November 2010 Issue
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Greetings!

Thanksgiving marks the seasonal shift towards winter and winter food. It's our only national holiday that celebrates local food, and also reminds us to be thankful for the food we have and to share it with others. The Pilgrims survived the winter in 1621 despite their crop failure because the Wampanoag people shared their food. That is a cultural tradition of sharing we could all embrace! So, as you plan your Thanksgiving, celebrate the harvest by enjoying local food at your holiday table, share what you have with those you know and those you don't know, and think about how you can stock up on local foods for the winter ahead (see below for information about winter markets, CSA shares, and farmstands).

In this month of thanksgiving, we at CISA are so appreciative of the support so many of you have shown for our work, and grateful for the great passion for local food and farming that we see all around us.

Phil Korman
Executive Director

Save the Date for Springfield Winter Fare
Winter Fare is a vibrant, diverse, one-day winter farmers' market that has become an annual event in Greenfield and Northampton, and CISA is bringing it to Springfield this December! The market will be held at Springfield Technical Community College on December 18th from 10am-2pm. In addition to an amazing array of locally-grown foods, Winter Fare features workshops on eating and growing locally, a barter fair, hot soup, and educational displays. We need volunteers to help with planning and advance promotion of the market, as well as help running the event. Please contact CISA's volunteer coordinator Ann Pemberton at volunteer@buylocalfood.org or 413-665-7100 x 18 for more information.

Meet and Greet for Growers and Buyers
CISA's Local Hero Program invites retailers and restaurateurs to our Fall Meet & Greet for an evening of conversation, community-building, and networking with Local Hero farmers and specialty producers. Caroline Pam and Tim Wilcox of The Kitchen Garden will speak about their experience selling wholesale and to local restaurants. Don't miss out on this opportunity to support local farms and build relationships that will strengthen your business! Light refreshments will be served. Monday, November 15th, 6:00-8:30 pm at Hope and Olive Restaurant, 44 Hope Street in Greenfield. Please RSVP by Thursday, November 11th to Devon at 413-665-7100 or devon@buylocalfood.org. This session is funded in part by the USDA/Risk Management Agency, by individual contributors and by Local Hero members.

Opportunity to hang with CISA
Looking for office space? Join CISA and other leading community groups at our location in South Deerfield. Details can be found on our classifieds page.

Staff Change at CISA
Tracie Butler-Kurth, CISA's Community Membership Coordinator, has left CISA for a position in the development office at Hampshire College. Tracie contributed to CISA in many ways during her time here, including launching our community membership program, caring for our volunteers, and editing this newsletter. We're planning to invite Tracie and her famous cheesy potatoes to every CISA potluck, but we'll miss her on all the other days of the year.

CISA Raffle Winner!
We've been running a raffle while tabling at events, farmers' markets, and local stores this fall. Hannah Orujev of Longmeadow won a CISA baseball cap in our latest drawing. Look for our table to enter the next round!

Photo by Rachel Chandler-Worth.

New Salem Preserves cider syrup

Order your Thanksgiving Turkey Today!
Celebrate the harvest with a locally-raised turkey on your Thanksgiving table. We've compiled a list of farms that still have birds for sale.

The Ant and the Grasshopper
Remember that old story about the ant busily preparing for winter, and the grasshopper fiddling away the summer days? With more and more winter farmers' markets, farmstands, and CSAs, you can eat well and locally all winter long, even if you spent your summer days fiddling instead of canning. Check out our list of winter market options.

Planning ahead is a good idea, however, if you want the widest selection of summer CSA options. Many CSAs have waiting list by late spring, and they are signing up members now.

Popcorn-on-the-cob
Local farms offer fresh popcorn on the cob this time of year. If you're not sure how to pop it, here's a video from Fresh New England, a website devoted to New England food. Of course, you can also strip the kernels from the cob and pop them in an air popper or a pot with some oil on the stove.

Photo by Molly Sauvain.
Bring Your Own Restaurant
WFCR did a nice story on the impromptu, potluck restaurant that's been springing up on the streets of Holyoke all summer. The story, which was picked up by NPR, is a good reminder of the power of food to create community.

Food Safety Legislation and New England Farms
The lame duck Senate that returns to Washington after the elections is likely to take up food safety legislation. Similar legislation has already been passed in the House, which demonstrated a remarkable degree of bipartisanship in response to recent failures in the system intended to ensure food safety. Despite the legislators' rare agreement, and the common recognition that our food safety system is broken, advocates for consumers and for small and sustainable farms have not reached full agreement on language for the Senate bill, S510. CISA supports the "Tester-Hagan amendments," which would provide additional flexibility for some small farms and processors and those selling direct to the public. Supporters of these amendments argue that they will focus limited FDA resources on the operations most likely to cause widespread food safety problems and reduce costs for local, small-scale businesses that provide an alternative to industrial-scale processing and distribution. Opponents argue that small-scale businesses can also have food-safety problems. Read more at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Consumers Union, or Grist, which promises a pro and con debate later this week.
Find out about workshops, farm festivals, film screenings, and other local farm-related events on the Events and Education page of our web site. Be sure to bookmark the page and check it often as we regularly update the page throughout the month. Here is a sample of what's ahead.
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.

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Phone: (413) 665-7100


CISA | 1 Sugarloaf Street | South Deerfield | MA | 01373