KC Organics & Natural Farmers Market - opens Saturday May 2nd - Come out to Minor Park - flier attached

Hello Folks,

Looks like Spring is arriving in KC full force these last couple of days. We hope you have had a good winter. And maybe it looks like we may be looking towards a more stable opening to Spring this year....hopefully no super-late freezes or other severe weather we have seen these last couple of years.

For those of you around at the end of last season, and those with us at the Holiday Market, you know that we have a few new faces joining our special market in the park. We also expect another face or two as we get started this year. Most of the other regular vendors will be with us on opening day or very shortly thereafter.

There may be some other exciting news to tell you more about as the season moves along, but that will be at least a few months away.

Again we so appreciate your faithful patronage and the special visiting and community building we get to experience each Saturday. We are continually grateful to the Parks department and our special partnership that allows one of KC's most unique Organic farmers markets to be in such a unique setting- On the Grass and Under the Trees.

We look forward to seeing you and sharing our bounty with you as soon as you can make it by. Please continue to spread the word, via email or whatever other way and we will continue to grow in our capacities to serve you with greater depth and breadth.


To your health and well-being,

Peter Stauffacher - Market Manager
www.kcorganics.com

p.s. Note that our website contains all the essential info on the market as well as a nice map for NEW folks, there is also a flier attached for printing and posting. Thank You!

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KC Organics and Natural Market
“The Farmer’s Market in a Park”

Open Saturdays May 2nd through October 17th
8:00 am to 12:30 pm, in Minor Park

Go 1 mile South of I-435 on Holmes,
then east on Red Bridge Road (111th St.)
Click on the picture for a larger, street-view image
◆ fresh-picked, locally grown organic produce
◆ also honey, edible flowers, herbs, mushrooms
◆ breads and baked goods, grains, sauces
◆ Free-Trade coffee and Eco-products
◆ free-range eggs and some meats
◆ soaps, body care products
◆ natural stoneware jewelry

A Unique Market Experience in all the Best Ways
On the Grass, Under the Trees, in Beautiful Minor Park—
with hikeable trails, lots of acreage, and the Little Blue River

◆ www.kcorganics.com ◆

In partnership with Kansas City Missouri Parks and Recreation

(click image below for a larger, printable image...
...and please, PASS IT ON!)

Farmers' Community Market at Brookside -- for Market Day: Saturday, April 25, 2009

Greetings Market Friends:

I think we went from spring to summer this week. No complaints from this department though. Although now it is time for all of us to get down to business in the garden. I cannot wait to finally get my transplants in this weekend. This would be a great week for you to come by and purchase all your plants to complete your garden. Our vendors still have some beautiful plantings from which to pick.

Also, this week hosted Earth Day. I saw several good news clips and read some good articles about organic food. By choosing organic, you decrease your carbon footprint and help not only your body by picking foods grown without pesticides, but also the earth. Not only are our vendors' treasures delicious, they are environmentally sound.

Now from our vendors ...

From Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture:

The Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture and the crew at the Community Farm are excited about this Saturday’s market! The season is getting off to a great start. We are pleased to see the return of familiar faces each week and very happy to meet new friends and eaters!

We’ll bring along our green shelf of transplants which include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, herbs, some flowers with more to come and of course, tomatoes. With this week’s warm weather and some rain in the forecast, it seems like the perfect week to finish planning your own back (front, side, patio or rooftop) garden and come to the market with a list of must-haves! Let one of us help out with questions…we are always full of ideas!

The high tunnels are still producing beautiful produce ready for your table. The many different greens are perfect for salads or sandwich wraps, braising, steaming or just plain delicious raw snacking. Micro greens and arugula along with straight-ahead salad mixes will be available. The beets, carrots and turnips have really never looked better. Cucumbers, scallions, some herbs, Chinese cabbage and Chinese broccoli will be featured. We are even finding some radishes this week!

I’m bringing Katherine for you all to greet and Leslie for you to meet. Leslie is our Ms. Fix It at the farm this summer learning all she knows from Daniel. She always has the right tool in her back pocket and a smile ready to share. We love her and the weeds will come to fear her.

See you Saturday!

Alicia Ellingsworth

KCCF’s new (chatty) Farm Manager

From Roaring River Bakery:

Easter weekend was a huge sucess and a beautiful day to be outside. Our second week was a little damp, but this Saturday's forcast looks bright and sunny. Thank you to everyone that ventured out in the rain. It was nice of you all to brave the down pour and make our day.

I have one more new bread for market. It is called Prairie Bread. It has both whole wheat and rye flour with millet and sunflower seeds to add a tasty snap to every bit. I have had a great response to the bagels and will bring more this weekend.

See you on Saturday!

Kim and Roaring River Bread Company

From Blue Door Farm:

I have vegetables! I have vegetables! I'm starting the season off with swiss chard, salad mix galore, head lettuce and garlic chives. Yippee for high tunnels. :)

You too can have vegetables! And flowers! And herbs! I'll have transplants available for home gardens - heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, basil, herbs and more! My nasturtium plants continue to grow and bloom and I'll be bringing them, plus bight marigolds, sweet violas and beautiful hanging baskets.

Hope to see you this Saturday for a great (warm, reasonably sunny!) market.

