Get ready for the Food Justice Summit!

Walkathon and Block Party to be held Saturday, Sep. 22

Groundswell is proud to be collaborating with GreenStar Community Projects to present Ithaca’s Second Annual Food Justice Summit on Saturday, September 22nd from 10am-7pm in downtown Ithaca. The purpose of this uplifting multicultural family-friendly event is to promote social justice and community well-being and to raise funds to grow a sustainable local food system that promotes health, equity, and community control of essential resources. GreenStar Community Projects is a not-for-profit educational organization affiliated with GreenStar Cooperative Market.

Click HERE to make a donation.

A highlight of this year’s summit will be a keynote address and workshop by Charity Hicks, Co-Creator of the Detroit Food Justice Task Force and founding member of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. Hicks has worked for over ten years in research, public policy, and community activism in Detroit on health disparities, environment, food and nutrition. She is currently serving as a prestigious fellow for EAT4Health a national leadership development initiative that aims to fill gaps in the existing food policy advocacy ecosystem in order to make it more inclusive of low-income and people of color communities, more responsive to grassroots needs and ideas, and more effective in terms of protecting the environment, promoting good health, and rebuilding strong local economies.

The Food Justice Summit begins at 10am with a walk-a-thon starting at Neighborhood Pride (former Northside P&C) at 210 Hancock Street, downtown Ithaca. People of all ages are invited to register and walk up to 5 miles visiting gardens, food art mosaics and more with the chance to win exciting prizes. From noon till 7pm all are welcome to join the celebration outside Neighborhood Pride where the streets will be closed to enjoy live music including Thousands of One, Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde and Ernest Verb as well as dance performances, youth activities, cooking demonstrations, Gardens 4 Humanity's Iron Chef Jr. competition and more!

An organic ribs and chicken BBQ & vegetarian fare featuring food from local farms will be available for a suggested donation so everyone can enjoy and be nourished by the delicious bounty of our region. Event goers can find culturally significant and socially conscious wares for sale from locally-owned businesses, and peruse dozens of informational displays from local organizations working towards social justice, sustainability and community health.

Part of the proceeds will benefit Congo Square Market, a vibrant seasonal market in the heart of Ithaca's African American community with live music, crafts and fresh produce grown by neighborhood youth. The rest of the proceeds will support a series of planning meetings which will bring together community members, organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders in the local food system, to plan the infrastructure, distributions systems, financing, and other pieces of the just food system we need.

For additional information visit www.FoodJusticeSummit.org or contact info@GreenStarCommunityProjects.org or 607-379-9725.

Vendors wanted! Groundswell Local Food & Farm Festival, Oct 21

Farm and food entrepreneurs wanted! We're looking for vendors of all kinds for our Local Food & Farm Fest, Sunday, October 21, 1-4 pm.

The Local Food & Farm Fest is a fundraiser for the Groundswell Incubator Farm, a land-access program for beginning farmers. This is a great opportunity for beginning farmers, prepared food vendors, and farm products vendors to get their name out while supporting the beginning farmer/food producer movement!

Please share the good news with your networks!

Sunday, October 21, 2012 (12pm - 4pm)

Groundswell's Local Food & Farm Festival

LOCAL FOODS, LOCAL FARMERS,

LOCAL VENDORS, LOCAL INVENTIONS!

Visit the site of Groundswell's new Farm Incubator at EcoVillage and...

• Enjoy fun FARMING ACTIVITIES for kids of all ages! Card some wool, build a hoop house, dig a soil sample, churn some butter, build a fence, or milk a goat!
• Enjoy ETHNIC FOODS from all around the world featuring local farm products!
• Chat with Groundswell’s Farmer-Instructors and Beginning Farmers at our LOCAL FOODS MINI-MARKET!
• See the newest in FARMING INVENTIONS and learn how to build your own!
• Take a TOUR of Groundswell’s Farm Enterprise Incubator, West Haven Farm and other EcoVillage highlights!
• Help Groundswell raise funds to finish building the Farm Incubator!

Mark your calendar now- and plan to bring your family and friends!

Vendor Registration

Buy Tickets Online Now!

Farmers v. Monsanto

GMO corn in Germany.

This message, from Gianni Ortiz, contains information about an upcoming gathering to show support for the 82 farmers who are taking agro-tech giant Monsanto to court in The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), et. al. v. Monsanto. Gianni is organizing a delegation from Upstate NY to make an appearance at the event. For more information about the case, click here.

