? JH: table for now but look into it further for ’09? NM: potential issues with national rules. We need to find out options and see where we are by June 1st.
Mtgs. NM: Chapter board needs to meet monthly but with public only one time per year. Recc meeting monthly with board but with public quarterly. All agreed.
Follow up: NV to get copy of bylaws.
Mission Statement.
General discussion leading towards something like “Empowering people to eat local food”… “through access, affordability, and education”.
Follow up: Get Susan’s three As and make sure they fit in.
2009 Goals
Discussion: NM: expand library series (change or have more), like idea of talk every month (add alt. pollinators), CSA/Farm list together with map and on web and published, community garden, build relationships with other organizations, get AT LEAST the required 20 members; improve the website. JH: work on stakeholder list and contacts, have co-sponsored events, perhaps get a stakeholder brochure; have at least 1 event a month; revive the tip of the month, farm tour. SR [read in by JH]: something for schools...a planting, get a feeler out to schools soon, have ongoing events at local businesses. JH: would be nice to get back to idea of co-op or at least buying seeds in bulk, fundraiser for SF. NV: increase membership, get energy for other projects, get organizations to pay for memberships, present to organizations to get input and buy-in, farm tour, continue library talks, and ULTIMATE: get a community garden going at VQ. LF: CSA/Farm list and map published and done, increase events, have more educational potlucks, be able to know and easily contact stakeholders, increase membership, get word out, think about TurkeyRama, look at expanding past MAC, get a Menu for the Future group going.
Pared Down Goals: monthly events (1. educational and/or social-at least 2 fundraisers); 2. CSA/Farm list maps; 3. Stakeholder list and contacts; 4. Membership to 20; 5. Network and get plan for school education and continue and expand seed planting project; 6. Support development of community-gardens especially through public agencies.
Motion: JH move to accept 6 goals for 2009; NM: 2nd. In favor: unanimous.
Follow up: To get 2009 goals into brochure (Lucy)
Activities, Events
General Discussion: JH: permaculture talk (Mike Fahey), farm tour, seed saving/heritage seed talk, water conservation/harvesting/drought friendly plantings talk, chicken keeping, local cheese/wine, etc. SR [read in by JH]: have events at businesses (Kame, R Stuart, HorseRadish, Panther Creek), “Tableland” at HorseRadish in March. JH: Potluck in conjunction with Greenfield , Menu for the Future with kickoff of in January. NM: cosponsor CoolMac rain barrel/cistern/drought friendly plant talk, alt pollinator talk-with native plant society or master gardeners? NV: combine potlucks with talks, perhaps have potluck in park, plant seeding at school, show ‘King Corn’; ‘Farmer John’. RT [read in by LF]: movies: The Real Dirt on Farmer John, How to Save the World, A Man Named Earl, Rainwater Collection, Peak Moment; Events: invite local chef for demo, permaculture, beneficial insects and pollinators, talk on cookware, talk on local vs. conventional foods. LF: many of above ideas plus repeat winter gardening and converting lawns to gardens.
Potential Calendar (Minimum):
i. Jan Show ‘Real Dirt on Farmer John’, Potluck, and intro to Menu to the Future at Baptist Church.
ii. Feb Talk at library- beekeeping (NOTE: this has since changed for political reasons—need to find new topic); Potluck at Linfield
iii. Mar Show ‘Tableland’ at the HorseRadish in Carlton
iv. April Year-Round Gardening Talk at Library (Kullas?)
v. May Plant and Celebrate Comm Garden at VQ
vi. June Seed Saving and NW Varieties talk at library
vii. July Canning with OSU Extension
viii. Aug Rainwater and DT Plant Talk at library?
ix. Sept Small Farm Tour and Potluck
x. Oct Lawn to Garden Talk at library (Blanding?)
xi. Nov
xii. Dec
Follow Up: Need to set schedule (library), make contacts, and make sure that we have everything that we want.
Subcommittees. Skip.
Bylaws.
Follow up:
i. Does Susan have Bylaws? Nanette to check.
ii. By the 3rd: Everyone needs to think hard about how many board positions we might want, what ‘board’ positions we might want to have and what each board position will be responsible for (e.g. ‘Secretary- taking notes, collecting articles, etc.’)
Meeting Dates:
Decided to move board meetings to WEDNESDAYS at 5:15 Location TBD.
Next meeting will be December 3rd for current board members (plus Judi and Rick T.) at News Register, 5:15
Attend: Lucy, Nanette, Judi, Nicole; Absent: Susan (excused)
4:05 p.m. -7:50 p.m.
Slow Food- To be or not to be.
Discussion. NM- Yes, embodies our intent; JH: yes- we are establishing and growing, need to talk to SF about reducing fees; NV: yes, want to learn more about and get more knowledge; LF: yes, many people are recognizing it and expressing enthusiasm.
NF: motioned to remain with SF; LF: Second. In favor: unanimous.
NM to put together an ‘insert’ of where the SF application fee money goes (to what causes). This will go in brochure.
Associate member? JH: table for now but look into it further for ’09? NM: potential issues with national rules. We need to find out options and see where we are by June 1st.
Mtgs. NM: Chapter board needs to meet monthly but with public only one time per year. Recc meeting monthly with board but with public quarterly. All agreed.
Follow up: NV to get copy of bylaws.
Mission Statement.
General discussion leading towards something like “Empowering people to eat local food”… “through access, affordability, and education”.
Follow up: Get Susan’s three As and make sure they fit in.
2009 Goals
Discussion: NM: expand library series (change or have more), like idea of talk every month (add alt. pollinators), CSA/Farm list together with map and on web and published, community garden, build relationships with other organizations, get AT LEAST the required 20 members; improve the website. JH: work on stakeholder list and contacts, have co-sponsored events, perhaps get a stakeholder brochure; have at least 1 event a month; revive the tip of the month, farm tour. SR [read in by JH]: something for schools...a planting, get a feeler out to schools soon, have ongoing events at local businesses. JH: would be nice to get back to idea of co-op or at least buying seeds in bulk, fundraiser for SF. NV: increase membership, get energy for other projects, get organizations to pay for memberships, present to organizations to get input and buy-in, farm tour, continue library talks, and ULTIMATE: get a community garden going at VQ. LF: CSA/Farm list and map published and done, increase events, have more educational potlucks, be able to know and easily contact stakeholders, increase membership, get word out, think about TurkeyRama, look at expanding past MAC, get a Menu for the Future group going.
Pared Down Goals: monthly events (1. educational and/or social-at least 2 fundraisers); 2. CSA/Farm list maps; 3. Stakeholder list and contacts; 4. Membership to 20; 5. Network and get plan for school education and continue and expand seed planting project; 6. Support development of community-gardens especially through public agencies.
Motion: JH move to accept 6 goals for 2009; NM: 2nd. In favor: unanimous.
Follow up: To get 2009 goals into brochure (Lucy)
Activities, Events
General Discussion: JH: permaculture talk (Mike Fahey), farm tour, seed saving/heritage seed talk, water conservation/harvesting/drought friendly plantings talk, chicken keeping, local cheese/wine, etc. SR [read in by JH]: have events at businesses (Kame, R Stuart, HorseRadish, Panther Creek), “Tableland” at HorseRadish in March. JH: Potluck in conjunction with Greenfield , Menu for the Future with kickoff of in January. NM: cosponsor CoolMac rain barrel/cistern/drought friendly plant talk, alt pollinator talk-with native plant society or master gardeners? NV: combine potlucks with talks, perhaps have potluck in park, plant seeding at school, show ‘King Corn’; ‘Farmer John’. RT [read in by LF]: movies: The Real Dirt on Farmer John, How to Save the World, A Man Named Earl, Rainwater Collection, Peak Moment; Events: invite local chef for demo, permaculture, beneficial insects and pollinators, talk on cookware, talk on local vs. conventional foods. LF: many of above ideas plus repeat winter gardening and converting lawns to gardens.
Potential Calendar (Minimum):
i. Jan Show ‘Real Dirt on Farmer John’, Potluck, and intro to Menu to the Future at Baptist Church.
ii. Feb Talk at library- beekeeping (NOTE: this has since changed for political reasons—need to find new topic); Potluck at Linfield
iii. Mar Show ‘Tableland’ at the HorseRadish in Carlton
iv. April Year-Round Gardening Talk at Library (Kullas?)
v. May Plant and Celebrate Comm Garden at VQ
vi. June Seed Saving and NW Varieties talk at library
vii. July Canning with OSU Extension
viii. Aug Rainwater and DT Plant Talk at library?
ix. Sept Small Farm Tour and Potluck
x. Oct Lawn to Garden Talk at library (Blanding?)
xi. Nov
xii. Dec
Follow Up: Need to set schedule (library), make contacts, and make sure that we have everything that we want.
Subcommittees. Skip.
Bylaws.
Follow up:
i. Does Susan have Bylaws? Nanette to check.
ii. By the 3rd: Everyone needs to think hard about how many board positions we might want, what ‘board’ positions we might want to have and what each board position will be responsible for (e.g. ‘Secretary- taking notes, collecting articles, etc.’)