From Bread of Life Bakery:

Hello Brookside Friends,

We had a wet Market last Saturday and we would like to thank all those customers who braved the weather and supported us. This rain has delayed any plantings at our house and in Josiah's gardens. Hopefully he can get out in the gardens and plant some more this week.

Our Burritos will be offered this week with our farm fresh eggs, potatoes, Benedict Builders sausage,and onion. We also have a vegetarian burrito. Puddin' Head fair trade coffee will be available to go with a pecan scone or blueberry scone.

We will have our usual whole grain breads and our specialty breads. Our New bread this season is our whole wheat cherry chocolate chip loaf. My daughter Amanda loves this toasted with a cup of Chai in the morning.

Luke and Chris will see many of you on Saturday, so enjoy the nice weather and stop by.

Kathy, Luke and Chris

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Farmers' Community Market at Brookside
Saturdays, 8am to 1pm

under the white tents at the
Border Star Montessori School
63rd & Wornall, Kansas City, MO 64113 << Map it!

The Farmers' Community Market at Brookside is Dedicated to Creating a Unique Partnership between the Community and Farmers who provide High Quality, Local and Organic Products in an atmosphere that is mutually beneficial, wholesome and fun. The Market also helps to support the Border Star PTA.

The Market is located in the Heart of Brookside where many Unique Shops and Restaurants are nearby to explore and spend a delightful Saturday afternoon.

The Market has a lively mix of Local and Certified Organic Farmers who provide Freshly-picked Vegetables, Fragrant Herbs, Juicy Sweet Fruit, Edible and Cut Flowers. Our Farmers use Sustainable and Humane practices to produce hormone and antibiotic-free Meat, Free-Range Eggs and Honey products.

The Market also features Organic Freshly-Prepared Artisan Food, including fresh hot Breakfast Burritos, and fresh hot fair-trade and locally roasted Coffee, Baked Goods including Pies, Assorted Breads, Cinnamon Rolls, Granola Cereals, Cookies, Brownies, Squares, including many Vegan varieties, Gluten-free and much more.

Organic Hand-Crafted Soap and Artists with unique handmade crafts complement our market.

There are weekly events at the market tent including live music, children's activities and cooking demonstrations by local chefs, which feature samples and seasonal recipes.

Tables and Chairs are here to Relax, enjoy some of our Tasty Breakfast Treats or Sit to Visit with your Friends.

Some Upcoming Special Events:

• Herb Festival is May 9
• Flower Festival June 27
• Tomato Festival is July 25
• Children's Festival is Aug. 15
• Fall Festival is Oct. 10
• Closing Day is Oct. 24

Thanks for your support of our market.

Mission Farms (Organic) Farmers Market - GRAND OPENING THURSDAY, MAY 7th

New organic market in Leawood

By Owen Morris in News

Monday, Apr. 20 2009 @ 9:45AM

Flickr: Kater W

An organic market is opening in Mission Farms, the new Leawood development that holds Zest and the Johnson County locations of Blue Koi, Blanc Burger & Bottles and Room 39. "It's a nice fit," Mission Farms marketing director Katie Chalfant told me. "There isn't a market in Leawood. There hasn't been since the one at Barstow, but that's been several years. And with our restaurants, a lot of which buy locally, it made sense."

Chalfant says the market is going to start "small but mighty," with around a dozen vendors, all of whom are certified organic or members of KC Food Circle or the equivalent. Not all the names are finalized yet, but among them are Foxfire Farm, which will serve sweet corn, and Schenker Family Farms, serving lamb, beef, and other meat. There will also be vendors selling produce, flowers, soap, bread, honey and dairy products, all under a covered patio. "It overlooks the lake and it's really a scenic area," Chalfant says.

The Mission Farms Farmers' Market will be open every Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. on the east side of the Mission Farms. It opens for the season on May 7.

Tags: Farmers' Markets, Leawood, Mission Farms, new markets, organic markets

See: http://blogs.pitch.com/fatcity/2009/04/new_organic_market_in_leawood.php

See also: The KC Food Circle Bulletin Board

GOING GREEN! at JCCC - TODAY, THURSDAY - 4/16/2009

Earth Day - GOING GREEN! 2009

Story by JCCC Student Environmental Alliance

JCCC Students Celebrate Earth Day

10:30am - 3pm CST - THURSDAY - 4/16/2009

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Johnson County Community College’s Student Environmental Alliance will celebrate Earth Day with Going Green 2009 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. CST, on Thursday, April 16, in the Commons Building Corner Lounge and Courtyard. The event is free and open to the public. Students will be promoting awareness of environmental issues, ideas and actions.

Participants include the JCCC’s Student Environmental Alliance, Kansas City Food Circle, Great Plains Clean Energy Alliance, Lakeside Nature Center, Johnson County Environmental Department (Solid Waste Management, Air Quality, and Household Waste), Sierra Club, Root Deep Urban Farm, Burroughs Audubon Society, Smart Car, Johnson County Transit, Ride Share/Mid-America Regional Council, JCCC’s bookstore, JCCC’s dining services sustainability subcommittee, Locally Grown JCCC Community Supported Agriculture, Heartland Habitat for Humanity, S.O.5 Initiative, JCCC’s interior design student association, Motor Heads Scoot and Cycle and Heartland Tree Alliance.

