February 2014 Newsletter

In This Issue

Join the Slow Food Movement!
We invite you to join the Slow Food movement! Slow Food Orange County is working hard to preserve and protect local foods and food traditions. Our convivium plans events and programs in places across Orange County-anything from community gardens, taste education dinners, and farm tours-join the network and become active in planning and participating in these diverse initiatives. Click here for Benefits of Membership, here to join, or send us an email if you have questions.

Chair's February Message

Dear Slow Food OC,

In February each local Slow Food chapter is asked to submit a report of the years activities to the national office of Slow Food USA in New York. As chair, that job falls to me. This year I spent a fair amount of time procrastinating getting started on this task I viewed as "paperwork." However, it the processing of completing the report I compiled a list of all the activities and events in past year, more or less reliving them. In the end I felt very excited about the year's events, the people who volunteered and the partnerships we had formed. SFOC is a pretty great organization with some amazingly committed people. Here is a list with some annotations so you can see in one place all that when on in 2012.

Grassfeed Bison Farm Saved
FEBRUARY 4, 2014, Northeast California - California bison ranchers Ken and Kathy Lindner of Lindner Bison were on the brink of closing down their small ranch, after their 600-foot deep irrigation water well failed in April 2013. Without water to irrigate their pastures, their ranch has been steadily dying. Having already exhausted their life savings, and at the urging of customers, they tapped into the 'crowd funding' phenomenon to attempt to raise the $150,000 needed to replace the well. On January 20th they raised a total of $155,133 and thus exceeded their goal. Their indiegogo campaign Water for Bison raised $41,263; and the remaining donations came via mail-in checks and farmer's market stand contributions.

Slow Food Orange County Needs You

We are looking for active participants for our Events and Outreach Committees. No experience necessary, just a desire to effect positive change in our community and, of course, a hearty appetite for good food!

EVENTS COMMITTEE: Want to share ideas on how to promote good, clean and fair food? Then take the lead on one specific event or volunteer for the day and help out. To get involved email Stacey Blaschke, Events Chair, at stacey.blaschke@gmail.com.

OUTREACH COMMITTEE: Are you interested in being an ambassador for Slow Food or working on garden projects, food policy or the Snail of Appreciation restaurant program? If so, join the Outreach Committee! Contact Gillian Poe, Outreach Chair, at gpoe@ocfoodaccess.org.

Book Club Meeting

Date: Friday, February 21st

Time: 6:30 PM

Location: Mission Viejo

Members and non-members welcome

The February bookclub meeting will be on February 21st in Mission Viejo. The book is Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl. RSVP to Diana Tierney at diana.tierney3@gmail.com.

Author and Organic Gardener Pat Welsh presents Growing Great Veggies, the Organic Way

Date: Saturday, March 8th

Time: 10 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Tankersley Hall, Laguna Presbyterian Church, 415 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach

Members and non-members welcome

Pat Welsh's Southern California Organic Gardening Well known author, and expert on Southern California year round gardening, Pat Welsh, will be speaking on Growing Great Veggies, the Organic Way.

Pat is the author of Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening: A Month-by-Month Guide which currently is number #4 under Gardening & Landscape Design - Western Region on Amazon.

The talk will focus on gardening in the spring and summer and will be followed by a question and answer session. After which, Pat will be selling and signing her latest books.

Pat is an Emmy-award winning garden-writer and author of many books including Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening: A Month-by-Month Guide. She has written countless articles and columns and hosted over 500 television segments and videos. She is an Emmy-award winning garden writer and was the first Garden Editor of San Diego Home/Garden Magazine. She also hosted two garden videos for Better Home and Gardens and instructed many in demonstrations on HGTV.

Cost:

Slow Food OC and Laguna Presbyterian Church Members $18
Non-members $20
At the Door members and non-members $25

Purchase Tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/author-pat-welsh-speaking-on-growing-great-veggies-the-organic-way-tickets-10065812115

Taste the Ark of Taste - Family Event

Date: Saturday, April 12th

Time: 5 PM - 7 PM

Location: Annaliese School 20062 Laguna Canyon Rd Laguna Beach, CA

Members and non-members welcome

Slow Food Orange County and S.E.E.D.S. Art and Education Inc. are co-sponsoring a Tasting Event using foods from the Slow Food Ark of Taste. The Ark of Taste is a living international catalog of delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction. Industrial standardization, regulations of large-scale distribution, and environmental damage threaten these foods. By identifying and championing these items on the Ark of Taste we keep them in production, on our plates, and we protect biodiversity in our food system. The Annaliese's edible garden program in conjunction with Slow Food OC is growing produce items on the Ark of Taste.

Cost:

Adults $50 for non-members, $45 for Slow Food members
Children (5 and up) $25 for chidren of non-Slow Food members , $20 for children of Slow Food Members

To Purchase Tickets:

http://slowfoodoc-seeds-tasteofarkoftaste.eventbrite.com

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