Work group updates. GEE Symposium Oct 6-7, Harvest Festival Oct 8 |
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| | Save the date for our next meeting:
Tuesday, October 17 |
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4-6pm
Copeland Health Education Pavilion
1911 Johnson Avenue, SLO - 3rd floor auditorium
Featured speaker/discussion topic TBA, followed by work group and policy updates. Stay tuned for more details in our next newsletter. |
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Please fill out this survey by this Friday, August 18
to share your ideas for a new logo.
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Thank you to Talley Farms for hosting our summer social! |
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Andrea Chavez, director of Talley Farms' Fresh Harvest CSA, gave us a tour of their operation and shared their lettuce bounty with us to glean for the Food Bank.
Thank you for your generosity!
And thank you to everyone who came out for the summer social! There was a nice mix of old and new faces. Hope to see you all at the next meeting in October! |
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| CalFresh Alliance
Contact: Jen Miller The SLO County CalFresh Alliance has adopted a plan to reduce hunger and improve health in SLO County by reaching an 85% CalFresh participation rate. Recent progress toward this goal includes: - Same-visit enrollment at all six Department of Social Services offices
- Funding secured for CalFresh outreach staffing at Cal Poly and the Food Bank
- Ongoing trainings available for community based organizations who are interested in learning how they can help people enroll in CalFresh
- Exploring new technologies and system improvements, such as text notifications
The SLO County CalFresh Alliance is a group of local individuals representing multiple CBOs and agencies who work with residents living in poverty. The Alliance works together to advocate for the increase in CalFresh (formerly food stamps) participation rate and the elimination of barriers to CalFresh for low-income individuals. |
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| Farm to School
Contact: Teresa Lees We are two months away from the Growing Edible Education Symposium to be held October 6th and 7th at Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School!!! Have you registered yet??? Here is the link:
https://www.geesymposium.org/register-now
Please register by the end of August for the early bird prices of $120 for the two days or $70 for one day. Please encourage your colleagues and Farm to School contacts to register. Prices will go up in September and registration will close on October 1st.
We have many exciting Farm to School elements in place: field trips to school gardens and farms, educational workshops, keynote speakers, healthy meals, panelists, and an exhibitor expo. See our website to see how to get involved:
https://www.geesymposium.org/get-involved
We are also seeking sponsorship to help cover the costs of the GEE Symposium. Here is the “menu” of sponsorship options. Please share with farm and food businesses:
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/ac05c5_269ec7adfd55485e852fdebfb184891e.pdf
Two volunteer options - one at the Friday Night Mixer (this gives you free admission to this event) and the other at the Exhibitor Expo on Saturday after lunch (free admission to afternoon session). Contact Teresa Lees Teresa@creec.org if you want to volunteer. |
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| Farm to Markets
Contact: Ellen Burke At their last meeting in May, they approved their working group name and mission statement and discussed their online presence and coordinators for projects. They are continuing interacting with the distributor Harvest Santa Barbara, supporting planning another Farm to Buyer mixer, and supporting the Farmers Guild in their transition to new leadership.
Promoting sustainable agriculture in SLO County by linking our community to local food through networking opportunities, marketing and education campaigns, and events. |
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| EBT at Farmers' Markets
Contact: Kylie Hensley This work group reconvened last month and checked in about the current status of EBT at farmers markets throughout the county. EBT is currently accepted at the North County Farmers Markets, the Thursday night market in downtown SLO, and the Tuesday evening market at the SLO Guild Hall. The North County markets are going well, and the Thursday SLO market has an excellent EBT operator and an average of 6 EBT users per week.
The work group is trying to help the Thursday night SLO market connect with SNAP Outreach to raise awareness and increase participation in their EBT option and is also considering the possibility of helping farm stands to start accepting EBT. |
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| 3rd Annual
Growing Edible Education Symposium
Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School
October 6-7, 2017
Register now before prices go up in September!
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The city of SLO is installing a community garden. One Cool Earth is thrilled to be increasing space for community members to grow and connect outside. This garden will be irrigated with “purple pipe” (recycled water) and include a food forest!
August 19 - Final landscape planting and mulching
9 am - 12 pm
Laguna Lake Golf Course
11175 Los Osos Valley Rd San Luis Obispo, California. Directions
Meet in the parking in the golf course parking lot.
