Know Your Farmer Event.
Showing posts with label Washington D.C.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington D.C.. Show all posts
4/13/12
3/9/12
Handpicked Nation Review
ENTIRE ARTICLE
A Government Tweet UP
3/6/12
Transparency is the name of the game for the USDA this year.
Do you know your farmer? Well, you should.
This is the message the USDA is sending out, backed by a campaign called “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food." Their most recent addition, a virtual compass for U.S. citizens to locate their closest USDA-supported farmers, intends to make eating local easier.
A week after its debut, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan led a discussion via live webcast at the White House, taking questions from audience members, as well as Tweeters, about the purpose of the compass, and how to make use of this new, jazzy tool. Even celebrity musician Jason Mraz piped in, tweeting “I’m stoked about USDA’s commitment to local food. What can I do to help?”
Highlighting the 4,500 hoop houses they funded to extend farmers' growing seasons, as well as numerous grants they’ve awarded nationally, the USDA hopes to emphasize their support for the growing movement towards local food, and their dedication to small farm America.
“Local is evolutionary… some places can do more because they have infrastructure. Some places, it’s not happening yet,” said Merrigan.
Why does local matter?
“Keeping farming in business is really important to our environment,” she expressed, also attributing it to the creation of jobs and the importance of healthy food knowledge and access.
Yet perhaps the youngest in the audience said it best. “It’s pretty delicious,” claimed 15 year-old Orren Fox, beekeeper, chicken farmer and creator of Happy Chickens. He went on to discuss his own success and how he created a farm club at his school to encourage others to follow suit. The Twitterverse roared with “Go Orren!” as they heard his story, and cheered a young face many hope exemplifies the future.
White House chef, Sam Kass, joined in praising Orren, adding “I joke with the Secret Service that the next thing that’s coming is some chickens down there.” His work with Michelle Obama on the “Let’s Move” campaign to combat child obesity, as well as daily use of the White House’s own edible garden (via Alice Waters) earned him a seat at the table, and he took the time to congratulate their victories. “This is happening all over the country…it’s great.”
Do you know your farmer? Well, you should.
This is the message the USDA is sending out, backed by a campaign called “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food." Their most recent addition, a virtual compass for U.S. citizens to locate their closest USDA-supported farmers, intends to make eating local easier.
A week after its debut, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan led a discussion via live webcast at the White House, taking questions from audience members, as well as Tweeters, about the purpose of the compass, and how to make use of this new, jazzy tool. Even celebrity musician Jason Mraz piped in, tweeting “I’m stoked about USDA’s commitment to local food. What can I do to help?”
Highlighting the 4,500 hoop houses they funded to extend farmers' growing seasons, as well as numerous grants they’ve awarded nationally, the USDA hopes to emphasize their support for the growing movement towards local food, and their dedication to small farm America.
“Local is evolutionary… some places can do more because they have infrastructure. Some places, it’s not happening yet,” said Merrigan.
Why does local matter?
“Keeping farming in business is really important to our environment,” she expressed, also attributing it to the creation of jobs and the importance of healthy food knowledge and access.
Yet perhaps the youngest in the audience said it best. “It’s pretty delicious,” claimed 15 year-old Orren Fox, beekeeper, chicken farmer and creator of Happy Chickens. He went on to discuss his own success and how he created a farm club at his school to encourage others to follow suit. The Twitterverse roared with “Go Orren!” as they heard his story, and cheered a young face many hope exemplifies the future.
White House chef, Sam Kass, joined in praising Orren, adding “I joke with the Secret Service that the next thing that’s coming is some chickens down there.” His work with Michelle Obama on the “Let’s Move” campaign to combat child obesity, as well as daily use of the White House’s own edible garden (via Alice Waters) earned him a seat at the table, and he took the time to congratulate their victories. “This is happening all over the country…it’s great.”
It seems the government’s focus on local has been widely applauded, and their new tool is meant to be a valuable resource for farmers. Yet even though Merrigan labels the new compass a “hallmark of transparency," others worry it’s distracting from the big issues of Big Ag. To quote @GrowOrganicCorn:
”White House is jazzed about all the #farm tweets today. Let’s do this for #GMO issues too?”
The big question: will they dare?
To watch the tweet-up from the White House, check it out on You Tube here.
”White House is jazzed about all the #farm tweets today. Let’s do this for #GMO issues too?”
The big question: will they dare?
To watch the tweet-up from the White House, check it out on You Tube here.
3/7/12
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food at White House
Scroll to 53:00 to see the WH "Honey Challenge" with @BeeHappy
_________________________
Photos from the event here
_________________________
Photos from the event here
3/6/12
Thank you for inviting me to #KYF2
PHOTOS from @USDA here
SEE entire broadcast - see where Sam Kass challenges me to a Honey Taste Test.
SEE entire broadcast - see where Sam Kass challenges me to a Honey Taste Test.
