Sprout Richmond

Agriberry CSA 2009 now accepting applications!

Greetings SPROUTers,

We are pleased to announce the second season of Agriberry CSA. Here are some details:

WHO: Fruit and berry fans can now get in on enjoying an array of sun ripened, just picked, local berries and fruits delivered nearby! 

WHAT: A weekly share consisting of seasonal goodness- asparagus, strawberries, sugar peas, cherries, black raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, red raspberries, plums, peaches, nectarines, fall red raspberries, and apples. Although not certified organically grown, all products are grown with sustainable farm production practices.

WHEN: Starts May 19th thru September 24th for weekly delivery! 20 weeks total.

WHERE: Shares will be delivered and available for pickup at a variety of locations on Tuesdays, Wednesday or Fridays Thursdays.

COST: Three payment options available- see application. Space is limited- act fast!

HOW: Go to www.agriberry.com and download the application under the "CSA" tab. Or download from this site- left sidebar under "CSA APPLICATIONS".

Sprout Richmond is proud to be supporting Agriberry again in 2009. We look forward to enjoying the best, freshest, locally grown fruit in the region.

Sincerely,

Christopher Humes & Melodie Franklin
Sprout Richmond

Surprise!

... Look to your left, under "CSA APPLICATIONS".

Enjoy!

... Look to your left, under "CSA APPLICATIONS".

Enjoy!

A message to local producers, retailers, and restaurants from Anne Darby- Richmond Area Food System Council

[I don't know if you have been made aware, but a Richmond Area Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter has been established to print a Buy Fresh Buy Local guide for our area.
 
We are in the process of finding listings for the guide, and we are looking for the names and contact information of any CSA, market, restaurant, farm, orchard or vineyard open for tours, or other venue selling local food.
 
I know you all probably know of many listings that would be applicable.  Would you mind taking a minute to list those you think should be listed in the guide?  Please don't worry about being redundant; we don't want to miss anyone who should be included!  If you give me enough information to get in touch with them (or at the least a name and general location) I will contact them to find out more information.
 
We plan on printing more than 40,000 copies of the guide to be made available free throughout the region, and being a part of the guide will greatly benefit any operation listed as well as our local food system as a whole. 
 
Please be in touch with a list and any questions you have.  We would love to have your input and your involvement!!
 
I look forward to hearing from each of you.  Please forward this email to anyone you feel is appropriate. 
 
   Thank you most sincerely,
 
   Anne Darby
 
   Richmond Area Buy Fresh Buy Local
   Richmond Area Food System Council
 
PS— the form that each producer or restaurateur/retailer needs to fill out to be listed is available in Word or pdf format at http://www.richmondfoodsystem.org/.  Please let any potential listee know that we are asking for a $25 donation from each producer and $50 from each restaurant/retailer.]

Charlie Collins Goes to the White House: A Message from Victory Farms

Charlie Collins of Victory Farms has been nominated to become the White House Farmer!  But he needs your vote.  Just visit http://whitehousefarmer.com now - the voting will close at midnight on January 31st.

We would love to see the new administration take a strong stand on sustainable agriculture and I can't think of a better farmer to help out President Obama on this!

Please vote and tell all your friends and family - we need to bombard them with votes!

Thank you so much,

Gina

Victory Farms, Inc.
www.victoryfarmsinc.com

Support Sustainability

In the coming weeks, President-Elect Obama will name his selection for the next Secretary of Agriculture. Belmont Butchery, along with many others, has encouraged our President-Elect to nominate a Secretary who will bring sustainable change to the United States Department of Agriculture.

We now offer you the chance to add your voice to ours.

This is important to us, and we feel it is important to you, because the new Secretary of Agriculture will play in revitalizing our rural economies, protecting our nation's food supply and our environment, improving human health and well-being, rescuing the independent family farmer, and creating a sustainable renewable energy future.

