Philly Farm and Food Fest

Monday, March 26, 2012

Next Sunday April 1st, Fair Food Philly and The PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) will be hosting the first annual Philly Farm and Food Fest. The Fest grew from the Fair Food sponsored event Local Growers, Local Buyers. Although this event brought some of the best food producers from the region together, the local buyers invitations were exclusive to food industry retailers such as restaurants, groceries and farmer’s markets. One year I somehow finagled a ticket and was able to attend this bountiful event. As far as the eye can see down the center of the Reading Terminal were local and delicious samples from PA area producers, providing everything from boutique heirloom tomatoes, creamy cheeses and Chesapeake Bay oysters.

But this year, there is no finagling necessary because the event is now open to the general public. Tickets are only $15 in advance and $20 at the door, and I can guarantee that it will be worth every penny. Along with getting to meet these growers, there will also be all day workshops ranging from getting people ready to grow, to where carrots come from, all the way to backyard bee keeping. I’ll also be speaking on a panel in the morning about how to convert vacant land into sustainable farm land with Joan Blaustein of Parks and Rec, Rushton Farm project manager Fred Delong, along with a great presentation on land use with Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, all moderated by WHYY’s own Peter Crimmins.

So come on out to this great event and keep on supporting local, sustainable ag. As Marilyn Anthony on PASA likes to say, if everyone in the tri-state area just spent $10 per week on sustainably produced local food, it would grow the industry to a place where one day it will become the standard for our society’s food production. I’m sure most people who read this blog are doing more than their share to reach this goal. But come on down anyway and bring a friend. Because farming and eating is always more fun when you bring a friend along. More information about the fest can be found at www.phillyfarmfest.org.

Philly Farm and Food Fest

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Whether I’m reading GRID’s latest issue, perusing the Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op’s e-newsletter, or checking out volunteer day info on Mill Creek Farm’s facebook page, I keep coming across promotions for the same event – in the local food world everyone seems to be talking about the very first Philly Farm and Food Fest! Coming up next Sunday, April 1st, at the PA Convention Center, this festival – a partnership of Fair Food and PASA – features all things local. It’s a time for celebrating local food (and other sustainable goods) and those who produce them. From 11:00 am until 4:00 pm,  stop by and sample tasty treats, (I’ve heard rumors of small batch ice creams in addition to the expected-though-just-as-delicious honey, cheeses, and jams), discover local farmers and artisans, and learn more about what our region has to offer. Over a hundred exhibitors will be there, and you can check out a complete list here. Education plays an important role at the Farm and Food Fest as well, so there’s a varied line-up of classes for kids and adults, including one on beekeeping and another on cheese tasting. General admission tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Children 12 and under are free. Tickets and more information are available at www.phillyfarmfest.org.

On Notice!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Just a couple of things to take note of:

• Interested in urban foraging? The Wild Foodies of Philly has regular meet-ups. There’s an event on February 5 that takes place right around the Philadelphia Museum of Art—expect Indian strawberry greens and chickweed!
• The 2012 Philadelphia Auto Show’s Black Tie Tailgate on January 27 will apparently feature some locally grown/produced foods—specifically locally made cheeses. There’s a Farm to Table Harvest Station, but the menu doesn’t indicate if anything being served is from local farms. Tickets are $225, but the proceeds (approximately $100 from each ticket) benefit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Mill Creek Farm Benefit - December 3

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Head to Yard’s Brewery on December 3 for a party to benefit Mill Creek Farm, an educational urban farm focused on food justice and ecological sustainability. The fifth annual celebration marks the end of the farm’s sixth season.  The party features brewery tours, DJs, light food and desserts from local restaurants, cash-bar, raffle and a silent auction.

Get your tickets online or buy them at the door—all proceeds benefit the farm!

NJ Heirloom Tomato Tasting

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

One of the amazing things about this time of year is the tomatoes. I dream about August in the dead of winter, imagining the flavor of heirloom varieties. I used to grow my own, but we’ve been having trouble with the squirrels and woodchucks decimating everything in the garden. Instead, I rely on the great local producers—thankfully, they’ve got me covered!

