News from Centre County Buy Fresh Buy Local
- CCBFBL E-Newsletter - October 12, 2012 Edition, including announcement that the Old Gregg School Indoor Farmers Market in Spring Mills will open October 27.
October 13 – Millheim Farmers Market Preview
(From Betsy Green)
The Millheim Farmers Market is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the American Legion Pavilion in Millheim
- Tamarack Farm – Felted wool pumpkin decorations
- MacNeal Orchards – Cider
- Common Ground - Still has tomatoes…also leeks and assorted greens
- Penns Valley Learning Garden peppers, onions, sweet potatoes, herbs
- Egg Hill Gardens: Kales, Swiss Chard, Asian Greens, Mustard Greens, Sweet & Hot Peppers of all kinds, leeks
Harvest Festival Round-up
- October 13 – Way Fruit Farm Apple Festival
- October 13 – Downtown State College Fall Festival
- October 13 – Black Moshannon Cranberry Festival
- October 13 – Aaronsburg Dutch Fall Festival
- October 13 & 14 – Wasson Farm Fall Festival
- October 14 & 15 – Penn State Arboretum Pumpkin Festival
- October 18 – Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center Pumpkin Carving
- October 19 & 20 – Penn State Arboretum Pumpkin Festival Lighted Jack-o-Lantern Display
- October 20 – Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery Harvest Festival
- October 20 – Share The Harvest Dinner and Community Fundraiser
- October 20 & 21 – Shaver’s Creek Harvest Festival
- October 20 & 21 – Boalsburg Fall Colors Open House
- October 20 & 21 – Bellefonte Fall Foliage Train Rides
- October 21 – Harner Farm Fall Festival
- October 20 – Way Fruit Farm Apple Festival
- October 27 – Way Fruit Farm Pumpkin Festival
November 3 – “Native Plants and Rain Gardens” Meeting in State College
(From Jean Najjar)
The Pennsylvania Native Plant Society will have its Annual Meeting on November 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the State College Borough Building Community Room. It is open to the public and concerns the use of native plants and rain gardens in home landscapes — and the benefits to the Chesapeake watershed. Flier:
News from the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
PASA E-Newsletter – October 11, 2012 Edition:
- October 15 - Home Curing & Charcuterie, Newport, Perry County
- October 16 - Managing & Mentoring Farm Apprentices, Hustontown, Huntingdon County
- October 18 - Master Class: Plan to Make the Most of Your Marketing, Slippery Rock, Butler County
- October 20 - PASA 100% Grass-Fed Beef Cook Off, Honey Brook, Chester County
- October 23 - Adding Value to Small Grains Production & a Solar-Powered Flour Mill, Saxonburg, Butler County
- October 25 - Root Cellaring Workshop, Biglerville, Adams County
- October 27 - Cob Oven Building, Collegeville, Montgomery County
- October 27 - The Skinny on Sauerkraut, Boiling Springs, Cumberland County
- October 29 - South Central Regional Advisory Committee Meeting & Potluck, Dauphin, Dauphin County
- November 3 - Land Leasing for New Farm Enterprises: A Workshop for Landowners & Farmers, Downingtown, Chester County
- November 4 - The World’s Greatest Farmer Showdown, Collegeville, Montgomery County
- November 9 - Veggies, Bread & Beer: Developing & Operating a Cooperative CSA, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County
- November 10 - First Annual Barter Fair!, Williamsport, Lycoming County
- November 15 - Manure Management Seminar: Develop a Manure Management Plan for Your Farm, Richland Township, Allegheny County
- November 17 - Cold Frames, Low-tunnels & Season Extension, Collegeville, Montgomery County
- February 6 – 9, 2013 - PASA’s 22nd Annual Farming for the Future Conference in State College. Keynoters: Charles Eisenstein and Ben Hewitt
Michele Marchetti writing at StateCollege.com
All about Friends & Farmers Cooperative and the October 20 fundraising dinner at Greenmoore Gardens: “…The idea behind this particular co-op is simple: to build a member-owned community grocery store stocked with fruits, vegetables, grains, oil, baked goods and other items grown or made in central Pennsylvania. A place where, in October, you can find a locally grown squash any day of the week…”
FoodLink – Opportunity for PASA Members
(From Mia Farber of FoodLink)
“I presently work for a perishable supply chain company based in California, where I am developing a local buying program to increase access to source-identified, regionally-sourced food for retail grocery stores.FoodLink aims to increase market access and efficiency for both farms and buyers, which in turn will enable more local food to reach the end customer. If you would like more information or to learn about our efforts in scaling up good food, you may contact me directly (408-458-8355) or refer to our FAQ.
