CT Green Scene

Giant garbage patch in Pacific Ocean's possible effect on marine life worries researchers

When more garbage dumps are being filled to capacity with enough plastic to sink a ship, it's disheartening to read about it in the oceans as well. And, with landfill issues in Connecticut as recent as the one in Franklin, where we put our debris is a growing problem. See the post below originally from the Associated Press.

MICHELLE RINDELS
Associated Press Writer
August 27, 2009

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A tawny stuffed puppy bobs in cold sea water, his four stiff legs tangled in the green net of some nameless fisherman.

It's one of the bigger pieces of trash in a sprawling mass of garbage-littered water, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where most of the plastic looks like snowy confetti against the deep blue of the north Pacific Ocean.

Most of the trash has broken into bite-sized plastic bits, and scientists want to know whether it's sickening or killing the small fish, plankton and birds that ingest it.

During their August fact-finding expedition, a group of University of California scientists found much more debris than they expected. The team announced their observations at a San Diego press conference Thursday.

"It's pretty shocking — it's unusual to find exactly what you're looking for," said Miriam Goldstein, who led fellow researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego on the three-week voyage.

While scientists have documented trash's harmful effects for coastal marine life, there's little research on garbage patches, which were first explored extensively by self-trained ocean researcher Charles Moore just a decade ago. There's also scant research on the marine life at the bottom of the food chain that inhabit the patch.

Trash-Free Lunch

by Eileen Weber

I don’t know what it is. Every year when September starts to roll around, I suddenly feel the urge to dash out and buy a pack of loose leaf paper and a pencil box.

It’s the pencil box that makes me giggle. You know the kind—it has a pair of scissors that won’t cut dirt but a compass with a point so sharp you can kill a horse. Add to that a protractor for all that geometry homework assigned in kindergarten and you’re starting the school year off right.

Back-to-school always means shopping for supplies. And most importantly, some of those supplies will go in your child’s lunch box.

Now there’s a can of worms. If you give your child a homemade lunch, too often your child is throwing away excess waste with plastic bags and tin foil. If you allow your child the hot lunch from the cafeteria, you’re dealing with a sticky issue about the actual nutrition your child receives. Those lunches consist of processed foods with way too much sodium and high fructose corn syrup, which only adds to our juvenile diabetes and obesity rates. School lunches are not so easy.

Ready or NOT!

by Heather Burns-DeMelo

I'll be the first to admit that I'm extreme when it comes to what I feed my kids. Whole food, organic, local, vegetarian, no sugar, non-GMO...the whole nine yards. Grandparents and friends have long since given up trying to convince me that I work too hard at keeping my 5 and 4 year old children in a "bubble," but in less than a week, I'll be forced to let them venture off to (gulp) public school and POP, the bubble will go.

Thanks to the film, Two Angry Moms, its group site and the example of other moms who have forged ahead to become advocates of healthy school food, I know I'm in good company. But the truth is, I'm scared.

While I know nothing will improve unless a squeaky wheel garners attention, creates a plan and rolls up her sleeves to encourage action, I'm not shy to admit that I want someone else to do it. After all, why would any mother in her right mind want to be the fall guy or risk having her child labeled as the kid with the vegetarian, tree hugging mom who complains all the time?

Love.

So here I go, jumping head first into school food advocacy, with the same "can't turn back now" attitude I summon when cliff diving.

Camouflague Green: The Unknown Gardener

by: James Simpkins

I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t miss much. Not about everything, mind you, but specifically around food related issues. Of course, this doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement. On the contrary, the more I look for foodishness around Connecticut, the more I find--the more I realize how much I’ve been missing. While this week was no exception to that rule, the folks I came across are birds of a different feather. Usually, when people talk about the players in food world they are recognizable entities like Whole Foods, ideas like fair trade or organic, and brand names like Kashi, Silk or Stonyfield Farms. Others are also well-known but reside outside the realm of mass distribution, like “farmers’ markets”, “sustainable and responsible agriculture”, and “compost.” This week, I added “The Unknown Gardener” to my list of those making a difference in American gastronomy thanks to two households near North Canton. As I’ve mentioned before, this summer I’ve been driving quite a bit and have found myself looking for short-cuts wherever I can find them. Heading north from Canton, Case Street cuts off some distance between route 179 and route 219 on the way towards Granby and the airport. This wasn’t a new discovery as I’ve driven this way many times during my tenure in the Farmington River Valley. What was new to me was a certain table with fresh cut flowers that I saw a few weeks back. At first I thought this was someone who was trying to make some money by selling unsuspecting drivers whatever they could pull out of their backyard. In some ways, I was right. When I stopped being cynical about it, I realized I was looking at the front line of sustainability, the effort of individuals homes----and driving right by. So I stopped.