Guest speakers include John Schmidt from The Land Institute, Jill Crawford from Bridging the Gap, Jay Antle from JCCC’s sustainability committee, William Nana from S.O.5 Initiative and Mary English from the Climate Project.

Music will be performed by Glass Axe, Bobby Yarsulik and Adam Blackwood in the courtyard.

For more information, contact Lydia Blackwood, president, JCCC’s Student Environmental Alliance, at 785-393-2967.

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http://www.SEAJCCC.org/

GROUPS SIGN-ON - Urge Kansas Governor Sebelius to Veto Bill on RBGH Milk Labeling

29 Groups Urge Kansas Governor Sebelius to
Veto Bill on RBGH Milk Labeling

Friday, April 10, 2009 :: Staff infoZine

State Legislature Backs Biotech Interests Despite Strong Opposition; Consumers in Kansas Could be Misled About the Safety of Their Milk

Washington, D.C. - infoZine - A broad array of 29 farmers, consumer groups, businesses and other organizations sent a letter to Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, urging her to veto HR 2121, a bill passed by the Kansas State Legislature last week which would require an additional disclaimer on labels for dairy products produced from cows not treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH or rbST), a genetically engineered, artificial hormone that induces cows to produce more milk. The bill was sent yesterday to Governor Sebelius, who has ten days to veto it.

“Since the FDA’s controversial decision to approve the use of rbGH, questions have only grown about its safety for humans,” said Dr. Michael Hansen, Senior Scientist for Food Safety for Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. “HR 2121 interferes with consumers' right to know what is in their food and how it’s produced and farmers and dairies have the right to tell them.” Consumers Union sent a similar letter to Sebelius urging her to veto the bill.

The required disclaimer would read: “the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined there are no significant differences between milk from cows that receive injections of the artificial hormone and milk from those that do not.” That statement is based on an 18-year-old FDA review; however, FDA’s own publications, as well as subsequent scientific studies have shown that there are significant differences, some of which may affect human health. The Kansas bill also goes against long-established Federal policy as outlined by the FDA in a July 27, 1994 letter to New York Department of Agriculture and Markets: “The bottom line is that a contextual statement is not required...and in no instance is the specific statement 'No significant difference has been shown...' required by FDA.”

n addition, the Legislature tacked on the dairy labeling rules of HB 2295 as a rider on HB 2121 without a hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee. This denied the numerous opponents of labeling restrictions the chance to testify. Even with the lack of proper debate, the bill barely passed the Senate by a 22-15 vote, just two votes short of failing, demonstrating that there is barely a mandate for labeling changes in Kansas.

“As she reviews this bill, and ascends to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we urge Governor Sebelius to veto this bill, protect the health of Kansas’ citizens, and to leave a legacy of support for the public interest, not special interests,” said Patty Lovera, Assistant Director at Food and Water Watch.

Due to growing consumer demand, companies are removing rbGH from their dairy products across the country. In addition, over 160 hospitals all over the country have pledged to serve rbGH-free products and the past president of the American Medical Association said in a letter to all AMA members that hospitals should serve only milk produced without rbGH.

“Kansas is taking a step in the wrong direction, as more than half of the 100 largest dairy processors in the country have gone partially or completely rbGH-free to satisfy consumer demand,” said Heather Whitehead, True Food Network Director at the Center for Food Safety. “If dairies decide not to label milk as rbGH-free due to these unnecessary labeling requirements, or decide not to sell their products in Kansas, citizens will be denied the chance to make informed choices about what kind of dairy products to buy.”

Local retailers are also concerned about the effects of the labeling requirements. “We hope that Governor Sebelius will veto HB 2121 which could create a financial hardship for the state’s mid-sized and small dairy producers and retailers, and could raise barriers to interstate commerce,” said Devrin Forte, Store Manager at Topeka Natural Foods.

Kansas farms, consumer groups and businesses Catalpa Grove Gardens, Pretty Prairie, Community Mercantile Consumer Coop,Creek Four Mill, Iwig Family Dairy, Janzen Family Farms, Kansas City Food Circle, Kayala Emu Estates, Hesston, Larson Acres, Little Red Hen Bakery, Norm’s Flour, Sierra Club Kansas Chapter, Spring Creek Ranch, and Wichitaw Food Coop signed the letter to Governor Sebelius urging her to veto the bill, along with national groups AllergyKids, Breast Cancer Action, The Cornucopia Institute, Organic Consumers Association, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Food Safety, Center for Media and Democracy, Family Farm Defenders, Food and Water Watch, The Humane Society of the United States, Institute for Responsible Technology, National Family Farm Coalition, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Organic Farming Research Foundation, Sierra Club, and Stonyfield Farm, Inc.

Related link
A copy of the letter - add your own comments and send to Gov. Sebelius, directly. www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/010910.html

GOING GREEN! at JCCC - THURSDAY - 4/16/2009

Earth Day - GOING GREEN! 2009

Story by JCCC Student Environmental Alliance

JCCC Students Celebrate Earth Day

10:30am - 3pm CST - THURSDAY - 4/16/2009

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Johnson County Community College’s Student Environmental Alliance will celebrate Earth Day with Going Green 2009 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. CST, on Thursday, April 16, in the Commons Building Corner Lounge and Courtyard. The event is free and open to the public. Students will be promoting awareness of environmental issues, ideas and actions.

