MoCo's First Ever School Food Forum - November 2nd!

If you care about nutritious food for school kids, school gardens and food education, or supporting local farms and agriculture, then you will want to be at this event.

Montgomery County's first-ever School Food Forum, "Creating a Vision of Fresh, Real Food in Montgomery County Public Schools," will be held Saturday, November 2, 9:30am - 2pm at Lutheran Church of St. Andrew, 15300 New Hampshire Ave in Silver Spring, MD 20905.

The School Food Forum brings together a remarkable collection of expertise and experience on this issue. Our keynote speaker is nationally known school food reformer Tony Geraci, former Food Director at Baltimore City Schools, current Director of Nutrition Services at Shelby County Schools in Memphis, and subject of the documentary film "Cafeteria Man." Additional speakers include Marla Caplon, Director of MCPS Food and Nutrition Services, Lisa Lefferts of Center for Science in the Public Interest, Kathy Lawrence of School Food FOCUS, and Montgomery County Councilmembers George Leventhal and Valerie Ervin. As you can see, you won't want to miss this School Food Forum!!

The $25 ticket ($15 students) includes a delicious, nutritious locally-sourced lunch from La Prima Catering. (Scholarships are available.) Seats are limited, so register now!

Click here to become a sponsor of the School Food Forum (includes free tickets and name listing in program book)

Click here to purchase a ticket to the School Food Forum.

We hope to see you on November 2nd!

Two Great New Ways to Promote Urban Farms and Community Gardens

We're always keeping our eyes open for innovative ways to help people produce their own food, and here are two great ones.

California often leads the nation in such positive changes. Now legislation signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown will allow municipalities to lower the assessed value, and therefore property taxes, on plots of three acres or less - IF owners pledge to dedicate them to growing food for at least five years. The two biggest problems faced by many farmers, including here in Montgomery County, are land prices and land tenure, since few small farmers want to take the risk of starting a farm on a month to month or even one year lease. This new law deals with both problems as it helps cities and counties that want to encourage community gardens and small-scale farms. You can read the LA Times story on the new law here.

And a little closer to home, how about this way to use otherwise unused property to grow food from right next door in Washington D.C. - setting up raised beds at fire stations! As reported in the Washington Post, the nonprofit group Everybody Grows helps city residents set up home gardens, and they hit upon the idea of planting demonstration gardens at local fire stations. So now, firefighters at Engines 26, 30 and 32 are harvesting kale, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and herbs.

According to D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe, the gardens "give us an opportunity to engage with the community in a different way, not just responding to emergencies," Ellerbe said. The firefighters pass out flyers in their neighborhoods, explaining the project and the mission of promoting home gardens.

Sounds awesome, huh? Any fire stations in Montgomery County that want to try this? Let us know- Montgomery Victory Gardens would love to help!

The Fight Over Backyard Chickens in Montgomery County

As you know from previous MVG updates and our Facebook page, there is a vigorous battle going on over backyard chickens here in Montgomery County.

Started in the midst of the new zoning regulation process, the recommendations of the planning committee were to expand the possibilities for these small, backyard flocks. Then anti-chicken activists spoke in front of the County Council, and the rules were revised to be worse than they are now. But the battle is not over yet.

While space limitations prevent us from refuting objections to backyard chickens here, we'll say two things. First, to those who complain about the problems they fear will come from backyard chickens, it's important to note that chickens are being allowed in dozens and dozens of municipalities across the country - and the feared problems are simply not materializing in those communities. As is usually the case, the real health danger is from industrial egg production, not home enthusiasts.

Second, and putting aside the argument for chickens as pets (my wife, who had them as a kid, says they make great ones), the basic issue here is allowing people to feed themselves. Should we make it easier for people to feed themselves, or harder? A basic principle at MVG is that the ability to feed one's self is a basic human right - and that's why we support backyard chickens, and believe you should too.

The best source of up to date information is Montgomery County Backyard Chickens. If you want to get involved in the campaign (they're currently looking for people who want to testify at November Council meetings), or simply learn more, check them out here.

The Government Shutdown, Hunger and Food-Borne Illness

The shutdown of the federal government is the source of constant discussion in the Washington, DC area, and MVG supporters probably know of (or might well be among) federal workers that have been furloughed. The inanity of our government aside, it is no laughing matter to lose one's paycheck in these tough times.