Please wear suitable clothing including closed shoes and a reusable water bottle. Sunscreen and a sun hat will also be nice to bring.
Sign up to volunteer! |
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Workdays at Our Global Family Farm |
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10 am - 12 pm
SLO City Farm
1221 Calle Joaquin Rd. along Hwy 101, SLO
$5 donation per family
August 19 - stain wood for the pergola
August 20 - construct the pergola
August 26 - mulch pathways
Our Global Family Farm is a permaculture demonstration garden for families at SLO City Farm that is getting ready to host a field trip for the Growing Edible Education Symposium on October 6.
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Central Coast Climate Collaborative Inaugural Summit |
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August 23
8:30am - 3pm
SLO Veteran's Hall The Central Coast Climate Collaborative (CCCC), consisting of community leaders from six Central Coast counties from Santa Cruz to Ventura, is holding its first summit. To learn more, visit: http://www.centralcoastclimate.org/ |
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California Climate Action Planning Conference |
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August 24-25 If you are a professional, elected official, student, or active citizen who is working to create low-carbon, resilient communities, plan to attend. Register here.
Some featured speakers: - Heidi Harmon, Mayor, City of San Luis Obispo
- John Wentworth, Mayor, City of Mammoth Lakes
- Selena Evilsizor, Planner, County of Santa Barbara
- Frank Chen, Energy and Sustainability Program Specialist, County of Santa Barbara
- Josh Lee, Chief of Planning, San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
- Justin LeVeque, Environmental Planner, Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- Sarah Moe, Senior Consultant, Sustainable Buildings and Communities, DNV GL
- Mark Northcross, Principal, NHA Advisors
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August 26
1 - 3 pm
SLO City Library Community Room, Palm Street, SLO
Bring your seeds to harvest, clean, package, label and swap. |
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Totally Tomatoes! with UCCE Master Food Preservers |
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August 26
10am -12pm at the UCCE Auditorium, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo. This class will offer a variety of methods to preserve your tomato bounty. Recipes may include salsas, juice, dehydration, and pressure canning. Class fee is $5. To register, please go to: http://cesanluisobispo.ucanr.edu/?calitem=368488&g=20595 |
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Farmer Experiential Education and Development (F.E.E.D.) |
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September 5 - December 8
Cal Poly’s F.E.E.D. is an intensive 12-week certificate program designed to immerse participants in a hands-on learning experience that will introduce them to the knowledge and basic skills of farming while also providing mentoring support to create a foundation for long-term success in agriculture and related industries. |
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Seed Stories & Basics of Seed Saving |
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September 14
6:30 - 8 pm
Los Osos Library
Free community event with Elizabeth Johnson from the SLO Seed Exchange. |
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Fall Harvest Festival at SLO City Farm |
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October 8
1 - 5 pm
SLO City Farm
1221 Calle Joaquin Rd. along Hwy 101, SLO
$5 entrance fee
Experience the bounty of Autumn and the beauty of San Luis Obispo’s City Farm. Purchase organic produce grown onsite by independent farmers and by students at Pacific Beach High School.
Meet the farmers and tour their four independent operations.
Participate in planting and harvest activities.
Enjoy fresh farm food and live music.
Learn about and support local urban agriculture.
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October 28
10 am - 2pm
Our Global Family Village @ SLO City Farm
1221 Calle Joaquin Rd. along Hwy 101, SLO
$5 donation per family
Sacred visit of seed savers in the Peruvian tradition "El Watunakuy". Bless the food that nourishes us as a community and to honor indigenous peoples who have carried plant knowledge forward for generations. |
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Our Member Organizations: |
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| Affordable Housing Paso Robles (Youthworks)
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CAFES Center for Sustainability
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Center for Family Strengthening (Promotores)
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Central Coast Grown
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Chumash Farms
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Community Action Partnership of SLO County
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CREEC Network
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Diringer and Associates
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eatSLO network
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Ecologistics, Inc. |
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| Farmers Guild San Luis Obispo
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Food Bank Coalition of SLO County
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GleanSLO
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HEAL-SLO
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North County Farmers Markets Association
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One Cool Earth
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SLO Guild
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SLO Permaculture Guild
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Slow Money SLO
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SLO County Public Health
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UC Cooperative Extension |
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