Participants include the JCCC’s Student Environmental Alliance, Kansas City Food Circle, Great Plains Clean Energy Alliance, Lakeside Nature Center, Johnson County Environmental Department (Solid Waste Management, Air Quality, and Household Waste), Sierra Club, Root Deep Urban Farm, Burroughs Audubon Society, Smart Car, Johnson County Transit, Ride Share/Mid-America Regional Council, JCCC’s bookstore, JCCC’s dining services sustainability subcommittee, Locally Grown JCCC Community Supported Agriculture, Heartland Habitat for Humanity, S.O.5 Initiative, JCCC’s interior design student association, Motor Heads Scoot and Cycle and Heartland Tree Alliance.

Guest speakers include John Schmidt from The Land Institute, Jill Crawford from Bridging the Gap, Jay Antle from JCCC’s sustainability committee, William Nana from S.O.5 Initiative and Mary English from the Climate Project.

Music will be performed by Glass Axe, Bobby Yarsulik and Adam Blackwood in the courtyard.

For more information, contact Lydia Blackwood, president, JCCC’s Student Environmental Alliance, at 785-393-2967.

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http://www.SEAJCCC.org/

OPENING DAY - BROOKSIDE COMMUNITY FARMERS' MARKET

Saturdays, 8:00-1:00 Starting April 11, 2009 at the Border Star Montessori School 63rd & Wornall Kansas City, MO

Mapquest Directions

Read our helpful hints on Freezing Vegetables to enjoy your fresh vegetable taste all year long.

The Farmers' Community Market at Brookside is Dedicated to Creating a Unique Partnership between the Community and Farmers that provides High Quality, Local and Organic Products in an atmosphere that is mutually beneficial, wholesome and fun. The Market also helps to support the Border Star PTA.

The Market is located in the Heart of Brookside where many Unique Shops and Restaurants are nearby to explore and spend a delightful Saturday afternoon.

The Market has a lively mix of Local and Certified Organic Farmers who provide Freshly-picked Vegetables, Fragrant Herbs, Juicy Sweet Fruit, Edible and Cut Flowers. Our Farmers use Sustainable and Humane practices to produce hormone and antibiotic-free Meat, Free-Range Eggs and Honey products.

TThe Market also features Organic Freshly-Prepared Artisan Food, including fresh hot Breakfast Burritos, and fresh hot fair-trade and locally roasted Coffee, Baked Goods including Pies, Assorted Breads, Cinnamon Rolls, Granola Cereals, Cookies, Brownies, Squares, including many Vegan varieties, Gluten-free and much more.

Organic Hand-Crafted Soap and Artists with unique handmade crafts complement our market.

here are weekly events at the market tent including live music, children's activities and cooking demonstrations by local chefs, which feature samples and seasonal recipes.

Tables and Chairs are here to Relax, enjoy some of our Tasty Breakfast Treats or Sit to Visit with your Friends.

Some Upcoming Special Events:

• Opening Day will be April 11
• Herb Festival is May 9
• Flower Festival June 27
• Tomato Festival is July 25
• Children's Festival is Aug. 15
• Fall Festival is Oct. 10
• Closing Day is Oct. 24

Thanks for your support of our market.

http://www.farmerscommunitymarket.com/

blue bird bistro - farmer's table - SATURDAY, April 25th

farmers' table Saturday, April 25th

start with aperitif and hors d'oeurves as you mingle and visit with Thane from Thane Palmberg Farm, DeSoto, Kansas be seated for five courses of all local culinary delight Thane Palmberg Farm spinach trio - mousse, spinach soup and flash fried spinach house-made cannelloni stuffed with house-made Campo Lindo Farms chicken sausage, house-made Green Hills Harvest ricotta and Organic Way Farm arugula warm Missouri Northern Pecan encrusted La Ferme du Bonheur goat cheese topped with Beau Solais Farm pea shoots tossed in house-made red wine vinegar Green Dirt Farm spring lamb stew nestled in a house-made bread bowl finish with Organic Way Farm blackberry roulade drizzled with Lisa's mint puree reservations 816-221-7559 5 course dinner - $45 vegetarian option - $45 wine pairing - $20 blue bird bistro

THANK YOU! The 2009 EXPOs exceeded our expectations!

Last week, the snow, ice and slush threatened to bring everything to a halt...

Yesterday, the weather smiled on us all day...

In both cases, 2009 EXPO attendance exceeded our expectations!

Thanks to everyone involved for making our 11th Annual Exhibition of Farmers a success! Eaters, growers, organizations and everyone - you make the effort worthwhile.

More photos will be posted up, soon... CLICK HERE for a slideshow of the Shawnee, KS EXPO on 3/28/2009

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Mark your calendars for the
Biennial KC Urban Farms & Gardens Tour
Tickets are available now
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Mission Statement: The Kansas City Food Circle is building a community food system in which farmers, eaters, chefs, and grocers know and trust each other. Our network enables us to share our knowledge and experience while we work together promoting the benefits of locally-grown organic and free-range foods. We cooperate in nourishing each other today while seeking to sustain the ability of future generations to nourish themselves through healthy farming practices.