True, Hurricane Irene threw a wrench into the works—she did a number on crops. The good news: many local farms were able to bring in a good harvest prior to the deluge and winds. Part of that harvest is being showcased in Pittston, New Jersey tomorrow!

Head over to 21st Annual Great Tomato Tasting at the Rutgers NJAES Snyder Farm. From their email—

This year’s event includes the very popular tasting of both heirloom and hybrid tomatoes and wagon tours of the farm’s research plots.  The afternoon will also include tastings of honey, herbs, apples and peaches – all with the assistance and guidance of Rutgers NJAES Master Gardener volunteers.  The Melda C. Snyder Teaching Garden will showcase garden displays of deer tolerant ornamentals, plants that can attract native pollinators to your garden, the Rutgers holly and blueberry breeding programs, columnar varieties of fruit trees for the home landscape and daylilies.  Also, we welcome back chefs featuring tasty samples of tomato recipes.  Local residents will have professional advice offered by the Hunterdon County Board of Health Staff regarding stink bugs, mosquitoes and black flies; pesky insects near and dear to local residents.  For those who want small productive gardens, there will be square foot gardening demonstrations.

Things kick off three in the afternoon, closing at dusk. Cost is $7, although kids under the age of ten are free.

Sustainable Saturdays in University City

Monday, July 11, 2011

Foraging! Wine and Cheese! Local Honey! Farmers’ Market! Seed Bombs! Get in this great series of events this coming Saturday! Farm to Table in West Philadelphia.

PHS and Philly Homegrown Pop-Up Garden

In partnership with Philly Homegrown, PHS created a beautiful pop-up garden in the formerly empty lot at 20th and Market. Just look at all the beauty next to those boring skyscrapers! You’re welcome to pop-in on Wednesdays and Thursdays and spend some time in the garden. The garden will stay up until October, then come down for the winter and pop-up in a new location next Spring! I stopped by for a short workshop on vegetable growing. These Wednesday workshops are free and easy to squeeze in over your lunch hour:

• August 4: Gardening Odds and Ends — Fabulous Containers
• September 1: Edible Landscapes — Growing Beautiful Food
• September 22: Edible Landscape — Planting and Harvesting

And, if you’re feeling like a special lunch afterwards, you can visit one of six local hot spots – R2L, Square 1682, Table 31, Sampan, Barbuzzo, and Paradiso —who have agreed to use ingredients from the pop-up garden in special dishes whose proceeds benefit City Harvest, PHS’s program that provides fresh produce for underserved Philadelphia residents.

Foodtrust Night at the Phillies!

Thursday, July 07, 2011

The Phillies, already known for having one of the most eco-friendly and vegetarian-friendly stadiums around, is teaming up with The Food Trust for a special event!
Join Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park and ALL net proceeds from ticket sales benefit The Food Trust. Act fast! Tickets are limited and must be purchased before July 12th.

BUY TICKETS HERE

Cloud 9 Benefit BBQ

Have you heard about Cloud 9, yet? Located on a warehouse roof in West Philadelphia, Cloud 9 Farm is a burgeoning rooftop farm.  In addition to growing and selling organically grown produce locally, they aim to improve food security in the city by conducting research and providing educational programming on urban rooftop agriculture. They started a kickstarter campaign just a few weeks ago, and have already raised half of their start-up funds, so they are throwing a celebration BBQ fundraiser this weekend!

” We are thrilled to be the first rooftop farm in the city of Philadelphia, but are even more excited to pave the way for others to follow!”

Come eat delicious grilled items and drink yummy local concoctions at4909 Warrington Ave. on Saturday July 9th, starting at 7 pm.  A $7 donation at the door gets you a plate and a good time.

Tonight! Dollar Stroll on Baltimore Ave.

Thursday, June 02, 2011

West Philadelphians (and other’s welcome, too!) come on out on this beautiful evening and support your local businesses and the Baltimore Ave. business corridor. ONE DOLLAR beers, samosas, ice cream, and more!