Sorry for any duplication and please share with lists and friends generously.

Hello Everyone,

The Bus will be leaving promptly at 6am Tuesday January 31st from the old Wal-Mart parking lot in Hudson. The exact address is 351 Fairview Avenue, Hudson, NY 12534. Please be there no later than 5:45 am. Those who have already confirmed are guaranteed a seat, everyone else will be first come, first sat – maximum capacity is 55 passengers. Bring anything you will need to be comfortable for the day. We will reserve space for signs, etc… The weather should be quite gorgeous with temperatures in the low 50’s. Also we are asking that those in our group wear a purple armband so that we can keep track of and support each other during the action. You can find guidelines for signage and more at www.osgata.org.

We will be gathering with occupywallstreet. They are planning on having a large demonstration with a timeline of different egregious actions committed by Monsanto over the years, a teach-in, and possibly a large banner. A big thank you the organizers of Occupy Big Food and Occupy Wall Street Food Justice for their hard work on this. I believe we will be leaving Foley Square at mid-afternoon but cannot guarantee that, so please make your plans accordingly. Departure time from NYC will be announced the morning of. We have the use of the bus up until leaving NYC at 6pm.

Video: Malik Yakini: Undoing Racism in the Food System

Malik Kenyatta Yakini was invited to Ithaca, NY to share his experiences in Detroit's urban agriculture development with our growing food justice movement. This community conversation took place in Cornell University's Anabel Taylor Hall café after a weekend of food justice events in Ithaca. Yakini is a founder and the Interim Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, which operates a four acre farm in Detroit and spearheaded efforts to establish the Detroit Food Policy Council, which he chairs. He is an activist and educator dedicated to working to identify and alleviate the impact of racism and white privilege in the food system. He views the "good food revolution" as part of the larger movement for freedom, justice and equality. He currently serves as a Food and Community Fellow of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Event cosponsored by: Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming, New World Agriculture and Ecology Group at Cornell, Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell Department of Development Sociology, Dorothy Cotton Institute, Gardens 4 Humanity, Whole Community Project, Cornell Garden-Based Learning Program, Moosewood Restaurant

EVI turns 20!

EcoVillage was the benefactor that made the creation of Groundswell possible just three years ago. Now EVI is celebrating their 20th anniversary, and you're invited!

EcoVillage at Ithaca Celebrates its 20th Anniversary
Saturday, September 17, 2011, 1- 4pm, Free & Open to the public
EcoVillage at Ithaca, 100 Rachel Carson Way, Ithaca, NY (off Route 79 West, 2 miles west of Route 13.)

Come Celebrate! EcoVillage at Ithaca is 20 Years and Growing. Twenty years ago, EcoVillage at Ithaca held a kick-off event, a five day “Envisioning Retreat” attended by 100 people. The purpose of the retreat was to inspire people to create an ecological village, one that could serve as an educational model of sustainable living. Now, twenty years later, award-winning EVI is one of the most well-known ecovillages in the world, and the largest in the U.S.

While there is much to celebrate about the accomplishments of the last twenty years, EVI is looking ahead to the future, with the expansion of a new 40 unit neighborhood, a new 50 KW solar array to power the first neighborhood, and new educational programs, such as Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming www.groundswellcenter.org and a Climate Showcase Communities collaboration with Tompkins County Planning Department.
Activities:
Free Tours of:

• EcoVillage Cohousing Communities
• New 50 KW solar array for 30 homes
• Green Buildings
• Organic Farms

Family Friendly Fun:

• Scavenger Hunt
• Local musicians
• U-Pick Raspberries
• Solar Popcorn & Snacks
• EcoVillage Crafts Sale

For further information contact: Fred Schoeps, kmtalk@earthlink.net, 914-500-7872 or Arlene Muzyka, amuzyka@panix.com, 908-537-9933

Broccoli and carrots and tomatoes, oh my!: The Youth Grow Summit

by Emily Belle, Selene Chew and Amanda Wagner

Farming is cool
We learned that in school!

Tons of youth love it
So we’re having a summit!

We demand local
We will be vocal!

We don’t mind getting dirty
We’re all under thirty!

Don’t panic
It’s organic!

Community,
Unity!

Economically just
It’s a must!

Food for all
All for food!