It is also no laughing matter to lose one's source of food, or to suffer from food-borne disease spreading while federal inspectors are off the job. These impacts don't get much discussion, but they are just as bad as temporarily losing one's job, if not worse.

Regarding hunger, those in Congress who say that private charity will pick up the slack while the government is closed are completely ignorant of the fact that only 1 out of every 24 bags of food assistance are delivered by charity. The overwhelming majority of food assistance in the United States comes from federal programs. So yes, seniors, mothers and children across the country are suffering from either an immediate or looming loss of the little food assistance they get. Click here to read WhyHunger's blog post on threatened food programs.

And what do you think happens when you pull thousands of federal food safety workers off the job? A new outbreak of salmonella is occurring, and one can easily imagine such incidents increasing as long as the government stays shut.

I wish there was an easy solution, something to tell you to do. Call your member of Congress, certainly. (Perhaps you can take advantage of the new site "DrunkDial Congress" - because if they can get drunk and yell at each other, we can get drunk and yell at them, right?) At the very least make sure to share all the food you can with those in need, including local food pantries and shelters. The need is greater than ever.

Farming At Metro's Edge Report

This past January, over 200 famers, environmentalists, civic and nonprofit leaders, community members, and government officials gathered for a day-long conference in Montgomery County called Farming at Metro's Edge. The program was designed to help stakeholders form many sectors brainstorm the problems in local agriculture collectively, and the report on the deliberations, and decisions, was released in September at a press conference with 65 attendees.

Montgomery Council Vice-President Craig Rice told the group that he would ask the Montgomery Council to consider the report's recommendations, including creation of a farming magnet program in area schools. It was reported that Montgomery College faculty, recognizing local food as a rallying point, are developing a Sustainable Food production Certificate program to help prepare future producers. The Town of Poolesville, located in the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, is developing plans to become a food hub that could serve farmers and consumers, including major institutions and restaurants interested in increasing use of locally produced food.

Lots of great ideas, and we hope to see them all implemented! For more info on the report release, read this post from a major conference sponsor, the Montgomery Countryside Alliance.

What the Hell is FSMA?!, Part II

In last month's update, we reported for the first time on the pending Food Safety Modernization Action, or FSMA, which will have a huge impact on how fresh fruits and vegetables are grown and processed in the U.S.

While there is clearly a need for new rules - food safety rules have not been updated in many years, - we once again seem to have a case where the rules are being written for the benefit of large industrial producers (if not being written by them and their lobbyists), with little thought given to the impact on small family farmers. (Even though the large producers are the disproportionate source of food borne pathogens in our system.) Many small local farmers are mighty concerned about these new rules, and with reason. 

Now one of the most respected agriculture nonprofits in the country, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, after extensive study of the issue, has delivered their verdict: the new rules, as written, will have a disproportionately negative impact on sustainable and organic agriculture, on-farm conservation efforts, and on local and regional food systems. The opposite of what we want, and need.

Fortunately, there is still time to engage in this process - the rules have not been finalized yet, and NSAC has developed a concise and clear website outlining the problem, and what you, as a food consumer and activist, can do. We encourage everyone who cares about local food and small, family farms to take a moment and take an action to defend them in the face of FSMA - click here to access NSAC's site.

Don't Let Your Fall Crops Rot on the Vine!

Nothing makes me sadder in the garden then seeing beautiful food go to waste, like these tomatoes at right, because folks have stopped showing up. Summer veggies keep growing well into the fall, and this is delicious, nutritious, organic food that can be well used - particularly in times like these, as noted above.

Don't abandon your garden in the fall! Make a point to visit it regularly and harvest everything you can. Even if you don't need the food there are others who do, and you can give it to your neighbors, or to a local food pantry/shelter. (Think of it as noblesse oblige for those lucky and privileged enough to have community garden plots.) Ask others if you can harvest their food for them. And if it seems like nobody is showing up, and if stuff is just lying on the ground or otherwise going to rot, well then.... 

That's it for now! Here's hoping we see you at what should be one of the great events in our county's food history, the School Food Forum on Nov. 2nd!