NYC Greenmarkets offers meat and poultry vendor spaces Dear Producers, We have a few possibilities at Saturday and Sunday markets for meat and poultry.  If you raise livestock or fowl, and are interested in a weekend market, please let us know as soon as possible.   Contact:  Laurel Halter, lhalter@greenmarket.grownyc.org, Greenmarket, GrowNYC

RVGA RECEIVES GRANT

TO EXPLORE SUSTAINABLE LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM 

Can the Rondout Valley feed itself as well as become a more active participant in the broader Hudson Valley foodshed?  That’s the question the Rondout Valley Growers’ Association’s Education Project is exploring with help from a $159,000 planning grant from the Local Economies Project of The New World Foundation targeted at exploring the creation of a thriving, sustainable local and regional food system.

Details of the grant were unveiled to Rondout Valley Growers’ Association (RVGA) grower members at their annual meeting, held March 19 at the Marbletown Community Center. For the next six months, RVGA will engage several task forces to explore various aspects of the project, including food processing and distribution, a farm to school program, access to land and capital, and farmer education.

RVGA is a non-profit community organization comprised of local farmers, residents, and businesses that are committed to strengthening the region's family farms and preserving open space for future generations. RVGA’s Education Project is a fiscally sponsored project of the Open Space Institute, Inc. a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization dedicated to land preservation.

Established in 1954, The New World Foundation is a New York based public charity that promotes social justice, environmental stewardship, and democratic practice.    Their Local Economies Project has identified local food systems as a key entry point to promoting community self-reliance and building a sustainable local economy.

Grower Member and RVGA Board President Bruce Davenport said, “We feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity to investigate the possibilities of making this region a model of successful and diverse agricultural enterprises that can help preserve and enhance the active agricultural community in the Rondout Valley and beyond.”

RVGA will continue to host its popular community events throughout the year, including the annual Barn Dance, scheduled for Saturday, June 18 at Tralee Farm, and the Orchard Dinner/Wine Tasting in the fall. For more information, contact RVGA at  info@rondoutvalleygrowers.org, or call (845) 626-1532.

Giving Thanks

The season has again flown and winter approaches fast. At this time when we gather with our friends and families to share food let’s remember the farmers who grow our meals and also those who may not have enough to eat.

RVGA and its members are involved in so many aspects of this community; we are truly a hub of this region. As we put the garden to bed for the year and look back on our harvest I wanted to share some of what RVGA has achieved this year.

We again hosted our 3 major events – the Barn Dance, the Orchard Dinner and Wine Tasting and our Farm Tour. Each of these was more successful than in years past because of the work of so many passionately involved volunteers, donors, and guests that are the foundation of our organization. The contributions of the hosting farms and business sponsors of these events are invaluable-please offer your thanks particularly to Stone Ridge Wine & Spirits (www.stoneridgewineandspirits.com ), the DePuy Canal House (www.depuycanalhouse.com),  Inn at Stone Ridge (www.innatstoneridge.com ), the Stone Ridge Orchard (http://stoneridgeorchard.com ), Mary McNamara (whose new place Zoo Café welcomes you and your pet- zoocafe@hvc.rr.com ) and all of the many area restaurants that cook for us, using local farm fresh foods. Please visit the business member section of our site http://rondoutvalleygrowers.org/rvga_bizsponsers.cfm  for more info on all of our partners.

We participated in the Ulster County Fair, the Stone Ridge Library Fair, the Ulster Corps Arts for Ulster exhibit and “Slow and Seasonal”: A Celebration of the Harvest- which included many of our grower members and was an incredible community farm event. Chronogram Magazine featured RVGA in a wonderful article http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2010/9/Locally+Grown/Rondout-Valley-Growers-Association, and of course we continue to bring our farms to the spotlight in the Our Bounty articles in the BlueStone Press written by Board Member Susan Krawitz.

 RVGA was accepted by the Open Space Institute (www.osiny.org) as part of their Citizen Action Program. Under OSI’s umbrella the Rondout Valley Growers Education Project has 501(c)3 status(tax exempt) and professional support. Our initial project with them will be a small print publication of our agricultural history booklet.

Our Farm to School program is now formally directed by Nicci Cagan whose programs and work take her all over the state and region. Her achievements are outstanding as she tirelessly supports local, healthy food initiatives for our children. Nicci has spoken in Albany on Farm to School, cooked in NYC schools with Executive Chef Noah Sheetz, had her recipe published in the White House’s cookbook, organized many influential and informative events and is visioning a healthy and thriving local agricultural economic model. Our Farm to School Program is working directly with local schools- if you are a farmer who would like to participate either as a producer/supplier or as an educator, or are someone who likes to cook or work with children please contact Nicci at niccifromthegroundup@yahoo.com .

Finally our Farm to Food Pantry Program had an incredible year with more than 30,000lbs. of donated food from our growers and several processing days at Farm to Table CoPackers in Kingston (http://farm2tablecopackers.com ).  The processed foods will serve area residents throughout the winter and the delicious BUTTERNUT SQUASH soup is for sale at area farm stands. All proceeds from the sale of the soup directly support this effort. Carve for a Cause http://carveforacause.com  raised enough money to fund our program for two years! Huge thanks to Marianne Murray and the entire Board of Carve for a Cause, without this organization, the Farm to Food Pantry work would not have happened this year. Thanks also to Fabia Wargin, who directs the program, her assistant Lynda Wells and FAMILY of Woodstock (www.familyofwoodstockinc.org); together we are working to alleviate hunger in our area.

Our membership which sustains this organization is growing. Thank you for buying from our growers, for valuing our farms and for supporting RVGA. Please visit our partners- those local businesses who give so much to us and to us all.Have a safe and healthy season.