Broccoli and carrots and tomatoes, oh my!
The Youth Grow Summit

This summer, high school students from across New York State will come together in our quest for food justice and environmental stability. The Youth Grow Summit, a new initiative sponsored by the Cornell Garden-Based Learning Program, will be held from June 28-30, and will provide a forum for youth to discuss issues related to agricultural and food systems. Workshops will cover a breadth of topics, from leadership training and community organizing to the fundamentals of sustainable agriculture. Summit participants will have the opportunity to get into the fields in various farms and gardens around Ithaca, where they can experience the reality of local, community-oriented food systems and learn some new hands-on farming techniques.

As students at the Lehman Alternative Community School, we have had the chance to integrate the ideas of the local food movement into our lives, both inside and outside of the classroom. This spring, a group from our Ecology class joined a regional delegation and thousands of other youth at the Power Shift conference in Washington, DC. There, we took to the streets and lobbied our representatives on Capitol Hill, demonstrating our commitment to providing a sustainable future for people of all backgrounds and experiences. Now, we are excited to apply the energy and inspiration that came out of Power Shift to one of the most important factors in our vision for a better, healthier world: reshaping the food systems that support us and represent our most basic interaction with the earth. Over the last year, we have been able to work within our school and in collaboration with initiatives around Ithaca that share our goals. We look forward to expanding our network and learning from other knowledgeable, dedicated individuals at the Youth Grow Summit.

Come join us! Learn more and register to participate at http://blogs.cornell.edu/youthgrow/about/

Peace out, be happy, eat kale

~Emily, Selene, and Amanda

Report from the Field: The Nuts and Bolts of Getting Started in Farming

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What kinds of pathways can an aspiring farmer take to get up and running? And what new tools can be found in a Northeast-based beginning farmer's toolkit? This past January, Melissa Madden of The Good Life Farm teamed up with other farmers and resource providers to present "The Nuts and Bolts of Getting Started in Farming” at the NOFA-NY Winter Conference. Here, she reflects on the presentation and shares some tips for those just starting out.


By Melissa Madden with input from Erica Frenay and Maryrose Livingston

As a beginning farmer, I am typically hungry for resources to help my planning and skill development. Before I reached my current stage in the process of Farming as a Career, I was able to bounce around through apprenticeships, manager positions and an incubator farm opportunity. These resources were essential to my personal development as both a farmer and a citizen, and when working with “aspiring” beginning farmers, I often emphasize this path. What is clear to me now is that over the past 5-10 years, resources to support the beginning farmer population have blossomed into a well-rounded set of tools designed for multiple learning styles. While both my partner and I took a very hands-on approach that landed us at our new farm (The Good Life Farm, Interlaken, NY), we barely tapped the current plethora of resources which range from non-profits, like our dear Groundswell’s programs and affiliates (Ithaca Crop Mob, Finger Lakes CRAFT), to increased offerings in sustainable agriculture at universities and colleges (see the Beginning Farmer Project, for one), to more focused apprenticeships and management positions offered through farming associations (see NOFA-NY’s new apprentice matching tool and the BioDynamic Association for examples).

From my perspective as both a farmer and Cornell’s former staff member assigned to the Dilmun Hill Student Farm, public and private resources are providing new farmers-- young and old--with everything from land acquisition advice to accounting to farm safety training and essential technical skills. Trying to encapsulate the variety of things a new farmer needs to know in any one session or resource can be daunting, and that is exactly what a group of Groundswell and Cornell- affiliated farmers and educators did this past January at NOFA-NY’s 2011 Winter Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY. Led by Erica Frenay, Cornell Small Farms Program’s Beginning Farmer Project Coordinator, we guided workshop participants through a day-long session focused on de-mystifying the farm start-up process. The “Nuts and Bolts of Getting Started in Farming” topic was in its second year at the 2011 conference, and presenters Erica Frenay and Jamie Edelstein (Wylie Fox Farm, Cato, NY) brought in extra muscle (literally) with Donn Hewes and Maryrose Livingston (Northland Sheep Dairy, Marathon, NY) and the beginning farmer perspective via my partner Garrett Miller and me. Our focus sweepingly included advising participants about goal setting, getting access to good land, start-up financing and business planning, assessing resources and skills, and marketing and profitability. The way it turned out, we might have addressed many more topics than those specifically, but these were the framework for our day.