What I saw were four gorgeous bouquets of cut flowers, protected from the heat by the (now charming) pink umbrella overhead and sitting in fresh water from which they were certainly drinking deep. These were not only generic “flowers”, but a lovely mixture of daisies and black-eyed susans and at least five other types of blooms that I don’t know (I’m not very knowledgeable about flowers). The result is in an almost wild aesthetic that brings to mind idyllic, windless, locust-filled meadows of summer that seem to delight in their efforts in growing under the still, even encouragement of the midday sun. And they are five dollars. I am nearly sick with appreciation.

What kind of person tends their flock of flowers throughout this strange Connecticut  summer then shares them with the rest of us for pennies on the effort? I don’t know. Somewhat romantically, I don’t want to. It is enough to stop the car, leave my money on the saw-horse table and look forward to the next time I drive by. My wait isn’t long. A mile later I see another umbrella---and more flowers. I pull over again, incredulous. This time, however, the scenery is not as beautiful, but more delicious. Underneath this second umbrella I found a pile of green peppers, as well as a half-dozen or so cucumbers both proffered for fifty cents each. I don’t care for green peppers, so I left the pile undisturbed. However, the dollar I had left in my wallet proved useful and I took two cucumbers for the road. Slicing them for dinner later that evening I found them as fresh and crisp as my imagination wanted them to be. The small, white thorns (that’s what the little bumps are) were still intact on the startlingly unwaxed skin—a perfect cucumber indeed. I put my dollar in the metal box on the table and yelled a quick “thank you” to the man working up near the house. He waved and said I was welcome.  I certainly felt that way…and for a dollar. I have spent thousands and not felt the wave of satisfaction that came from eating those two cucumbers that evening.   I started to think that I was supporting these folks by putting my six dollars in their respective pots. Thinking about them again, I realize it is quite the opposite. Gardeners who will sell their wares to the rest of us are supporting others, their bodies, their health and their families just by setting up a table and an umbrella and using the honor system. How many of us can say we do that…and on the honor system?! What I like thinking about this is that the individuals and families who set up these tables, these “Unknown Gardeners”, do not think about it like this at all. The poetry of the offerings demands that the proprietors owners simply be offering unused blooms and produce on the cheap, unaware of the gift they really are. Even if they are aware, I still hope they’re making a couple hundred tax-free dollars on the side. In any case, they can have my money, and my gratitude along with it.

Clothing: Recycled or Vintage?

by Eileen Weber

All too soon, the crisp weather of fall will be upon us. The kids will be returning to school. And before you know it, we’ll be celebrating the holidays ending with a hoot and holler at New Year’s.

Lots of folks choose the fall as a good time to clean out their closets before the onset of a chilly winter. Old clothes are sorted, packed up, and often dropped off. While donating your clothes (and getting the tax write-off) is a great idea, some of those drop boxes may not be so legitimate—or charitable.

In late 2004, State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal sued the American Recycling company of East Northport, NY. They placed as many as 73 drop-boxes across the state, particularly in the Seymour and Waterbury areas, that advertised charities the clothing would be donated to.

Unfortunately, the company sold the clothing for profit and only 10% of their proceeds actually went to the charities listed on the drop boxes. This past June, a judge ruled in Blumenthal’s favor and the drop boxes are no longer allowed in the state.

You want to do the right thing by recycling, but not everyone’s heart is in the same place as yours.

Goodwill Industries International, Inc. has been taking your old clothing and reusing it for decades. “We’re the original recyclers,” said Dorothy Viets, the Director of Community Relations. “We’re keeping the materials out of the landfills, that’s for sure.”

