Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Seed Pledge Opportunity!


HomeGrowners, get excited! There will be a seed pledge opportunity at the Festival this year!
feral foods, CSA is donating seeds that children and families will pledge to grow for Food Gatherers in 2014!  Those interested should visit the Kids Activities area at the Festival between 6 & 8 pm, pick out which type of seeds they would like to grow and sign the pledge to grow them in their home, community, or church garden in the spring. The Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice Faith & Food Gardens and Food Gatherer's Plant a Row will follow up with those who pledge to grow to feed hungry members of our community.














Tuesday, July 30, 2013

We are just weeks away from the 6th Annual HomeGrown Festival, but this group of folks has been busy since February working hard to make this festival possible!  Are you interested in being a behind the scenes HomeGrown volunteer?  We need help with everything from posting flyers, picking up donations, to getting the word out at various Farmers Markets.  For more information on volunteering for the festival click on the "Volunteer" tab. 

Monday, June 10, 2013

The Grey-Green Gradient

The upside of being assigned a teeny, tiny itsy bitsy airplane is that you can see out of both sides and out into the big wide world. And, as I sit here, looking out at southeast Michigan, I am struck by the difference between the view out of the right and left windows. On the right, I gaze at the Detroit River and see all of the trademarks of heavy industry: the billowing smokestacks and I swear I see the growing piles of petroleum coke that have been so hotly discussed by the media (although surely this must be my imagination). On the left,west of the city, I see a myriad of small lakes gleam silver in the early evening light; dense wooded areas, as well as the regular, rectangular fields where I know a farmer is lovingly tending crops.

At all times, but particularly at times like these when I have a bird’s eye view of the world that I am reminded o the importance of events such as the Homegrown Festival and the greenbelt initiative. The Festival works to build community support through people’s hearts (and stomachs). Support that is vital to the initiation and continued support for political actions that will protect and conserve what makes our community green. I have found, through recent experiences, that there is nothing more powerful than communication and community involvement when working to affect change. This change could be altering peoples’ spending habits, whom they elect, or what ballot initiatives they support.


So let’s work together to stay on the green side of the gradient. Support your local farmers. Support your local parks. And, put September 7, (6-10pm) on your calendars and have a great time supporting Homegrown Festival 2013.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Whey oh Whey!

In an interesting article posted yesterday on Modern Farmer I was made aware of the huge quantity of whey that is produced annually as a by-product of Greek Yogurt (read more). To be more specific, more than 150 million gallons of this acidic whey was produced just in the northeastern United States! Unfortunately, this stuff appears to be very detrimental to the environment if not handled properly. Companies are desperate to get rid of this stuff. Chobani is even paying people to take it. 

Now I love Greek yogurt, it's smooth and delicious! So dear readers, my question to you is: what creative ways do you think we could come up with to utilize this product? The article discusses a few possibly profitable uses, but I want to hear from you. 

A second question, should everyone who wants to eat Greek yogurt make their own to avoid adding to this issue? 

Let me know what you think! 



Sunday, May 19, 2013

Springing towards the 2013 Homegrown Festival


Whew! We made it through what felt like an un-ending winter! Nothing brings a smile to my face like going to the Farmer's Market and seeing bright, fresh produce starting to pile up at the various stands. In a few months it won't seem so miraculous, but right now, the thought of eating fresh spinach or baby radishes makes me want to do a jig!





I love eating homegrown because it gives me a sense of place and, of course, it's delicious! Why do you value that which is homegrown?