"THE GOOD STUFF" is here -- come and get it!

FREE EDUCATIONAL COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS

A message from

The Hamilton Good Food Box Network!

We'll be presenting our next session of "THE GOOD STUFF: Cooking with the Good Food Box" soon!  Join us at The Nutrition Centre at Mission Services (195 Wentworth Street North) on Thursday May 23rd, from 1pm - 3pm as we demonstrate "The Awesomeness of Asparagus" and videotape our demos for broadcast on Cable 14.

There will be fun, cooking tips, special guests and samples of the food we're creating for you!  Please join us as the neighbourhood's residents, folks from across the city who would like to be part of the action and of course as fans of the show "Hamilton Life".

Admission is free but seats are limited.  Let us know when you get there if you would like to be part of our "on-camera" studio audience -- if not, there will be plenty of seats where you can still see all the action.  See you there!

For more information please contact us: goodfoodbox@environmenthamilton.org

Environment Hamilton presents….

Rural Routes for 2013!

Join us as we tour local farms and learn from local  producers that are growing and raising local foods and goods.

Schedule for 2013:

May's Trip:
On Sat. May 25th we are heading to Alpacas from Eighth and Mud to check out their annual shearing demonstrations.  
Other highlights include:
* This east end farm has enlisted the help of some weavers to demonstrate the art of weaving and hand spinning.  
* The 4H club will be showing off how Alpacas  can be led through obstacle courses.
* Plus! Gorilla Cheese will be there selling their tasty cheese sandwiches!

July's Trip:
Sat. July 20th - Weir's Lane Lavender and Apiary
 * they produce and sell around 100 different lavender and bee related products.  
* including a culinary line include many delights:  lavender chocolate, scones, shortbread, hot cider, lavender tea, lavender hot chocolate, honey from our hives and more!
* plus their very own creams, cleansers, shampoos and other items for your body and your house. And more!  NOTE: there is a beekeeping operation on site.  

Plus more trips in August and September!

Tickets: $8 for seniors
$10 for adults

Tickets will be available at Homegrown Hamilton (27 King William St.)  
Cash only.
Departure at 10:30am sharp at Homegrown Hamilton.  
Rain or Shine.

www.environmenthamilton.org 
For more information, contact Juby at: 905-549-0900 / email Juby at jlee@environmenthamilton.org

Special thanks to Smart Commute Hamilton and Homegrown Hamilton

Mustard Seed Gathering

Our friends at the Mustard Seed Coop Grocery Store asked us to post this:

Wow!

We are almost at 400 Members and half way to opening

The Mustard Seed Co-op – Hamilton’s first non-profit grocery store.

Come join us on

Sunday, March 3rd from 2:00-4:00pm at Hamilton’s Central Library.

Meet many of our Co-op members and hear how our amazing volunteers have been shaping OUR Co-op since the membership launch in November!

We’ll have delicious local treats, free draws, beautiful buttons, and our own Beet The System t-shirts for sale.

New schedule for the Ottawa Street Farmers' Market!

Ottawa Street Farmers Market has updated their schedule.  The market is open year round on Saturdays from 7am-3pm.  Check out Hamilton's only outdoor market that is open year round!

Locke Street Farmers' Market is looking for volunteers!

The Locke Street Farmers Market is growing and we are looking for key volunteers to be part of the organizing committee for 2013 and beyond.

Heading into its fourth year, the Locke St Market is made up of a small but growing number of vendors and we are looking for folks to help us with various tasks.
As a volunteer, you'll get to know some great local farmers, some of the fantastic local businesses and have an opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes action that make this market work.

Organizing Taste of Locke (a kick-off event for the market, we have local businesses offering appetizers featuring ingredients from the market)

Contact:  Russ, from Backyard Harvest / russohrt@yahoo.ca

FEBRUARY IS FARM MONTH Cooking Demonstrations @ The Hamilton Farmers’ Market Community Kitchen

Check out the schedule of local food cooking demonstrations below - all demos are open to the public, require no registration and are free of charge!

Demos take place Saturdays at 10am and noon!

FEB 2: “Cooking with The City” Demos – Inspirations from The Ontario Table

10am Meet the Community Food Security Stakeholder Committee (CFSSC) Chicken Thyme Pasta is a Hamilton-inspired recipe featured in Lynn Ogryzlo’s The Ontario Table – see how easy and tasty local fare can be!

Noon Cooking with Councillor Maria Pearson, Ward 10 Dessert anyone?  How about some Apple Sticky Toffee Pudding!!  Check out this localized twist on a great British classic!

*Both demonstrations will be presented by Karen Burson (a.k.a. The Eklectic Kitchen), Project Manager at Environment Hamilton for Hamilton Eat Local and The Good Food Box Network

FEB 9: Spotlight on Local Ingredients: after the harvest season, what do you eat?

10am “Cabbage is Cool!”  Come to this kid-friendly cooking demonstration to learn some fun facts about this underappreciated vegetable! Local cookbook author Karen McLaughlin will show you how to prepare a tasty slaw with cabbage, apples and carrots.

*With Karen McLaughlin, blogger and author of the budget-friendly “Cheap Appetit: The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month”

Noon "The Locavore in Winter"  How do you eat local when the fields have been frozen for months?  Hamilton Eat Local will show you how to localize it, even in the chilly month of February!

*With Karen Burson of Environment Hamilton and The Eklectic Kitchen

FEB 16: The Global-Local Kitchen: international flavours & local ingredients

Noon “Hamilton Eat Local’s International House of Pancakery”  Prepare for Pancake Day!  Using local ingredients you can create a world of flavours in your skillet.  Karen will demonstrate a couple of classics and show you a couple of surprising twists.

