|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Cool nights mean the apples are reddening and growers are bringing in winter squash, sweet potatoes, and other fall crops. At markets there's a brief, glorious window of summer peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant, fall greens, broccoli, and cabbage, and winter squashes, root crops, and potatoes. There are lots of opportunities to visit farms and food festivals celebrating the season, and this month is the time to put up food for the winter. In my family, we will be celebrating the Jewish New Year with an edible metaphor. We go to a local orchard to pick our apples (find a pick your own farm here!) and dip the apples in local honey, as we wish for each other a healthy and sweet new year. A beautiful connection of harvest, family and health!
Phil Korman Executive Director |
|
|
|
|
Northampton Brewery 25th Anniversary Celebration to Benefit CISA! On Sunday, September 30 from 3-7pm, Northampton Brewery is partnering with CISA to celebrate their 25th year as New England's oldest operating brewpub. Proceeds from the event benefit CISA. Join us for an afternoon of festivities, local food, beer, raffles and auctions! Buy tickets here. Sunderland's 14th Annual Fall Festival On Saturday, September 29 from 10am-6pm, join CISA at Sunderland's 14th Annual Fall Festival, behind the Town Hall, to celebrate local agriculture and community! Enjoy "Fiddlers, Food and Fun" on this day filled with local food, music, crafts, livestock exhibits and demos, and more! Volunteer Opportunities Abound! CISA is looking for volunteers to help us celebrate 25 years of the Northampton Brewery and fall in Sunderland. Email volunteer@buylocalfood.org to sign up! Can't attend these events? Check out our volunteer webpage for other opportunities. Renewable Heating Workshop from CISA and the MA Farm Energy Program Learn about solar, wood, and geothermal options for heating greenhouses and farm buildings. Learn about technology, equipment, and funding options. Tour Red Fire Farm's heat pump set-up for renewable heating and cooling, and hear about technology, equipment and funding options. Wednesday, Sept. 19th, 6-8:30 pm, Montague; suggested donation is $5, light refreshments included. RSVP by Monday, September 17th. More information here. Save the Date - CISA Farm Tour at Natural Roots, October 14, 2-4 pm Join CISA at beautiful Natural Roots in Conway, a horse-powered vegetable farm that uses sustainable practices to nourish and care for the land while growing delicious and nutritious food. Learn about their vegetable crops, soil-building cover crops, pastured laying hens and compost-turning hogs, as well as the herd of work horses. This outdoor walking tour will be fun for all ages. Email sarah@buylocalfood.org with questions. CISA Offers Whole Farm Planning for Beginning Women Farmers Build a network with other women farmers and experienced mentors while learning about many aspects of farm and business management. Offered in partnership with Holistic Management International, this 10-session workshop series is for women who have been farming for under ten years. There is a fee for this series and scholarships may be available. More information here. River Valley Market Green Stamps Benefit CISA in September Bring your own bags or ride your bike to River Valley Market to get a stamp on your "green stamps card." Turn in your fully-stamped card to make a donation to CISA this month. Thanks, River Valley Market! Lucky Winners! Erin Long of Easthampton won an Enterprise Farm Fall Harvest Share in our Restaurant Days raffle after eating at Woodstar Cafe. Mary Alice Crim won 5 pounds of Esselon Cafe coffee after sharing on CISA's Facebook page that she enjoyed a fresh, local lunch at Cup & Top Cafe during the Restaurant Days festivities. Eating local pays off once again: congratulations! |
Farm Profile: Kosinski Farms Susan and Gene Kosinski grow blueberries, peaches, apples, pumpkins, and a wide variety of vegetables on their farm in Westfield. They are one of only a handful of farms in their town, and they enjoy welcoming school groups, U-pick customers and others to visit and learn about what it means to farm. "People just don't equate farming with Westfield," Susan says, "Educating people in this area - that's the key." Read all about them! Farms and Food in the News Visit our Local Heroes in the News page to read about how corn, beef, and apples have fared in this season's weather; Warner Farm's corn maze; Bug Hill Farm's Kate Kerivan; and the Easthampton restaurant Coco. Find great new interviews with Local Hero farms and restaurants, watch CISA staffer Devon Whitney-Deal and cookbook author Deanna Cook whip up local school lunches, and see CISA's Senior FarmShare program in action-all in the CISA Press Room. |
 Registration Now Open for the PVGrows Fall Forum
A Food-Secure Pioneer Valley - from Our Fields to Our Tables is the theme of the PVGrows Fall Forum, on Tuesday, October 16 in Springfield. The Forum will feature projects which seek to increase the capacity of regional food production while simultaneously supporting individual and household food accessibility and affordability. Interactive sessions are designed to connect you to organizations with food security challenges and solutions similar to your own. The Forum will also provide an opportunity to comment on the Food Security Plan for Hampden & Hampshire Counties, now being drafted by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC). And as usual, the Forum includes structured networking, opportunities for collaboration,and a locally grown lunch! Learn more at www.pvgrows.net. Grow Food Northampton Offers Microplots for Commercial Farming Grow Food Northampton will offer for lease in 2013 small plots (.25 to 1.5 acres) of prime farmland for intensive commercial farming on the "South Field" of the Northampton Community Farm in Florence, MA. Applications due November 1, 2012 for leases in 2013. To learn more and request an application, please email info@growfoodnorthampton.com. Massachusetts Farm to School Project Launches New Website Visit massfarmtoschool.org to find resources for farmers, food service directors, and community advocates, as well as news about their many successful projects statewide, including next week's Harvest for Students Week. UMass Permaculture Videos A series of short videos document how students, staff, faculty, and the local community are transforming UMass Amherst into a model ecological campus. Slow Steps to Expanded Meat Processing Options The USDA announced that Ohio will be the first state to participate in a new program which allows meat processed in state-inspected facilities to be shipped across state lines. Massachusetts currently lacks a state meat inspection program, but legislation introduced by Representative Steve Kulik would direct the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to create one. Together, these two new programs could lead to increased slaughter, meat processing and marketing options for Massachusetts farmers. |
Visit CISA's events calendar for a full listing of festivals as well as workshops, forums, films, and more. Here is just a small sample of what you'll find on our website.
Eat, dance, learn, see your neighbors, and celebrate the harvest at farm and food festivals this month:
Warm Colors Apiary Annual Honey Festival (September 15, South Deerfield), the Kitchen Garden's ChiliFest (September 16, Hadley), North Amherst Annual Harvest Festival (September 23, North Amherst), Hungry Ghost's Wonder Not Bread Festival (September 23, Northampton), North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival (September 29-30, Orange).
Get lost (and found) in the corn: Mike's Maze is open now in Sunderland; Austin Brothers Valley Farm Corn Maze opens September 29 in Belchertown.
|
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. |
|
Email:communications@buylocalfood.org
Phone: (413) 665-7100
Website: http://www.buylocalfood.org
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
|
|
|
|
|
