NEWS + EVENTS

April 2015 newsletter

Berkshire Grown online

Make a difference -- support local farms,

join Berkshire Grown here

Berkshire Grown attends AG DAY on March 31, 2015 at the Statehouse in Boston.

The Berkshire contingent meets with State Senator Ben Downing.

AG DAY = farmers meeting with local legislators to thank them for their support and to discuss challenges, and opportunities important to farms in Massachusetts.

THANK YOU!!!
The March Maple Dinner was a huge success

Host Chef, Daire Rooney of Allium Restaurant +Bar

Brian Albert & Sean Corcoran eat

David Jordan Cranwell Resort

Jazu Sine & James Burden Red Apple Butchers

Missy and Rob Leab, Ioka Valley Farm

Megan McDiarmid Prairie Whale

Nick Moulton Mezze Bistro + Bar

Dan Smith John Andrews

Zee Vassos The Kitchen

Aura Whitman nAtURAlly

Adam Zieminski cafeADAM

Barrington Brewery

Berkshire Mountain Distillers

Big Elm Brewing

M.S. Walker Wines

No. Six Depot Roastery

Cranwell Resort

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to support Share the Bounty, our project supports CSA farms and food pantries.

Here's the March Maple Dinner Menu:

SIGN UP FOR A SHARE IN A LOCAL FARM!

Support a local farmer + eat delicious food through the summer!

Click on Map-o-licious, select "CSA Farms" (CSA = Community Supported Agriculture) to find the farm near you!
Kale growing at Square Roots Farm.

CSA FARMS: Barefoot Farm Berry Patch Bradley Farm Brattle Farm Caretaker Farm Chubby Bunny Farm Climbing Tree Farm Cricket Creek Farm Farm at Miller's Crossing Farm Girl Farm Gaetanos Organic Farm Gould Farm's Harvest Barn Hancock Shaker Village Hawk Dance Farm Hawthorne Valley Farm Indian Line Farm Longview Farm	Many Forks Farm Mettabee Farm Mighty Food Farm Moon in the Pond Farm MX Morningstar Farm Sky View Farm Sol Flower Farm & CSA Square Roots Farm Three Maples Market Garden Trusted Roots Farm Uprising Farm When Pigs Fly Farm Wildstone Farm Windy Ridge Farm Wolfe Spring Farm Woven Roots Farm Wyomanock Farm
For location, farm description & more check online, click on CSA in navigation.

BERKSHIRE GROWN'S COLLEAGUES HOST FASCINATING EVENTS:

2nd Annual ThinkFOOD Conference

"The Future of Food Activism: Issues and Answers to Hunger in the Berkshires."

Co-sponsored by Bard College at Simon's Rock Center for Food Studies and The Nutrition Center

Saturday, April 11, 2015
10am - 3 pm
Kellogg Music Center, Bard College at Simon's Rock

Register here

Or call (413-528-7247) or email Karen Advokaat (kadvokaat@simons-rock.edu)

Keynote address by Andrew Morehouse, Executive Director of the Food Bank of Western Mass., and two panel presentations.

Details

Sunday April 12th

11:30 am at the Triplex Cinema
Great Barrington, MA

Berkshire Grown sponsors

Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds

-- a film in the Free Film Series produced by Project Native.
Films begin Saturday night at 7 at the Mahaiwe and play all day at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington.

Join us!

Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation
Sheep to Shawl festival

Saturday May 2

11 AM to 3 PM

Sheep Hill, Williamstown

Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation sheep hill

The Sheep to Shawl festival is a celebration of spring and New England heritage, with local artisans and food producers, farm animals, and a focus on the region's historic fleece and fiber industry.

Local farms will bring sheep, alpacas, and small farm animals along with delicious home-grown and locally produced products for tasting and purchasing.

Wild Oats Market and Cricket Creek farm will offer fresh breads, cheeses, sandwiches and other delicious edibles available for purchase.

More details here.

Tickets for Sheep to Shawl can be purchased at the gate. Non-member tickets prices are $5 per individual and $10 per family. WRLF members and those who come by bicycle pay $3 per individual and $6 per family. Become a WRLF member at the gate and receive free admission!

Find locally grown food throughout Massachusetts HERE

What we are reading

Michael Pollan on the California drought and US food policy.

Q: Let's talk about water. Governor Jerry Brown has announced mandatory water restrictions for the state of California. What might the future hold for California and agricultural production in the state?

Pollan: It's about time. The pressure for changing the current water arrangement is going to be fierce. Right now agriculture claims about 80 percent of water in the state, yet it contributes only a tiny fraction of the state's GDP. Politically, this is not a sustainable place for agriculture to be. However, much of the low-hanging fruit in reducing consumption is in agriculture. There are so many ill-advised uses of water in agriculture today. If water were priced to more fairly reflect its preciousness, I think you'd spur a lot more innovation in agriculture.

Michael Pollan Something like 25 percent of the water goes to growing alfalfa. That's not anything anyone can eat, and a lot of it goes to China. Is that the best use of California's water? And then there are almonds, which require a great deal of water. Cattle production (for meat or dairy) is also water-intensive, and you have to ask, is a desert the best place to raise cattle?

We need to take a good hard look at where water is being used, how it's being used and on what crops.

from the interview by Rose Hayden-Smith, Uc Food Observer with

Michael Pollan, who is an award-winning journalist, a prolific author, a professor at the University of California Berkeley, and a fierce and tireless advocate for sustainable living.

Stay In touch!

Berkshire Grown's e-newsletter comes out monthly. Please send information to barbara@berkshiregrown.org, thanks! Join Berkshire Grown here.

Barbara Zheutlin, Director

Kate Bailey, Program Coordinator

Jamie Paxton, Outreach Coordinator

413-528-0041

Like us on Facebook, Follow us on twitter.