Meeting Dates:
Decided to move board meetings to WEDNESDAYS at 5:15 Location TBD.
Next meeting will be December 3rd for current board members (plus Judi and Rick T.) at News Register, 5:15
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Slow Food USA asks help for rare hog breeder
Dear Slow Food members and visitors,
A farmer in South Dakota who is working to save endangered hog breeds has just suffered a devastating loss. Slow Food USA is asking the Slow Food community to lend a hand.
Below is the letter I received today from President Josh Viertal.
Thank you all for any support you can give.
Nicole M.
Dear Leaders,
I just got off the phone with Arie McFarlen who is a member of our Ark of Taste committee. Arie owns Maveric Heritage Ranch in South Dakota, where she has single-handedly saved several rare breeds of pigs, bringing them back from the brink of extinction. Tragically, last week, Arie's barn burned to the ground killing over 40 of her rare breed hogs, sows with babies and her treasured horse. She lost everything - the feed she'd put away for the winter, the feeding troughs - she doesn't even have a pitch-fork. Yet she still has other animals to care for. Since it was an electrical fire and electricity powers her water pump there was no water on the farm to put out the fire.
Arie is devastated, but full of hope. Fortunately she kept duplicate breeding pairs of her rare breeds in multiple locations on the farm, so no breed was lost. Those remaining animals are keeping her going. Her neighbors are helping her out as well. She told me about neighbors using tractors to bring water for her animals until the pump could be restored with temporary power. She said, “One thing about living in a rural community is that everyone pitches in when something goes wrong.” To continue her work though she is going to need more help than her neighbors can give. Our shared work makes us all a part of her community and we should pitch in too.
Unfortunately there isn’t a chapter in South Dakota yet, so we’re reaching out to the larger Slow Food community. A special fund has been set up to help, and you can find more information in the linked press release. It is important that we take care of each other in times like these. I encourage you to share this information with your members, and if you can, to give
your support.
Donations can be made online at www.maveric9.com or sent to the “Endangered Hog Foundation” in care of Maveric Heritage Ranch Co. at:
Endangered Hog Foundation
Maveric Heritage Ranch Co.
47869-242nd St.
Dell Rapids, South Dakota 57022
You can read a letter from Arie below. We’ve posted her letter on the Slow Food USA blog at
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/help_a_biodiversity_pioneer/.
Thanks,
Josh Viertel
-----------------------
Dear Friends of Maveric:
It is with the deepest and most profound grief that I write this message. At 5:30am November 19th, 2008, we awoke to our beautiful 100 year old gambrel barn engulfed in flames. Trapped within the barn was my beloved stallion, several rare Mulefoot hog sows with their litters of piglets, an extremely rare Wessex saddleback boar, a favorite guinea hog boar and all of my dearly loved cats. Although we made attempts to rescue our animals, we were unable to save any from the barn.
We were able to run pigs from their pens near the barn to the pastures and get them away from the heat & flames. Many animals in these pens were burned and have suffered smoke inhalation. Though it is several days after the fire, we are still losing animals we have been nursing and trying to save.
The fire burned with such intensity that it caught a large tree and our new barn on fire as well. The firemen were able to save our new barn, but our gambrel was a complete loss. The fire marshal reported that the fire was burning in excess of 2000 degrees due to the way the metal items in the barn melted and puddled. The fire was apparently caused by a failure in the main power breaker. When the power transformer began to melt, we lost power to the whole farm. This also left us without water, as our well is pumped by electricity.
All of our feed (approximately 1000 bales of alfalfa), our tools, watering troughs & feeders, buckets, piglet pens, fencing supplies, power cords, winter heaters, saddles & horse gear, construction materials for our new barn and so much more were completely destroyed.
We cannot replace our rare breed pigs. They simply do not exist. Our work for nearly ten years has been to preserve and save these breeds of pigs. We cannot begin to express our sense of loss over these animals, not just from our lives, but from all future generations.
This tragedy has made it even more clear to us that these rare breeds are in a very precarious situation. At any moment, a disaster, accident or disease could take yet another species from this planet.
Our friends have already begun to rally around us and offer support. We have received many calls and emails from the folks at Slow Food USA, Animal Welfare Institute, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and Dakota Rural Action. Because of this outpouring of encouragement, we feel compelled to persevere and insure that future generations are able to raise and enjoy these breeds, and that biodiversity amongst pigs is preserved.
The Endangered Hog Foundation has been established to help us rebuild and to help continue work with endangered pig breeds. We fully intend to carry on with our DNA research, breeding program, establishing new breeders and promotion of endangered pigs. We have already begun the process of cleaning up the debris and will begin construction of a facility to continue working with our pigs as soon as spring arrives in South Dakota. Temporary measures to provide for the pigs during the upcoming winter are underway.
We need your help. Our immediate needs are for physical labor to help with clean up and building temporary shelter to winter the pigs. Additionally, we need to find a source for alfalfa hay square bales, to obtain portable shelters for the pigs due to farrow in early 2009, hog equipment and hand tools.
Donations can be sent to the “Endangered Hog Foundation” in care of Maveric Heritage Ranch Co. at the address below or through the link on our web page at www.maveric9.com.
Thank you to everyone who has offered support. I cannot describe how it feels to stand in a place of profound grief and intense gratitude at the same time. We will carry on through the love and support of our friends.
Endangered Hog Foundation
Maveric Heritage Ranch Co.
47869-242nd St.
Dell Rapids, South Dakota 57022
<('(..)')>
Arie McFarlen, PhD
Maveric Heritage Ranch Co.
(605) 428-5994
www.maveric9.com
A farmer in South Dakota who is working to save endangered hog breeds has just suffered a devastating loss. Slow Food USA is asking the Slow Food community to lend a hand.
Below is the letter I received today from President Josh Viertal.
Thank you all for any support you can give.
Nicole M.
Dear Leaders,
I just got off the phone with Arie McFarlen who is a member of our Ark of Taste committee. Arie owns Maveric Heritage Ranch in South Dakota, where she has single-handedly saved several rare breeds of pigs, bringing them back from the brink of extinction. Tragically, last week, Arie's barn burned to the ground killing over 40 of her rare breed hogs, sows with babies and her treasured horse. She lost everything - the feed she'd put away for the winter, the feeding troughs - she doesn't even have a pitch-fork. Yet she still has other animals to care for. Since it was an electrical fire and electricity powers her water pump there was no water on the farm to put out the fire.
Arie is devastated, but full of hope. Fortunately she kept duplicate breeding pairs of her rare breeds in multiple locations on the farm, so no breed was lost. Those remaining animals are keeping her going. Her neighbors are helping her out as well. She told me about neighbors using tractors to bring water for her animals until the pump could be restored with temporary power. She said, “One thing about living in a rural community is that everyone pitches in when something goes wrong.” To continue her work though she is going to need more help than her neighbors can give. Our shared work makes us all a part of her community and we should pitch in too.
Unfortunately there isn’t a chapter in South Dakota yet, so we’re reaching out to the larger Slow Food community. A special fund has been set up to help, and you can find more information in the linked press release. It is important that we take care of each other in times like these. I encourage you to share this information with your members, and if you can, to give
your support.
Donations can be made online at www.maveric9.com or sent to the “Endangered Hog Foundation” in care of Maveric Heritage Ranch Co. at:
Endangered Hog Foundation
Maveric Heritage Ranch Co.
47869-242nd St.
Dell Rapids, South Dakota 57022
You can read a letter from Arie below. We’ve posted her letter on the Slow Food USA blog at
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/help_a_biodiversity_pioneer/.
Thanks,
Josh Viertel
-----------------------
Dear Friends of Maveric:
It is with the deepest and most profound grief that I write this message. At 5:30am November 19th, 2008, we awoke to our beautiful 100 year old gambrel barn engulfed in flames. Trapped within the barn was my beloved stallion, several rare Mulefoot hog sows with their litters of piglets, an extremely rare Wessex saddleback boar, a favorite guinea hog boar and all of my dearly loved cats. Although we made attempts to rescue our animals, we were unable to save any from the barn.
We were able to run pigs from their pens near the barn to the pastures and get them away from the heat & flames. Many animals in these pens were burned and have suffered smoke inhalation. Though it is several days after the fire, we are still losing animals we have been nursing and trying to save.
The fire burned with such intensity that it caught a large tree and our new barn on fire as well. The firemen were able to save our new barn, but our gambrel was a complete loss. The fire marshal reported that the fire was burning in excess of 2000 degrees due to the way the metal items in the barn melted and puddled. The fire was apparently caused by a failure in the main power breaker. When the power transformer began to melt, we lost power to the whole farm. This also left us without water, as our well is pumped by electricity.
All of our feed (approximately 1000 bales of alfalfa), our tools, watering troughs & feeders, buckets, piglet pens, fencing supplies, power cords, winter heaters, saddles & horse gear, construction materials for our new barn and so much more were completely destroyed.
