Community CROPS February 2009 Newsletter
Spring is right around the corner and we're busy getting ready at Community CROPS. That includes ordering seeds, plants and potatoes, planning new garden locations and working with a new group of farmers. We'll also be hiring new staff and interns soon -- position descriptions will be posted by the end of the month. Community garden applications will also be ready in March, after we finalize locations. If you are interested in selling at the CROPS Farmers' Market this year, we have posted the application for 2009.
It's time to order your seeds and think about starting cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, kale) inside. By the beginning of March, you'll want to be starting tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Check out some of the resources we found to help you get started on our Workshops Page.
We're also working on a movie series for March -- a chance for you to see some great agricultural-themed movies and discuss them with others. More details will be available soon.
Community CROPS Classes
Whether you want to learn how to sell at farmers' markets, plan out your garden, or bake bread, there are a wide variety of classes coming up offered by Community CROPS. See the Workshops Page for dates and descriptions.Community CROPS CSA
We've just opened registration for the 2009 CROPS CSA season. Interested in fresh vegetables all summer long but don't have time to grow them yourself? Sign up for a CSA share and we'll do the growing for you. New this year, we have two options -- a Veggie Lover's Share that will have lots of standard vegetables plus many things you may not have tried before, or the Standard Share that will focus on the basic vegetables. Read more and sign up on the CSA pageLincoln's Coalition for the Environment and Earth Day needs you!
Plans are underway for a big Earth Day celebration on Sunday April 19th and volunteers are needed for a variety of committees to make the event a success. The theme this year is "A Time for Action". It will be an even bigger and better event than the great celebration last year. Visit earthday2009.blogspot.com to learn more.GFL--Local Comes to Campus
Are you aware that local food is available in the dining halls at the University of Nebraska? Pam Edwards, Assistant Director of University Dining Services, received an e-mail about the Yale Sustainable Food Project in 2005 and was inspired to bring local foods to UNL's campus. This campaign, later named 'Good, Fresh, Local' (GFL), began in earnest in the fall of 2005 when students at the Cather-Pound-Neihardt Dining Center enjoyed the first all-local GFL dinner. GFL expanded for the 2008-2009 academic year to include more full meals at the East Campus and Cather-Pound-Neihardt Dining Centers. Dining Services creates GFL meals with ingredients that "come mostly from small LOCAL (Nebraska) farmers and producers" and "are produced using sustainable agriculture practices", and consideration is also given for seasonality and organic production methods. In addition to GFL meals, a number of individual items including granola, salad dressings, eggs, potatoes, bread, muffins and pizza are available at the Abel/Sandoz, Harper/Schramm/Smith and Selleck Dining Centers.
UNL's GFL site includes a map of GFL's farmers and manufacturers and producers have been invited to join the students at dinner to share the story of their farm and their product. Dining Services also provides table tents, flyers, posters and information to explain the reasoning behind eating local and the GFL campaign and GFL items are clearly marked with a card identifying the item, the farmer/producer, and the town where the item was produced. Please see the GFL web page for a calender of meals and contact information.
Lincoln Bioneers Community February Meeting
Thurs, Feb 19th, 7pm, Meadowlark CoffeeThe Lincoln Bioneers Community works together to bring about positive change in our city and the world through social and environmental justice. Join us to watch a 30 minute DVD followed by discussion. Keep up to date on the group at their blog lincolnbioneers.blogspot.com
This month's DVD features Van Jones on "Toward a Green Growth Alliance: Birthing a New Politics" Van Jones is an activist working to combine solutions to social inequality and environmental destruction. He founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which promotes alternatives to violence and incarceration, in 1996. He has won many honors including a Reebok Human Rights Award and an Ashoka Fellowship, and has served on the boards of many groups. The City of Oakland has adopted the Ella Baker Center's "Green Jobs Corps" proposal, and Van is pushing to create the first-ever Green Enterprise Zone in Oakland.