*With Karen Burson of Environment Hamilton and The Eklectic Kitchen

FEB 23: Exploring Ideas About Farming

10am “An Introduction to Food & Farming for Kids” What does a farm look like and what foods come from farms? Join Kelly for this very visual exploration of a "permaculture" setting showing how foods can come from the trees, shrubs, plants, flowers and animals on a farm.

*With Kelly McKinney, founder and operator of Hamilton’s amazing “Sprout Camp” for kids

Noon “The Lazy Locavore” In Winter  Tips and techniques to help bring local food to your table in a hurry!  See how shopping lists, planning ahead and making the most of what’s best in winter can help you save time, money and maybe even our planet!

*With Karen Burson of Environment Hamilton and The Eklectic Kitchen

"FEBRUARY IS FARM MONTH!" 2013

FEBRUARY IS FARM MONTH IS BACK!!!

Join us for our fourth annual celebration of food and farming in Hamilton.

This year we are presenting a variety of events and all of them are completely free to join, no RSVPs needed!

Feb 2

FEBRUARY IS FARM MONTH LAUNCH EVENT

@the Hamilton Farmers’ Market Community Space 2-4pm

Drop in to connect with Hamilton's local food scene!  Featuring:

• "The Buzz About Bees" presentation & honey tasting
• Launch event for Hamilton's newest independent magazine "GUSTO!" with Editor Amy Bonin
• A book signing with Karen McLaughlin, author of the budget friendly cookbook
• "CHEAP APPETIT: The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month"
• The CLIMATE CHANGE CHARTER display
• Information on Hamilton's Community Food Security Stakeholder Committee (CFSSC) and the HAMILTON FOOD CHARTER
• Launch of the online version of the "OPERATION SMOOTHIE" handbook
• Speak with Kelly McKinney of Hamilton's super-awesome and educational "SPROUT CAMP"

Feb 15

FOURTH ANNUAL FARMERS’ FORUM (farmers only, please!)

@The Winking Judge, 7pm

Feb 27

FOOD ‘N’ FARMING PANEL DISCUSSION 

“Can Hamilton Feed Itself?” -- WHY FARMLAND PRESERVATION MATTERS

@ the Hamiltton Public Library  7-10 pm

Come join us to learn and share information on one of the most critical topics facing food security in Canada.  Featuring our panel of experts:

Erin Shapero - from Environmental Defence and Local Food Plus, Erin made a name for herself as the Markham City Councillor who put local food on the radar and led the way towards their ground-breaking municipal local food procurement policies!  What role does the Greenbelt play?

Lisa Ohberg - her influential academic research paper "Can Hamilton Feed Itself?" answers this question in ways that may surprise you!  At a time when 60% of our province's food is important, we need to look at the potential consequences of turning our agricultural lands into residential and economic development zones.  Check out her presentation to the food security committee here: http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/C4E2C50B-E943-4A10-89EC-62B02E5B7D6C/0/OhbergSelfSufficiencyPresentationCFSSCNov72012.pdf

Ella Haley - the outspoken farmer who has made land use and ownership a political hot potato in Brant County shares her perspectives on farmland preservation through the lens of the "land-grab" happening all around her farm, Hearts Content Farmstead.  Should we have concerns about foreign ownership of agricultural lands?

David Carson - of Dundas in Transition and now co-chair of the Community Food Security Stakeholder Committee (CFSSC) talks about sustainability, farmland preservation and what we need to know about the AEGD proposed by the City of Hamilton (also known as The Aerotropolis).  Carson is also one of the citizens most actively engaged in the creation of Hamilton's first FOOD CHARTER.

Wondering what it's all about?  Come to this gathering to find out!  There will be displays set up by community groups, such as The Mustard Seed Cooperative Grocery... get your membership!

                   

***

NEW:

All month long on Saturdays at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market Community Kitchen

their FREE Cooking Demonstrations will be part of “FEBRUARY IS FARM MONTH!”

Enjoy the food fun, facts and flavours... there will be samples!  Details TBA right here on the Hamilton Eat Local Blog!

FEBRUARY IS FARM MONTH for 2013!

We are working hard to bring you FEBRUARY IS FARM MONTH!  

Details to be announced.

Check back soon!

Good Food Box keeps breaking records!

For December's Good Food Box, we packed 505 orders - a record high for us!

In this box, we featured sweet potatoes from Richardson's Farm in Dunnville.  Special thanks to James, the farmer for making the trip just for us.

As usual, we couldn't run this project without our volunteers.  A big thanks to teacher, Turner from Blythe Academy in Burlington, who arranged a group of his dedicated students to help.

Big thank you to all our volunteers, volunteer drivers, site coordinators, supporters, funders, our fresh produce guy - we are super, super grateful!
We finished our Good Food Box with a great December pack- see you in the new year!

Improving Access to Healthy Food in Hamilton with "The Easy Box"

The Hamilton Good Food Box Network was established in 2011 to make fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible for all Hamiltonians.  Since then, with the help of volunteer packers, drivers, site coordinators and others the program now packs and distributes Good Food Boxes to over 350 families and individuals each month.  The program allows people to buy a share of fresh, seasonal produce for only $15 which has a retail value of $25-35!  To learn more about this exciting Hamilton Eat Local initiative click here.

Not everyone can afford to participate, however, and it's clear that among all Ontario Works recipients, single people are worst off because they end up having to live with a substantial income shortfall of $144 every single month -- that income deficit makes it next to impossible for OW Singles to afford a healthy balanced diet.  Click here to view the video Unequal Access to Healthy Food by Project Video.

A group of concerned citizens formed the Nutritious Food Plan Committee (NFPC) in order to find and promote ways to address this serious problem.  A special Good Food Box program was proposed