Dickinson Square Farmers Market and annual “Junque” Sale

Thursday, May 26, 2011

There’s a new farmer’s market in town! Dickinson Square Park in Philadelphia’s Pennsport neighborhood will celebrate the beginning of the summer seasowith debut of its farmers’ market, in partnership with Farm to City, the first weekend in June. The neighborhood’s annual art market and “junque” sale will coincide with the opening day of the market.

The Junque Sale, now in its third year, will feature artisans, live music, hula hooping competition, and quality second-hand good from neighbors’ personal collections.  Neighbors and guests are also encouraged to donate items to the white elephant table, sales from which will go to support the park and farmers’ market.  Additional funds will be raised through the sale of raffle tickets; the winner of the raffle will receive a ready-to-hang printed canvas featuring a vintage photo of Dickinson Square, dated April 12, 1910.  The sale will begin on 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 4, and continue until 2:00 p.m.

The Sunday farmers’ market (http://www.dspfarmersmarket.com/) will open June 5 on the northwest corner of Moyamensing Avenue and Morris streets and will continue every Sunday through October from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Three farms from the region—Darmo Family Farms, Down Home Acres, and Two Gander Farm—will bring organic, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables, as well as eggs, flowers, honey, and other products to Dickinson Square Park for the first time.  There are plans to add a SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) terminal to the market by midsummer, which will allow low-income households to use their food stamp benefits at the market.

No idea what to do with your little urban space?

Take this informative workshop, and learn a few things about how to design your little plot for maximum impact, or take your current garden to the next green level.
“Sustainable Garden & Landscape Techniques”

Fairmount Park Horticultural Center
N. Horticultural and Montgomery Drive Phila. Pa.19131
9AM Registration     9:30 Workshop Begins      
$10.00Registration fee
For more registration information call Penn State Extension at
215-471-2200 Ext 100.
http://extension.psu.edu/philadelphia/programs/master-gardener

A Penn State Extension Philadelphia Master Gardener and Senior Ecologist, Antonio F. Federici, will offer ways to save money while helping to save the environment.  Topics will include capturing rain water for gardening, composting, turning lawns to meadows and other “green” landscaping measures that rely less on chemicals and more on our relationship with nature. Come with a pad and pencil because you’ll want to take notes on the many ideas presented.

Mariposa Co-Op Needs Your Help!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Mariposa Co-Op, a member-run and organized co-op in West Philadelphia, needs your help to start it’s renovation on a new, much larger co-op space on time! Members have been working hard for the last few years to write grants, get matching donations, host fundraising events, and increase membership and member equity.Mariposa’s goal is to raise $60,000 by May 31st.  Every bit of help in meeting Mariposa’s fundraising goal helps this neighborhood, situated in one of Philadelphia’s “food deserts,” provide healthy, organic food products and produce to the community. If you want to make a donation or learn more, go HERE and check-out the neat video! If you are already a member and can further increase your equity, go HERE. And if you’d like to become a new member and join the future newly expanded co-op, go HERE!

GRID “Food Issue” Release Party at Reading Terminal Market

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Our favorite local sustainability magazine is back at it again with their annual food issue. Come celebrate this 64-page issue!

Monday, May 16
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
The Fair Food Farmstand near the northwest corner of the Reading Terminal Market (12th and Filbert St. entrance)

Highlights include:
· So You Want To Be A Farmer? It’s hard work but, as Felicia D’Ambrosio explains, not as hard as you think
· Make your own: Pie! Cheese! Cocktail Garden!
· Get to know: The Smart Grid
· Renew Growing Greener, now!
· Snipes and Marathon farms

Plus the Local Food Guide, a one-stop resource for restaurants, cafés, CSAs, farmers markets, buying clubs, farm stands, specialty stores, advocates, caterers, personal chefs and more!

The Night Market is Coming!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Philly’s fantastic night market is coming soon! Sign-up to receive your special invite before the event!