Ghost Farm

by Eileen Weber

Connecticut is known for its rolling hills and green farmland. But unfortunately, that farmland is rapidly dwindling. For at least the last five years, Connecticut has been steadily losing this precious commodity. Many experts agree that if this decline continues, the remaining farmland will simply disappear in only a few generations.

According to an article dated July 20th in the Norwich Bulletin, there were as many as 500 active farms in the state in 1990. By 2007, there were less than half that number. And today, we only have 151 active farms registered in the state.

“In the 1940s, there were about 2,000 to 3,000 farms,” said Bill Duesing, Executive Director of Connecticut’s Northeast Organic Farming Association (CT NOFA). “The drop off has been significant.”

Part of the reason behind this decline is how much it costs to run a farm and how little the return is. The Norwich Bulletin also disclosed that at the beginning of this year the average dairy farmer was paid only $1.07 per gallon of milk—down 25% in the last decade. With a $1 billion dairy industry in this state that accounts for over 4,000 jobs, the state Department of Agriculture estimates a loss of $1 for every gallon of milk produced. Clearly, the odds are stacked against the small farmer.

“We need to protect our farmland,” said Duesing at a recent showing of the movie FRESH at the Pequot Library. “We’re losing it.”

"Schooner Fare" to Benefit Long Island Sound Foundation 8/27

Performers Cliff Haslam and “Schooner Fare” will be performing maritime and folk music on Thursday, April 27th. These artists have been performing for decades and have won unanimous critical praise for captivating harmonies and their winning stage presence. 

This concert is to benefit the Long Island Sound Foundation, a non-profit (501c3) organization dedicated to raising awareness of Long Island Sound by making available information by providing education programs and publications. To accomplish its mission the Foundation often partners with environmental agencies and organizations. For further information visit www.lisfoundation.org.

When: Thursday, August 27, 2009
Where: Old Saybrook High School
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Cost: Adults $20.00 per ticket
Children under 12 years $5.00 per ticket

Enjoy an entertaining evening while showing support for this organization’s work.  To purchase tickets to the concert call the Foundation at 860-405-9166 or 1-866-326-8954.

350.org Bill McKibben on Colbert Nation!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bill McKibben
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Protests

Getting Pinched for Cash: The Canton Volunteer Firefighters' Lobsterfest '09

by: James Simpkins

I don’t really like lobster. Being a chef, this makes me somewhat of a pariah among colleagues as lobster is known as a dish in the upper echelon of gourmet cooking. But almost everyone I know has that one little ‘thing’ about what they put-or won’t put- in their mouths. Mine’s lobster. Now that I think about it, it’s just the tail I don’t care for. If I could just order the claws, I would not only be content, I’d be a fan! But in 100% of my dining experiences that has never been an option. I was hoping (to no avail) my lucky break would come this past weekend in Canton, CT where the 29th annual Canton Volunteer Firefighters’ Lobsterfest ‘09 kicked off on Friday, August 14th.

A big fund-raiser for the station, I was told originally it was “someone’s hare-brained idea” that turned into a smashing success. Apparently its current incarnation is a lot better executed, however; the joke around the station is that it’s taken all twenty nine years to figure out how to do it efficiently. After seeing the production first-hand, it is no joke. Here are just the mainstays of what they ordered this year:

·        5,000 wild-caught lobsters from Maine & Massachusetts

·        100+ bushels of local sweet corn (from The Pickin’ Patch in Avon, CT)

·        15 ½ barrels of Budweiser beer (that’s about 2500 bottles)

…and LOTS of chowda to go with it. Sadly, this was concentrated clam chowder from SYSCO and the only culinary snafu of the event. I wondered, though, of the 5,000 lobsters that were ordered, how many do they actually use?

All of them.

The guys at the firehouse told me that in the last four years they haven’t had a single lobster leftover—and they ordered 4,000 each year. This time around, determined to grow their numbers and break that glass ceiling, they added another 1,000 and crossed their fingers. The event starts Friday night, then all day Saturday, and from 9am Sunday until they’re gone. With 1500 lobsters sold on Friday night alone (just four hours), it was no contest.

Green Companies Exhibit Friday in Haddam

Companies that install solar electric, solar thermal and geothermal energy systems as well as energy efficiency and recycling firms will exhibit on Friday August 21, in the Higganum section of Haddam on the Higganum Village Green from 3:30pm-7pm.  The Green on Green event is hosted by the Higganum Village Market and the Haddam Energy & Sustainability Committee and is intended provide residents with free information to save money and protect the environment through sustainable living.

