Local Delicious

Tomorrow is RIPE, Vancouver Farmers Markets 2nd Annual Evening of Local Food & Libations

Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Creekside Community Centre at Olympic Village
5:00 – 8:00pm
Additional details

Your attendance at RIPE will directly support Vancouver Farmers Markets to improve existing Farmers Markets and to grow the number of markets, bringing local, seasonal food to more people in more communities.

The casual family-style, all-ages event will include:

• A feast of delicious, local and seasonal food including BBQ’d local meats, corn on the cob and a variety of fresh salads, iced tea and lemonade from a variety of our farmers & vendors and prepared by Tivoli Caterers
• Local beer and wine for adults to enjoy – Russell Beer is our exclusive beer sponsor;  Hester Creek Winery and Saturna Island Vineyards are providing the wine
• Fabulous mountain view from the brand new Creekside venue
• Laughs from the evening’s emcee, Richard Lewin of Golda’s Finest Foods – the Pesto Guy!
• A silent auction and live dessert auction
• Local, live entertainment by Maria In The Shower, and
• A kids activity corner

Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Today is UBC Farm‘s annual FarmAde Open House and I’m heading over. I’ve been out to the farm a few times and this time I’m going to take in one of the farm tours, rain or shine.

Friday, September 17th
3:00 – 5:00 pm
UBC Farm Shuttle Bus Map

There’s lots going on, including:

• Live music
• A BBQ for everyone, literally (vegan, veggie and beef burgers)
• Produce market of farm-fresh corn, other veggies and fruits
• Adult entertainment (beer garden featuring local beer and a beer-making workshop)
• Supervised kid’s area with face painting
• Farm Tours and more… (details)

If you can’t make it out to the farm today, you can still take a video tour below to learn what happens there and why efforts to save UBC Farm continue to be important.  We’re not out of the woods yet in the battle between short-term real estate value vs. long-term, food security value.

Vancouver Farmers Markets has just announced a series of demos to help you store your garden’s bounty for eating later.

Through a generous grant from Vancity Enviro Visa, Vancouver Farmers Markets is offering market-goers tips and techniques for making summer last just a little bit longer. The program includes market demonstrations of preservation techniques, tip cards and recipes and help finding and choosing the best produce for storage. Don’t you want summer to last just a little bit longer? It can!

Make it Last: Food Preservation Basics demo details.

Plus: Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy for Metro Vancouver

Concerns about food— its impacts on our health; its inaccessibility to many low income people; its vulnerability to climate change, soil erosion, water shortages and rising fuel prices; demand for local food; its role in creating new jobs; and the need for farmers to be able to make a decent living—have vaulted food strategies up the public policy priority list. Find out how Toronto, Portland and California are planning to transform local food production, distribution and land use.

A shoulder program to the Gaining Ground Summit 2010, Local Food Plans: Lessons from Other Communities and Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy for Metro Vancouver address  the many interconnected elements of a viable food system.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
2:00 – 4:00 pm Local Food Plans: Lessons from Other Communities
4:30 – 6:30 pm Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy in Metro Vancouver

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 (repeat session of Tuesday)
Compass Point Inn Hotel. 9855 King George Highway, Surrey
2:00 – 4:00 pm Local Food Plans: Lessons from Other Communities
4:30 – 6:30 pm Dialogue on the Regional Food System Strategy in Metro Vancouver

Over the past two years, representatives from all levels of government, the agriculture and food industry, community organizations and the public have provided valuable input on how to make our food system more sustainable, resilient and healthy. At this session, after a brief presentation on the draft Regional Food System Strategy for Metro Vancouver, participants will break into discussion groups and be asked for their feedback. The presentation on lessons learned from other communities from the previous session should provide food for thought for these discussions. Results will be used to refine the Strategy and clarify key areas for collaboration.

These events are free, however pre-registration is required. Click here for more information and to register!
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Speakers:

Sibella Kraus, President/Director, SAGE (Sustainable Agriculture Education), Berkeley, California
Dr. David McKeown, Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto
Judy Shiprack, Multomah County Commissioner, Portland, Oregon
Moderator: Peter Ladner, Fellow of the SFU Centre for Dialogue

In collaboration with UBC Farm, Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks is pleased to announce a fund raising evening with Joel Salatin, holistic farmer, author, educator and activist. Join them for an educational, humourous and inspiring evening with Joel as he discusses his family’s logical, “beyond organic”, sustainable approach to farming, and his new book, The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer.

Monday, September 27, 2010 @ 7:00 pm
H.R. MacMillan Building, 2357 Main Mall, UBC  Map

On Polyface Farm in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, Joel and his family nurture a non-industrial, food production oasis. Instead of conventional methods of farming that include overcrowding, medication and processed feeds, the Salatins debunk all conventional food production with their refreshing paradigm that respects the natural physiology of animals, the land, the rhythms of nature and human connectedness to it all. A key personality in documentaries such as Fresh and Food Inc. and in Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Joel has been instrumental in supporting a new sustainable food production movement.

Tickets for this event are $45 and will include a signed copy The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer. Proceeds of ticket sales benefit UBC Farm. Tickets are available exclusively through Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks. Please call 604-688-6755 for more information and to purchase tickets.

Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust (DF&WT) is presenting its 5th annual “A Day at the Farm” event giving communities throughout the Lower Mainland the opportunity to reconnect with the land that feeds them.

Saturday, September 11th, 2010
Westham Island Herb Farm & Ellis Farm
Map
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Contest judging begins at 12:00 noon

Visitors will learn about agricultural products grown and produced locally, particularly those grown in the Lower Mainland, and about internationally significant wildlife habitat and its relationship with agriculture in this area.

By raising awareness about the nature and importance of agriculture, DF&WT hopes to inspire the greater community to support local agriculture and raise awareness about the non-market environmental service it provides.

Highlights of the event include:

• Titanic Tomato Contest – Attendees are invited to bring along a home–grown tomato to enter, with prizes awarded for the biggest and most interesting tomato
• An old fashioned canning and preserving competition
• BC Dairy Foundation’s mobile dairy classroom which will be giving live milking demonstrations
• Hay-wagon tours led by 3rd generation farmer Gordon Ellis
• Static farm equipment display including antique tractors, grain combines and Delta’s largest tractor
• Livestock displays including sheep, calves, hens, donkeys, goats, draft horses and a Highland steer

The Agora String Band will play bluegrass music throughout the day. Locally made food and produce will be on sale as well as many giveaways.