BADSEED POTATO PARTY - First Friday in April (4/3/2009)

BADSEED POTATOPARTY

"Tenacious Tubers and Transplants
for Your Organic Garden"

Plus Live Music, Art, and Good Old Fashioned Fun!

This "First Friday", April 3rd, 4-9:30 PM

Life is full of surprises. Especially in the world of farming when you are at the mercy of NATURE, forced to give up human control, and except what life brings you (even when it means snow blizzards on March 28th)!!

BADSEED Farm would like to turn it's farming misfortune into your gardening success!!! Due to the loss of a portion of our growing area, we will be selling our beloved, gourmet POTATO SEED. Varieties will include:

Purple Peruvian

Purple Majesty

All Red

Austrian Crescent

French Fingerling

Desiree

Huckleberry

Rio Colorado

Yukon Gold

*Certified Naturally Grown

(Fingerlings $3.50/lb - Regular $2.50/lb)

POTATO PLANTING DEMO
by Farmer Brooke at 6:30 PM

Other goodies for the garden or kitchen window will include
Organic Transplants:

Delicious Medicinal & Culinary Herbs
and Flowers

See you Friday!

BADSEED

An Urban-Organic Farm & Market Celebrating Local Food, Culture, and Community

1909 McGee

Kansas City, MO

64108

www.badseedfarm.com

See also: KC Food Circle Events

NEXT? INDEPENDENCE!! -- The Shawnee EXPO was a success, SNOW or NO... Thanks to all who attended!!

Our Independence EXPO is on Saturday
9:15am-2pm, 4/4/2009
^^ CLICK FOR DETAILS ^^

Here's a SLIDESHOW of
our Shawnee, KS event
(3/28/2009 - Thanks, Emily!)

come to our
Eleventh Annual
Eat Local !
Exhibition of Farmers

BUY DIRECT from LOCAL FAMILY FARMERS

• High quality, organic veggies on-site & by CSA subscription
• Free range meat and eggs
• Organic Veggie seedlings and plants for your spring garden
• Free Directory of Local Producers
• Original music by Eco-Troubadour, Stan Slaughter

Saturday, April 4, 2009
9:15 am to 2:00 pm
Roger T. Sermon Community Center
Truman & Noland Rd., Independence, Missouri
(1 ½ miles west of US 291)

FREE Workshop starting at 9:30am:
“How to Buy Local - CSA’s and Organic Farmers Markets”

For more info call
KC Food Circle @ 913-334-0556
Free Admission -
www.KCFoodCircle.org
- Free Parking

SHOPPING FOR A CSA SUBSCRIPTION?
See www.KC-CSAC.org and read the following article.

http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/03/starting_the_local_food_journe.html

Starting the Local Food Journey

By John Moreau
March 29, 2009

Across the country, interest in eating locally produced food has grown sustainably over the past few years. I personally have been looking for ways to eat less processed industrial food and more natural, local foods. On Saturday I went out in the middle of a blizzard to the Eat Local Exhibition in Shawnee, Kansas. I went looking to take my step towards better eating and ended up taking a step towards quiet revolution. See the start of a my food revolution below the break.

I went to the Expo originally looking to join a CSA. For those who don't know, a CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. Members of a CSA buy a "share" in a farm. They either pay at the beginning of a growing season or on a regular basis. In return, members receive fresh produce, eggs, and/or meat regularly from the farm. What a CSA delivers depends on the season, the location of the farm, and the farmers. Some CSAs are for locally raised and butchered meat, some provide an option for eggs or farm fresh dairy, and some also include other products such as jams and bread. Another key distinction between CSAs is the point of delivery. Some CSAs have the subscribers drive to the farm to take delivery of their share for the week (or month, etc.) while some have a centralized pick-up location, often a parking lot in a shopping center. A few CSAs and organizations provide home delivery. With so many options, it can be hard to pick the right CSA.

For those who think that a CSA might too much for them, you may have already engaged in a farm to table transaction and not realized it. When you shop at a farmers' market or patronize a road side stand, you're eliminating all of corporate agriculture to buy directly from the producer. Just as when you handed your money to a farmer for produce at a market, a CSA directly benefits a farm in your area, bypassing corporations. A key difference is that with a CSA, for the most part, you can not control what produce is delivered. You receive what is in season and what is freshest. After generations of Americans buying whatever they want whenever they want at their local supermarket, the idea of eating only what is fresh and locally available may seem radical but is not the most radical idea in food today.

I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people at the event, many of whom I hope to profile in the coming weeks. None of them seemed radical or revolutionary, and yet that's what they were doing. Not the large families, promoting their farms, not the growers explaining to novices how to plant vegetables, and not the vendors with their wholesome wares would seem like radicals. Yet each of them was a food soldier in the revolution to take back food from corporate interests and return it to a relationship between the people who grow our food and us. They spoke of common themes, wanting a closer connection to their food, wanting to know that their food is safe and nutritious, wanting to do their part for the Earth. Among the most radical and the most innocuous of these were promoting a radically different model from American industrial agriculture. They were encouraging visitors to grow their own food.