Policies and Polycultures: Reflections on Race, Class and Ethnicity at the NOFA Winter Conference

by Rachel Firak

In January, I was lucky enough to attend the annual Winter Conference of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY). This year's theme was a nod to that all-around health- and equity-promoting principle: “Diggin' Diversity.” Fittingly, presenters took this theme in several different directions, speaking on the necessity of diversification of crops and animals, schools of farming, and, most importantly, people.

This was my second time attending the conference, but looking around, it was clear that this was some folks' 15th, 20th, even 30th+ year of involvement with NOFA. Over the decades, NOFA has managed to serve as a common ground for both organic pioneers and young activists. It's no small feat; often, sustainable agriculture programs are led by Generation Y, for Generation Y. Refreshingly, nearly every workshop at a NOFA conference begins or ends with a word of acknowledgment to the numerous older farmers present who blazed the trail, and a blessing to the young farmers just setting out on their journey.

NOFA has certainly succeeded in building a multigenerational organization that fosters communication and mutual respect among age groups. Now, NOFA is beginning to address the ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic monoculture that has dominated its membership for quite some time.

Groundswell's Events Calendar

The Groundswell Events Calendar showcases upcoming farming and gardening events in the Finger Lakes area. Click here to view in full-screen mode. Email info@groundswellcenter.org to add an event to the list.

Farm Business Workshops Offered through Cornell Cooperative Extension

Whether you are an established farmer or just starting out, this is a good time of year to take stock and think about what could be done to increase sales and become more profitable. Cornell Cooperative Extension South Central NY Agriculture Program is offering three winter workshops on Sharpening Farm Business Skills focused on marketing and business analysis.

The workshops are offered in 3 locations on Saturday mornings. The first workshop on Feb. 5 in Montour Falls at the Schuyler County Extension office will focus on branding and promoting your business with an emphasis on building your identity and spending your marketing dollars wisely. A second marketing workshop on Feb. 19 at the Tioga County Extension office focuses on evaluating market channels you are using and on new marketing opportunities with a focus on how to establish successful marketing relationships. And the final workshop, on March 5, at the Cooperative Extension office in Tompkins County, will focus on record keeping and financial tools for business analysis.

All workshops run from 9:30-Noon at the various county extension office locations. Pre-registration is requested.

For Feb. 5 - call 535-7161; For Feb. 19 - call 687-4020; for March 5 call 272-2292. For more information as to which workshop is best for you, call Monika Roth at 607-272-2292.

Working Toward Food Security in Ithaca: An Interview with Jemila Sequeira

Last week the Ithaca community held a Community Food Security Dialogue to discuss what a food system that works for everyone would look like, and how Ithaca can begin moving toward that goal. We caught up with Jemila Sequeira, Groundswell advisor and Community Food Security Dialogue organizer, to ask some questions about this important work. 

Jemila Sequeira

Groundswell: How did the Community Food Security Dialogue begin? What events led up to it?

Jemila Sequeira: In 2009, the Cornell Public Service center appointed myself and Bethany Schroeder as Civic Fellows. My fellowship focused on recognizing my work with Gardens 4 Humanity; Bethany's for her work with the Ithaca Health Alliance and the Ithaca Free Clinic. This gave rise to two civic dialogues in 2009 on health and food security. My fellowship ended in the spring of 2010, but I felt I had a moral obligation to continue this work. After the civic dialogues, many people- landowners, farmers, food preservers, and others- were looking for a way to bring cohesiveness and a sense of purpose around the creation of a healthy food system for our community. The Community Food Security Dialogue was a way to keep the conversation going.

I was also concerned about including people who, historically, haven't been part of the discussion. Conversations around food in our community are often fragmented and top-heavy, with disproportionate input at the academic and institutional level, while those usually most profoundly affected by these issues of food and well-being are not at the table. I didn't want to close out the year without a chance for those people who were not being represented to have a voice. I also had been inspired by my recent trip with other Ithacans involved in the food movement to the Community Food Security Conference in New Orleans earlier this year. The dialogue here was a way to begin to examine how the ten square miles around Ithaca fit into the global movement around building a healthy food system.

GS: Who has been working with you on this project?