The Haddam Green is located near the intersection of Routes 154 and 81.

CONTACT: Mark Stephens Haddam Energy & Sustainability Committee
(860)  345-8435 mark.w.stephens@snet.net.

Edible Food-Like Substances

by Eileen Weber

Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Those seven words are all you need to know about food and nutrition. At least according to Michael Pollan, renowned author and activist for eating fresh food locally and Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley.

Last Saturday at the Cornwall Consolidated School, Michael Pollan gave a lecture about his well-documented food philosophies from such titles as The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. The Cornwall Public Library sponsored the event. Over 200 people sat in the sweltering heat to hear Pollan pontificate about what food is and what it should be.

Pollan said he is often asked what should we eat if we are concerned about our health? One key factor in shopping for your food, he said, was to stay along the periphery of the store. All the perishable items—produce, meats, and dairy—are packed along the sides. But stay away from the middle, he warned. That’s where all the “edible food-like substances” lurk.

These are the foods with high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fats and oils that boast health claims in bold letters on the front of the package. Boxes shout at you down every aisle with phrases like “Lowers Cholesterol!” and “Prevents Heart Disease!” But do they?

Most likely not, says Pollan. He recalled one day while watching television a commercial segment. Two were for breakfast cereals in which one claimed that your kids would focus better in school and the other would prevent heart disease. The third commercial showcased Splenda with fiber.

“Here, they’ve taken fake sugar and added fake fiber to it,” he said. “And now, we have health in a packet. Nature comes packaged with fiber. It’s called an apple.”

Is Your Food FRESH?

by Eileen Weber

A friend of mine bought into a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) this summer. But this week, she was going to be on vacation and wondered if I would like to take her share. Sure, why not? I had thought about buying into a CSA. But, I reconsidered. I thought my family wouldn’t eat that much food. What’s the point of fresh food if it goes to waste?

But I stopped off at the CSA this week and picked up beets, baby carrots, leeks, peaches, nectarines, yellow squash, zucchini, and red eggplants. A vegetarian feast! I used the eggplant and squashes in a ratatouille. (Delish.) I will make soup with the leeks. (Yum.) The nectarines I will grill and serve with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of local honey. (There is no expletive to suitably describe this one.)

With all that luscious organically grown food, the word “fresh” comes to mind. That’s exactly the kind of eating we should be doing, at least according to Ana Sofia Joanes. She is the producer and director of FRESH: New Thinking About What We’re Eating. Originally opening on May, the film debuted in Southport Wednesday night at the Pequot Library.

These days, food never seems to be too far from the media. The selection of Tom Vilsack as the Secretary for the Department of Agriculture was a heated debate earlier this year. Anything written or spoken by Michael Pollan, author of such titles as The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, indicating his position on food, how it is raised, and how what we eat affects us. And most recently, the release of Food, Inc., a movie based on the industrialization of farming in this country. The spotlight is trained on what we eat.

Much like the documentary Food, Inc., FRESH takes a hard look at the food industry and what local farmers are doing about it. Antibiotics. Hormones. Feed made from dead cows. These are the things that organic farmers are taking stand against. And for good reason. They cause more problems than they solve.

“Americans fear only one thing: inconvenience,” said Will Allen, an organic urban farmer of Growing Power in Milwaukee, Wis., and one of the farmers highlighted in the documentary. “We don’t want to think about who’s growing it or if there’s a chemical residue on it.”

Back Away From The Dunkin' Donuts~Green Coffee in our Blue State

by: James Simpkins

Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, I thought Dunkin’ Donuts was a throwback to the 1980’s—somewhere you stopped under duress in Podunk, West Virginia. Moving to New England a few years ago, the dream I was living became a nightmare: Not only was Dunkin’ Donuts not an Atari-like icon of a bygone era, but it seemed to have become the default coffee for millions of people living in the Northeast. And no one seems to care a lick that it sucks. And I’m not just saying that as a guy who’s from out of town, I say that as a coffee lover and aficionado. It’s really bad! However, walking around Yale’s campus a couple weeks ago, my luck changed for the better.