We cannot replace our rare breed pigs. They simply do not exist. Our work for nearly ten years has been to preserve and save these breeds of pigs. We cannot begin to express our sense of loss over these animals, not just from our lives, but from all future generations.
This tragedy has made it even more clear to us that these rare breeds are in a very precarious situation. At any moment, a disaster, accident or disease could take yet another species from this planet.
Our friends have already begun to rally around us and offer support. We have received many calls and emails from the folks at Slow Food USA, Animal Welfare Institute, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and Dakota Rural Action. Because of this outpouring of encouragement, we feel compelled to persevere and insure that future generations are able to raise and enjoy these breeds, and that biodiversity amongst pigs is preserved.
The Endangered Hog Foundation has been established to help us rebuild and to help continue work with endangered pig breeds. We fully intend to carry on with our DNA research, breeding program, establishing new breeders and promotion of endangered pigs. We have already begun the process of cleaning up the debris and will begin construction of a facility to continue working with our pigs as soon as spring arrives in South Dakota. Temporary measures to provide for the pigs during the upcoming winter are underway.
We need your help. Our immediate needs are for physical labor to help with clean up and building temporary shelter to winter the pigs. Additionally, we need to find a source for alfalfa hay square bales, to obtain portable shelters for the pigs due to farrow in early 2009, hog equipment and hand tools.
Donations can be sent to the “Endangered Hog Foundation” in care of Maveric Heritage Ranch Co. at the address below or through the link on our web page at www.maveric9.com.
Thank you to everyone who has offered support. I cannot describe how it feels to stand in a place of profound grief and intense gratitude at the same time. We will carry on through the love and support of our friends.
Endangered Hog Foundation
Maveric Heritage Ranch Co.
47869-242nd St.
Dell Rapids, South Dakota 57022
<('(..)')>
Arie McFarlen, PhD
Maveric Heritage Ranch Co.
(605) 428-5994
www.maveric9.com
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Nov. 10 minutes
In attendance: Nicole, Judi, Aimee, Lucy, Rick Thronburg, John Phillips
I. November 15th Movie and Panel. Meeting at 12 for brownbag. To bring following materials:
Nicole: invitation on blog, cards/paper for people to ‘submit’ ideas, 10 reasons to eat local.
Judi: Sign up sheets, Menu for the future publications, any SF publications
Lucy: Brochure (100), SQUASH,
Susan: doorprize and raffle stuff,
Lucy to talk 5-10 minutes on activities done so far, 2009 goals,
II. Powow. November 15th after Movie event. At Nannette’s. We’ll worry about food when we get there but it might be nice to have some wine to sip on…
Agenda:
1. Slow food: to be or not to be.
2. Formalize mission statement. (“empowering people to eat locally” (or something like that) or “expanding access to locally grown and produced food for everyone in the region”)
3. 2009 goals
4. Set list of activities/events for next year and begin to assign responsibility.
5. Revisit subcommittees (lucy to bring lists)
Lucy to bring a timetable for topics to be agreed upon at powow beginning.
III. Financial Reports. Susan motioned to have reports out quarterly and not monthly, Judi seconded, Lucy, Nicole, Judi: Aye.
IV. Misc.
Grant denied.
Nicole to work with Katie K. to update website.
Lucy: add John Phillips to meeting list.
Need follow up on Oakhill Organics Winter Farm Visit.
December Potluck. Theme: Christmases around the World. Lucy to find out date.
Event ideas: talks: local seed varieties that excel, beekeeping (FEB), Alternative pollinators, Extending the harvest with greenhouses, pruning. Movies: Dirt on Farmer John, A man Named Earl, Tableland.
Need a stakeholder list: Soil & Water, Mike Fahey –garden project. Greenfield , etc.
Need to follow up with Kullas regarding possibilities for 8000 sq ft plot in Mac.
I. November 15th Movie and Panel. Meeting at 12 for brownbag. To bring following materials:
Nicole: invitation on blog, cards/paper for people to ‘submit’ ideas, 10 reasons to eat local.
Judi: Sign up sheets, Menu for the future publications, any SF publications
Lucy: Brochure (100), SQUASH,
Susan: doorprize and raffle stuff,
Lucy to talk 5-10 minutes on activities done so far, 2009 goals,
II. Powow. November 15th after Movie event. At Nannette’s. We’ll worry about food when we get there but it might be nice to have some wine to sip on…
Agenda:
1. Slow food: to be or not to be.
2. Formalize mission statement. (“empowering people to eat locally” (or something like that) or “expanding access to locally grown and produced food for everyone in the region”)
3. 2009 goals
4. Set list of activities/events for next year and begin to assign responsibility.
5. Revisit subcommittees (lucy to bring lists)
Lucy to bring a timetable for topics to be agreed upon at powow beginning.
III. Financial Reports. Susan motioned to have reports out quarterly and not monthly, Judi seconded, Lucy, Nicole, Judi: Aye.
IV. Misc.
Grant denied.
Nicole to work with Katie K. to update website.
Lucy: add John Phillips to meeting list.
Need follow up on Oakhill Organics Winter Farm Visit.
December Potluck. Theme: Christmases around the World. Lucy to find out date.
Event ideas: talks: local seed varieties that excel, beekeeping (FEB), Alternative pollinators, Extending the harvest with greenhouses, pruning. Movies: Dirt on Farmer John, A man Named Earl, Tableland.
Need a stakeholder list: Soil & Water, Mike Fahey –garden project. Greenfield , etc.
Need to follow up with Kullas regarding possibilities for 8000 sq ft plot in Mac.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Saturday movie and discussion
Join us this Saturday, Nov. 15, for a community discussion on local solutions to global issues, including food, housing and transportation. Slow Food Yamhill County has joined with Yamhill Valley Peacemakers, Cool Mac, Greenfield and the Cozine Bicycle Club to offer a free showing of the award-winning documentary film "The Power of Community; How Cuba Survived Peak Oil."
We'll start with a brown bag lunch at noon, in the Great Room of McMinnville Cooperative Ministries, 544 N.E. Second Street, McMinnville.
The movie begins at 1 o'clock, and will be follolwed by a panel discussion.
Hope to see you there.
NIcole M.
We'll start with a brown bag lunch at noon, in the Great Room of McMinnville Cooperative Ministries, 544 N.E. Second Street, McMinnville.
The movie begins at 1 o'clock, and will be follolwed by a panel discussion.
Hope to see you there.
NIcole M.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Minutes of Oct. 27 meeting
Present: Lucy, Susan, Rick Thronburg
I. November 15 forum with YValleyPeacemakers and Cool Mac. Lucy will be speaking either on City stuff or on SFYC stuff (Nicole has since volunteered to speak if necessary). Barbara Boyer might also be speaking on ag. Stuff. Will show movie “Power of Community” and then have a panel discussion on our community. Lucy to verify if they want City talk so that she can clear it with the City. A light lunch might be served but that begs the question: what type of food and is there potential liability for ‘home-cooked’ foodstuffs. YVPeacemakers to find out or to reschedule from 12-3 to 1-4. SFYC to co-sponsor event.
II. Brochure. Mostly done, needs some additional information. We went through and looked at it.
III. Rick (Judi-please add Rick to the mailing list rickzt@verizon.net ) He has a marketing background and wants to help. He is just learning about us but he might be able to give a talk on ‘knives’.
IV. Finance. Susan turned in the 3rd Quarter report and would like a vote to determine if she can continue turning in quarterly reports rather than monthly.
V. Misc. Nicole- Fees expire on Dec. 31st. Does this mean that all memberships expire then? What if we don’t have 20, etc.?
Lucy will talk to Kullas about their ‘cheap website’. We recognize that the blog is not really meeting our needs and that a website would much more.
I. November 15 forum with YValleyPeacemakers and Cool Mac. Lucy will be speaking either on City stuff or on SFYC stuff (Nicole has since volunteered to speak if necessary). Barbara Boyer might also be speaking on ag. Stuff. Will show movie “Power of Community” and then have a panel discussion on our community. Lucy to verify if they want City talk so that she can clear it with the City. A light lunch might be served but that begs the question: what type of food and is there potential liability for ‘home-cooked’ foodstuffs. YVPeacemakers to find out or to reschedule from 12-3 to 1-4. SFYC to co-sponsor event.
II. Brochure. Mostly done, needs some additional information. We went through and looked at it.
III. Rick (Judi-please add Rick to the mailing list rickzt@verizon.net ) He has a marketing background and wants to help. He is just learning about us but he might be able to give a talk on ‘knives’.
IV. Finance. Susan turned in the 3rd Quarter report and would like a vote to determine if she can continue turning in quarterly reports rather than monthly.
V. Misc. Nicole- Fees expire on Dec. 31st. Does this mean that all memberships expire then? What if we don’t have 20, etc.?
Lucy will talk to Kullas about their ‘cheap website’. We recognize that the blog is not really meeting our needs and that a website would much more.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Local turkeys available
We received an e-mail from Jack Murphy of Hope Springs Farm, who has local turkeys to sell, for those of you looking for your Thanksgiving bird.