For thousands of years, people have grown their own food, tended their own crops, and raised their own livestock. But in a few short generations, we have totally divorced our ourselves from the land which sustains us. According to one source who worked on it, the Kansas City, Missouri School District Economics curriculum was at one point going to call for students to take a field trip to a supermarket "to see where food comes from." When asked why they wouldn't instead go to a farm, an official indicated that for their children, food came from a supermarket, and that was that. Please consider that, teaching our children that food magically comes from a supermarket, and ignoring the millions of people and billions of dollars behind our foodstuffs. This sort of thinking is why local food and self-sufficiency is such a radical idea.

The Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture was in the middle of the room, with a large tower of plants, ready to be taken home and planted. No matter where you were in the room, you could not help but notice their plants, calling out to be taken home, to be nurtured, and whispering of harvests to come. I have always wanted to grow my own food. To raise a plant, nurture it, care for it, and see it grow into full bloom, ready to be taken to the table. I could not resist the chance to tend a piece of earth and have it yield the bounty of nature, just as my ancestors have for generations. Despite the blizzard outside, I bought three plants that day and brought them home. They sit now in my Kitchen, waiting to be planted, waiting for their chance. I have never considered myself to be radical, but I am now doing something very radical, growing my own food. I went to the expo looking for better produce, and came back with the seedlings of revolution.

Posted March 29, 2009 by John Moreau

Our 11th Annual Exhibition of Farmers - Kansas City Food Circle EAT LOCAL! Expo 2009 starts Saturday at 9am...

Snow or no... the EXPO is a GO for
Saturday 9am-2pm, 3/28/2009
possibly extending to 3pm
if weather allows.
For DAY-OF-EVENT at-site updates on
Shawnee, KS weather conditions and
road info at the Civic Centre,
call 913-620-8427 or 816-714-4376

CLICK HERE FOR EVENT DETAILS

Permanently Sustainable Culture...

Someone asked to have this article It’s Not Rocket Science: Land Productivity, Food Rights reduced to some seminal passage or extract. OK... here's my take on it.

Reading is fundamental for PERMACULTURE, too.
Permanently Sustainable Culture...

Here's the author's own synopsis:

"Hunger is not inevitable. Factory farming is not inevitable. Low-quality, tasteless, contaminated food is not inevitable. Repeated “food scares” are not inevitable. Soaring public health costs are not inevitable. Another and better food system is eminently possible — now, not ten years from now or after some promised, imaginary “scientific breakthrough”. It is possible right now, today — in our own backyard(s)."

"What are we waiting for?"

We are waiting for people to act locally. Action. Now. Feeding ourselves and/or working closely with those who feed us. Working on global food policy to prevent wholesale population poisoning by BIG AG & BIG OIL. Protecting farmland and recovering land which *can* be farmed, keeping small-scale growers closer to urban areas. The best scientific breakthrough we can foment is a community's epiphany - bringing into being a whole people's realization that age-old natural methodologies, balancing our agricultural inputs and outputs, *is* sustainable - a culture based on GROWTH, GROWTH, GROWTH is simply not sustainable.

And I'm off that soapbox...
... and onto another.

If you don't yet know how to ACT on it,
come to the Kansas City Food Circle's
EAT LOCAL! Expos (two Saturdays
in a row, 3/28 & 4/4, 2009)... and
learn all about it in 5 hours of hobnobbing with
folks who are doing it, have been doing it
for years (for all the right reasons), and
will keep doing it until we all "get" it.

Dave - WebMinion at Large

===

http://tinyurl.com/cwjzc9

headline:

It’s Not Rocket Science:
Land Productivity, Food Rights

18th March 2009, 08:59 pm by DeAnander

We’re all familiar with the myth: we learned it in school. It goes something like this:

Once Upon a Time, in the 1960’s, a crew of brilliant whitefellas in lab coats Saved the World by revolutionising farming and eliminating world hunger. Their new, advanced mechanical/chemical farming methods — vast areas of monocrop, heavy tractors, giant combines, tonnes of artificial pesticides and fertilisers — and their new, improved, superior hybridised crops increased yields tenfold and more. Without industrial farming, billions would starve, even though other billions would be re-sentenced to the short lives of brutal, backbreaking toil from which they were rescued by industrial/mechanised farming. Therefore, anyone who advocates organic or “sustainable” farming practise is some kind of heartless elitist who wants billions to starve and the rest to live as dawn-to-dusk field slaves — for this is what will happen if we do not continue and expand the highly successful [and highly profitable, for everyone except farmers and eaters] model of industrial/corporate farming. There is no other way to feed ourselves. If there are “external costs” of the industrial farming system, we will just have to accept them.

That’s what I was taught in school — and probably you were too, if the subject of agriculture was even mentioned during your school years...

(for the full article, click one of the links above, or go to:
The KC Food Circle Bulletin Board

LAST Winter Farmers Market @ 39th & Genessee - SATURDAY (today)

last date for the cold season
WINTER FARMERS MARKET
at
39th & Genessee
(KCMO)

Sorry about the mix up on the date (in our previous e-mail announcement). We will be at our spot at 39th Street Market from 11 am to 1 pm today. 3/21/2009

This is the last Saturday we will be doing this since next Saturday, March 28, is the Shawnee Farmers Expo then April 4 is the Expo at the Truman Center in Independence. All of this is listed on our web site.

