Wew, it’s been a long time since we posted. Well, we’ve been sort of busy with life and planning the CSA for 2010. Happy to say that the new member registration is now open for 2010. You should have received an email from us if you were a member last year. Forms and deposit are due on Friday, February 26, 2010. Email us if you didn’t get the form.

For new members who are interested in joining, we will be sending out an email for a lottery after February 26, 2010. Please email board@plgcsa.org if you would like to be part of that.

Thanks!

Hot Bread Kitchen, a social-purpose bakery in New York City founded by Jessamyn Waldman, employs local, immigrant women who bake traditional recipes using local, organic ingredients. They’ve just moved to a new factory and they run a bike-powered grinder. They are having their first fundraiser. The evening will feature wines from leading female winemakers and live demos by HBK.

Monday, November 16
6-9 p.m.

Tickets: $50/$150

Location
Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave.

Click here for more info and to buy tix.

I found this website while on one of my Internet tangents. Their mission:

Food Systems Network NYC is a membership-based organization designed to foster communication and cultivate community amongst various stake holders and professionals working across the food system. Members gather monthly for Open Networking meetings to encourage collaboration; share information; discuss public policy; and promote opportunities for individuals to partner on specific projects.

Their website has a lot of different resources (including food-policy/security-related jobs) and is a way to connect food advocates together.

Check them out at www.foodsystemsnyc.org.

(From Just Foods)

Food irradiation, a process that became of interest in the 1950s, came mostly in response to much of our food supply being lost to spoilage and insects.  Food irradiation exposes food to ionizing radiation to destroy microorganisms that cause spoilage and decomposition and thus the shelf life of the food is extended.  Strawberries, for example, that have been irradiated will last two to three weeks longer in the refrigerator.  Food irradiation is also used to sterilize food for hospital patients that have severely impaired immune systems.  This process can also be used as an alternative to chemical pesticides for controlling insect damage and to control ripening and foodborne illnesses such as Salmonella.  Currently, the foods that are approved for irradiation by the U.S. FDA includes meat and poultry, eggs, fruits and vegetables, juices, herbs, spices and flour.
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In the past, the city used to collect leaves from residents, compost them, and then host a “Free Compost Giveback” twice a year. Over the years, the program shrank until it was no more. In an effort to gather support for Fall Leaf Collection and Compost Givebacks, Beth Mathes, of East New York Farms will be coming to distribution today to set up a call station as part of a “Compost to Council Shout-Out” call our City Council rep, Mathieu Eugene to reinstate the pickup of leaves in our communities and compost them. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many food justice events going on this week and next!

Various dates, places and times:
Brooklyn Food Coalition Neighborhood Meetings

Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tomatoes: The Late Blight Catastrophe, the Controversies, the Culinary Joys

Friday, October 2, 2009:
Slow Food for the Urban Kitchen: Nourishing Local Food from the Slow Cooker

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Preserving the Local Harvest with Lacto-fermentation

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Tour de Hudson Bicycle Tour

Read on for event description, location and other details.

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Tour de Farms is a unique eco-tourist event that will promote local farms in the Hudson Valley on October 11, 2009 through a unique bicycle tour.

The bike tour will consist of several routes of varying length throughout southern Ulster County’s scenic farms and farm stands.  After the tour, a gathering at Phillies Bridge Farm will feature skill-sharing workshops led by farmers and community members. Topics will include gardening, cooking, and food storage techniques. Local caterers and restaurateurs will also be offering local food creations for purchase.
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New York CIty once boasted several wholesale farmers markets enabling local farmers to directly supply food stores with locally grown produce. In 2007, the New Fulton Fish Market Cooperative and the Bronx Terminal Market Growers, with assistance from the Governor of New York along with the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets, established a new Wholesale Farmers Market in the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in the Bronx. Now to be managed and developed by CENYC, this market will provide small retailers, food service professionals and the public with opportunities to buy fresh, healthy, local produce directly from the farmer at wholesale prices. Read the rest of this entry »

Several food-related events are happening in September.

Let Us Eat Local

Just Food, New York City’s food justice and advocacy organization (and coordinator of CSAs in NYC among other things) has their annual fundraiser, Let Us Eat Local, tomorrow, September 16, at Prince George Hotel Ballroom. They will celebrate our honorees and recipients of the 2009 McKinley Hightower-Beyah Awards with twenty-five of the city’s best restaurants. Each tasting will be paired with a local brew in conjunction with NY Craft Beer Week!  Proceeds from the event will go toward furthering Just Food’s mission of creating a sustainable and just food system for all New York City residents. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. (Click the article to see more events) Read the rest of this entry »