Jack's message follows:
Our turkeys are pasture raised - truly pastured, not the fake “free range” many industrial producers sell. They are treated with
NO antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, herbicides, or other yuk. They are fed conventional feed, not organic, which is unfortunate but for many reasons our best option (email for the two-page explanation!).The taste of these turkeys compared to the conventional Butterball is dramatic. We guarantee you’ll be pleased. They are processed and delivered vacuum packed on specific dates in November and December for you to freeze for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and whenever else. They can be cut into parts and/or ground as turkeyburger on Nov. 9 and Dec. 22 for an additional charge.
Whole birds are $4.50/lb (15-25 lb bird). We will have turkeys ready at the McMinnville First Baptist Church parking lot (2^nd & Cowles) 4:00-6:00 PM on the date you choose. Salem deliveries will be on Thursday November 13, and Portland deliveries on Saturday November 15 (time and location TBA). For bulk or cooperative orders, we can make
other delivery arrangements.
Please let us know how many turkeys you want on each of the following days by emailing us at hopesprings@onlinenw.com
or calling 503-835-0672.
_Dates available_
No preference (we’ll let you know what works best)
3 November
9 November (cut & grind optional this day)
12 November
Salem orders delivered Thursday November 13
14 November
Portland orders delivered on the 15th .
22 December (big birds! Cut and grind optional this day)
Jack also said:
I also noted that you recently had a dinner that featured ciderpressing. I am nearly obsessed with making apple cider, and put together a manually operated grinder/press late last year. It's gotten a great workout this year, and I thought you might want us to help out next year, or maybe even this year. There are plenty of apples left on the trees!
Thanks, Jack. We hope to see you at one of our potlucks, or maybe an upcoming meeting.
Nicole M.
Jack's message follows:
Our turkeys are pasture raised - truly pastured, not the fake “free range” many industrial producers sell. They are treated with
NO antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, herbicides, or other yuk. They are fed conventional feed, not organic, which is unfortunate but for many reasons our best option (email for the two-page explanation!).The taste of these turkeys compared to the conventional Butterball is dramatic. We guarantee you’ll be pleased. They are processed and delivered vacuum packed on specific dates in November and December for you to freeze for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and whenever else. They can be cut into parts and/or ground as turkeyburger on Nov. 9 and Dec. 22 for an additional charge.
Whole birds are $4.50/lb (15-25 lb bird). We will have turkeys ready at the McMinnville First Baptist Church parking lot (2^nd & Cowles) 4:00-6:00 PM on the date you choose. Salem deliveries will be on Thursday November 13, and Portland deliveries on Saturday November 15 (time and location TBA). For bulk or cooperative orders, we can make
other delivery arrangements.
Please let us know how many turkeys you want on each of the following days by emailing us at hopesprings@onlinenw.com
_Dates available_
No preference (we’ll let you know what works best)
3 November
9 November (cut & grind optional this day)
12 November
Salem orders delivered Thursday November 13
14 November
Portland orders delivered on the 15th .
22 December (big birds! Cut and grind optional this day)
Jack also said:
I also noted that you recently had a dinner that featured ciderpressing. I am nearly obsessed with making apple cider, and put together a manually operated grinder/press late last year. It's gotten a great workout this year, and I thought you might want us to help out next year, or maybe even this year. There are plenty of apples left on the trees!
Thanks, Jack. We hope to see you at one of our potlucks, or maybe an upcoming meeting.
Nicole M.
Latest update
Congratulations to Seth and Leslie for a great presentation. We had a wonderful turnout that filled the room, and several people signed up to be added to our e-mail list. Librarian Jenny Berg has invited us to repeat the series again next year; she said the library was very happy with it. Let's talk about ideas for that.
Coming up, as Susan noted below, we're co-sponsoring a movie with Cool Mac and the Yamhill County Peacemakers on Nov. 15. The movie is "The Power of Community. More to follow on that in a later post.
We've had a wonderful first 10 months, and done some exciting things: monthly potlucks that have consistently drawn large turn-outs from the public; a three-part lecture series at the McMinnville Public Library that drew a lot of public interest; a canning class by the OSU Master Food Preservers Program; a bean planting project at local elementary schools by Red Fox Bakery last spring; hand-outs at the City Fair in September and of course our upcoming movie. We joined Slow Food USA, and created a mission statement you can find on this blog. Angelina created a terrific list of reasons to eat local food that we've been handing out to people, and Lucy is working on a formal brochure about our group. We've got a farm and csa list created, that we plan to post online as soon as we get a website set up. And, of course, we've got our blog. We've applied for grant funds to allow us to put on a county farm tour next fall, and the Soil and Water Conservation District has volunteered to work with us in setting it up, assuming we receive the grant.
I think next year is going to be even better and more productive, and I can't wait to see what the energy and imagination of this group will produce.
Nicole M.
Coming up, as Susan noted below, we're co-sponsoring a movie with Cool Mac and the Yamhill County Peacemakers on Nov. 15. The movie is "The Power of Community. More to follow on that in a later post.
We've had a wonderful first 10 months, and done some exciting things: monthly potlucks that have consistently drawn large turn-outs from the public; a three-part lecture series at the McMinnville Public Library that drew a lot of public interest; a canning class by the OSU Master Food Preservers Program; a bean planting project at local elementary schools by Red Fox Bakery last spring; hand-outs at the City Fair in September and of course our upcoming movie. We joined Slow Food USA, and created a mission statement you can find on this blog. Angelina created a terrific list of reasons to eat local food that we've been handing out to people, and Lucy is working on a formal brochure about our group. We've got a farm and csa list created, that we plan to post online as soon as we get a website set up. And, of course, we've got our blog. We've applied for grant funds to allow us to put on a county farm tour next fall, and the Soil and Water Conservation District has volunteered to work with us in setting it up, assuming we receive the grant.
I think next year is going to be even better and more productive, and I can't wait to see what the energy and imagination of this group will produce.
Nicole M.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Gardening presentation on Saturday
Leslie Blanding and Seth Johnson of Figment Farms will speak about turning your lawn into gardening space to grow your own vegetables, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Carnegie Room at McMinnville Public Library, 225 N.W. Adams St. Admission is free. We look forward to seeing you there.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Oct. 13 minutes
Sorry so late, I’ve been sick. Lucy.
Oct 13th 2008 Minutes.
Present: Lucy, Nicole, Judi, Aimee, Marsha Macke
I. Potluck. Went well. Approx 30 attendees. Contest went well and got people thinking about creative/different recipes. Cider press was a fantastic addition and should be repeated next year with our without an apple themed meal (jury is out on that one). It might be neat to have a manual grinder to get more people physically involved. The press was from Mike Bahee. Next year perhaps we could pair or follow up with a talk on what to do with cider…jelly, etc. We might also want to consider a talk on ‘all things to do with apples.’ Thank you Dan Brown for hosting…we heard that you enjoyed it an we might call upon you again. For future consideration, Mark Bialy of Carlton Cider Works does french style apple cider (hard). A tour might be nice.
II. How to eat lawn talk. Judi has sent materials to NR. And has mailed to general interest list. She will touch base with the library but will NOT be there on the 25th. Seth & Leslie. Thank you. Do you need anything?
III. Membership. We are up to 12 members but still need AT LEAST 8 more to make our requried minimum. We are considering moving meeting days back to Wednesday. For next meeting, please come up with the following: a list of what people can do; a 2009 goals list; and a thought on our current catchphrase “Expanding access to locally-grown and produced food for everyone in the region.”
IV. Misc.
Angelina is to put updates on the blog (see Nicole).
(Note from Nicole; I've forgotten what this was about, so you'll have to see Lucy!)
November event: Peacemakers showing of Movie at Linfield. Susan and Nanette are contacts and need to get a date scheduled. Judi will also be communicating with them and let Lucy know if you want a farmer on the panel so that Lucy can get one.
December Potluck is in a house in MAC…perchance a ‘holidays from around the world theme’
January event: potential showing of “Tableland” and potluck. A challenge due to availability.
Nicole to get a bee speaker for a February meeting.
Lucy to come up with draft brochure by October 27th!
Lucy to call about grant.
Oct 13th 2008 Minutes.
Present: Lucy, Nicole, Judi, Aimee, Marsha Macke
I. Potluck. Went well. Approx 30 attendees. Contest went well and got people thinking about creative/different recipes. Cider press was a fantastic addition and should be repeated next year with our without an apple themed meal (jury is out on that one). It might be neat to have a manual grinder to get more people physically involved. The press was from Mike Bahee. Next year perhaps we could pair or follow up with a talk on what to do with cider…jelly, etc. We might also want to consider a talk on ‘all things to do with apples.’ Thank you Dan Brown for hosting…we heard that you enjoyed it an we might call upon you again. For future consideration, Mark Bialy of Carlton Cider Works does french style apple cider (hard). A tour might be nice.