Deputy Seretary Kathleen Merrigan
White House Chef Sam Kass
We are having a "Honey Challenge" (WHHoney vs BeeHappy)
My great friend Daniel from @SNAPgardens
(thank you for taking these pictures)
White House Chef Sam Kass
We are having a "Honey Challenge" (WHHoney vs BeeHappy)
My great friend Daniel from @SNAPgardens
(thank you for taking these pictures)
3/3/12
#KYF2 Know Your Farmer Event at White House
I am lucky to have been invited to The White House (3/5/12) to discuss KYF (Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food). Follow #KYF2 on twitter to be updated. I sure hope I get to see the WHBees
Feel free to email me if you have questions you'd like me to ask.
"KYF is about creating a national conversation about food, where it comes from and the connections from our country’s farms to our kitchen tables."
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass
The KYF Compass is a digital guide to USDA resources related to local and regional food systems. The Compass consists of an interactive U.S. map showing local and regional food projects and an accompanying narrative documenting the results of this work through case studies, photos and video content.
Feel free to email me if you have questions you'd like me to ask.
"KYF is about creating a national conversation about food, where it comes from and the connections from our country’s farms to our kitchen tables."
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass
The KYF Compass is a digital guide to USDA resources related to local and regional food systems. The Compass consists of an interactive U.S. map showing local and regional food projects and an accompanying narrative documenting the results of this work through case studies, photos and video content.
3/21/10
Washington DC Residents Lobby to Raise Chickens on Capitol Hill
Concerns over industrialized food system prompt supporters of locally-raised poultry
Washington, D.C., home to presidents, senators, ambassadors, and — if some residents have their way — urban chicken farmers.
These poultry pioneers are part of a growing movement of Americans who are promoting local production as an alternative to the country's industrialized food system.
But not everyone in Washington thinks chickens will make good neighbors.
These poultry pioneers are part of a growing movement of Americans who are promoting local production as an alternative to the country's industrialized food system.
But not everyone in Washington thinks chickens will make good neighbors.
Chickens on Capitol Hill
Amanda Cundiff raises three Rhode Island Red hens behind her modest yellow townhouse just a few kilometers from the U.S. Capitol.
While backyard poultry are a common sight in the developing world, they're hardly ever seen in America, where most chickens are raised on large commercial farms.
Amanda Cundiff raises three Rhode Island Red hens behind her modest yellow townhouse just a few kilometers from the U.S. Capitol.
While backyard poultry are a common sight in the developing world, they're hardly ever seen in America, where most chickens are raised on large commercial farms.
12/23/09
12/3/09
The White House Hoop House - from Civil Eats
"This winter, the First Lady can take it one step further. Eating from the garden doesn’t only have to be limited to March-October. Michelle Obama is in a perfect position to show us that local food is possible outside of the summer months, no matter where you live. She can bring the country’s attention to the creative ways that people like Eliot Coleman and Will Allen manage to grow food in all four seasons."
Originally published at Slow Food USA
11/10/09
The Whofarm.org - AWESOME
"TheWhoFarmMobile is two school buses fused together with an organic edible garden on the roof. It was originally designed by Stefan Sagmeister and Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s, built by Tom Kennedy, and named Topsy Turvy. TheWhoFarm acquired the bus, ripped off the roof and planted an organic edible garden. TheWhoFarmMobile traveled across the big country to visit schools, farms, food pantries, farmers’ markets, and festivals in 25 states and the District of Columbia in an effort to inform the nation of TheWhoFarm and our petition."
11/5/09
The First BeeKeeper -- AWESOME
November 4, 2009, 3:49 pm
A Bountiful Buzz
By Elisabeth Goodridge
A new type of visitor came to the National Mall this year, flitting past monuments and museums in favor of trees, flowers and plants. But this wasn’t just some horticultural tour; no, this was work. Each day they were abuzz, gathering and pollinating before returning home to modest quarters with tremendous security near Lafayette Park.
Meet the White House honeybee.
Numbering more than 65,000 at one point, the bees produced a bumper crop of honey this year, the first time honey has ever been made on White House grounds. The hive, located on the South Lawn, is a key part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s organic kitchen garden project.
The total haul was 134 pounds of honey, or roughly 11 gallons. Charlie Brandts, the White House beekeeper, couldn’t be more pleased. “I figured they would make 30 or so pounds of honey,” he said. “They surprised me.”
MORE HERE
A Bountiful Buzz
By Elisabeth Goodridge
A new type of visitor came to the National Mall this year, flitting past monuments and museums in favor of trees, flowers and plants. But this wasn’t just some horticultural tour; no, this was work. Each day they were abuzz, gathering and pollinating before returning home to modest quarters with tremendous security near Lafayette Park.
Meet the White House honeybee.
Numbering more than 65,000 at one point, the bees produced a bumper crop of honey this year, the first time honey has ever been made on White House grounds. The hive, located on the South Lawn, is a key part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s organic kitchen garden project.
The total haul was 134 pounds of honey, or roughly 11 gallons. Charlie Brandts, the White House beekeeper, couldn’t be more pleased. “I figured they would make 30 or so pounds of honey,” he said. “They surprised me.”
MORE HERE
10/22/09
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