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Save Senior FarmShare
CISA's Senior FarmShare Program makes it possible for more than 300 low-income elders to share in the bounty of our local farms. Our state funding for the program has been eliminated. Help save this vital program. Eat the View Tickets Going Fast - Buy
Online Now!
Join us for Eat the View, CISA's annual benefit and celebration of the local harvest. October 2nd at the Three-County Fairgrounds, Northampton. Help support CISA's work to keep local agriculture thriving in the Valley. Come bid on the many silent and live auction items, including dinner for two at Blue Hill in New York, a week's stay at a cottage in South Africa, and more. This event always sells out! Buy your tickets online now. Help CISA on October 1, 2, and 3
CISA is looking for a cadre of volunteers to help with the set-up, production, and clean-up of Eat the View, our annual benefit. We need your help to transform the main arena at the Three County Fairgrounds into a wonderful showcase of local farms and the foods they produce. Volunteers are needed to assist with setting up tables and assembling decorations as well as other pre-event tasks. Assistance also needed to help with post-event deconstruction. Some heavy lifting may be required. If you are available during daytime hours on Wednesday - Saturday, Sept. 30-Oct. 3, or evening hours on Thursday and Friday, October 1 and 2, please contact Tracie Butler-Kurth, Community Membership Coordinator. Correction
Our August article on farmers' efforts to make sure that all local residents have access to locally grown food misrepresented the relationship between Mountain View Farm and the Food Bank Farm. The Food Bank Farm, supported by their CSA shareholders, produces about 200,000 pounds of produce for the Food Bank each year. Ben Perrault and Liz Adler of Mountain View Farm also manage the Food Bank Farm fields, and occasionally supplement produce grown at the Food Bank Farm with produce from Mountain View's fields in Easthampton and Hadley. Thank you volunteers
We had a number of volunteers help us in and out of the office this summer and we'd like to recognize their hard work and dedication. Our community outreach volunteers represented us at local farmers' markets and food festivals. Many thanks to Lindsey Britt, Molly Corbett, Molly Sauvain, Ann Pemberton, and Katy van Geel for your support. We'd like to single out Andrea Love, a Hampshire College student who spent her Thursday afternoons standing in the entry of Whole Foods Market in Hadley, promoting our community membership program and distributing the 2009 Locally Grown guide. Kudos to Amanda Bennett, a Deerfield Academy student, who was essential in helping prepare images in our digital photo collection for the new web site. Review of Recipe for America
By Tracie Butler-Kurth, Community Membership Coordinator A few weeks ago, CISA had the pleasure of hosting Jill Richardson, founder of the blog La Vida Locavore, when she was in New England touting her recently published book Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We can Do to Fix It. Jill met with CISA community members during a reception at Boswell's Books in Shelburne Falls and spoke extensively about her book during the public portion of her evening. Read more... Photo by Rachel Chandler-Worth
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Profile: Allison Landale of The Bars
Farm
For the first time in a long time, Allison Landale is working only one job: managing her family's farm in Deerfield. Like many farmers, Allison had an off-farm job for years so she and her husband Dean could earn enough to support their family. Read more... Jarret Man named to Mother Nature
Networks' 40
under 40
Jarret Man of Stone Soup Farm was #30 on the list, which noted that his farming practices go above and beyond the required standards for "organic." Austin Brothers Valley Farm reinvents
itself with
meat
CSA
Austin Brothers Valley Farm is operated by the 4th and 5th generation of Austin men and women on 130 acres of green pasture in Belchertown. The farm remains the center of family life for the extended Austin family, and the family made a joint decision three years ago to change from dairy farming to raising beef cattle. Michael Austin, his family, and his parents, Bill and Roxanne Austin, are now starting a meat Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation, which will allow customers to purchase shares of beef and/or pork year-round, starting with a three-month commitment. The farm's beef products include beef sausages, roasts and steaks. Pork products include pork chops, spare ribs, bacon, hams and breakfast sausages. 100-mile dieters are some of the farm's best customers, but Michael admits that the farm location, far from the center of Belchertown, can be a problem. The family will deliver meat CSA shares to area towns, allowing customers convenient access to great local meat. Austin Brothers Valley Farm raises their cattle on green pasture, hay, silage and fresh water. No hormones or feed additives are used. The beef is USDA inspected and dry aged for 14-21 days for tenderness and taste. For more information, visit www.austinsfarm.com or contact Michael at 413-668-6843. Chestnut Farms featured on Living on
Earth
Local Hero member Kim Denney of Chestnut Farms spoke with NPR's Living on Earth about the meat CSA that she owns and operates in Hardwick, Massachusetts. CISA staff photo.
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Understanding the dairy crisis
The New York Times ran an op-ed on August 26th about the current low federal milk price, well below the cost of production for most Northeastern dairy farms. The Times' editors provide only lukewarm support for governmental measures to help Northeastern dairy farmers survive, but emphasize one of the most important reasons that the success or failure of dairy farms impacts all of us: dairy farms manage a significant amount of our agricultural land, keeping it open and productive. We all benefit from keeping these farms active and successful. For more on dairy farming, see this recent NPR story. Volunteer at the Big E
The Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets is looking for volunteers to help staff a booth at The Big E in West Springfield between Friday, September 18th and Sunday, October 4th. Volunteers typically donate six hours of their time on any given day, in exchange for free parking and all-day admission to the fair. The Federation sells locally grown product to the crowds in order to raise funds for our work. If you are interested in volunteering for one or more days, please contact Martha at martha@massfarmersmarkets.org or at 781-893-8222. Winter Farmers' Markets
Want to buy local all year round? Looking for a market for your winter products? A number of winter markets will be held next winter, including an outdoor winter market in Springfield. The once a month market will take place in the parking lot of Trinity Church on Sumner Avenue. Details will be forthcoming, but if you want to sell at the market, contact Belle Rita Novak at 413-737-1724. Greenfield's Winter Fare will have its third annual market on the 1st Saturday in February, and CISA is planning a one-day Winter Fare for Northampton. Contact Claire Morenon, CISA's program coordinator, if you're interested in helping with those markets. We'll also be publicizing all winter market opportunities, CSA shares, weekly markets, and one-time events-on our website. Contact Devon Whitney-Deal, CISA's Local Hero Membership Services Coordinator if you'd like to be included on our list. Photo from CISA files
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Below are a few upcoming farm and farm-related
events of interest. Additional events, in
September and
beyond can be found on the events
page on our web site. Some of them are
simply a-mazing
(hint,
hint).
Be sure to check out
CISA's events page for updates and additions
throughout the month.
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Please do not take images or content to use
on your
own site or project without CISA's explicit
permission. Please feel free to link to our
newsletter.
Archives can be found at
www.buylocalfood.org.
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Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
E-mail:
communications@buylocalfood.org
Phone:
(413) 665-7100
Website:
http://www.buylocalfood.org
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