II. How to eat lawn talk. Judi has sent materials to NR. And has mailed to general interest list. She will touch base with the library but will NOT be there on the 25th. Seth & Leslie. Thank you. Do you need anything?
III. Membership. We are up to 12 members but still need AT LEAST 8 more to make our requried minimum. We are considering moving meeting days back to Wednesday. For next meeting, please come up with the following: a list of what people can do; a 2009 goals list; and a thought on our current catchphrase “Expanding access to locally-grown and produced food for everyone in the region.”
IV. Misc.
Angelina is to put updates on the blog (see Nicole).
(Note from Nicole; I've forgotten what this was about, so you'll have to see Lucy!)
November event: Peacemakers showing of Movie at Linfield. Susan and Nanette are contacts and need to get a date scheduled. Judi will also be communicating with them and let Lucy know if you want a farmer on the panel so that Lucy can get one.
December Potluck is in a house in MAC…perchance a ‘holidays from around the world theme’
January event: potential showing of “Tableland” and potluck. A challenge due to availability.
Nicole to get a bee speaker for a February meeting.
Lucy to come up with draft brochure by October 27th!
Lucy to call about grant.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Meeting dates
Well, we thought that meeting on Mondays would make it easier for people to attend. Turns out it doesn't. At least a couple members, in fact, have informed us they can Never attend on Mondays. So what do the rest of you think? Should we keep it where it is, or just move it back to Wednesdays? Are you reading this blog?
Please comment.
Nicole M.
Please comment.
Nicole M.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Canning class tomorrow!
Hey all, just a reminder, the canning class with Holly Berry from the OSU Extension Service's Master Food Preserver program is at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.
Canning Fruits and Tomatoes: Basic boiling water canning processing method, review equipment, ingredients, current instructions, step-by-step. Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 7:00-8:30 p.m. OSU Yamhill County Extension Office, 2050 NE Lafayette Avenue. Instructor: Holly Berry,OSU Extension Service, Co-Sponsored by OSU Extension Service and Slow Food Yamhill County. $10.00 per person. Questions to Judi Herubin at 971-237-3953.
Nicole M.
Canning Fruits and Tomatoes: Basic boiling water canning processing method, review equipment, ingredients, current instructions, step-by-step. Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 7:00-8:30 p.m. OSU Yamhill County Extension Office, 2050 NE Lafayette Avenue. Instructor: Holly Berry,OSU Extension Service, Co-Sponsored by OSU Extension Service and Slow Food Yamhill County. $10.00 per person. Questions to Judi Herubin at 971-237-3953.
Nicole M.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sept. 8 minutes
Date: 9/8/08
Attend: Susan, Lucy, Nannette, Nicole, Sarah Bates (YCPH), Judi, Aimee
I. Sarah w/ Yamhill County Public Health on a grant that they have received regarding Chronic Disease in YC. YCPH is asking for assistance in doing the community assessment for this grant. They are looking into creating a county-wide directory of CSAs, farms, farmstands, etc (sound familiar?) Sara is getting most of the farmstand information from the USDA. We talked about a CSA brochure and noted John Foster (on Hill Rd) as a potential resource. We all recognize the shortage of community gardens and Sarah would also like a summary of community gardens in the County. Lucy recommitted herself to getting as much of this information that she is out for.
The upcoming community/school garden up by Grandhaven was also brought up. It is being sponsored by Petra & Jesse (of Natural Connections).
If you have any information/questions, Sara Bates can be reached at batess@co.yamhill.or.us.
She is also looking for any ‘champions in the community’ that we can pair up with.
II. YC Agricultural Industry Meeting. Lucy talked with Jodi Christensen (MAC Chamber) and SFYC is very welcome at the meetings. Susan will go to the first meeting and we will get details from there. This is being cosponsored with Extension. Susan will take money out of the account to buy jars which we will raffle off. Katie K. might attend in the winter?
III. Canning Class. Wednesday, Sept. 24, 7-8:30 p.m. at the OSU Yamhill Co. Extension Office 2050 NE Lafayette Ave. $10. Press release is out. Please send summary from Judi to anyone/everyone who might be interested. Susan will send it to Yamhill Valley Peacemakers. This is on the radio, press release to the papers, etc.
IV. Meetings. Keep on Mondays for now. Potentially have a field trip to Bernard’s after next meeting. Next agenda: bee presentation at library.
V. YC Grant. Add line about ‘conglomeration of private businesses and nonprofits’
VI. Winter Movie Sponsor w/ Yamhill Valley Peacemakers? They are showing “Power of Culture” at 3rd St Pizza. Yes, we definitely support it. Nicole knows of someone who studied agricultural systems in Cuba.
VII.Events.
September 21. 3 p.m. Potluck at Valley Creek Farm. Soup and Salad Theme.
October 12. 3 p.m. Apple themed potluck. Does anyone have a press?
(Update since minutes were sent out:Danny Browne has agreed to host our October potluck. The date that works for him is Sunday, October 12. We agreed to start again at 3 for consistency. He has a big backyard and a few apple trees. Let's discuss details at our next meeting. Judi)
Nov-
Dec-
TASKS:
Judi to continue with canning planning/potluck.
Lucy to invite Katherine Huit to the September Potluck and get her home mailing stuff to Judi.
Lucy to talk to Kullas about getting slow food information forwarded to Nicole.
Lucy to get Nannette numbers of ‘original members’
Lucy to check occupancy of canning demo building.
Susan to buy 2? Sets of canning jars with money from account.
Susan to talk with Bernard’s to find out appropriate hours.
Angelina to make flier for canning.
Angelina to make SF Flier w/ SFYC app. Sheet built in. J
Nanette to talk about the community garden at the next meeting.
Nannette to call original members.
Nicole to contact Cuban ag workers re. YVP movie night talk.
Attend: Susan, Lucy, Nannette, Nicole, Sarah Bates (YCPH), Judi, Aimee
I. Sarah w/ Yamhill County Public Health on a grant that they have received regarding Chronic Disease in YC. YCPH is asking for assistance in doing the community assessment for this grant. They are looking into creating a county-wide directory of CSAs, farms, farmstands, etc (sound familiar?) Sara is getting most of the farmstand information from the USDA. We talked about a CSA brochure and noted John Foster (on Hill Rd) as a potential resource. We all recognize the shortage of community gardens and Sarah would also like a summary of community gardens in the County. Lucy recommitted herself to getting as much of this information that she is out for.
The upcoming community/school garden up by Grandhaven was also brought up. It is being sponsored by Petra & Jesse (of Natural Connections).
If you have any information/questions, Sara Bates can be reached at batess@co.yamhill.or.us.
She is also looking for any ‘champions in the community’ that we can pair up with.
II. YC Agricultural Industry Meeting. Lucy talked with Jodi Christensen (MAC Chamber) and SFYC is very welcome at the meetings. Susan will go to the first meeting and we will get details from there. This is being cosponsored with Extension. Susan will take money out of the account to buy jars which we will raffle off. Katie K. might attend in the winter?
III. Canning Class. Wednesday, Sept. 24, 7-8:30 p.m. at the OSU Yamhill Co. Extension Office 2050 NE Lafayette Ave. $10. Press release is out. Please send summary from Judi to anyone/everyone who might be interested. Susan will send it to Yamhill Valley Peacemakers. This is on the radio, press release to the papers, etc.
IV. Meetings. Keep on Mondays for now. Potentially have a field trip to Bernard’s after next meeting. Next agenda: bee presentation at library.
V. YC Grant. Add line about ‘conglomeration of private businesses and nonprofits’
VI. Winter Movie Sponsor w/ Yamhill Valley Peacemakers? They are showing “Power of Culture” at 3rd St Pizza. Yes, we definitely support it. Nicole knows of someone who studied agricultural systems in Cuba.
VII.Events.
September 21. 3 p.m. Potluck at Valley Creek Farm. Soup and Salad Theme.
October 12. 3 p.m. Apple themed potluck. Does anyone have a press?
(Update since minutes were sent out:Danny Browne has agreed to host our October potluck. The date that works for him is Sunday, October 12. We agreed to start again at 3 for consistency. He has a big backyard and a few apple trees. Let's discuss details at our next meeting. Judi)
Nov-
Dec-
TASKS:
Judi to continue with canning planning/potluck.
Lucy to invite Katherine Huit to the September Potluck and get her home mailing stuff to Judi.
Lucy to talk to Kullas about getting slow food information forwarded to Nicole.
Lucy to get Nannette numbers of ‘original members’
Lucy to check occupancy of canning demo building.
Susan to buy 2? Sets of canning jars with money from account.
Susan to talk with Bernard’s to find out appropriate hours.
Angelina to make flier for canning.
Angelina to make SF Flier w/ SFYC app. Sheet built in. J
Nanette to talk about the community garden at the next meeting.
Nannette to call original members.
Nicole to contact Cuban ag workers re. YVP movie night talk.
