2012 in review

How instructive to look back through my calendar and this blog and see what was accomplished (and not) this year.  Seems like I have not been paying as much attention to issues at the national and global levels, but I have also done more than in any previous year locally.

In January I did a late glean of some persimmons, and not much else.

In February the meeting schedule heated up.  I planted some peas in my plot and started tomato and pepper seeds inside.  Our clergy conference on wellness left a whole lot to be desired from the food perspective.  What we ate was pretty good and some local, but the information about diet was devoid of any eco-justice awareness.

In March I began helping with stakeholder interviews for the Food Action Plan, and the communication committee of the Food System Alliance began meeting.  Joe Valentine contacted me about his interest in gleaning, and I had a first meeting with Steve Schwartz about interfaith plans.  I wondered why there were so few people from ag advocacy and food system organizations at the Volunteer Center's non-profit conference.

In April interviews and communication planning for the Alliance continued, and I gave away lots of plants, mostly tomatoes, for Earth Day at Trinity.

May was meeting heavy. I found myself missing a lot of meetings at my community garden because of so many other Saturday commitments.  

June brought the beginning of meetings with folks forming the county Community Garden Network, lots of meetings and interviews for the gleaning project, and some writing of introductory materials for the Food Action Plan.

July was filled with still more meetings, interviews and schmoozing activities to drum up interest in gleaning.  We enlisted the support of the Community Center and the Sonoma Valley Granged.  I made my debut on Mornings in Sonoma as part of the launch.

In August we finally had an introductory meeting with gleaners and formally launched the Sonoma Valley Gleaning Project - on a way too hot evening for a room with too few fans and no A/C.  First gleans were  backyard table grapes and model vegetable plots at Cornerstone.   August also was the beginning of tabling season, promoting the Alliance and its members at the county fair and Gravenstein Fair.  I wrote some quiz questions about Sonoma County ag which we used to attract attention.   Meanwhile, we began our preserving parties at Trinity with zucchini pickles and relish.  

The first day of September El Dorado County Master Preservers did a demo on canning fall fruit at Trinity, and late in the month we had a jam session.   We tweaked the recipe I'd found last year for tomato apple jam, and between church and home kitchens probably made way too much of it!  Definitely the food trend of the year among Sonoma Episcopalians.   We continued gleaning - mostly apples.  I volunteered at the second annual Heirloom Expo.   I met with some others in the deacon community and inspired some more gleaning and other food justice efforts around California.  The Food System Alliance approved the Food Action Plan.   The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative was launched.  And I wrapped up the month by cooking for a small retreat in 100 degree weather.

Gleaning moved from late apples to figs and walnuts in October.  I created a display for the produce swap at the Sonoma Valley Grange (a partner in the gleaning project) Harvest Fair.  The Food Action Plan was approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. It's hard to say what was the most fun:  gleaning on beautiful autumn days, enjoying the harvest from my garden, or attending the sustainable food and wine hearing which State Senator Noreen Evans convened.  I looked around that large hearing room at the city offices and, realizing how many I knew, thought, ah, these are my people.

In November the gleaning of harder to place produce began - things like persimmons and quinces.  When you have to cook something it is not nearly as attractive to food programs and their clients and guests.   I applaud Sonoma Valley Teen Services, where the teaching of cooking and nutrition has educated a group of young people who accept the challenge of trying anything in their small commercial kitchen.   November also brought an opportunity to talk with a realtor friend about how the real estate community might cooperate with gleaning efforts around the county.  I wonder what will happen with this?  I was more successful at connecting folks from Gridley involved with agriculture development in Liberia with Ecology Action interns.  Seems significant that this happened at a deacon's ordination.   But again, I wait to see what happens next.  How will these seeds grow?

As December began I realized that we had completed one full year of Food of the Month at Trinity.  I noted today that I didn't always post my copy on each month's item here.  We wrapped up November with masa harina, and began again with peanut butter.   December is also the season of never leaving home without food - something baked with local fruit or nuts, or a preserve and some local cheese for the cheese board.   And as we look to the new year, the Food Action Plan roll out begins to pick up speed as we seek endorsements from municipalities, businesses and organizations.

The Sonoma Valley Gleaning Project ended its first year (five months, really) with 1129 pounds gleaned, by 17 different volunteers, from 16 donors, on 20 occasions, to 6 local organizations.

What a year of local activity.  But as I checked just now (could it have changed at the last minute?) the U.S. still doesn't have a farm bill, or even the extension of the 2008 version set to expire at midnight (in which time zone?)

October food of the month

Well, we all know what October is, right - the month of post season baseball!

Even though there are still many questions in the American League about who will play whom when, things are looking good for the surprising Oakland A's to get to at least one game after these last three regular season ones.

In honor of this most glorious of baseball months, I decided to declare the food of the month at my parish the one canned vegetable that food pantry patrons want - corn.   May there be many can of corn catches in the days ahead!

What?  You don't know "can of corn"?   Check out the Wikipedia glossary of baseball here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_baseball_(C)

Tomato Longings - May food of the month

Here's what I wrote for Trinity's newsletter this month:

I don’t know about you, but once the tomato plants are ready to go in the ground, I start salivating for a vine-ripened tomato.   I have to keep reminding myself, though, that it’s usually sometime in July, or in cool summers even later, before I get one from my own Sonoma County garden.   And it’s summer’s end before my picking basket feels the full weight of seasonal bounty.  