After the results of the 2004 elections, Andrew Ruben and his father, co-owners of Blue State Coffee in New Haven (and RI), were licking their Democratic wounds while in line for a couple lattés. Andrew casually mentioned how coffee might offer an opportunity to place some extra funds in the coffers of progressive causes. His old man knew a good idea when he heard one, and with the help of friends Blue State Coffee was born some three years later, originally as a website where you could order genuine Organic, Fair Trade coffee beans. As ideas tend to do, the concept of a Green, sustainably produced coffee eventually created a life of its own in the form of a retail shop where the idea really took root.

Blue State Coffee first store opened on Thayer Street in Providence, Rhode Island. They now have the original location as well as a spot in the Brown University Bookstore, and the location that I stumbled upon in New Haven. It figures that a good cup of coffee is needed at stellar, modern campuses like Brown and Yale, but how did the whole “Drink Liberally” entendre sit with the old, stodgy right-wingers that those two campuses are also known for? Ruben says it’s going just fine, thank you. Two and a half years in and all three locations are profitable, steadily increasing sales since their openings. Ruben, for one, is psyched. And he should be---he’s still in college (at Yale) and already has a bright future ahead of him. Like so many of us gone the way of the Humanities, that glowing future is completely unrelated to the American Studies degree that he is working on. Well, almost.

Ruben’s timing for his opening could not have been better. Well, maybe by a week or so. The first store opened a week after Obama’s inauguration and attracted quite the following. Al Franken even stopped by and gave a speech on his long road to becoming a U.S. Senator. Good press is also helping Blue State along with Ruben’s ideals being featured in places like Vanity Fair and the Hartford Courant, as well as local papers. What’s driving the interest seems to be the intention to be what Andrew refers to as a “zero-waste business”—striving to recycle, reuse or compost everything they sell. As Ruben says, “Basically, the goal is to remove the trash cans from all of our facilities.”

 Blue State also sources as many products as it can locally. While the coffee isn’t grown around here (I asked just in case) it is roasted by New Harvest Coffee Roasters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The milk in your latté is from The Farmer’s Cow, a Connecticut based six farm cooperative--and the food they sell is made and delivered daily by La Cuisine in Branford. This is all in line with today's progressive consumer demands. Because of the (correct) popular consensus that we have taken a wrong turn somewhere in our commercial enterprise, the Green concept is something that truly stretches across to our friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Kind of like a good cup of coffee. And this website.

 It’s not all roses, however. Ruben tells me that while each of the locations are making money, even while the economy is turning somersaults, Blue State costs more to operate than it would without the commitments that are behind it. Here’s the Mission Statement:

Our Mission:

• To offer organic, fairly traded coffee, roasted to perfection

• To donate 5% of sales to local and national causes that reflect our progressive values

• To run a zero waste, environmentally sustainable business

• To unite a group of people committed to bettering our communities and our country.

What doesn’t surprise me is that a company with commitments like these is more expensive to run. What does surprise me about Blue State Coffee is that when it comes down to making some money vs. a lot of money, those commitments still run the show. But, unlike your local Dunkin’ Donuts, there is no consortium of global private equity firms (like the one that owns DD) trying this and that to add a penny’s more worth to a weakened portfolio. There’s just a smart, driven college junior, his (clearly cool) dad, and a bone to pick with conservatives. Like one of the numerous Blue State double entendres states--“You’re on political grounds.”

I’m not asking you to give up your Dunkin’ Donuts-quite the contrary; go ahead and pick one up. Then stop by Blue State Coffee in New Haven for a comparison. But no dilly-dallying…it won’t be long before you’ll have to look outside their store for a trash can to put that cup in. Their cups are made from corn and can be composted along with the grounds from the beans. How about your Dunkin’ Donuts cup? Is that…styrofoam?  That is so 1985.

See? I knew it.

Blue State Coffee Locations:

·        Blue State Coffee @ Brown University Bookstore

244 Thayer Street | Providence, RI 02912

·        Blue State Coffee New Haven/Wall Street

84 Wall Street | New Haven, CT 06511

·        Blue State Coffee Providence/Thayer Street

300 Thayer Street | Providence, RI 02906

Backyard Chickens

by Eileen Weber

Some say it’s because of the recession. Others say it’s an increased interest in organic food. Others look at it as a way to help the environment. Either way, there are a growing number of homeowners that have a backyard chicken coop.

