Community Gardening on a Budget
June 6, 2012 § 3 Comments
Do you plant some of your own food? Do you fancy yourself a wielder of not one, but two green thumbs? Have you ever wanted to work on a (community/ for profit) garden? What about starting one?
I am here to tell you that, despite some reservations that many might naturally have before jumping into the world of food production, almost anyone can get into gardening. Additionally, the fruits of your labor don’t need to cost you an arm and a leg, though they both will inevitably become sore in the process.
La Minga
May 2, 2012 § 1 Comment
If you ever have questions what ‘Food Justice’ is, means, or what it looks like in practice this video is the embodiment of the term. ‘La Minga’ demonstrates the revolutionary possibility of farming; empowering working peoples, combating racism, improving the environment, and doing it all in spite of competition via collaboration. This video is a beautiful tribute to the quiet undercurrents that all practitioners of the food movement (if you eat, this means you) ought to embrace and help advance. Please enjoy!
Milwaukee’s Visionaries Face Skeptics in the News
April 30, 2012 § 4 Comments
Last year, we introduced you to Sweet Water Organics, a hybrid company (read: for-profit and non-profit) that is trying to develop a viable urban farm using aquaponics. They’re one of the first aquaponic farms in the country, drawing inspiration from operations like Growing Power. Recently, Tom Daykin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran an article about Sweet Water that reads like a bullet-point list of charges against the company.
Get Growing
April 5, 2012 § Leave a Comment
While working at the United Nations, I’ve grown accustomed to celebrating diverse (and sometimes odd) international days and commemorations (Happy World Day for Laboratory Animals!). But when I was alerted that April was National Garden Month here in the US, I was all too eager to jump on board and celebrate one of my favorite Midwest gardening organizations — St. Louis’s Gateway Greening.
What Foodies Can’t Get (Not Even at Whole Foods)
March 14, 2012 § 1 Comment
On March 8, I attended an event hosted by the design gurus at LAND Studios (Landscape, Art, Neighborhoods, and Design). As part of their Lockwood Thompson Dialogues, the design firm invited Penny De Los Santos, a photographer of food culture for National Geographic, as well as Dan Barber, the head-chef and owner of the hyper-sustainable Blue Hill Farm restaurant. The two sat down at the Cleveland Public Library to discuss the current state of food. The discussion was moderated by Michael Ruhlman, a Cleveland resident and perhaps most famously famously (in my mind), the right-hand-man to none other than Anthony Bourdain. Both are pictured below.
MSCS Presenter Andrew Fernitz in the Chicago Tribune
May 24, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Andrew Fernitz, who presented at this year’s symposium, was featured today in the Chicago Tribune. We would like to offer a public congratulations for his recognition. Check it out! Full text here.
Open House at the Plant
May 7, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Today the Plant hosted an open house. Because they house 312 Aquaponics, one of our presenters at the 2011 symposium, and because they’re just generally rad, we stopped by. Here’s what we saw.
312 Aquaponics
April 27, 2011 § Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago, we covered The Plant. Today, we heard about an incredible new business called 312 Aquaponics, housed inside the Plant’s building, a retrofitted meat-processing center.
Orrin Williams and the Center for Urban Transformation
April 26, 2011 § Leave a Comment
The Center for Urban Transformation, or CUT, is the brainchild of our latest confirmed speaker, Orrin Williams. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Williams over a year ago in a Food Justice class and have been eager to work with Orrin again in the near future. I’m thrilled with the opportunity to get an update on the great work that Orrin and his co-workers are doing.
Trailer for ‘Tales of Planet Earth: Cooked’
Tim Smith and Community Greenhouse Partners
April 19, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Tim Smith, one of our presenters, discusses his organization Community Greenhouse Partners and the direction it’s taking (via CoolCleveland.com).
