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Farm-to-Table Dinner Benefits CISA and Enterprise Farm's Food Access Programs

It's a year of milestones! Whole Foods Market in Hadley is celebrating 30 years as a community partner in the Valley, their 25-year partnership with Enterprise Farm, & CISA's 20th Anniversary! Whole Foods is saying THANK YOU by throwing a farm-to-table dinner at Enterprise Farm in Whately on July 27th. All proceeds will be donated to CISA and the Enterprise Farm Food Access Programs; purchase tickets here.

Job Opening at CISA

CISA is hiring a part-time Program Assistant to help with program implementation and communications. Read more here.

Wear your support for Locally Grown!
We have beautiful new 20th anniversary t-shirts for sale for $20. Soft, made in the USA, organic cotton. Find them here.

Taste the View: Volunteers Needed
From decoration and set-up to food pick-up and kitchen help, we've got a job for you! Contact Judy to volunteer. Thanks for helping make our major annual fundraiser a success!

CISA Community Members Save 10% on food and drink at Cup and Top

Stop by Cup and Top in downtown Florence to try their delicious soups, sandwiches and baked goods made with ingredients from local farms. Enjoy organic coffee or tea, free Wi-Fi, and an inviting kids' play space. Bring your membership card and try them out! (Not a member? Join here.)

Seasonal Recipes and Preserving Tips

Each week, CISA posts delicious cooking and eating ideas from local farms and bloggers on our Valley Bounty webpage. You'll also find preserving ideas and information about local sourcing. Recent weeks have focused on napa cabbage, peas, milk and yogurt.

Recent Workshops for Farmers and Food Business People

A June workshop on meat cutting, meat quality, and selecting different cuts for different markets was filled to capacity and will be repeated in July in partnership with Adams Farm slaughterhouse. On July 18th, we'll also hold a workshop for farmers on the Food Safety Modernization Act, how it could impact local farms, and how farms can provide feedback on the draft rules to the Food and Drug Administration. Contact Kristen for more information.

All Things Local Store in Amherst

A group of Amherst residents and local farmers have made a commitment to renovate the Souper Bowl restaurant in downtown Amherst (across from Bart's Ice Cream) to open a cooperatively managed store offering local food and crafts. They've set a goal of attracting 300 founder-members willing to pay $50 membership dues in July to demonstrate community interest to investors. Learn more, or join, here.

MA Farm to School Harvest of the Month

This fall, the Massachusetts Farm to School Project will launch Harvest of the Month, a campaign promoting a different Massachusetts-grown crop each month in school cafeterias across the state. Harvest for Students Week (September 30 - October 4, 2013) is a highlight in this ongoing campaign and kicks off National Farm to School Month in October. MA Farm to School offers free, individualized help with sourcing local products, beautiful and informative promotional materials, and resources that connect the cafeteria campaign to the classroom and community environment.

Divided House Divides Farm Bill

In June, the long-lived Farm Bill alliance of urban Democrats and farm-state Republicans fell to disagreement over cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), which Tea Party Republicans thought didn't go far enough and many Democrats argued were much too deep. (Massachusetts' Jim McGovern, for example, introduced an amendment that would have fully restored SNAP funding.) For the second time in a year, the House failed to pass a Farm Bill. Today, the House Republican leadership has introduced a vote on only the agricultural portion of the Farm Bill. It's not clear if they have the votes to pass the divided bill, which does not include reforms of farm subsidy programs sought by both conservatives and sustainable agriculture proponents -- nor what will happen to nutrition benefits (which now help feed one in seven Americans) if they do. The Senate's nutrition title, with more limited cuts to SNAP, might prevail in conference, or the House might pass new SNAP legislation with much deeper cuts.

CISA's Events Page contains a full listing of workshops, festivals, forums, films, and more.  

Are you a CISA member? Join more than 600 others in supporting CISA's work. We've been sustaining local agriculture by building connections between farmers and the community since 1993!

Email:communications@buylocalfood.org 

Phone: (413) 665-7100  

Website: http://www.buylocalfood.org       

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