For chicken enthusiasts, these birds are not just dinner. They say they make great pets and their waste can be used as fertilizer for any vegetable garden. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

According to an article dated July 15th in The Wall Street Journal, homeowners are increasingly turning to raising chickens as a way to economically benefit from the free eggs. But those opposed to backyard coops say it draws unwanted pests like raccoons and coyotes. Barbara Palermo, a chicken owner and resident of Salem, Ore., said that in her opinion the pros outweigh the cons. "In 24 hours, it will be an egg and fertilizer," she said.

For some, having a fresh egg with a vivid orange yolk for breakfast seems to be a great motivator. But the economy is on everyone’s mind and people are looking to find ways to ease their financial burdens.

In a New York Times article dated August 9th, Lloyd Romriell of Annis, Idaho recently received seven grown chickens and a coop from a relative. He sees it as a way to beat the tough economy. “It’s because times are tough. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “If you lose your job tomorrow, you’ve still got food.”

On April 15th, The U.S. News and World Report quoted Rob Ludlow of Pleasant Hill, Calif., owner of BackyardChickens.com, on the increased interest in raising chickens. He said they are relatively easy to care for as pets, lots of people are interested in getting food from humane, local sources, and, as with Romriell, they provide a food source in tough economic times.

"With the way the economy is going, people like the idea they can have access to quality eggs and meat right from their backyard, if they need to," Ludlow said.

Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. Security

August 9, 2009
The New York Times
By JOHN M. BRODER

WASHINGTON — The changing global climate will pose profound strategic challenges to the United States in coming decades, raising the prospect of military intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms, drought, mass migration and pandemics, military and intelligence analysts say.

Such climate-induced crises could topple governments, feed terrorist movements or destabilize entire regions, say the analysts, experts at the Pentagon and intelligence agencies who for the first time are taking a serious look at the national security implications of climate change.

Recent war games and intelligence studies conclude that over the next 20 to 30 years, vulnerable regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia, will face the prospect of food shortages, water crises and catastrophic flooding driven by climate change that could demand an American humanitarian relief or military response.

Organic Hope

by Eileen Weber

One of the things I remember most about summer was the garden my dad always lovingly tended. Cherry tomatoes. Sugar snap peas. Zucchini. Three different kinds of lettuce. And red currants that dazzled in the sunlight like little jewels hanging off the vine.

I never considered myself a gardener, but I’ve always appreciated the concept. This summer, I heard about a garden project for Operation Hope. A group of volunteers would plant vegetables and herbs for the Operation Hope Pantry. It’s a new take on an old concept: Feed the hungry, but make the food fresh.

“The project seems like it is something that should have been started (or at least thought of) a long time ago,” said Amanda Leslie, a volunteer who is a junior at George Washington University currently teaching English on the island of Mauritius, “because in my head it's sort of a 'duh', slap your forehead kind of moment putting two and two together of bringing food directly to people who need it and also using it as an education tool.”

The idea started with a petite woman in a wide-brimmed hat and a Scottish accent. A landscaper by trade, Eleanor Fraser wanted to do something valuable for the community. She put the word out and about a dozen volunteers—from college students to professionals—signed up to help, including myself.

But getting the project off the ground wasn’t so easy. Fraser managed to get a plot from the Town of Fairfield in a designated garden area. But many of the plots are overgrown with weeds or simply fallow. Unfortunately, a number of people will sign up for the plots with the intention of planting, but never do.

“I have a real problem with the plots not being used,” said Fran McDonough, a volunteer who helped Fraser get donations of dirt and mulch for the garden. She said she made a few phone calls and “talked to the right people.”

“The gardens aren’t as well organized as they are in other towns,” said Fraser. “Other neighboring towns send out a letter each year. If you don’t respond, it goes to the next person on the list. Fairfield doesn’t have that.”

Holly’s Oatmeal

by James Simpkins

Did you know there is a company that makes consciously healthy, all-natural oatmeal from scratch in Torrington? Me neither.

