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Renewing the Countryside Newsletter
October 2005
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In This Issue
-- This Month's Featured Stories
-- RTC News Flash
-- Resource Pick: Community Food Security Coalition
-- Partner Picks of the Month: Cornell University's Community, Food, and Agriculture Program, NYFarms!, and Atlantic States Legal Foundation -- What We're Reading: Ode Magazine -- Reminder: RTC Books For Sale! -- What Does RTC Do?
Happy autumn, folks! In this month's newsletter, you'll find out what we've got cookin' in New York State-- and why fall is the perfect time to take a detour to North Dakota! You'll also discover what reading we'll be snuggling up to in these cozy, coming months. Enjoy the newsletter! Oh--and if you really enjoy our newsletter, be sure to forward it to a friend! |
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This Month's Featured Stories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If You?re Passing Through North Dakota, Have Some Fall
Family Fun on the Farm!
It?s the glint in his eyes and the mischievous delight in his voice that will draw you in to Steve Enger. As he spins tales and visions of abandoned farm equipment turned into marketing props and catapults?an old grainery meticulously renovated into a haunted house, and farmland magically transformed each fall into an intricate maze carved out of acres and acres of corn or other crops?he tempts even the most reluctant of travelers. Combining Culture and Commerce: La Mision de San Miguel Part musical venue, part museum, part restaurant and social gathering spot, La Mision de San Miguel adds a high octane dose of culture, conversation, and commerce to the small rural Arizona town of Patagonia. The iconographic manifestation of a vision of local entrepreneur Cecilia San Miguel, La Mision de San Miguel proves how one individual?s passionate commitment to a town can revitalize not only building walls, but also the heart of a community. |
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RTC News Flash ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Four More Sets of Hands at the RTC Office
A special thanks to our hard-working service learning volunteers, brought to us through the University of Minnesota?s Career and Community Learning Center: Sarah Brincks, Joann Wang, Shanna Trudeau, and Allison Edwards. They?ve been helping with all sorts of tasks, but we?re especially excited about their work on a local foods resource CD that will accompany our upcoming publication, A Farm to Table Tour of Minnesota, to be released in fall of 2006. The service learning volunteers have also been critical in helping us compile and analyze the Green Routes consumer survey results. Thanks, y'all! The Best Things in Life... ...are free! That includes our recently released "Minnesota Cooks" calendar, a 16-month wall calendar that showcases great local chefs who source their produce, honey, dairy, and meat from local farms. Each month features photographs, recipes, and stories about the chefs and the farmers who supply them. You can get your copy by visiting our online store--the only cost is shipping ($5.00). |
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Resource Pick: Community Food Security Coalition ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Through training, networking, and advocacy, the Community
Food Security Coalition (CFSC) seeks to develop self-reliance
among all communities in obtaining their food and to create a
system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making
available, and selling food that is regionally based and
grounded in the principles of justice, democracy, and
sustainability.
CFSC'S website is a clearinghouse for information, related to nutrition, anti-hunger initiatives, sustainable agriculture, and other approaches to food security. If you?re in the market for a good discussion about everything from farm to school initiatives to Farm Bill policy to farmers? market logistics, the Coalition?s listserv is a portal to all sorts of food security information, as well as to a vast network of practitioners, advocates, and academics who are all working to improve food security in their communities. |
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Partner Picks of the Month: Cornell University's Community, Food, and Agriculture Program, NYFarms!, and Atlantic States Legal Foundation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We?ve been spending more and more time lately with our
hard-
working partners in New York state: the Community, Food,
and Agriculture Program at Cornell University, the
Atlantic States Legal
Foundation, and NYFarms!. It?s a sign that Renewing the
Countryside: New York
will be for sale in our online bookstore before long! Our three New York partner organizations work on different aspects of the same goal: improving the environmental, economic, and agricultural health of New York state and the surrounding region. The Community, Food, and Agriculture Program at Cornell University provides resources, guidance, training, and much more to communities, government agencies, businesses, and individuals throughout the state. NY Farms! helps promote and protect local farms by strengthening the network of food and farm industry people throughout the state. Atlantic States Legal Foundation provides technical expertise, offering legal expertise to citizen organizations (NGO?s), local governments, and invididuals, on topics ranging from pollution control to environmental justice.
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What We're Reading: Ode Magazine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The editors of Ode magazine don't just tell us what's
wrong with the world. They inform us about what's going
right-- opening our eyes to breakthroughs that are
taking place in spite of it all. We look to Ode for stories about empowered individuals and organizations all over the world that are promoting peace, sustainability, justice, fairness, and reverence for the natural world. Both the design and the content of the magazine burst with creativity, hope, and real possibility. As an organization that publishes books of success stories, we couldn?t be more delighted to have found a kindred spirit. And a special cheers to Ode editor Jay
Walljasper for his glowing review (July 2005) of our recently
released book, Values of Agrarian Landscapes Across
Europe and North America. Read an excerpt from his review at our online store. To join Ode?s growing number of U.S. subscribers (or browse through articles online) visit www.odemagazine.com.
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Reminder: RTC Books For Sale! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Choose from Renewing the Countryside's growing selection of
beautiful books on successful, sustainable enterprises in
America's rural communities. These unique collections of
stories and photographs are perfect gifts for your family
and friends in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Washington,
Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and elsewhere!
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What Does RTC Do? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Renewing the Countryside is a 501(c)3 non-profit
that strengthens rural areas by championing and
supporting farmers, artists, entrepreneurs,
educators, activists, and others who are
revitalizing the countryside through innovative
endeavors. We build awareness and support for these
initiatives by collecting and sharing stories of
rural renewal, providing practical assistance and
networking opportunities for those working to
improve rural America, and fostering connections
between urban and rural people.
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
andi@rtcinfo.org
phone:
1-866-378-0587
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