Brookside Market starts on April 11 so we hope to see all your sunny faces there!

Alice will be here today and at the Shawnee expo.

Thanks for your winter time support.

See you soon.

Kim

Steve & Kim Wells

Wells Family Farms

4009 State Hwy UU

King City, MO 64463

660-783-2930/660-562-7892
info( @) wellsfamilyfarms.com

Go to:
>> www.KCFoodCircle.org <<
for info about our
KC Food Circle's 11th Annual
Exhibition of Farmers
The 2009 EAT LOCAL! Expo
Featured Organic
Farmers Markets
Restaurant Listings,
CSA Listings
and much, MUCH MORE!

Michael Pollan - In Defense of Food - Book Event

http://rainydaybooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=409126

RAINY DAY BOOKS... Store Event - May 20, 7:00 p.m.
	Time: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 7:00 p.m. Location: Unity Temple on The Plaza, Sanctuary, 707 W 47th Street, Kansas City, MO 64112 Phone: 913-384-3126 Title of Event: Michael Pollan for In Defense of Food Author:� Michael Pollan, Author of the Bestselling Book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.� Michael Pollan is a Contributing Editor at Harper's magazine, where he served for many years as Executive Editor, and a Contributing Editor and Writer for The New York Times Magazine.� He has written two Award-Winning Books, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education and A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder.� His essays and articles have appeared in numerous periodicals, and he lectures widely on environmentalism, gardening, and nature.� He lives in Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut, with his wife and son. Title:� In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, $15.00 Softcover, ISBN 9780143114963, On Sale Date:� April 01, 2009 What:� Michael Pollan will talk about his New Book, his life, his work, answer audience questions and he will autograph copies of his New Book purchased from Rainy Day Books, on our website and / or at our Author Event, that are accompanied by a Stamped Ticket. When:� Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 7:00 PM Where:� A Rainy Day Books and Powell Gardens Author Event at Unity Temple on The Plaza, Sanctuary, 707 W 47th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64112 Admission Package (Click on the ADD TO SHOPPING CART button):� $15.00 plus Tax, includes from Rainy Day Books, One (1) Stamped Ticket, One (1) Guest Ticket (if needed) and One (1) Copy of In Defense of Food (Softcover) to be Autographed after the Author Presentation.� Please specify your need for One (1) Stamped Ticket and One (1) Guest Ticket (if needed) in the Notes field of your Online Order.� If you choose Option 1 for In-Store Pick-Up, then you can specify At-Event Pick-Up in the Notes field of your Online Order.� Thank you.� Book Orders can be shipped worldwide.� All Author Event Book Sales are Final and Non-Returnable. Powell Gardens, Kansas City's Botanical Garden, is Celebrating the Opening of the Heartland Harvest Garden.� What began as a simple plan to bring back a vegetable garden well-loved by visitors in the early days of Powell Gardens has evolved into the nation�s largest edible landscape; a place to reconnect with where food comes from and to celebrate the pleasures of eating well. Set on 12 acres, the Heartland Harvest Garden illustrates in spectacular style the journey of food from seed to plate.� Beginning with the Seed to Plate greenhouse and ending with a taste of fresh-picked produce, visitors will use all five senses to explore the origins of both everyday and unusual foods.� Education programs and an area dedicated to hands-on school programs will help teach our next generation to make wise and deliberate choices about their foods and how they are produced. In late spring of 2009, Powell Gardens will introduce the Heartland Harvest Garden to the public by bringing together thought leaders interested in revolutionizing how people think about food and hosting a festival that celebrates the flavors of local food and wine.� For more detailed information about the Heartland Harvest Garden visit www.PowellsGardens.org

---

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Pollan, Michael Format: Trade Paperback Price: $15.00 Published: Penguin Books, 2009 Inventory Status: Coming Soon -- Available for Pre-Order Now See all editions of this title. Admission Package (Click on the ADD TO SHOPPING CART button): $15.00 plus Tax, includes from Rainy Day Books, One (1) Stamped Ticket, One (1) Guest Ticket (if needed) and One (1) Copy of In Defense of Food (Softcover) to be Autographed after the Author Presentation. Please specify your need for One (1) Stamped Ticket and One (1) Guest Ticket (if needed) in the Notes field of your Online Order. If you choose Option 1 for In-Store Pick-Up, then you can specify At-Event Pick-Up in the Notes field of your Online Order. Thank you. Book Orders can be shipped worldwide. All Author Event Book Sales are Final and Non-Returnable. What to eat, what not to eat, and how to think about health: a manifesto for our times "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food," the well-considered answers he provides to the questions posed in the bestselling "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Humans used to know how to eat well, Pollan argues. But the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused, complicated, and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists-all of whom have much to gain from our dietary confusion. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." These "edible foodlike substances" are often packaged with labels bearing health claims that are typically false or misleading. Indeed, real food is fast disappearing from the marketplace, to be replaced by "nutrients," and plain old eating by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. Michael Pollan's sensible and decidedly counterintuitive advice is: "Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food." Writing "In Defense of Food," and affirming the joy of eating, Pollan suggests that if we would pay more for better, well-grown food, but buy less of it, we'll benefit ourselves, our communities, and the environment at large. Taking a clear-eyed look at what science does and does not know about the links between diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about the question of what to eat that is informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the prevailing nutrient-by-nutrient approach. "In Defense of Food" reminds us that, despite the daunting dietary landscape Americans confront in the modern supermarket, the solutions to the current omnivore's dilemma can be found all around us. In looking toward traditional diets the world over, as well as the foods our families-and regions-historically enjoyed, we can recover a more balanced, reasonable, and pleasurable approach to food. Michael Pollan's bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we might start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives and enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy.

