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Greetings PSFN Members and Friends,
Summer's gone but fall is a beautiful season when gray skies provide a backdrop to vividly decorated tress adorned with rust and golden leaves. Markets are preparing for the holiday rush and farmers are multitasking - tending markets and preparing their land and animals for winter. We are a growing community of neighbors who value good food and the people who produce it. We are so thankful for the opportunity to work with our members, community partners and friends since PSFN launched two years ago. Together we've come a long way in a short time but our work isn't over yet. We're just getting started. Before we leave summer behind, I'd like to reflect on what we've accomplished together. Signs in 2010 led us to believe that institutional marketing opportunities - for all scales of farming - would continue to expand... and they have. In 2011, PSFN has helped several producer members tap into these emerging markets through two contracts with the City of Seattle/King County, namely our CPPW Farm to Table partnership led by Aging and Disability Services, and the Summer Feeding/Produce Bag Program. This summer we hosted two five-week Seattle and Skagit Wholesale Markets, and helped open the door to new business relationships among our growing network of new and returning members, with grocery retailers, restaurants, hospitals, school districts and small institutional meal sites leading the way. We love to hear good news stories about new sales or collaborative partnerships as a result of PSFN's weekly Live Market fresh sheet and we'd love to hear your stories, too. In a few days, we will be sending out a survey to PSFN's buyers and sellers, to give you an opportunity to offer feedback and share your stories. Please help us improve our services and document our successes by completing this survey when it arrives in your inbox shortly. We're excited to welcome back our returning AmeriCorps team member, Emma Brewster. For the next ten months, Emma is responsible for PSFN communications and outreach, including the editing and distribution our quarterly newsletter, weekly Live Market fresh sheet, press releases and presentations, coordinating and contributing to blog posts and social networking sites. Emma is also a Real Food Challenge Northwest Field Coordinator. Speaking of emerging institutional markets for producers, read below to learn more about this inspiring student-led initiative to bring real food back to university campuses. We believe PSFN's connection to Real Food Challenge here in Western Washington will open more doors for local producers of all scales. It is bittersweet to announce that PSFN's Operations Manager, Ann Leason, will be leaving us come January to pursue her dream of more full-time farming and to finish her studies. We are so excited for Ann, and she will of course be missed. Please join us in congratulating Ann on a job well done and wishing her well for the future. We're eager to share more about what we've been up to this quarter, below. Enjoy your newsletter and please keep in touch. 
Lucy Norris, Project Manager of The Puget Sound Food Network. For more information, visit our staff bios at http://www.psfn.org/staff
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Since July, PSFN has been partnering with The Real Food Challenge, a student and youth-based national program of The Food Project which challenges colleges and universities to shift 20% (1 Billion, across the nation) of their food budgets towards Real Food. Real Food is food that which truly nourishes producers, consumers, communities and the earth. It is a food system - from seed to plate - that fundamentally respects human dignity and health, animal welfare, social justice and environmental sustainability.
PSFN's Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Emma Brewster, is currently working with campuses all over Washington to develop strong student leaders who will work with their college or university dining services to help increase the purchase of Real Food on their campuses. Emma mentors and trains students on how to work with campus commercial dining services, how to concretely assess the impact of food purchases through budgetary analysis, and how to successfully source Real Food from local Washington producers.
While PSFN's mission focuses on increasing the production, distribution and consumption of regionally produced food in NW Washington, specifically, PSFN sees this partnership with the Real Food Challenge as an opportunity to build on our foundation of working with institutional and larger commercial buyers to connect producers with additional viable institutional customers in our region. Additionally, the Real Food Challenge has a broader aim of helping to tackle rising obesity rates in the U.S. by both changing the food served in dining halls on campuses, and by using the purchasing shift and regional infrastructure development inherent to local and alternative sourcing to support the regional distribution of, and market for, fresh, healthful, locally-produced products to all communities. This commitment partners well with the work PSFN have been doing with Public Health - Seattle & King County through the Farm to Table project under the Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant program. Because of its innovative approach to public health solutions, The Real Food Challenge was recently nominated for a Vh1 Do Something award. Check out this video from the awards ceremony to see the role Real Food Challenge plays in public heath enhancement in our communities.