Potluck reminder
September 21, 3 p.m. Potluck at Valley Creek Farm, 8910 SW River Bend Road. Soup and Salad Theme. Please come and enjoy a leisurely afternoon of good food and conversation.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Canning class scheduled
Canning Fruits and Tomatoes: Basic boiling water canning processing method, review equipment, ingredients, current instructions, step-by-step. Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 7:00-8:30 p.m. OSU Yamhill County Extension Office, 2050 NE Lafayette Avenue. Instructor: Holly Berry,OSU Extension Service, Co-Sponsored by OSU Extension Service and Slow Food Yamhill County. $10.00 per person. Questions to Judi Herubin at 971-237-3953
Friday, September 5, 2008
Monday meeting agenda
A reminder everyone:
We have a meeting next MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th.
At a minimum, the agenda will cover the following:
- Finalize YC Cultural Coalition Grant.
- Presentation by Sarah Bates of the Yamhill County Public Health regarding a grant that she has received to study, amongst other things, nutrition in the County, existing resources, and community (food) needs.
- Details from Judi regarding September Canning Class.
- Potluck last minute touch-ups.
- Schedule for fall/winter events.
Lucy Falcy
Sarah is looking for information from us, as well as informing us about the new Community Health Advisory Council, which will assess community resources and needs and then develop a workplan. Nutrition is just one aspect of the grant, but it's one where we might be able to work with Public Health in coming up with some projects.
Please plan to attend the meeting to hear Sarah's presentation and add your thoughts.
Thanks,
Nicole M.
We have a meeting next MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th.
At a minimum, the agenda will cover the following:
- Finalize YC Cultural Coalition Grant.
- Presentation by Sarah Bates of the Yamhill County Public Health regarding a grant that she has received to study, amongst other things, nutrition in the County, existing resources, and community (food) needs.
- Details from Judi regarding September Canning Class.
- Potluck last minute touch-ups.
- Schedule for fall/winter events.
Lucy Falcy
Sarah is looking for information from us, as well as informing us about the new Community Health Advisory Council, which will assess community resources and needs and then develop a workplan. Nutrition is just one aspect of the grant, but it's one where we might be able to work with Public Health in coming up with some projects.
Please plan to attend the meeting to hear Sarah's presentation and add your thoughts.
Thanks,
Nicole M.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Aug. 22 minutes
August 27, 2008
Attendees: Judi, Lucy & Matt Falcy, Nicole, Shari
I. Slow Food. Our enrollment numbers are unclear. We also don’t know if we need 20 by December or by our 1 year anniversary. Lucy is to call Katie to ask her to ask SF to send materials to Nicole.
II. Canning Demo. Demo kitchen at fair available for rent. Holly Berry may do canning demo on September 22 or 24th. She usually charges a small fee, perhaps she would donate it to SFYC. Judi is to write a press release as soon as the details are known.
III. Meeting Schedule. WE ARE OFFICIALLY CHANGING THE MEETING DAY TO THE 2ND AND 4TH MONDAY OF THE MONTH. SAME PLACE, SAME TIME. OUR NEXT MEETING IS NEXT MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH. Lucy to send out special notice, Nicole to update blog.
IV. Web site. Angelina, will you please add other YC names to the website ‘hit list’ (e.g. Newberg).
V. Grant. Lucy came up with a grant application for the YC Cultural Coalition. Group said it looks okay but Lucy is going to change some numbers to more accurately reflect what will be SF’s contribution. This could be big and fun. YC Soil & Water Conservation is also interested in ‘helping’ and Lucy has been talking with Tim S. As a result of this, she had to send an ‘off the hip’ list of potential farms for the tour.
VI. IDEAS. 1) Menu for the future party. 2) October apple party/potluck…(@ Oakhill Organics?) 3) November local cheesetasting event (w/ a fee). 4) Winter SF Movie night at First Baptist—ideas please. King Corn, Dirt on Farmer John, etc. We are trying to get stuff on board to carry us through the long, dark months.
Attendees: Judi, Lucy & Matt Falcy, Nicole, Shari
I. Slow Food. Our enrollment numbers are unclear. We also don’t know if we need 20 by December or by our 1 year anniversary. Lucy is to call Katie to ask her to ask SF to send materials to Nicole.
II. Canning Demo. Demo kitchen at fair available for rent. Holly Berry may do canning demo on September 22 or 24th. She usually charges a small fee, perhaps she would donate it to SFYC. Judi is to write a press release as soon as the details are known.
III. Meeting Schedule. WE ARE OFFICIALLY CHANGING THE MEETING DAY TO THE 2ND AND 4TH MONDAY OF THE MONTH. SAME PLACE, SAME TIME. OUR NEXT MEETING IS NEXT MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH. Lucy to send out special notice, Nicole to update blog.
IV. Web site. Angelina, will you please add other YC names to the website ‘hit list’ (e.g. Newberg).
V. Grant. Lucy came up with a grant application for the YC Cultural Coalition. Group said it looks okay but Lucy is going to change some numbers to more accurately reflect what will be SF’s contribution. This could be big and fun. YC Soil & Water Conservation is also interested in ‘helping’ and Lucy has been talking with Tim S. As a result of this, she had to send an ‘off the hip’ list of potential farms for the tour.
VI. IDEAS. 1) Menu for the future party. 2) October apple party/potluck…(@ Oakhill Organics?) 3) November local cheesetasting event (w/ a fee). 4) Winter SF Movie night at First Baptist—ideas please. King Corn, Dirt on Farmer John, etc. We are trying to get stuff on board to carry us through the long, dark months.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Slow Food in McMinnville
A possible new member brought it to our attention at the last meeting that our blog doesn't come up if you google Slow Food McMinnville, and that if you don't happen to think of Yamhill County, this blog can be hard to find. So here it is, a formal reference in the blog to Slow Food (in) McMinnville, for Google to look for. I am quite sure there's a better way to do this, but being blogging challenged, I haven't figured it out. Perhaps some of our real bloggers out there could offer technical advice.
While we're on the subject of Slow Food by the way, those of you who signed up with Slow Food USA may want to make sure you got into the Yamhill County convivium. Looks like some people got slotted in with Portland, and we're falling short of the number of members we need. Fortunately, we still have time to catch up.
NM
Meeting date change
Hey all,
We're changing our meeting dates! Hopefully, this will make it easier for people to attend, since a lot of our farmers market people are very busy on Wednesday evenings. So we're switching to Monday evenings at 5:15 p.m.., at the same Harvest Fresh annex. And many thanks to Harvest Fresh for allowing us to use the room.
Second and fourth Monday of the month. Hope to see you all there.
Nicole Montesano
Friday, August 29, 2008
Minutes of Aug. 13 08 meeting
Aug. 13, 2008 minutes
In attendance: Lucy, Judi, Susan, Laurie, Nanette.
1. Preservation talk at the library by Nicole and Angelina. It went well, maybe use a mike next time. Most attendants were previous canners.
Spinoff idea: canning taste and recipe share. A party: bring in stuff you canned, taste, compare, share recipes. You might just LOVE blackberry cordial or pickled cherries!
Spinoff idea: hands-on canning class at the fairgrounds, senior center or Red Fox Bakery. Tentatively scheduled for late September. (Remember, soup potluck on the 21st.) Perhaps get Holly Berry to give class? Thinking tomatoes. Perhaps charge a nominal ($15) fee? Couldn't give out samples without waivers. Judi is to e-mail Holly Berry.
2. General email list. Judi has control of the general e-mail list and doesn't mind sending out notices (and perhaps minutes).
3. Yamhill County Cultural Grant. We would need money for: posters, newspaper advertisements, handout brochures, and on-site signage. Free publicity: e-mails and press release. We decided on a MID-September farm tour date. We think that we might ask farmers that wish to participate to pay a small fee to get into the brochure. Slow Food should be at each participating farm. LUCY will call Katherine and find out if, a) the grant amount is flexible or all or nothing and b) if the Y.C.C.S. would liek to be a hub or at least a participant. Luch to have language and an amount by the 27th.
4. Yamhill County Agricultural Board. The most recent e-mail made this sound like much less fun. Still, it would be beneficial to at least SIT in on the meetings. They will meet once a month for a year to "identify the needs of the county's agricultural community, industry trends, suitable sites and implementation policies" and to work on an agribusiness economic and community development plan to encourage investors to establish new businesses in the county that would support agriculture. If anyone is interested, please let us know. The first meeting is Sept. 25. Contact is County Commissioner Mary Stern. Lucy is to call Ms. Stern regarding the program and Jodi Christensen regarding the Chamber's role.
5. Idea: Farmer talks at the potlucks. A set of questions, they eat and talk, we eat and learn. Thoughts?
That's it. Remember the potluck on the 21st, and everyone enjoy themselves -- and start coming to meetings.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Preserving talk Saturday
Angelina Williamson and food columnist Nicole Montesano will give a talk on food preservation techniques from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at the McMinnville Public Library, in the Carnegie Room. Admission is free. We will offer an overview of various techniques, and raffle off a box of canning jars.