WINTER FARMERS MARKET - 39th & Genessee - SATURDAY

WINTER FARMERS' MARKET
at
39th Street Community Farmers Market

Hi everyone, we will be on hand for market sales on Saturday the 14th.

Alice will be there with all her usual goodies and also limited greens. mmmm fresh greens!

We have an excellent variety of cuts, so hope to see you all.

Kim

Steve & Kim Wells

Wells Family Farms

4009 State Hwy UU

King City, MO 64463

660-783-2930/660-562-7892

info (@) wellsfamilyfarms.com

www.WellsFamilyFarms.com

www.39thStreetMarket.com

>> Other featured Organic Farmers Markets <<

re-posted, courtesy of www.KCFoodCircle.org

FARMER'S TABLE @ blue bird bistro - SATURDAY

farmers' table
Saturday, March 7th
blue bird bistro

start with aperitif and hors d’oeurves as you mingle and
visit with Jeff and Marge Adair from

New Grass Bison, DeSoto, Kansas

be seated for five courses of all local culinary delight

house made calzone
stuffed with Good Shepherds Turkey Ranch turkey,
Morningland Dairy white cheddar cheese
and Organic Way Farm tomatoes

warm Rains Farm tamworth bacon dressing
tossed with Platte Prairie Trading Farm spinach
and spaghetti squash

Good Nature Family Farm cream
and Platte Prairie Trading Farm's
sweet potato panna cotta

New Grass Bison strip steak roulade
filled with Organic Way Farm fox grapes
and La Ferme du Bonheur goat cheese

finish with Sante Fe Trails honey cake
served with Bob’s blueberry ice

reservations from 6p m to 9pm
816-221-7559

5 course dinner - $45
vegetarian option - $45
wine pairing - $20

see full Farmers' Table details at
http://groups.google.com/group/KCFC-Bulletin-Board/web/farmers-table-at-blue-bird-bistro

WINTER FARMERS MARKET - SATURDAY

WINTER FARMERS' MARKET
at
39th Street Community Farmers Market

Hi everyone, Alice and Marvin and myself will be there on Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm at the 39th and Genessee spot. This is in the parking lot of the twisted Sister Gift shop.

We will all have a great selection available.

Thanks

Kim

Steve & Kim Wells

Wells Family Farms

4009 State Hwy UU

King City, MO 64463

660-783-2930/660-562-7892

info (@) wellsfamilyfarms.com

www.WellsFamilyFarms.com

www.39thStreetMarket.com

re-posted, courtesy of www.KCFoodCircle.org

WORKSHOP 3/6 - Growing Berries in Your Garden

What

Growing Berries in Your Garden

When

2009-03-06 12pm – 1:30pm

20090306T120000/20090306T133000

Where

map

KCCG, 6917 Kensington Kansas City, MO

Growing Berries in Your Garden
Berry bushes fit easily into the backyard landscape and are easier to grow than tree fruits. Learn how to select, plant and grow berry bushes. Presented by Ben Sharda, KCCG Executive Director

All KCCG workshops are held at Kansas City Community Gardens.
6917 Kensington
Kansas City, MO 64132
Please call for reservations.
(816) 931-3877 or contact @ kccg. org

Robert F. Kennedy Symposium - Sponsored by UMKC - March 9 thru 12, 2009

Robert F. Kennedy Symposium

The New American Dream:
Environmental Sustainability and American Progress

March 9 - 12, 40th anniversary - 2009
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Keynote speaker

Wednesday, March 11
Our Environmental Destiny
7-9 p.m.
UMKC’s Royall Hall, room 111, Stack Auditorium, 800 E. 52nd St.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmentalist and activist, was named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet” for his success in helping to restore the polluted Hudson River in 1984. Kennedy serves as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and president of Waterkeeper Alliance.

Additional panel discussions:

Diversity in Today’s American Dream
6-8 p.m. Monday, March 9
UMKC’s University Center, Alumni Room, 5000 Holmes St.
Local activists and UMKC professors will address the future of minority and disadvantaged groups future and solutions in The New American Dream.

Conflicts and Solutions in Community Progress
6-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 10
UMKC’s University Center, room 106, 5000 Holmes St.
Community leaders, including Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser, local journalists and UMKC professors will address community issues and future progress.

Some Leaders are Born Women
Sarah Weddington, Roe v. Wade
7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 12
UMKC’s University Center, Room 106, 5000 Holmes St.
Sarah Weddington is nationally known for her work on issues affecting women. In 1973, she argued the winning side of Roe v. Wade.


All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.umkc.edu/sga or call 816-235-1426.

UMKC’s RFK Symposium was designed to honor Robert F. Kennedy, his accomplishments and vision for America. Since 1969, the symposium has connected the University and community with weeklong discussions focusing on current social and economic issues.