Current signers to this letter include Rick Bayless, Michael Pollan, Tanya Cauthen, Wendell Berry, Marion Nestle, Bill McKibben, Wes Jackson, Catherine Sneed and Alice Waters, among many others. Won't you add your voice to theirs?

Visit http://www.fooddemocracynow.orgfor complete details of the effort.

Edible Garden Co-Op Winter Season

Are you wondering where to buy local food once the Farmers Markets close for the winter? Would you like to order fresh produce straight from the farm all year round?

Edible Garden Co-Op Winter Season
November 1, 2008 – April 30, 2009

Season Membership
For Customers & Producers
$45.00
Return Payment to Edible Garden with attached Registration Form

Customer Pick-Up Thursday Afternoons
3:00 – 6:00 pm at Edible Garden
12506 River Road, Richmond, VA  23238

A privilege previously reserved for restaurant Chefs, you now can purchase a membership that will provide you with access to the same fresh, local products that many restaurants enjoy year round.

There will be no mark up on our behalf to the customer on pre-ordered products. We see this program as an enhancement of our mission to provide the community with access to as much locally produced food as possible for a fair price.

Edible Garden Co-Op  
(804) 784-2011
www.ediblegarden.org  
email: ediblegarden@comcast.net

Some of Our Participating Farms Include:

Aults Family Farm / Blanton Garden / Brookview Farm / Beulah Land Fruits / Creekside Farm / Cromwell Farm /Cullipher Farm / Dave & Dees Homegrown Mushrooms / Deblyn Farm / Dodds Farm / Evergreen Springs Farm /Marks Garden / Mount Vernon Farm / Shenandoah Farms / Shire Farm / Whitener Farm / Wild T Bison Farm

Richmond's Downtown Master Plan

The plan passed through council last Tuesday... check it out...

 

Downtown Master Plan

 

 

Richmond Area Food System Council

In August, members of the Richmond Area Food System Council will begin to gather listings for the region’s forthcoming Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBL) directory.   This handy guide, due to be distributed in the spring of 2009, will provide contact information for the gardeners, farmers, vintners, herders, and ranchers as well as the grocers, restaurants and markets which comprise our local food system.

Buying your food from those who produce it supports the farmer and keeps nearby farms profitable, allowing farmers to resist selling their land to developers. The people in the region benefit by having fresher food on their tables and knowledge of its origins.  When restaurateurs and stores buy directly from local growers, they become part of the local food system.  This cycle empowers the community.

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Pampatike Organic Farm

[Purchased from the Queen of the Pamunkeys in the late 1600s, Pampatike bears the Native American place name for the land before it was settled. Pampatike originally consisted of 1,000 acres of uplands and wetlands bounded by a broad sweep of the freshwater tidal Pamunkey River, in central King William County, Virginia. The original plantation house (circa 1776) burned down after the Civil War. The present-day farmhouse, a central-hall colonial, was built on the original foundation in 1880. Several nineteenth century and early twentieth century barns remain and are conserved for current use.

Pampatike Organic Farm occupies the original plantation site and the surrounding 117 acres, bounded by 2 perennial streams about one quarter mile from the Pamunkey River. The acreage consists of 45 acres of pasture, 70 acres of mixed woodlands, and a 2-acre farmstead with a quarter-acre market garden. Protected by a Conservation Easement donated to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation in 1990, the land is managed for sustainable agriculture and wildlife preservation. Pampatike is fortunate to be surrounded by thousands of acres of open space managed by like-minded land stewards.]

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Carbon Farmers of America

[Carbon Farmers of America is a company built around a vision of ecological restoration and hope.

Together, grassfarmers and conscious citizens can effectively grow new topsoil and reverse global warming.

Topsoil has the capacity as a carbon sink to capture the excess carbon in our atmosphere. And our soils desperately need that carbon.

Today, we have the knowledge we need to rapidly create new topsoil over much of the Earth’s surface. Given this knowledge, Carbon Farmers of America offers every American the most responsible choice available: create that topsoil starting today.]

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