• Monday, March 30th, 2009
The next meeting of the Canon Co-op is Sunday, April 5, at 3 pm. It will be held at the house of Judy Van Acker at 160 Adobe Creek, Wetmore. Directions are printed below. Please try and carpool.
The potluck theme is “The ground we stand on is sacred.” Please bring a Native American food dish to share.
We will be discussing the Farmer’s Market, membership forms, grass-fed lamb availability, bulk staple sources, and other membership interests. We also have seeds still available for the taking from our seed exchange. Come join the group and let us know how you can be involved. Everyone is welcome.
Directions to Van Acker House (160 Adobe Creek)
From Florence
Head South on hwy 67 towards Wetmore (where Carl’s Jr. & Main st. intersect in Florence)
Go approx. 10.5 miles on Hwy 67 to Colo. Rd. 290 (you’ll see a row of mailboxes on your right)
Turn right on Colo. Rd 290
Travel to end of road (a mile or so)
Look to your right and you will see a dirt road, which is Adobe Creek (although there is no road sign indicating that it is Adobe Creek) and an open black metal gate
Travel on this dirt road for 1.5 miles
After you have traveled over the second cattle guard
You’ll see address sign 160 Adobe Creek (and a For Sale sign) at the end of our driveway
You’ll see the barn first then the house tucked back in amongst the trees
Call if you get lost (784-6399)
• Monday, March 30th, 2009
Buying locally grown food, which is fresher, is also cheaper and a good way of helping care for the environment as it cuts down on fuel and packing costs. So by buying your food locally you are helping to save the earth’s precious resources and helping local employment, too.
• Friday, March 27th, 2009
Dear Friends,
I thought I’d forward this note and link from my old friend and mentor, Lex Alexander. For those of you who don’t know him, he is the founder of Wellspring Markets in North Carolina and was the “Food Guy” – the person in charge of buying every private label food product and finding the best sources – for Whole Foods from their early days until just a few years ago when their corporate mentality finally forced him out. He’s one of the most knowledgeable food people in the U.S. so his recommendation of this new film counts for a lot, in my book.
Kevin Knox
Good morning….some of you may get this today from 3CUPS as our Friday E-Mail, if so sorry for the duplicate.
I am hopeful about a new documentary film called Food Inc., link below, which will be in theaters this June or July. I am excited about the possibilities for this film. I hope it will do for food awareness what Al Gore’s movie did for Americas understanding of global warming.
I have been in the food business since 1978 and my mantra has always been, “cheap, faceless, factory made food is not a good way to go, in fact it’s the devil. ” Buying more for less is not a good strategy when it comes to our food, and it’s also not sustainable in more ways than one. Anyone who cooks knows to get more food for less money you dilute flavor by using cheap ingredients and adding water….think Bud Lite. And in America’s food factories where time is money, they also take short cuts and use ” better living through modern chemistry” to concoct the processed foods Americans buy by the cart load.
With our current economy, the focus on cutting costs and buying cheap food is once again in fashion. Everywhere I look cheap food is being championed as a solution. America votes with their wallets and what we choose today will determine what survives for the next generation of eaters.
My hope is that more people will say, just eat a little less….but make it really good food.
In this country we produce more than double the calories America needs to be nourished but so many of these foods are processed factory foods.
If you select mostly real foods, the kind which grow outside and you know where the food comes from your satisfaction, health, and the future of small farms and artisan producers will be around in the future.
It’s spring and the farmers market and 3CUPS are good places to start.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQVll-MP3I
HOME
Lex Alexander
1020 Highland Wood Road
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27517
• Thursday, March 19th, 2009
On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.
Twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington will help her dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot plot in a spot visible to passers-by on E Street. (It’s just below the Obama girls’ swing set.) Students from the school, which has had a garden since 2001, will also help plant, harvest and cook the vegetables, berries and herbs.
The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatilloes and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf, butterhead, red leaf and galactic. There will be spinach, chard, collards and black kale. For desserts, there will be a patch of berries. And herbs will include some more unusual varieties, like anise hyssop and Thai basil. A White House carpenter who is a beekeeper will tend two hives for honey.
Total cost for the seeds, mulch, etc., is $200.
The plots will be in raised beds fertilized with White House compost, crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay, lime and green sand. Ladybugs and praying mantises will help control harmful bugs.
Read the rest of the article here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/dining/19garden-web.html?em
• Monday, March 09th, 2009
A dozen co-op members gathered around Phyllis and Mike’s dinning room table to discuss food and membership topics, but not before a tour of their farm revealed the hard work and dedication it takes to keep over 40 Alpaca safe, healthy, and happy at the Aardwolf Alpaca farm.
Due to a couple of members needing to resign from the board, members voted Helene Blake as president. Marvin Carter and Paula Van Tassel offered to sit on the board.
Individual members gardens: Once produce starts arriving in individual member’s gardens, members will send Donia an email listing extra produce they will be bringing to the next monthly meeting. Donia will post the information to the website.
CSA: A discussion about the Javernick’s CSA ensued. Judy will call Javernicks to ask about their weekly fruit basket.
Group canning/drying sessions: The crowd talked about their desire to have a group canning and/or drying session. Cynthia said that she will ask the owner of Colon Orchards about using their cider press. Cynthia will also ask to see if Colon Orchards would stock or bring in organic fruit.
Lamb Meat: Cynthia said that she will get pricing information on grass fed lambs and wondered if any of the members would like to go in on a couple of lambs.
The next meeting is Sunday April 5th @ 3 pm at Judy Van Acker’s house in Wetmore.
• Sunday, March 01st, 2009
Spring is near!! The next meeting of the Canon Co-op is Sunday, March 8th at the Aardwolf Alpaca farm of Phyllis Swenson & Mike Moser (www.ardwolfalpacas.com ). We will be meeting at 3 pm so that we can tour the farm in the warmth of the Colorado sun. If you want to bring food for snacks, the theme is “Springtime in the Andes,” to honor the homeland of the alpacas. Also, if anyone is interested in carpooling to the meeting, you can post a notice on the Co-op website (Local Bulletin Board Page) or call Donia at 275-3140. There is driving directions on their website.
Everyone must be getting excited about gardens and springtime with all this warm weather. Don’t forget to water your grass, shrubs and trees. They haven’t had much snow lately to give them a drink.
Please spread the word about the Co-op; bring a friend to the meeting. We need fresh new ideas, and new members to add to our cause. We want to build community through food; and a community garden or co-op storefront is going to take many individuals coming together.
Javernick Farms is taking new members for their CSA this year and have recently sent us an email offering a fruit share through a partnership with Mesa Winds Farm (a certified organic farm on the western slope). It is very reasonable and sounds great! I will attach the flyer to this email and if you are interested you will need to contact Beki Javernick to sign up for a share at:
Javernick Family Farms
545 S. Lincoln
Canon City, CO 81212
(719)371-3241
Our seed exchange last month was a huge success and Donia will have the basket of donated seeds available at the next meeting. Feel free to take or add seeds as needed. We will also have the Starwest Botanicals wholesale catalog for you to peruse.
See you then!
