FEAST Workshop Cancelled

The FEAST Workshop on Feb. 4^th and 6^th has been canceled due to an insufficient number of registrants.

I wanted to thank everyone who registered and offered to present or provide food for the event: your interest and support are very much appreciated.

USDA TO HOST ROUNDTABLES ON JOBS, ECONOMIC GROWTH

The USDA State Offices are seeking ideas on creating jobs and revitalizing rural economies throughout the country.

The roundtables will be hosted by USDA Rural Development state directors and Farm Service Agency state executive directors.

A roundtable discussion is scheduled to occur here in Bend on January 28, 1-4PM; Central Oregon Community College, Hitchcock Auditorium.

More information can be found here.

COMMUNITY FEAST WORKSHOP

*Food Education Agriculture Solutions Together

Facilitator: Sharon Thornberry, Community Resource Developer, Oregon Food Bank

A Community FEAST Workshop is a way to:

• Build community

• Strengthen existing projects

• Launch new projects with community support and involvement

• Identify community food needs, resources and opportunities

• Improve community health and nutrition

• Support our local food and agriculture economy

We will address issues such as:

• Hunger and nutrition

• Access to local food

• Local agriculture and food production

• Youth opportunities

At the Community FEAST Workshop you can:

• Learn about local food and farming

• Share knowledge & concerns

• Identify what we want, create a plan and begin taking action for change
________________________

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH
REDMOND
9AM-3PM
Redmond Community Church
237 NW 9th Street

________________________

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH
MADRAS
Community Education Room
Mountain View Hospital
470 NE "A" Street

To Register Contact Sydney Leonard

sydneyl@neighborimpact.org or (541) 548-2380 ext. 149

$5 Fee to Cover Food

No one will be turned away due to lack of funds

*Space is Limited

**Please indicate which workshop you'd like to attend and if you will need avegetarian or vegan lunch.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Local foods momentum is building in Central Oregon! There are many exciting events coming up:

Free Showing of the film Ingredients
Brought to you by Slow Foods High Desert

Thursday, January 14th
7pm
Grandview Hall
Central Oregon Community College

Bring a dessert of your choice to share. And, as always, please bring your own plates and flatware. Julian Darwin of COCC's Culinary Institute will provide coffee and tea.

_____________________________________________________________________

LOCAL EGGS & SQUASH AVAILABLE AT
LAST STAND FARM, PRINEVILLE

Kim has some squash and free range - omega 3 rich eggs available at her farm in Prineville, The Last Stand Farm.

About the Farm:

We use biodynamic farming practices which honor the soil, respect the waters, and create nutrient dense foods for our customers. Our soil, seeds and practices are organic. We promote our farm as a living community which thrives together.
We grow an assortment of prize winning vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Our flock of free range hens produce omega 3 rich eggs. This spring, we will be producing humanely raised veal that is milk fed for two months and then raised on pasture.

We sell at the Bend and Prineville Farmer’s Markets.

18 week Community Supported Agriculture shares will be available to purchase starting April, 2010. The cost varies by family need and ability to pay. Please contact Kim at Kambak@crestviewcable.com for more information.

For more information check out thei Local Harvest listing.

The Great American EGG DROP

Looking for access to fresh local humanely raised

eggs, chicken and pork?

The Great American Egg will be selling eggs out of their van in downtown Bend at Drake Park this Sunday between 3-4pm.

If you're interested in pork or chicken, contact the farm and they will bring some along.

About the Farm: "The Great American Egg is a farm that aims to provide good food to local folks. We raise chickens for eggs, broilers for meat, grain for feed, and most importantly - two sprouting girls!"

For more information about this Powell Butte farm check out their site and blog!

HELP MAP OUR FOOD SYSTEM!

As part of the Food Assessment we'll be mapping out the food resources in our cities and towns from food pantries to farms to grocery stores.

We are looking to identify any place where a person can access food and WE NEED YOUR HELP!

These food maps will not only include the resources that are more visible like Thriftway and Safeway, but those that are harder to find like community gardens, school greenhouses and more.

The categories created for tagged locations include:

• Chain Grocery Store (Wal Mart, Rays, etc.)
• Local Grocery Store/Corner Market (Ex: Nature's Market or the Metolius Market)
• Fast Food (Burger King, etc.)
• Sit-Down Restaurant (Black Bear Diner, etc.)
• Emergency Food Site (Hot Meal Site, Food Pantry, etc.)
• Community Garden (Any single piece of land gardened by a group of people)
• Convenience Store (7-11, etc.)
• School Garden or Greenhouse
• Farm or Ranch

TO VIEW THE MAPS BY COUNTY:

• CROOK CO. MAP
• JEFFERSON CO. MAP
• DESCHUTES CO. MAP

TO TAG A SITE ON THE MAPS:

http://www.communitywalk.com/

You must first log in to the site. Creating an account only takes a few seconds and requires very little information.

1. Click the link above.
2. Then click "Login" in the top right corner.

ONCE YOU ARE LOGGED IN:

The first time you do this you'll have to click the link for each county to get to the map. Then you'll be able to add them to "my maps."

1. Click the tab at the top that says "BUILD THIS MAP"
2. Click "Add Marker" next to "Tools:"
3. You can try the "Search" option and try to look up the site the same way you would on a search engine like Google.
4. If it does not come up under "Search" then you can add it by typing in the address under "by Address."
5. Once the site has been identified, choose the category that it falls into and click save.
6. CONGRATULATIONS! You've now helped us build our food systems map and better understand our food environment.

TIP:
If you are having trouble finding the site, try zooming into the specific town or area that it is located.

Questions or Comment:
Please let me know of any questions or comments you mights have about this process. This is a new tool we are trying, so any feedback is great!

C.O. Community Food Assessment In the News

Letter to the Editor in Thursday's issue of the Bend Bulletin

Mention in this week's Source article about local farm issues.