Friday, July 25, 2008
July 23 Meeting Minutes
Attendance: Laurie Furch, Nicole Montesano, Mick Cowles, Patty Munday, Susan Ruggles, Lucy Falcy, Judy Herubin
I. Potluck- Decided to skip the August Potluck and planned a ‘Soup & Salad’ themed potluck at Valley Creek (Herubin) Farm (8910 SW River Bend Road) at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 21st. As always, bring a dish and/or beverage…relax and enjoy.
II. August 2nd Preservation Class at Library. N.R. has been given a press release, we are in the ‘activities’ section. We are all looking forward to it.
Lucy will start collecting handouts from all events to have on record for future events, grant applications, etc. If you have handouts from past events (including potluck postcards, etc.) please get them to me. I am downtown approximately 45 hours a week.
III. Blog. We want to start thinking about making this more interactive and available. Please, everyone…please google “slow food yamhill county” in your spare time. The more time it is googled, the sooner it will make it to the first page. We discussed various avenues for updating/maintaining the site as a website instead of a blog. The Kullas are using ‘go blogger’ and we are also interested in getting a kid or two from MACA to have our website be their ‘project’. Suggestions?
IV. www.localfresh.net . While the ‘Availability’ Committee had grand intentions of getting all of the farms, etc. in Yamhill County online, Brian S. was concurrently working on a website to do just that. We have given him all of the information that we have at this point and we are hoping to build up this resource together. Go check it out.
V. Yamhill County Cultural Coalition Grant. www.yamhillcountyculture.org There is an opportunity to get an undisclosed small amount of money for a project that works to serve the goals of the coalition (which I cannot cut and paste here for some reason). We brainstormed and came up with the following opportunities:
§ Most Likely: A ‘tour of farms’ for sometime in the Fall ’09. The tour might look a lot like what Culpeper Farm has done (See www.culpeperag.org/farmtour2007 ). We need to look up what publishing costs for pamphlets would be/decide how many/etc. for the application. That would probably be all that we ask money for. The rest will be organizational/design work. Thoughts? The Chamber does a slightly similar project but only every other year with one agribusiness and only with Chamber members.
§ Second Most Likely: Get a few farms to agree to host some elementary school kids for a ‘day on the farm(s)’ either in the spring with cheese/wool/eggs or in the fall with the usual. We would be asking money for bus drivers. Cooperation would need to happen with the schools and we would need to be more sensitive to the potential participation of non-MAC school kids (we got in a bit of trouble for excluding last time)
§ Pressure Canning Kitchen…apparently the kitchen at the YC Fair Grounds is already available.
§ Partner with historical society to get ‘preserving’ resources.
§ Develop a book of ‘Old-Time’ Stories. This would involve contacting owners of Yamhill County’s older/heritage farms and talking to them. Do they have anything special on site? Do they want to share a story of something that happened at Grandma’s wedding when the bull got loose? Costs would be for publication/travel. Of course, this is likely a more likely project for the YCCC but who knows, we might partner up.
I am going to flush out the first idea to present/have the application materials ready for our next meeting on August 13th. (Application has to be postmarked by Sept. 15th)
VI. Upcoming Events:
Thursday Afternoons in August/September. Cooking with Judi on the mezzanine. valleycreekfarm@gmail.com
Saturday August 2, 9-3. The Home Orchard Society’s Potluck and Fruit Tasting 19600 Mollala Ave Oregon City. Free. http://calendar.oregonstate.edu/event/20324
Saturday, August 9. 10-3. Yamhill County Harvest Fest 2008. See attached brochure or download one at www.yamhillcountyhistory.org . Old time oat harvesting, hay rides, vintage farm equipment, etc.
September 13, October 11. One Green World Nursery Harvest Festival and Tasting. Try a wide variety of fruits from plants that they sell. 28696 S. Cramer Rd Mollala, Or 1-877-353-4028 www.onegreenworld.com
October 10-12; 17-19 Portland Nursery Apple Tasting (MANY Varieties, Cider, etc.) Free. 5050 SE Stark Portland
If anyone thinks of any additional events, please let us know.
VII. Administrative. We adopted the method of getting most agenda items done and out of the way by 6:00 p.m. That keeps things moving and leaves plenty of time for extra chatting afterwards. We are hoping to continue this trend and as meeting facilitator, I will personally do my best (LF). Also, we have a lot of people ‘signed up’ but not participating. We understand that it is a busy season and if you can’t make it to a few events, that is expected. However, if you are on our mailing list and you don’t plan on participating or if you would like to be on our ‘events’ email instead, please let us know.
I. Potluck- Decided to skip the August Potluck and planned a ‘Soup & Salad’ themed potluck at Valley Creek (Herubin) Farm (8910 SW River Bend Road) at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 21st. As always, bring a dish and/or beverage…relax and enjoy.
II. August 2nd Preservation Class at Library. N.R. has been given a press release, we are in the ‘activities’ section. We are all looking forward to it.
Lucy will start collecting handouts from all events to have on record for future events, grant applications, etc. If you have handouts from past events (including potluck postcards, etc.) please get them to me. I am downtown approximately 45 hours a week.
III. Blog. We want to start thinking about making this more interactive and available. Please, everyone…please google “slow food yamhill county” in your spare time. The more time it is googled, the sooner it will make it to the first page. We discussed various avenues for updating/maintaining the site as a website instead of a blog. The Kullas are using ‘go blogger’ and we are also interested in getting a kid or two from MACA to have our website be their ‘project’. Suggestions?
IV. www.localfresh.net . While the ‘Availability’ Committee had grand intentions of getting all of the farms, etc. in Yamhill County online, Brian S. was concurrently working on a website to do just that. We have given him all of the information that we have at this point and we are hoping to build up this resource together. Go check it out.
V. Yamhill County Cultural Coalition Grant. www.yamhillcountyculture.org There is an opportunity to get an undisclosed small amount of money for a project that works to serve the goals of the coalition (which I cannot cut and paste here for some reason). We brainstormed and came up with the following opportunities:
§ Most Likely: A ‘tour of farms’ for sometime in the Fall ’09. The tour might look a lot like what Culpeper Farm has done (See www.culpeperag.org/farmtour2007 ). We need to look up what publishing costs for pamphlets would be/decide how many/etc. for the application. That would probably be all that we ask money for. The rest will be organizational/design work. Thoughts? The Chamber does a slightly similar project but only every other year with one agribusiness and only with Chamber members.
§ Second Most Likely: Get a few farms to agree to host some elementary school kids for a ‘day on the farm(s)’ either in the spring with cheese/wool/eggs or in the fall with the usual. We would be asking money for bus drivers. Cooperation would need to happen with the schools and we would need to be more sensitive to the potential participation of non-MAC school kids (we got in a bit of trouble for excluding last time)
§ Pressure Canning Kitchen…apparently the kitchen at the YC Fair Grounds is already available.
§ Partner with historical society to get ‘preserving’ resources.
§ Develop a book of ‘Old-Time’ Stories. This would involve contacting owners of Yamhill County’s older/heritage farms and talking to them. Do they have anything special on site? Do they want to share a story of something that happened at Grandma’s wedding when the bull got loose? Costs would be for publication/travel. Of course, this is likely a more likely project for the YCCC but who knows, we might partner up.
I am going to flush out the first idea to present/have the application materials ready for our next meeting on August 13th. (Application has to be postmarked by Sept. 15th)
VI. Upcoming Events:
Thursday Afternoons in August/September. Cooking with Judi on the mezzanine. valleycreekfarm@gmail.com
Saturday August 2, 9-3. The Home Orchard Society’s Potluck and Fruit Tasting 19600 Mollala Ave Oregon City. Free. http://calendar.oregonstate.edu/event/20324
Saturday, August 9. 10-3. Yamhill County Harvest Fest 2008. See attached brochure or download one at www.yamhillcountyhistory.org . Old time oat harvesting, hay rides, vintage farm equipment, etc.
September 13, October 11. One Green World Nursery Harvest Festival and Tasting. Try a wide variety of fruits from plants that they sell. 28696 S. Cramer Rd Mollala, Or 1-877-353-4028 www.onegreenworld.com
October 10-12; 17-19 Portland Nursery Apple Tasting (MANY Varieties, Cider, etc.) Free. 5050 SE Stark Portland
If anyone thinks of any additional events, please let us know.
VII. Administrative. We adopted the method of getting most agenda items done and out of the way by 6:00 p.m. That keeps things moving and leaves plenty of time for extra chatting afterwards. We are hoping to continue this trend and as meeting facilitator, I will personally do my best (LF). Also, we have a lot of people ‘signed up’ but not participating. We understand that it is a busy season and if you can’t make it to a few events, that is expected. However, if you are on our mailing list and you don’t plan on participating or if you would like to be on our ‘events’ email instead, please let us know.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Potluck Tomorrow!!
Our monthly potluck is tomorrow between 6:30pm and 9:30pm.Bring a dish using local ingredients and/or a beverage produced locally.
Bring a recipe card with your recipe on it so it can be collected for our slow foods cookbook.
