Local Delicious » City/Town/Region

Power to the People – Growing Our Own Food

liz gaige — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:12:29 +0000

Ever wondered what you, personally, could do to feel more empowered? Or considered doing something powerful in response to climate change and all the other things that are making our children and our futures less secure?

As they say, “Making a difference starts at home” and it starts with what we put into our bodies.

Learn how easy it can be to assert more control over the food that we eat by growing it ourselves. Don’t let limited space, insufficient knowledge, or a tight budget deter you. You’ll see how to integrate affordable, easy and compact growing systems and approaches into your life no matter where you live. Take things one step further and you may soon find yourself selling or gifting your surpluses to the people around you. Wallah! – Community.

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
6:15pm – 9:45pm
The HiVE Vancouver
128 West Hastings (half a block east of Cambie Street)

Enjoy music, beer, pizza and fabulous company.
Contribute what you can: Recommended $12 – $20

Reserve your spot

Potato Growing Workshop

liz gaige — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:37:32 +0000

This weekend join The World In A Garden for their second annual Potato Fusion workshop.

Reusing burlap coffee sacs, participants will plant highly nutritious organic potatoes at the bottom and lettuce plants at the top- it’s a potato fusion! All plants and materials will be provided so just BYOG (bring your own gloves) and go home with a sac of potatoes (and lettuce).

Sunday, March 20th, 2011
11:00 am or 1:00 pm (2 sessions)
West 57th & East Boulevard
$20 per person
*Includes potato fusion kit

Proceeds will be donated to The World In A Garden and Project Somos Children’s Village, Guatemala for projects teaching children gardening skills to last a lifetime.

To reserve your spot, contact Alicia Baddorf via phone 604.527.5151 ext. 213 or by e-mail at abaddorf@jfsa.ca.

The World In A Garden is a multicultural urban agriculture project that educates the community on the nutritional, cultural, environmental and social benefits of the local food system.

Will Allen Tours Vancouver SOLEfood Farm Project

liz gaige — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:38:11 +0000

On Thursday January 27th, Will Allen, the professional basketball player turned food security and urban farming leader of Growing Power, will be paying a visit to Vancouver’s very own SOLEfood Farm.

SOLEfood Farm features 150 raised garden beds tended by trained seasonal workers from the Vancouver Downtown Eastside. The Enterprising Non Profit (ENP) established in 2009 by United We Can alongside farmer and author Michael Ableman has benefited from widespread community support and is now earning international recognition from a man whose three-acre Growing Power urban farm in Milwaukee is a world-class model for intensive urban agriculture and community food systems.

Michael Ableman and Seann Dory, SOLEfood Farm Project Manager, will be welcoming Will Allen to the farm for a pivotal meeting of minds in the Astoria Hotel parking lot which, thanks to SOLEfood, now embodies the revival of fruitful urban green space.

Thursday, January 27th, 2011
10:00 am
SOLEfood Farm
399 Hawks Avenue, Vancouver BC

Will Allen will also be speaking at the Bruce and Lis Welch Community Dialogue on Thursday evening. This evening lecture is free, however pre-registration is required.

Thursday, January 27th, 2011
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Croatian Cultural Centre
3250 Commercial Drive (map)

Vancouver Farmers Markets Annual Holiday Market

liz gaige — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:30:06 +0000

If you’re wondering where you can find local goods at this time of year, the gods are with you. The annual Vancouver Farmers Market Holiday Market is (almost) here again.

If you already make it a habit to buy local, now is the time to find tasty and tasteful gifts that encourage the ones you love to also appreciate the bounty in our region.

If you are only beginning to explore all the unique and wonderful food, art and creations that our region has to offer, you are in for a lovely treat.

Saturday, December 11, 2010
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Croation Cultural Centre
3250 Commercial Drive @ 16th Avenue

With the wide variety of vendors and blend of artisan and food products available, you’re guaranteed to find something to satisfy everyone’s palate.

Have Your Say on GVRD’s Drinking Water

liz gaige — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:34:48 +0000

Learn How to Save Seeds

liz gaige — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:06:46 +0000

Village Vancouver & Farm Folk City Folk present Seed Saving in the City this weekend.

Saturday, October 30, 2010
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Strathcona Community Centre
601 Keefer Street, Vancouver

Limited to 25 participants so register today!