Read more about recent Real Food action taking place at University of Washington, Gonzaga University, and Whitman College, among others. New and strong student groups are expected to crop up at Western Washington University and the University of Puget Sound.
Stay in touch with PSFN's partnership with the Real Food Challenge by following Real Food Challenge Northwest's Facebook page
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CPPW Farm to Table Update
It has been just over a year since PSFN kicked off our Farm to Table Project under the Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant program with the City of Seattle and King County. We've seen it through from autumn to autumn and have exciting things to report!
In one year: - 100+ orders placed by low-income meal programs for seniors and children
- 20 sustaining farm-to-meal program relationships created
- 50+ total meal sites participating from original goal of 3
- 3 additional pilot programs
- Thousands of meals featuring local fresh fruits and vegetables served to lower income community members
City partnerships created through the Farm to Table Project led to an exciting opportunity for one PSFN member this summer to sell 8,000 bags worth of produce to Seattle Human Services Department's Summer Feeding Program to supplement meals distributed to children qualifying for free or reduced-price school lunches during the summer months when school is not in session.
While PSFN's Farm to Table Coordinator, Karen Mauden, was instrumental in forging purchasing relationships and managing F2T orders and sales, most meal sites have established sustaining positive relationships with their partner farms and are now ordering directly from the producers. We're seeing the project begin to thrive on its own without as much hands-on PSFN guidance - our goal from the get go!
PSFN is not finished, though! We have aided in several spin-offs of the project, including two pilot projects connecting reduced-price and customized "Kid-Care" CSA boxes to home-based family child care providers, and have just begun a formal expansion and extension of the Farm to Table project, in which 24 child care sites across Seattle are now able to choose from and mix and match commercial wholesale fruit and vegetable purchases with a customized CSA box delivered directly to the door of their business. Some child care sites have chosen to serve as community pick-up points for CSA boxes in exchange for a discount on the center's own box. This means that now some happy parents can pick up fresh groceries for their homes at the same time they retreive their child from daycare. How convenient is that?!? This community pick-up point model has enabled some local CSA programs to reach new customers in previously underserved parts of the city.
PSFN is ecsatic to continue working on this exciting project with our wonderful project partners. This past year has given us enourmous insight into the unique needs of individual senior meal programs, preschools, and child care programs when it comes to food service, and has helped us hone our farm-to-instution skills and services. The Farm to Table Project is constantly evolving and we can't wait to see what comes next!
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2011 Wholesale Markets Spark Success!
PSFN was proud to continue hosting the Skagit and Seattle wholesale markets for our second year. You can read about the Skagit Wholesale Market and the Seattle Wholesale Market and their press coverage at our website. Many people have asked us to provide additional details regarding sales and connections. Here are a few success stories:- As a direct result of his participation in the Skagit Wholesale Market, Executive Chef Chris Johnson of United General Hospital in Sedro-Woolley won 2nd place in the nation at the Healthy Food in Health Care National Awards, 4th Annual FoodMed conference in Seattle, primarily because of his sustainable food procurement model. United General Hospital signed the Healthy Food Pledge in 2010 and ever since Chef Johnson has quickly become the local hero of the Skagit Wholesale Market for his regular direct purchases of produce, dairy, and sustainably-raised meats. His fairly priced "Farm Fresh Fridays" lunch menu proved so popular that people within the community (who were not patients, visitors, or staff) began frequenting the hospital cafeteria on Friday afternoons. Now months after the Skagit Wholesale Market closed, Chef Johnson has continued buying weekly orders from the same local producers he met while shopping the Skagit Wholesale Market.
- 3 Sisters Cattle Co. met Seattle Public Schools nutrition services at the Seattle Wholesale Market in July. Seattle Public Schools placed their first order of 8000 servings of grass-fed beef franks which were served in Seattle elementary school lunches on Taste Washington Day on September 28. PSFN met with 3 Sisters at our Member Training Session this spring to learn more about the larger markets they wanted to target, and then we introduced buyers from the school district to 3 Sisters at our Seattle Wholesale Market this summer. Seattle Public Schools has since placed a second order of beef franks which were served in school lunches on November 4th. Read more about this relationship on on our blog.
