Check out San Francisco

Hey there,

Giulia sent me a link to an article about some movements in the right direction in San Francisco:

Newsom’s fresh idea: mandates on healthy food.
San Francisco Chronicle, July 9

Newsom on Wednesday issued an executive directive he hopes will dramatically change how San Franciscans eat. All city departments have six months to conduct an audit of unused land -including empty lots, rooftops, windowsills and median strips - that could be turned into community gardens or farms that could benefit residents, either by working at them or purchasing the fresh produce. Food vendors that contract with the city must offer healthy and sustainable food. All vending machines on city property must also offer healthy options, and farmers' markets must begin accepting food stamps, although some already do.

Enjoy

Hello!

I wanted to let you know about two blogs that I follow obsessively. Both are about good food and its relationship with good farming practices (with a lot of mouth-watering pictures):

www.cucinanicolina.com

and

www.sidrapractice.com

The first one is based in the bay area and is a celebration of Northern California nature and its food offerings. The second is from the DC area and has a lot of information about vegan cooking and cooking from the garden. It is fun to see how different the seasons are over there.

Enjoy.

POSTED BY ELISSA CHANDLER

FEAST BEAST

POSTED BY ELISSA CHANDLER

great day to be a FEAST gardener

What a great day to be a FEAST gardener. We had a lot more going on than the compost (although we do love composting). We got a wheelbarrow, transplanted some seedlings, picked up soil, filled some beds and of course...built a new compost pile (Deneui, named after the friendly family that basically built the whole thing!).

Luckily I got a bunch of great shots of people and plants in action.

POSTED BY ELISSA CHANDLER

D names

First, there was Abner.

Next came MJ.

Then there was Baby.

Finally, Cluade (aka Claudius).

Who will be next?

Get your D names prepared and come to composting tomorrow evening at 5:15 pm.

See you there.

POSTED BY ELISSA CHANDLER

If you want to read something crazy...

Check out my friend Debbie's blog. We went to high school together and she recently took a semester off to write a book (yeah, I know, she is pretty legit) about national school lunch policy. You absolutely need to follow her blog. It will make you cringe (especially her latest post about the school lunch expo in in Vegas) and more than likely will inspire you to want to make the FEAST garden educational for local kids. Please give it a look: schoolfoodpolicy.com

POSTED BY ELISSA CHANDLER

Hello Everyone,

This week we have composting as usual but we will also be planting seeds. Oh yeah, and, gr

eat news! The administration decided to give us an extra $1000 to purchase the rest of the raised beds! Looks like we'll have a full garden by the end of the summer.

Someone in club (Alyssa) sent me a link to a CNN article about the "revolution" we are a part of. cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/29/bia.urban.farming/index.html

My thought is that we have spent far too much time eating junk that is fed to us, watching TV that teaches us bad habits (and keeps us on the couch), and generally deteriorating our bodies and minds with "modern life." I don't mean to sound reactionary (I like my smart phone as much as the next person) but I also think there is a reason our ancestors were so close to nature, the seasons and the whole food process for so many generations. I think revolution might be a bit strong of a word but I like the Ghanaian word they refer to in the article "sankofa." It means returning to the past to move forward. I think its a nice idea and we could use some of that-- check these two articles out and see why!

1) - On corporate food and how it keeps us so captivated:

-nytimes.com/2009/06/23/health/23well.html?_r=1&ref=dining

2) - Paul Krugman's column on newest predictions on global warming and its

international consequences:

- nytimes.com/2009/06/29/opinion/29Krugman.html?em

Anyway, on a brighter note, here are some photos from planting and brunch

POSTED BY ELISSA CHANDLER