Our CSA host, the Maple Street School invites the PLG CSA to our annual fundraising Gala. This is the school’s most important fundraising event, with all proceeds going towards our operating budget. Come out, dance under the stars, enjoy the open bar and catered, gourmet food and meet fellow CSA members and Maple Street School friends and supporters. It’s a great date night and an even better way to support the organization that helps provide us with organic produce and fruit.

Save the Date: Friday, June 6, 2008
At the Picnic House, Prospect Park Brooklyn
7p till midnight

tickets 65.00 per adult

*The Maple Street School is a 501(C)3 non profit - Proceeds from the Gala directly benefit the Maple Street School

Contact Liz Dory (CSA member)
917.916.8518

Need to do some shopping? Stop by any Manhattan Whole Foods store on Wednesday April 9th, when five percent of their net sales will be donated to Just Food’s Fresh Food For All Program, which brings much needed locally grown produce into food pantries and soup kitchens in NYC.

Last year, the Fresh Food For All Program provided 63,000 pounds of farm fresh, locally grown produce to clients at 17 food pantries and soup kitchens city wide. The program also provides food education, teaching families how to incorporate more fresh, nutritious food into their diets.

Just Food was a huge help in getting our CSA started, so this is a great opportunity to return the favor and help bring fresh healthy food to other New Yorkers!

The average New York City household throws away two pounds of organic waste each day. This adds up to over one million tons of organic waste per year, most of which is transported to landfills. The transportation of waste is very expensive and causes pollution. When organic waste is buried in landfills, it is cut off from oxygen and decomposers. By throwing away compostable materials we not only use up precious landfill space, we also discard a valuable resource that can help to grow beautiful gardens, lawns, and houseplants.

Join Green Edge Collaborative this Sunday March 30th at Rebar for dinner and composting advice. Experts from the Queens Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanical Garden will be there to discuss how we can compost in our urban homes!

What to Bring:
• Your favorite organic seasonal dish to share
• Your recipe for a chance to win a copy of The Real Food Revival by Sherri Brooks Vinton
• Your ConEd account number to sign-up for WIND Power and receive $10 off your next Eco-Eatery Tour

The second annual Food For Thought Film Festival is coming up in April. This year’s program will include three feature films: King Corn, Life and Debt, and Black Gold. There will also be a screening of the trailer for Asparagus: Stalking the American Life, an excerpt from Birdsong and Coffee, and other short films.

The free screenings will be followed by discussions exploring issues regarding our current food systems, including modern food production, distribution and consumption, and their effects on our health, the environment, human rights, and local and global economies. Several local and national organizations working towards sustainable, clean, healthy food and fair access will also be attending the event, and will be available to provide information and support to community members who are interested in taking immediate action.

Check out the schedule here.

Just Food will be holding their annual CSA in NYC conference on Saturday, March 29th.

* Come together with over 100 CSA members and regional farmers.
* Choose from a variety of informative and dynamic workshop topics.
* Share best-practices.
* Have your questions answered by our farmer panel.
* Network at our end-of-day CSA Expo and wine and cheese reception!

This is your chance to find out how your farmer grows organically, discover ways to strengthen your existing core group, learn about New York’s food system and more! You won’t want to miss this event!

Just Food is a non-profit organization that works to develop a just and sustainable food system in the New York City region. We do this by fostering new marketing and food-growing opportunities that address the needs of regional, rural family farms, NYC community gardeners, and NYC communities.

Workshops topics and Expo participants will be posted soon on the Just Food website: www.justfood.org

One of our CSA members has started up a cool new dining experiment in the neighborhood. Here’s what she has to say about it…

“I am starting an exciting venture here in NY, one that’s been talked about and tossed around and fried in the cast iron many times. For several years, friends have been urging me to start a “restaurant” of sorts, and now K.R.A.K. (Kate’s Renegade Aboveground Kitchen) has come to fruition. It’s SO happening! I’m extremely excited– it is truly a social, artistic, and culinary experiment! I’ll spare you all the details — you can find them on the website at www.chezkate.com.”

There’s still room for the brunch on March 16th and the dinner on March 21st!

New Amsterdam Public — the proposed, year-round sustainable market to be housed at the old Fulton Fish Market — will be holding a trial-run called Wintermarket on Sunday Dec 16th. Purveyors, butchers, fishmongers, farmers and cheesemakers will all be on hand, selling food grown within a 500-mile radius like meat from a whole black angus steer, sheep’s milk cheese, wild ginger, and fresh baked foccacia. Brooklynites like the chefs of Marlow and Sons and Applewood, and Kelly Geary of Sweet Deliverance will also be in attendance with heavyweights like Mario. 11am to 4pm.

from Brooklyn Based

Green Edge Collaborative is throwing a party!

Sunday, December 16, at 6:00pm
Rebar, 147 Front Street, in DUMBO
Free and open to the public.

Join The Green Edge Collaborative in celebration of its first birthday AND the holidays at Rebar, one of Brooklyn’s best community driven fun-spots.

Festivities will include:

THE SUPPER CLUB POTLUCK DINNER
Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to bring a dish that is fresh, local, seasonal, and organic.

GIVE FOR GOOD & GRATITUDE ALTERNATE GIVING BAZAAR
Take action for change this holiday season!

CONSCIOUS CONSUMER ART & DESIGN SHOW
Featuring a wide-range of work that explores both issues and solutions surrounding consumption choices.

GREEN TRIVIA & RECIPE RAFFLE
Enter and/or compete to win prizes from our sponsors.

For more info and to rsvp, click here.

Below are some upcoming dates for electronic waste recycling events in Brooklyn sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center.

Habana Outpost: Fulton Street @ South Portland Ave, Ft Greene
Saturday November 24 from 10am to 4pm
Sunday November 25 from 10am to 4pm
Monday November 26 from 4pm-7pm

PS 321: 7th Avenue between 1st & 2nd Streets, Park Slope
Saturday December 8 from 10am to 4pm
Sunday December 9 from 10am to 4pm

This isn’t in PLG, but it might be interesting see what other Brooklyn neighborhoods are doing with community gardens. Does anyone know what the story is with our community garden on Lincoln Rd? It’s always closed whenever I walk by.

The Hattie Carthan Community Garden invites you to attend a garden to plate cooking demonstration/workshop facilitated by City Farms trainer and community food educator Yonnette Fleming.

Saturday September 15th at 11:00 am
Hattie Carthan Garden - Lafayette & Marcy Avenues
G to Bedford/Nostrand or B38 to Lafayette/Marcy

It’s the end of summer and the garden is overflowing with the bounty of the earth. Please join us as we harvest and cook foods grown in our garden. We will also discuss the benefits of eating locally grown food and consider the links between food and health. Herbal beverages and healthy foods will be available. Email hattiecarthangarden@yahoo.com for more information.