- LinkLab Artisan Meats, LLC met Heritage Lane Farm at the Seattle Wholesale Market in August. Since then LinkLink lab has been purchasing heritage breed pork for handmade sausages that are carried by Full Circle and United General Hospital.
- The Seattle Wholesale Market site was utilized as an order aggregation hub for our CPPW Farm to Table partner meal-sites including Central Area Senior Services, Chicken Soup Brigade/Lifelong Aids Alliance, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and multiple Seattle area daycare centers. Delivery fees were waived for those who picked up orders at the market site.
- Our Seattle Wholesale Market host, Mt Zion Baptist Church, received weekly food donations as in-kind payment for using their parking on Wednesday mornings. Farm fresh food donations fed children in Mt Zion's preschool program as well as in congregate meals.
While we are very proud of the sales and connections made as a result of the 2010 and 2011 wholesale markets, the "parking lot/tail-gate" concept will be revised before opening again for the 2012 season. A true collaboration with partners Skagit Food Coop and then Whole Foods Market followed by Mt Zion Baptist Church, the wholesale markets were inspired to "Start small but start something" -- to come up with new ways to help producers increase sales to commercial and institutional buyers and help them diversify their customer base. Vendors and buyers agree that it's time to evolve the idea, and we look forward to working with them and redesign a more relevant concept for users next year and in future years. Stay tuned! |
PSFN Member Highlight: Rosy Smit, 21 Acres Farm
Rosy Smit is the manager of 21 Acres Farm, a (you guessed it!) 21-acre diversified vegetable farm and education center in Woodinville, WA and has been a PSFN member for nearly two years. An exciting new retail co-op facility (complete with rent-able commercial kitchens, natural root cellar, and community office space!) is in the last stages of construction on the property, and will be up and running soon! PSFN's Lucy Norris and Emma Brewster sat down with Rosy a couple weeks back to find out more about Rosy and all the exciting things happening at 21 Acres this season.
Read our full interview with Rosy and check out pictures of the new retail facility on our blog
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Staff Updates: AmeriCorps change-ups and NABC says goodbye to a PSFN originalIn August, PSFN bid farewell to AmeriCorps Member, Ellen Manderfield, who served as PSFN's Farm to Market Coordinator for the 2010-2011 term of service. Ellen has relocated to Vancouver, WA, and has accepted another position through the Washington State Service Corps working for the Clark County Department of Environmental Services serving as both a Growing Green Volunteer Coordinator and an Invasive Plant Technician. Ellen is putting her background in Environmental Sciences and invasive plant management to work monitoring wetlands, mapping invasive plant infestations, designing wetlands for 5 Clark County mitigation sites, recruiting volunteers, and planting 60 acres of trees by the end of her term of service. Good luck, Ellen!PSFN is pleased to announce the return of Emma Brewster for a second AmeriCorps term. Emma has been serving as PSFN's Farm to Community Coordinator, focusing primarily on the CPPW Farm to Table Project with Seattle and King County. Now that the F2T project is half finished and there's less foundational work to be done with meal partners, Emma is transitioning roles within PSFN as she begins a second AmeriCorps term of service. As PSFN's Communications & Outreach Coordinator, Emma will lead PSFN's external communications including PSFN's weekly Live Market Fresh Sheet, newsletters, PSFN's blog, and social media outlets including Facebook and Twitter. Emma will help coordinate press and media relations and manage publicity about PSFN and NABC. If you are a PSFN member with an event to promote or have other news or resources to share, send them Emma's way! Within her duties of Communications & Outreach Coordinator, Emma will also be serving as a Regional Field Organizer with The Real Food Challenge. Emma will be working with campuses all over Washington to develop strong student leaders who will work with their college or university dining services to help increase the purchase of Real Food. It is with mixed emotion that we announce that PSFN's Operations Manager, Ann Leason, will be leaving us come January to pursue her dream of more full-time farming and to finish her studies. Ann has been with PSFN since its very beginnings, and has been integral to the development of The Network. We are so excited for Ann, but she will of course be missed. Luckily, Ann's homestead and soon-to-be working farm business is just down the road in Mount Vernon, and we look forward to continued work with her- now as a farming member of our community. Please join us in congratulating Ann on a job well done and wishing her well for the future.