Don’t miss this rare Vancouver opportunity to learn about Seed Saving from four top BC seedswomen.

Facilitated by Maria Hunter from Dragonfly Seeds, Mojave Kaplan of Planting Seeds Project, Robin Wheeler of Edible Landscapes fame, and Susan Davidson of BC Seeds.

Learn seed saving basics, the politics of seeds, how to build seed collectives and how to select for good traits. You’ll also learn about isolation distances, small business creation, hear personal stories, and work together to create the base for a local seed chapter.

Suggested donation: $30
Subsidies are available, no one turned away for lack of funds.

To register contact:

Strathcona Community Centre
604.713.1838
Course number CRN 45504.401

For further information contact Village Vancouver, Strathcona Community Centre (see Fall Program Guide p. 6 and 7), or Farm Folk City Folk.

To join Village Vancouver Seed Savers, visit them online

For the Love of Local Food Community Dinner

liz gaige — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:55:57 +0000

The Coquitlam Farmers Market is excited to once again host a community dinner, For the Love of Local Food, to celebrate the local farming community, the seasonality of local food, and the social benefits of sharing the harvest around a dinner table with family, neighbours, and friends.

The purpose of the dinner is to raise awareness of the social, economic, and environmental importance of eating local and supporting local producers; and to come together as a community to share a meal enjoying the beautiful harvest of BC.

Saturday October 16th , 2010
6:00 – 9:00 pm
Club Ilia Restaurant, Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC
Details

To create this delectable dinner, Coquitlam Farmers Market has partnered with local chef and restaurateur, Fred Soofi, who will create a stunning buffet dinner using all local products from the Coquitlam Farmers Market. As a means of inspiring action, the dinner will also feature presentations from community members and youth leaders around the region.

These presentations will showcase innovative projects and initiatives, such as school garden projects, youth-led “green” clubs, and examples of community supported agriculture. This cross generational view will highlight how inspired community members can cultivate innovative programs to increase education on local food issues, and incorporate them into their everyday lives, workplaces, and institutions.

As our cities become more populated, there is a greater need for re-connection to the sources of our food and with each other. The community dinner will highlight the importance of building a resilient community through enhancing local food systems, sharing of food knowledge by developing a more localized food culture between generations and among the diverse ethnic groups that comprise our communities, and learning through innovative practice that small actions can make meaningful change to how we access, experience, and share food that is fresh, healthy and local.

The presentation of local initiatives hopes to inspire young people and those within positions of leadership to explore more ways to build capacity and community around local food.

Contact Coquitlam Farmers Market for tickets: 604.318.8966 or info@makebakegrow.com.

CFM_Community Dinner Poster

Growing Garlic Begins in the Fall

liz gaige — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:31:52 +0000

Always good for tasty bite of pizza, now you can learn how to grow garlic at the Garlic Sale & Fundraiser by Rocky Mountain Flatbread.

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
5:00 pm onwards

Garlic planting season has arrived and Sharon Hanna, Urban Gardener, will be selling organic garlic from Rivendale Farm on Salt Spring Island at Rocky Mountain Flatbread in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC.

Sharon will be selling Persian Star, Evans and Music Garlic and will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about growing big beautiful garlic.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread will also be donating 10% of all restaurant sales to their Education Society which works hands-on in local schools teaching kids how grow their own food, create their own nutritious snacks &
meals, and how to create their own eco business! They work with over 500 Vancouver students a year.

Creating Communities Via Gardening

liz gaige — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:49:46 +0000

Two women in East Vancouver have banded together — and brought their neighbourhood together — over the shared efforts of gardening.

Dubbed the “Two-Block Diet,” neighbours Kate Sutherland and Julia Hilton have started a neighbourhood food revolution and with it cultivated a community, barn-raising bond with the people who have joined them. In a busy city with busy lives I’ll bet they would never have otherwise met, despite the fact they all live a stone’s throw from each other.

The Two-Block Diet showcases all that I believe is great about how food brings people together and builds community. Read the full, Vancouver Sun article and be inspired to create your own Two-Block Diet and neighbourhood network.

The only way to get more local than a Two-Block diet is to have a garden in your own back yard!

Celebration of Local Food & Libations

liz gaige — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:37:11 +0000

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.