With three high-volume buyers headquartered in Pennsylvania and eager to source from this region, I am extending a free opportunity for PASA members to market their farms to these qualified retail & wholesale buyers through our Deal Manager platform. Any PASA member interested in exploring new sales channels can create a free, easy-to-manage online profile that makes fresh, local food more accessible to mainstream retail and wholesale buyers. If you are interested in exploring new sales channels and connecting your farm to wholesale buyers, post a FREE Farm Profile on FoodLink Deal Manager. (PASA Members Use Free Code: 81205)
- Market Your Farm Brand to Qualified Retail & Wholesale Buyers
- Manage Online Product Catalog and Harvest Availability
- Communicate Important Information about Growing Practices
- Show Up in Regional Sourcing Search Results
- Buyers See Farms within a 300 Mile Radius
- Share Pick-up and Delivery Capacity
- Post Unlimited Seasonal or Promotional Deals
- Drive Buyer Traffic to Your Own Website
I urge cooperatives, brokers, aggregators or anyone with sufficient product to explore new sales channels to take advantage of this first step in the development of our local program.”
December 7 – Woman to Woman: Pay It Forward – Symposium in State College
(From Ann Stone)
The Pennsylvania Women’s Agricultural Network is hosting a one-day networking symposium to promote and encourage mentoring and shared learning. Heather Retberg will present poignant keynote address on how she worked with a small group of women to bring food sovereignty to Maine. Heather and her family own and operate a small farm in Maine. When Maine’s Department of Agriculture began enforcing federal rules for processing chickens and selling raw milk, threatening the family’s livelihood, a food activist was born! Heather is now looked to by farmers across the state and country as a leader in the fight for local control of local food systems.
The $50.00 registration fee includes morning refreshments, buffet lunch, afternoon refreshments, and materials. Sponsorships available. Details updated daily.
Recipe for Sweet Potato Stew
Thanks to Beth Bailey for responding to my recipe request for the delicious dish she brought to the last Spring Creek Homesteading Potluck:
“I modified a stew recipe from Cuizoo as follows:
- No chicken
- I used veggie broth
- No ginger (didn’t have any on hand!)
- I used sunflower seeds in place of pumpkin seeds
Most of the produce was from my Plowshare Produce farm share. 
“
Michael Pollan writing at the New York Times
Vote for the Dinner Party: On Prop. 37 in California:
“…One of the more interesting things we will learn on Nov. 6 is whether or not there is a “food movement” in America worthy of the name — that is, an organized force in our politics capable of demanding change in the food system…Clearly there is growing sentiment in favor of reforming American agriculture and interest in questions about where our food comes from and how it was produced. And certainly we can see an alternative food economy rising around us: local and organic agriculture is growing far faster than the food market as a whole. But a market and a sentiment are not quite the same thing as a political movement — something capable of frightening politicians and propelling its concerns onto the national agenda…”
Rebecca Solnit writing at TomDispatch
The Rain on Our Parade: A Letter to my Dismal Allies:
“…There are bad things and they are bad. There are good things and they are good, even though the bad things are bad. The mentioning of something good does not require the automatic assertion of a bad thing. The good thing might be an interesting avenue to pursue in itself if you want to get anywhere.
…There are really only two questions for activists: What do you want to achieve? And who do you want to be? And those two questions are deeply entwined. Every minute of every hour of every day you are making the world, just as you are making yourself, and you might as well do it with generosity and kindness and style…”