When I looked in my freezer and cupboard a few days ago, I realized supplies were low from last summer’s preserving.  This is the season when I sometimes turn to canned tomatoes; and we can assume that our hungry neighbors do, too.

So - May’s food of the month is CANNED TOMATOES & TOMATO SAUCE.

What’s in a can?  Well, it’s sometimes hard to tell, but it is often true that the flavor of canned tomatoes is better than the out of season tomatoes on sale at this time of year.  They have been bred to endure long bumpy trips and gassed into redness.

Did you know you can boost the flavor of canned whole tomatoes by roasting them, just as you would fresh?  Drain a couple of 28 ounces cans, reserving the liquid for another use if you like.  Put the tomatoes in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or more, until they begin to darken and shrink some.   These are great for soups, stews and sauces.

Reading the labels will tell us if the tomatoes inside the can were grown organically, and how much salt has been added: but it’s tricky to tell where the tomatoes were grown.  Labels tell the country of origin, and where the distributor is located, but not where produce comes from. We can make a guess, though, because 94% of canned tomatoes from the USA are from California. Our own UC Davis leads the way in commercial tomato production research.  

The other thing labels don’t reveal is how the workers who tended the tomatoes and picked them and got them into the can were treated and compensated.   Some of the worst cases of abuse of agricultural workers in this country have occurred in tomato fields.   Activists are working toward domestic standards for Fair Trade, to parallel those we have internationally for coffee, tea, cocoa, and other crops.   Stay tuned.  

Oops. I forgot to post April's FOTM

The food of the month for April at Trinity Church is LOW SUGAR CANNED FRUIT.
If you follow such things, and I tend to, you know that children, teens and adults don’t get enough fruits and vegetables.   One study reports that 88% of teens don’t get the recommended amounts of fruit, another that 25% of teens don’t eat fruit daily - meaning there are days when they don’t eat any.   Adults, I’ve learned, over estimate the number of servings of fruit and vegetables they consume.
Educators work to change these habits, but there are many reasons why we don’t eat enough fruit.
One is accessibility.   Fortunately our local schools are working hard to offer healthful food to their students.   But for many families struggling to make ends meet, fruit is an “optional” on the grocery list.   Food dollars go first to things that fill the hole, stick to your ribs - and do it cheaply.
There’s some fruit in season most every month of the year in California, but if, in the interests of health and a healthy environment, you favor local and seasonal produce, this is a challenging time of year. Citrus is on the wane and local strawberries haven’t come in yet.   Stone fruit is months away, apples and pears even longer.
It’s a time of year when I am happy for the applesauce and apricots I put up last summer, and for the abundance of California dried fruit.  For our neighbors whose cupboards are bare, it’s a good time for us to donate some canned fruit.
Not all canned fruit is created equal.   Do look for no added sugar (in applesauce, for example) or canned in juice.    
Wouldn’t it be great if we all had access to - and ate - our 2-3 servings of seasonal, local, healthful fruit every day?

Food of the Month Club - March

Here are my notes for this month at Trinity.

In addition, I'm challening the congregation to donate 40 bottles of oil (pints or larger) - a much asked for and rarely available item at the food pantry. 

The Food of the Month for March is

Cooking Oil

Many of the FISH food pantry’s clients ask for it, but it’s rarely donated and unavailable for inexpensive purchase from the Redwood Empire Food Bank. So usually the answer to requests is “Sorry.”

For the billion or more food insecure people in the world, two of the staples we take for granted and often have too much of, sugar and oil, are luxuries. Prices for oil will continue to rise as more of the crops from which it is sourced are diverted to bio-fuels, and more land is devoted to raising bio-fuel and animal feed crops.

Here are some FAQs about purchasing oils.
Are there local choices?
Local oils - olive, actually - are usually too expensive for most of our budgets. (But a wonderful treat when used to dress salads or other vegetables.)

Which oils are from genetically engineered crops? Any corn, soy or canola oil which is not labeled organic, or any “vegetable” oil, which may also contain cottonseed oil, will be from GM crops. Words like “natural” and “real” on labels are meaningless.
Whole Foods’ 365 store brand, Safeway O-organics, and Trader Joe’s own label are all good choices of value for money. Google the “True Foods Shopper’s Guide” http://truefoodnow.org/shoppers-guide/ if you want more information on GMO free products.

What about other environmental concerns? Avoid palm oil unless it’s certified organic. Since regulations regarding trans fats went into effect, palm oil, which is solid at room temperature without hydrogenation, has been used more and more, resulting in the destruction of tropical forest habitat. Orangutans and many other species which are less conspicuous are endangered because of this trend.

What are the best choices for health? Advice on which fats to choose seems like the shifting sands. One thing that’s been consistent for some decades is the recommendation to choose cooking oils high in mono-unsaturated fats. Common ones are sunflower, safflower, peanut and olive. Did you know that coconut and palm oils are higher in saturated fat than butter?