It’s been ages since I’ve posted anything, but it’s not for want of information or activity. It’s been a busy time and incredibly we’re actually nearing the deadline for the fall issue!
Our summer issue has been a huge hit and we are officially out of magazines! There may be a few left here and there, but for Local Table news keep in touch with the website.
The big news is that we are doing a fundraising campaign to help build Local Table’s Farm to Plate food hub – a link between Tennessee farmers and local businesses. Food retailers, restaurants, hospitals, school systems, food banks and more will be able to easily find the items they are looking for and connect directly to the producer. We won’t be able to do it without your support. Times are very tough and every dollar is important and we truly appreciate your efforts to help us achieve our goal!
http://www.gofundme.com/LTFarmToPlate
Also, new to our website are some of the Nashville Food Bloggers. Check ‘em out and we’ll add more as go along!
Posts Tagged ‘local food’
Catching Up
Monday, July 23rd, 2012Farmers Markets Opening
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012Our spring local food season is in full swing! Neighborhood farmers markets are opening, 12 South today, www.12southfarmersmarket.com, and East Nashville, www.eastnashvillemarket.com, tomorrow and the West Nashville market, http://www.goodfoodforgoodpeople.org/westnashvillefarmersmarket/ has moved to it’s summer spot in Sylvan Park’s Richland Park. Check out our farm guide to find out the schedule of your local market.
Our warm spring weather has moved a lot of crops up 2-4 weeks, so many area farmers markets where trucks just pull up to sell have been busy for a few weeks now. Strawberries are a month early, so don’t miss out on the sweetest, freshest berries you can possibly get! Besides spring produce, local artisans – bakers, cheesemakers, candlemakers all can be found at the farmers market.
Farmers markets are great for our neighborhoods, our health, the farmers and keeping our state green.
A Sense of Place
Thursday, March 29th, 2012I’ve always believed my love of getting my hands in the dirt was my desire to be rooted to a place. So, when Michael Ableman, (www.fieldsofplenty.com) the keynote speaker at last weekend’s Tennessee Organic Grower’s Conference (www.tnorganics.org), opened his remarks with talking about ‘a love of place’ – his words rang true in my heart.
In this time of great social and political change, he said ‘it’s the confluence of details that make the difference in our lives’ – not the huge radical changes.
He also spoke about what most of us already know – food and agriculture is the keystone of our lives – food has the most profound ripple effect on everyone of us. “The survival of each one of us is tied to the rest of us.”
Ableman’s words spoke true. His description of a farm as not an isolated endeavor, but part of a vast network tying a community together.
Ableman’s description of his own farm, Foxglove Farm, www.foxglovefarmbc.ca, and it’s quiet glimpses into the past, brought to mind the recent arrowhead I had unearthed in my own garden. We are tied to the past and to the future. It may be cliche to say, but we are only the caretakers of our place and it’s important to make your place more fruitful and alive than we found it.
I’d always wanted an old farm house where I could enjoy the plantings of a past resident. Unfortunately, our place had been pasture too long and there where no old gardens. But, after being here for over 7 years, our gardens are filled with color and even the woodland natives are more abundant!
Life nurtures life!
Celebrating The Spirit of Farming
Friday, October 8th, 2010
Last weekend I attended one of my favorite events of the year, the annual Harvest Festival: Biodynamic Celebration at Jeff Poppen’s Long Hungry Creek Farm in Red Boiling Springs. I’ve been going to this fall gathering for 9 or 10 years now – from just hanging on the porch and absorbing the atmosphere to becoming even a little conversant in the language of biodynamics and applying many of the principles to my own garden. The gathering is a homecoming of farmers, home growers, health practitioners and educators who care about the earth and our inter connectedness to the world around us. And, the food is incredible- filled with energy and life.
It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the harvest and begin to think about next year’s garden and planting – a real rejuvenation of the body and spirit. In these crazy and sometimes what feel like dark times, it’s truly heartening to spend time with folks who believe in the power of the positive. Food can be a truly healing force in our lives and it’s such a pleasure to be surrounded by people who believe that how we take care of the land affects the food we eat.
To learn more, check out www.biodynamics.com or www.jpibiodynamics.org
Celebrate Earth Day!
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
~Wendell Berry
Thank you to my friend Coree where I spotted the beautiful Wendell Berry quote on her Facebook page. It expresses exactly the feelings I have for our role as caretakers of our planet. We are only part of the cycle, yet human beings in our very existence take such a heavy tole on the environment around us. So, it’s fitting while the red buds and dogwoods are in bloom that at least one day is set aside to express our gratitude to the beauties around us.
Strike a cord and go green! The 9th Annual Nashville Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 17th at Centennial Park in Nashville is a rain or shine event, celebrating the ever growing and diverse environmental interests found throughout Middle Tennessee. There will be sections on Wildlife/Conservation, Sustainable Building, Waste Reduction/Recycling, Food and Farming, Air/Energy, Green Living, Adventure/Outdoor Education, Water and for the first time a new Merchant Village. There’ll also be demonstrations, food, a children’s area, and of course, live music! Come out anytime from 11am-7pm and listen to performances by Homemade Water, Apache Relay, Bela Fleck and more!