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Upcoming Workshops and Classes
"You Need a Plan" Transitioning to Value Added: Business Plan Development December 8, 2011 9:00 am - 4:00 pm NABC's expert staff and partners will present, "You Need A Plan." This class will provide an overview on how to conduct a structured strategic planning process and then get into the nitty-gritty work of helping you to prepare an enterprise budget for your business venture.
Sat. December 10th, 2011; 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
WSU Northwest Research and Extension Center 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon, WA 98273
This one day class offers the basics of tree fruit production with emphasis on cider and dessert apple varieties. Expert orchardist Gary Moulton will discuss topics on rootstock, nutrient management, pest management, irrigation, orchard layout planting, pruning, and harvest techniques. The class coincides with Cider Production: Principles & Practices but is open to anyone interested in learning about the essentials of orchard management. The format of the class will be a lecture and discussion followed by an optional tour of nearby Red Barn Cider and orchard.
December 12-16, 2011 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM daily WSU Northwest Research and Extension Center 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 NABC in cooperation with WSU Northwest Research and Extension Center is bringing internationally recognized cider production expert Peter Mitchell to lead an intensive weeklong class in cider and perry production. Mitchell will cover technical industry foundations such as the cider market, business opportunity, orcharding, production methods and management, and quality control. The class will provide practical processing and laboratory work along with lectures. The week will also be filled with cider making workshops and a field-trip visit to a commercial cider house. The format and content of the class is suitable for beginners, new businesses and existing producers (large & small-scale) alike. Option of earning a Certificate in Cider and Perry Appreciation by the National Association of Cider Makers.
This course consists of a series of comprehensive classes that can provide you with the tools and know-how necessary to develop and launch a new value-added product into the market place. Cost of complete course: $299 Classes offered and individual fees
- You Need A Plan (Business Planning): $95; $85 with PSFN Member discount
- Now We're Adding Value (Product Development): $129; $119 with PSFN Member discount
- Fueling An Enterprise (Accessing Capital): $95; $85 with PSFN Member discount
- Ready, Set, Go (Business Plan Wrap Up ad Closing the Sale): For those who purchase the complete course
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Show Your PSFN Membership with a
2011 Member Badge
Show your customers that you participate in the local food economy through the Puget Sound Food Network. We are local™. The Puget Sound Food Network is proud to honor our members who truly exemplify the mission of PSFN and contribute to the quality and sustainability of the food we eat in Western Washington. To contact us with questions or to request a PDF copy of the 2011 PSFN Member Logo email us at info@psfn.org or copy and paste the following html code to use on your website: <a href="http://www.psfn.org" same window><img src="http://psfn.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/MemberBadge2011v3.jpg"></a> |
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Find PSFN at Upcoming Events
DEC. 8
Olympic Peninsula Farm-to-Table Trade Meeting
Register by Dec. 1.
Have an Event?
Send us your news and events (farm days, special dinners, press releases) to info@psfn.org and we'll share it with our membership.
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Welcome New PSFN Members
Kansha Natural Foods
Hendrickson Farms
Pacifica Organic Canola Oil
Welcome Back Renewing Members
The Edison
Laughing Stalk Farm
Ebey Road Farm
Merrit Apples
Perkins Variety Apples
Thank you! We appreciate your continued support!
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Advertise/Sponsor PSFN
Notice the ad above? PSFN offers the unique opportunity to advertise your business or products directly to a growing network of producers, buyers and distributors.
Check out our
Advertising Program
and/or
Sponsorship Program
to learn how you can reach the right audience and support your network.
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