After a busy summer, CAFF Santa Clara Valley welcomes a quieter fall season, with an upcoming Farmers Market Workshop and our continuing Harvest of the Month program.
This may be the first time you are receiving our regional newsletter because you attended September's Taste of Santa Clara Valley dinner. We thought you would like to be informed about CAFF's work, and our upcoming events. Read more below and welcome!
Remember to like us on Facebook to stay updated on CAFF happenings!
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Farmers Market Workshop-November 18
Join the CAFF and the Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association (PCFMA) for a free workshop for beginning farmers interested in selling at farmers markets. As one of the largest farmers market associations in the Santa Clara Valley, PCFMA will be presenting on best practices and will speak to the application process for their markets. The last hour of the workshop will be dedicated to a Q&A and networking. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
When: Tuesday, November 18th 12pm-3pm
Where: Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center-17000 Monterey Rd. Morgan Hill, CA 95037
RSVP by contacting Rosemary Quinn, Farm to Market Coordinator, at rosemary@caff.org.
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Spotlight on the Open Space Authority
CAFF would like to thank the Open Space Authority of Santa Clara Valley for their generous sponsorship of the Taste of Santa Clara Valley dinner, which took place in September. The Open Space Authority conserves the natural environment, supports agriculture and connects people to nature, by protecting open space, natural areas, and working farms and ranches for future generations. The Open Space Authority has sponsored a ballot measure, Measure Q, which would protect agricultural land and water supplies in Santa Clara County. CAFF supports the measure and encourages you to VOTE YES tomorrow at the polls! Read more about the Open Space Authority and Measure Q on their website.
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Cloud 9 Orchard
Finalist for a Good Food Award!
CAFF member Cloud 9 Orchard has been selected as a finalist for a 2015 Good Food Award for their Italian Varietal Extra Virgin Olive Oil! Their entry has met all the responsible production criteria in addition to being a top scorer at the Blind Tasting amongst a pool of 1,462 entries. The winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony on January 8, 2015.
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Community Events
Eat Your Carhartts Out: Dinner Discussion with Say Hay Farms-November 5
Join CAFF and 18 Reasons in San Francisco for a three-course dinner discussion with Say Hay Farms. The chef has worked with Say Hay Farms owner Chris Hay to design a menu featuring seasonal produce and fresh eggs. The Say Hay Farm crew will be on hand to share their stories.
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CAFF's Local Food Distribution Study
 From the increasing number of farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms, to the growing number of restaurants, schools and hospitals serving local fare, the demand for locally sourced food is on the rise. Food hubs, business enterprises
working to aggregate, distribute, and market source-identified local food to local communities, are also growing in popularity as a strategy to help small farms access these expanding market opportunities. Regions around the state are asking for lessons learned from CAFF's experience to determine whether a food hub would benefit their local food system. CAFF's report titled "Making the Invisible Visible: Looking Back at Fifteen Years of Local Food Systems Distribution" was written in the hopes of sharing what CAFF has learned from 15 years of creative problem solving in getting local food to local communities. CAFF's purpose for the paper is to answer questions about CAFF's own food hub, the Grower's Collaborative, and share lessons learned from our successes and failures in trying to localize food systems with cutting edge distribution solutions. Visit our website for more information and to read a Q&A about the paper.
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Gilroy Office Closing
While CAFF will continue to be active in the Santa Clara Valley, we will no longer have a physical office in Gilroy, where we have maintained an office for the last two years. Santa Clara Valley regional staff will now be working out of CAFF's Watsonville office. The address for our Watsonville office is 406 Main St. Suite 315, Watsonville, CA 95076. The office phone number is (831) 761-8507. Please update your records and drop us a line in Watsonville!
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Fresh Search Widget
Allow your site visitors to search for local foods! Click here for instructions and to download.
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