JS: Logistically, to hold this dialogue, I worked with Joanna Green, Kirtrina Baxter, Elan Shapiro, Sarah Reistetter, Cornell students Meredith Palmer, Zackery Murray, and Ben Pinon, and several community representatives. But people have been working on and thinking about this project begun long before I came. It always has been, and will always be, a project of the whole community. This work is cross-generational, and spans the entire socioeconomic, political, institutional, and community spectrum, and so many people have been involved. In particular I want to recognize Tony Petito of the new Neighborhood Pride grocery store, and his role as part of a group of elders that are still active and committed to their community, with their hearts centered in the neighborhood.

Nov 5th - Food access and justice: Rebuilding a healthy local food system for all

From Cornell's New World Agriculture and Ecology Group (NWAEG):

This Friday...

11/5 - Food access and justice: Rebuilding a healthy local food system for all @ Cornell's Emerson Hall, Room 135, Fri. 12:15-1PM
Elizabeth Karabinakis, Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension

Liz has been involved with the Healthy Food For All campaign:

http://ccetompkins.org/nutrition/healthy-food-all-csa

Upcoming Nov 1 Workshop: Farm Labor Policies, Pricing and Local Fair Trade

Preparing the Ground for Local Fair Trade

ATTENTION FARMERS: November 1 workshop will help you understand and implement fair labor and pricing policies

To help set the stage for domestic fair trade, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York is sponsoring a series of workshops for farmers on farm labor policies and setting prices that cover farm production costs. The Ithaca workshop will be held on November 1 and is cosponsored by Groundswell.

Farm Labor Policies, Pricing and Local Fair Trade

Elizabeth Henderson, long-time CSA farmer and leader in the international Agricultural Justice movement, is one of the presenters at the November 1 workshop.

Monday, November 1, 2010
9am - 3 pm

EcoVillage FROG Common House

Rachel Carson Way, Ithaca, NY

Charge: $35 ($30 NOFA-NY members), includes a light lunch and a copy of Richard Wiswall's The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook

Please RSVP by October 15 to Robert Hadad, Cornell Vegetable Program Fresh Market Specialist, at rgh26@cornell.edu 585-739-4065. If you include your email, you will receive an electronic copy of the Agricultural Justice Project Tool-Kit, a guide to good farm labor policies.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Farm Labor Policies, Pricing and Local Fair Trade
For a farm to be sustainable, the farm needs a steady, well-trained labor force and the products of the farm must bring a price in the marketplace that covers the cost of production, plus a living wage for the farmer, money to do repairs and maintenance, to pay for continuing education for the farm staff, and to make improvements to the farm. Many family-scale organic farmers have the best intentions, but under the day-to-day pressures of farming, do not take the time to learn all the relevant laws and regulations, and to document their well-intentioned practices. The purpose of these workshops is to provide the concrete information and documentation a farmer needs to live up to the claim of social justice.

Local Foods Tapas and Cafe Concert- October 17, 2009

Help us build the Groundswell!

Back-to-Back Benefit Events October 17, 2009
Join us for an Evening of Local Foods Tapas and a Café Concert Featuring Favorite Ithaca Artists

On Saturday October 17^th join the Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming for an autumn evening affair featuring local foods tapas, Finger Lakes wine, and fresh-pressed cider along with a ‘café concert’ where you can enjoy desserts, coffee, and tea while listening to some of Ithaca’s favorite singer-songwriters. Proceeds from this event, held at the EcoVillage Common House on Rachel Carson Way in Ithaca, NY will benefit the educational programs of both Groundswell and its parent organization, the EcoVillage Center for Sustainability Education.
The evening kicks off at 5:00pm with a tour of the EcoVillage co-housing community and West Haven Farm, followed by a reception featuring tapas crafted from food grown at West Haven farm and other local farms as well as wine produced on the shores of Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. During the reception, meet the farmers and educators involved in Groundswell and the Center for Sustainability Education and learn more about how you can tap into these efforts in the local community.
Beginning at 7:00pm, enjoy a café-style concert, showcasing singer-songwriters Patti Witten and Jody Kessler, acoustic duo “Littlewheel,” and – reuniting for the first time in 25 years– “Lorelei,” featuring the stunning vocal harmonies of Kessler, Witten and Groundswell Center Director Joanna Green. Ticket prices begin at $30.00 for the tour and reception, $25.00 for the café concert, and for the entire evening, a special price of $45.00. To purchase tickets, send an email to info@groundswellcenter.org or call 379-9270.