Come to: 1420 NE Johnstone Court
(McMinnville)
you can call for directions: (503) 472-5304
We had a lot of fun last time and are looking forward to seeing everyone again- hopefully some new faces as well. Lots of talk about cooking, local farms, favorite foods, and how no one wants to be an elitist "foodie" because being pelted with rotten fruit is no fun for anyone. Come and be mellow and enjoy food and camaraderie with other people who share your love of local traditions and tastes.
Monday, July 14, 2008
A few notes about current happenings:
1. The Oregon State University extension service's toll-free food safety/preservation hotline opened today. It will operate through Sept. 30, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except holidays. the number is 1-800-354-7319.
2. Fruithill in Yamhill will have picked, pitted pie cherries for sale beginning July 21. They sell buckets of 25 pounds cherries and 5 pounds sugar, for $50. For more information, call 503-662-3926, or email Lee@fruithillinc.com.
3. Kookoolan Farms in Yamhill is offering breadbaking and cheesemaking classes for $50 each. For more information, visit the website at www.kookoolanfarms.com.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
July update
I'm sorry we've been so slow about getting this blog going -- I've fallen down a bit on the job. However, we've had some exciting events. We got our official confirmation from Slow Food USA. Laurie Furch and Red Fox Bakery donated bean seeds to local classes for children to plant. Katie and Casey Kulla of Oakhill Organics gave a wonderful talk on winter gardening on June 21 at the McMinnville library that was well attended. Next, Angelina Williamson hosted a potluck at her house, for people to get together and talk about local food issues. We continue to hear from people who attended one or both events and are interested in either joining us or working together in some way.
One of those is Brian Stahl, who, with his wife, Kathy, is setting up a website where people can locate farmstands, u-pick farms, grocery stores and restaurants that offer local food, in the Yamhill County area -- a goal very similar to one of our own.
Brian attended our July 9 meeting (he very nearly found himself talking to himself; apparently most of us forgot to come, or had other commitments!) to talk about his plans.
He's got some great ideas, and will be setting up a link to our blog on the website. Once Local Fresh is up and running, we plan to offer a link to it from here, as well. More information as this develops.
Brian is asking that SFYC help come up with some criteria for listing grocery stores and restaurants on the website. Is it enough that they serve local tomatoes in August, when they can get them? Do they need to have a more dedicated local foods focus? Are there other issues you're concerned about? Jot down some notes, and let's talk about it.
Unfortunately, we've had to cancel the potluck that was scheduled for July 18. Nanette discovered she had a conflict, and wasn't able to host it after all. We're hoping to reschedule for August.
On August 2, we'll have the second in our series of library presentations on local food; a talk by Angelina and I on preserving techniques. It should be fun! We're planning to have some items available for tasting, and recipes.
In September, Leslie Blanding will talk about how to convert lawn into vegetable garden -- fall is a great time to start this process, and she'll discuss how to create a new vegetable bed without breaking your back.
Happy July, and please be sure to join us for our July 23 meeting.
Nicole Montesano
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Events Committee Meeting
notes
Judi, Nannette, and I (Angelina) met at Cornerstone Coffee for our Events Committee meeting last Wednesday. Here are the notes:
We discussed the upcoming potluck:
First pot luck is for slow food group and everyone in it to invite friends
no press release for first one
We discussed projects for schools to do:
Slow Food group's wish list:
We thought we should compile a list of things our group needs and can use that people can help us out with if they want to donate to the group
If anyone else has ideas, please let Judi know.
We brainstormed things that people can do to get on board right now:
Anyone who wants to be involved in the slow foods movement and wants a hands on project to tackle, we need to have things they can do.
notes
Judi, Nannette, and I (Angelina) met at Cornerstone Coffee for our Events Committee meeting last Wednesday. Here are the notes:
We discussed the upcoming potluck:
- Friday June 27 6:30pm to 9:30pm
- bring one dish or item that was locally grown and/or produced
- If bringing a dish- bring a copy of the recipe to add to our local recipe collection
- Set up a table for slow food information- brochures on talks at the library, any other relevant brochures.
- set up donation jar?
- set up mailing list
First pot luck is for slow food group and everyone in it to invite friends
no press release for first one
We discussed projects for schools to do:
- growing carrots or other fall vegetables in cups- what vegetable check the Seattle Tilth's Maritime planting guide
Slow Food group's wish list:
We thought we should compile a list of things our group needs and can use that people can help us out with if they want to donate to the group
- books to donate to the library
- plastic cups for school planting projects
- seeds for kids planting
- paper reams for printing flyers
- printer ink for producing flyers
If anyone else has ideas, please let Judi know.
We brainstormed things that people can do to get on board right now:
Anyone who wants to be involved in the slow foods movement and wants a hands on project to tackle, we need to have things they can do.
- print up any of our flyers themselves and distribute amongst their friends and anywhere else they feel comfortable leaving them.
- plant a row for food co-ops. We need to find out if local food co-ops and soup kitchens will take produce donated from private gardens or if it needs to come through official channels.
- come up with a monthly seasonal tip on eating locally "seasonal eating tip for July..." or "five things you can do right now to eat more locally..." When someone asks "what can I do" we'll be ready with an answer.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Local Food Notes
Tomato bread soup
SaladI have some committee notes to report from the Events Committee meeting, but I've decided to write about that in another post in the next couple of days. Instead, I want to share some food notes instead. As most of you already know, I am six months into a local eating challenge in which I am not buying any non-local produce and limited myself to purchasing mostly local packaged goods with a few exceptions that include oil, sugar, and a couple of condiments. Although most bread wheat is not grown locally, we are committed to only buying flour from local mills.
I did a lot of canning and freezing last fall which has really helped us get through the winter without feeling particularly deprived of good food choices. One of the things this challenge has really helped me to appreciate even more than I did before, is that eating truly seasonally has this side effect: that when you haven't eaten a fresh asparagus spear for ten months and then you see local fresh asparagus appear in the market it feels like finding a gold ingot in the rain gutter. It sharpens your food imagination and when food is eaten only in it's proper season, it gives you the opportunity to get excited about it in the same way that some people look forward to football season.
I would rather be tied to a truck and dragged through some mud than spend a few months glued to football games on the television- but I feel just like a football fan must feel when anticipating the opening of our local farmer's market season. Which happened two Thursdays ago.
There is an incredible selection of foods available at our farmer's market. You won't see tomatoes, peaches, or other summer delicacies for a while yet. But I bought: lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, radishes, bread, fava beans, zucchini, basil (!), spinach, and a buffalo bone for my dog which she later threw up on my nice carpet.
We are in the part of the season where those of us who have canned and frozen food from the last harvest still have plenty to use up and there isn't so much produce variety available that we don't need to use some of our pantry supplies. The dinner I made last night was a perfect example of how to use what's fresh in combination with what I already had. I will write up recipes later to add to our slow food group's collection.
I was very surprised to see fresh basil already and am not prepared to make a summery pesto with it. Partly because I froze 30 batches of it and have at least ten left. So, without having access to it's usual partner in crime- fresh tomatoes, I needed to figure out what I could make with it that would be exciting. Here's what I came up with:
Tomato bread soup. Yes, usually recipes call for the use of fresh tomatoes and I seriously don't think a commercially canned tomato sauce would result in quite as wonderful a result...but I meted out my home canned tomatoes very carefully this winter and actually have quite a few left so I used one jar of sauce and one jar of stewed. The bread was stale pieces of a sliced wheat sourdough from a Portland bakery (not an artisan bakery).
I used some frozen pureed garlic and the fresh basil. What resulted what an incredible hearty easy to make soup. I will time it next session to see if it would fit in my "30 minute" vegetarian meal series I hope to compile. It didn't take long to make and the simplicity of the ingredients made me wonder if this might be a great candidate for a recipe that the food pantry could use for its patrons?
To go with the soup I made a salad of butter lettuce, home made croutons, some home canned
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Exciting Start
I am very glad to have this website up and running--Thank you Angelina!
Notes on upcoming events that we might want to attend:
"A Menu for the Future." a potluck gathering at the farm (8910 SW River Bend Road) on Friday night, May 2nd to have some fun as well as organize some groups and get the books out to people who are ready to get started. (The course books are $18.00 all payable to the NWEI to keep them doing their good works) We will start gathering at 6ish and plan to eat at 7ish.
"Buy Local" Kickoff- Thurs, May 15th, 6:30 p.m. Third Street Books
S.F.Y.C. Regular meeting- Wednesday, May 14, 5:15 p.m. Harvest Fresh
Notes on upcoming events that we might want to attend:
"A Menu for the Future." a potluck gathering at the farm (8910 SW River Bend Road) on Friday night, May 2nd to have some fun as well as organize some groups and get the books out to people who are ready to get started. (The course books are $18.00 all payable to the NWEI to keep them doing their good works) We will start gathering at 6ish and plan to eat at 7ish.
"Buy Local" Kickoff- Thurs, May 15th, 6:30 p.m. Third Street Books
S.F.Y.C. Regular meeting- Wednesday, May 14, 5:15 p.m. Harvest Fresh
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