Recently, I’ve been heading south for my day job going through Torrington to avoid dealing with Hartford traffic. I noticed a sign for Holly’s Oatmeal a few times and decided that I was, in fact, not seeing things. Located on Northside Drive, it serves as both office and residence for Holly DiMauro, founder and owner of Holly’s Oatmeal.

In November, 2006, Holly started packaging the oatmeal she had been serving at her restaurant “Holly’s Place” in Saulsbury, CT. A short while later, she sold the ‘place’ and starting creating oatmeal full time in March of 2007. Her recipes are generated from fond childhood memories. Because she couldn’t source the grains she needed anywhere else, she gets her main ingredient from Bob’s Red Mill, an all-natural grain supply in Oregon.

Take a look at Bob’s products the next time you’re at the supermarket—especially a Whole Foods. They are pure, whole grains—and you’ll pay for them, but Holly swears there is no substitute. For instance, she uses a flax meal that is guaranteed to hold its nutritional value for 12 months. And, none of the recipes have added sugar or salt. When I asked her why she was spending the money on sourcing the grains, she said, “Look, I’m going to make you something I would make and give to my family.” Not exactly spoken like a capitalist.

“I started with the ideas of healthy, convenient, and easy-to-make,” she continued. “Then I considered the money.” When I asked why she goes through all the trouble to do what she does if not for the dough, she said, “If for no other reason, it’s for the thanks that people give me. Those keep me going when I wake up sometimes and think, ‘Why do I do this again?’ It’s definitely a labor of love.”

Take the CT Grown Challenge

by Analiese Paik

In celebration of National Farmers’ Market Week, August 2-8, Connecticut’s Commissioner of Agriculture has challenged state residents to eat one locally grown food a day during the week. If you’re already a dedicated local-sustainable foodie like me, it’s a pretty low bar and I think we can easily rise to a double challenge – say two local foods a day or one food plus some local wine. But for those of us just beginning to appreciate the sheer joys of eating a farm-fresh tomato or local peach so juicy it runs down our chin, a few ideas about what to buy, where to buy it and how to serve it are in order.

1)    Pick from your own backyard. Do you have some tomatoes, fresh herbs or lettuces growing? Add them to any meal to make it a CT Grown feast.

2)    Go foraging for free food! Raspberries and blueberries are in season and you can find them in your neighbor’s backyard (ask first) or along the roadside. Just look for cars parked at weird angles on the side of the road and people hunched over with containers. Be sure to wash well before eating if picking from the roadside. Fresh blueberries and raspberries are great in cereal or added to yogurt. Beltane Farm’s goats’ milk yogurt is as good as it gets and is available at the Westport, Greenwich, and Milford farmers’ markets.

3)    Visit your local farmers’ market or farm stand and buy some veggies, fruits, eggs, dairy products, meats, seafood, bread, cheese, herbs, honey and baked goods so you’re stocked for the week. Peaches and plums are in season and can be sliced in half, lightly brushed with honey or maple syrup and grilled until warm and caramelized for a delicious but casual dessert which easily doubles as a topping for ice cream or frozen yogurt. Visit the Fairfield Green Food Guide’s Buying Guide to search for farmers’ market and farm stand locations and hours in your town.

Pequot Library Gets FRESH: August 12th 7:00 pm

Pequot Library and the Fairfield Green Food Guide, LLC are proud to present the first community screening in Connecticut of the newly released documentary food film FRESH on Wednesday, August 12 at 7 pm in the Library’s auditorium.  FRESH, a widely-acclaimed production of documentary filmmaker Ana Sofia Joanes offers "new thinking about what we're eating" at a time when the potentially lethal consequences of our industrialized food system have become standard items in our daily news diet.

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, a 2008 MacArthur’s “Genius Award” fellow; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, who is creating a new market model for our family farmers. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. FRESH’s focus on these inspiring individuals and their initiatives around the US provides the audience with actionable solutions. FRESH is a call to action.

“Audience members will walk away with a better appreciation and understanding for the rapidly growing local-sustainable food movement and the critical role they play in supporting local farms and creating a local market for sustainable products. The guest panelists and exhibitors participating in the screening will offer practical ideas about small but important steps we can take to join and strengthen this grass roots movement” explains Analiese Paik, founder of FairfieldGreenFoodGuide.com, a free online consumer guide to green food resources in Fairfield County.

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