Thank you for your interest in the "Local Food Web". This is Edition #26 of "Tidbits", a free update on agricultural activities and news for local consumers and farmers in the greater Connecticut River Valley area of VT and NH. We hope you find it useful, and welcome your feedback. Please pass it on to interested friends and let us know what food news is going on in your town!

*** IMPORTANT *** If you get this in plain black and white text, you will find our full color, organized and formatted version much, much easier to read, and you’ll be able to link to the related websites.         http://www.vitalcommunities.org/Agriculture/tidbits.cfm

HEADLINES:

Local Ag Events:  Harvest Festival, Orford Conservation Festival, Ag Working Group, UVM Aiken Lecture, Fall Fun @ Four Springs Farm, Cooking With Ellen Ogden, Social Action Coffeehouse, Bringing Your Recipe to Market, COMMUNiversITY, NH Coalition Meeting, Pumpkin Festival,  FASTTRAC Planning.

Fairs and Conferences: The Big E, Common Ground Fair, Community Food Security Coalition, Soul of Ag.

Buying Local Foods: Apples and Cider, Cobb Hill Farm Stand, PYO Soybeans, Enfield FM, Henniker FM, Newbury FM, Pick Your Pumpkin.

Local Ag Meetings/Workshops for Farmers/Gardeners: Grazing at Cold Pond, Bakewell Center Workshop, Beekeeping Workshop, New and Aspiring Farmers: Soil Fertility, Suffolk Draft Horse Gathering.

News and Links: Overuse of Antibiotics, Vermont GMO’s, WTO Talks, Future of Food In New England, Eat Your Veggies, Vital Communities’ Annual Report.

Local Ag Events

The COOP Food Stores’ Harvest Festival
Celebrating the Bounty of the Upper Valley!
Saturday, September 20th, 10:00am to 3:00pm
Lebanon Co-op Food Store, Lebanon, NH
Rain or Shine! (barring hurricane winds)

Join us in celebrating the growers and producers who provide outstanding local food products in our bountiful Upper Valley region. Meet area farmers and producers and enjoy free samples of their foods plus hayrides, balloons, and live entertainment. It’s all free, and we hope to see you there!

http://www.coopfoodstore.com/news/Archives/arch_9_03/in_community.html#Anchor-cnews903-harvfest

Orford Conservation Festival

Saturday, September 20^th, 9:00am to 2:00pm

Forrest Bunten Farm, North of the Village on Route 10

http://www.vitalcommunities.org/Articles/Article.cfm?ArtID=188

Ag Working Group: Food, Farm and School Connections

Monday, September 22^nd, 1:30pm

Vital Communities Office, White River Junction, VT

All are welcome. Visit: http://www.vitalcommunities.org/Articles/Article.cfm?ArtID=190 to see the agenda.

And http://www.vitalcommunities.org/Articles/Article.cfm?ArtID=191 for directions.

UVM’s 2003 Aiken Lecture "Who Chooses the Food You Eat?"

Saturday, September 20^th, 9:30am to 4:30pm 

Patrick Gymnasium, University of Vermont, Burlington

This lecture will address the obesity epidemic by exploring some of the decisions that are made about food marketing, production and distribution. Presented by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, School of Natural Resources, UVM Extension & Continuing Education. For a complete schedule and list of presenters visit: http://learn.uvm.edu/aiken

Fall Fun Day At Four Springs Farm

Sunday, September 28^th, 1:00pm

Four Springs Farm, Royalton, VT

Come out to the farm for a day of fun with a potluck meal in the late afternoon featuring the biggest watermelon on the farm. Play some games, including a scavenger hunt. Explore the farm with our new Four Springs Farm Quest, part of the Valley Quest treasure hunts or wander on your own and find the springs. Weather permitting we'll have an Evening Campfire. Bring instruments. Check the website for directions http://www.fourspringsfarm.com/ or call (802) 763-7296.

“Cooking From Your Garden” Hands-On Classes At Cedar Circle Farm

Instructed by Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of From The Cook’s Garden: Recipes For Cooks Who Like To Garden, Gardeners Who Like To Cook, And Everyone Who Wishes They Had A Garden. Classes are limited to 10 people, $35 per person. Participants are asked to bring a cutting board, knives and an apron. Autographed cookbooks will be available for purchase. 

Tomato Chutney & Sweet Salsa

Sunday, September 28, 1:30 to 4:00pm

Hearty Fall Soups

Sunday, October 26th, 1:30 to 4:00pm

For more information visit http://www.cedarcirclefarm.org/pages/4/index.htm

First Friday Social Action Coffeehouse Forum: Food Security in the Upper Valley

Friday, October 3^rd, 7:30pm

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Upper Valley

320 Route5 South, Norwich, VT

Dartmouth Environmental Studies students will present the findings of their summer study on local hunger as well as their plan for gleaning local farms and organizing community groups to process the food for distribution by local food pantries.

For more information contact Claudia Kern at (603) 795-4930.

"Bringing Your Recipe To Market"

Saturday, October 4^th, 9:00am to 4:00pm 

Stonewall Farm, Keene, NH

http://www.vitalcommunities.org/Articles/Article.cfm?ArtID=185

Interested in Food and Agriculture Issues in the Upper Valley? Come Join COMMUNiversITY!

Wednesdays, 6-7:30 (October 8-November 17)

Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Communiversity is a working group on issues facing the Upper Valley for members of the Dartmouth College and the greater Upper Valley community. Discuss the issues, gain public advocacy tools, and develop strategies for action. COMMUNiversITY is an initiative of Dartmouth Community Services at the Tucker Foundation.  For information or to register, e-mail halpernb@dartmouth.edu or call (603) 646-0417.For more information:  http://www.vitalcommunities.org/Articles/Article.cfm?ArtID=182

Or an application: http://www.vitalcommunities.org/Articles/Article.cfm?ArtID=183

NH Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture

Wednesday, October 15^th, from 1:00-3:00 pm

Concord, NH
Please note the location change of the meeting: the meeting will be taking place in the Conference room of the Conservation Center (Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests also know as SPNHF) in Concord. For directions visit: http://www.spnhf.org/who/activity.html#center

1st Annual Pumpkin Festival at Cedar Circle Farm

Sunday, October 19th, 10:00am to 5:00pm

Cedar Circle Farm, East Thetford, VT

Free guided farm tours, live music, kid’s activities, and horse-drawn wagon rides. Food and pumpkins galore! http://www.cedarcirclefarm.org/pages/5/index.htm

FASTTRAC Planning: A Development Program To Unleash The Potential Of Your Business

Plymouth State College:

Fridays – 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. October 17th & 24th, November 7th & 21st

Saturdays – 8:45 – 12:15 and 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. October 18th & 25th,

November 8th & 22nd

Contact: Sarah McLaughlin

(603) 227-0417   sarah.mclaughlin@unh.edu

Fairs and Conferences

The Eastern States Exposition (The Big E)

September 12^th thru September 28^th

West Springfield, Mass

NH day is Friday the 19^th and VT day is Saturday the 20^th.

www.thebige.com

The Common Ground Fair

Friday, September 19th to Sunday September 21st

Unity, Maine

For more information call 207-568-4142, email cgcf@mofga.org, or visit www.mofga.org

Community Food Security Coalition 7th Annual Conference

November 1^st thru the 5^th

Boston, Massachusetts

On-line registration is now available through http://www.foodsecurity.org/

Northeast Food System at the Crossroads: The Third Annual SOUL OF AGRICULTURE Conference and NESAWG Resource Harvest

University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
November 14^th and 15

— September 17, 2003