locavore Archives - Land and Table

Networking Potluck and Orchard Design with John Hoskins – Nov. 15

Jason F. — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 19:45:45 +0000

Lynchburg Grows. This month’s Land and Table gathering will feature wisdom from local apple expert John Hoskins as we discuss how to plan & design your own apple orchard. Our monthly potlucks are open to everyone and anyone and are a great way to meet other folks involved in the local food movement, sustainable farming, organic gardening, permaculture, homesteading, healthy eating, and agrarian living. Come with your apple questions and your dreams of cultivating your own orchard. Don’t miss it!

WHERE: Lynchburg Grows 1339 Englewood St.Lynchburg, VA 24501 (not far from city stadium)

(Parking: From Englewood st., take the driveway in front of the greenhouses and turn on the driveway to the right. It’s a very obvious parking lot. If you come from Rutherford st., drive up the driveway and take the driveway to the left. again, very obvious parking lot.)

WHEN: Tuesday. Nov. 15 (5-8pm) 5:00-5:45 | Arrive and network 5:45-6:45 | Eat 7:00-8:00 | Apple Orchard Design and Planning featuring John Hoskins WHAT TO BRING:

Suggested $5.00 (or more) cash/check donation for non-profit urban farm Lynchburg Grows (all donations will benefit Lynchburg Grows)
Healthy dinner food to share
A quiet game or toys if you are bringing kids (we will be indoors!)
Your own dishware (plate or bowl, cup, silverware ,etc)

RSVP NOW: ON FACEBOOK OR USE OUR CONTACT FORM

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Community Potluck at Lynchburg Grows with Free Clinic of Central VA – Oct. 18

Jason F. — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 23:16:17 +0000

The Free Clinic of Central Virginia and Community Access Network – about their good work to provide access to healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured. We will also hear from Lynchburg Grows staff about their multi-faceted approach to growing food, helping people, and serving the community. In their unique ways, both organizations are bringing the community together to serve those who need it most – bringing health and wholeness to many. Don’t miss it! WHERE: Lynchburg Grows 1339 Englewood St.Lynchburg, VA 24501 (not far from city stadium)

WHEN: Tuesday. Oct. 18 (5-8pm) 5:00-5:45 | Arrive and network 5:45-6:45 | Eat, talk, network 7:00-8:00 | We will hear briefly from Lynchburg Grows and then an extended talk from Christina Delzingaro, CEO of The Free Clinic of Central Virginia and Community Access Network WHAT TO BRING:

Cash or check donation for Lynchburg Grows and/or The Free Clinic (together let’s bless both these non-profits!)
Healthy food to share
A quiet game or toys if you are bringing kids (we will be indoors!)
Your own dishware (plate or bowl, cup, silverware ,etc)

RSVP NOW: ON FACEBOOK OR USE OUR CONTACT FORM

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Land and Table: Potluck and Forum with Grassroots Local Market – May 17

Jason F. — Tue, 10 May 2016 14:44:30 +0000

UPDATE: Our potluck and open forum tomorrow will feature Grassroots Local Market – a new co-op grocery store forming in downtown Lynchburg. They will be sharing their vision and ways for eaters and food producers to get involved.

The next Land and Table networking potluck and open forum is coming up next week on Tuesday, May 17 at Mountain Run Farm in northern Bedford County, Virginia. For over three years we have continued to host our monthly potlucks as a space for farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, and local food advocates to meet and encourage one another. These potlucks are not just events for us – but a small way that we can help cultivate community and build, even if slowly, a movement of people who are collectively passionate about transforming our food and farming culture in the Lynchburg, Virginia region. This is a national, if not worldwide, movement with a very local expression – unique to our own place. “Eating is an agricultural act” as the farmer/writer/poet Wendell Berry so famously said. Eating together is our way of not just remembering this truth but of reminding one another that agriculture is communal work. Too many of us, whether farmer or eater or somewhere inbetween – live a life that is saturated with the American ideal of the lone pioneer – we are carving out a path in business and life that we can claim is our own. But we are, like the the rest of creation, made for the ecology of community – the complex web of relational interdependence that makes up a healthy life. This is the vision for Land and Table – to cultivate the life of community, for a community of land-lovers and food advocates. These are not just potlucks, they are a slow means of cultivating a movement – of growing community. Will you be a part? Join us.

EVENT DETAILS:

When: Tuesday, May 17 (5-8 pm) (NOTE: come late if you cannot make it by 5pm but please RSVP.) 5:00-5:45: Arriving and networking 5:45-6:45: Eating and gabbing 6:45-7:45: Open Forum 7:45-8:00: Clean up Come Prepared By Bringing:

Food to share (the focus is on homemade and healthy and…yummy!)
Your own dishware (plates, forks, spoons, cups, etc – for your own use).
Lawn chairs (there will be benches as well).
An optional cash donation of any amount (if you benefit from and appreciate the work of Land and Table)
Dress appropriately – we plan on being outside.

Children are welcome. Dogs are discouraged. Friends and neighbors are encouraged to come along. Location: Mountain Run Farm – Showbarn – 1228 Charlemont Rd, Big Island, VA 24526 (Raine or shine! We will be meeting indoors)

RSVP: Here on the website or on Facebook.

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Land and Table Winter Break

Jason F. — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 19:48:11 +0000

we want to hear from you about the kind of forum topics, mini-workshops, skill-sharing sessions, guest-speakers, and work parties that you would like to see us focus on this year. Make your way over to our contact form and email us your ideas! Whether you have been a part of our monthly gatherings for some time or have never attended any of our events, there are a handful of ways that you can get involved in the Land and Table vision and mission: Join us for our Monthly Networking Potluck If you are a farmer, gardener or local food advocate and you have never joined us for our monthly gatherings please consider joining us – mark the third Tuesday (evenings) of each month, sign-up for our email updates and follow us on Facebook to get event details a week or two before each gathering. Host a Land and Table Gathering If you own a sustainable farm, organic garden, homestead or other local food/agriculture-related location in the Lynchburg/Bedford area and you would like to host one of our Land and Table monthly potluck gatherings please let us know. You must be able to accommodate parking and facilities for approximately 30 adults (and varied amounts of children). We often meet at Mountain Run Farm in northern Bedford County be we also like to tour other farms and projects who are involved in local food production and sustainable agriculture throughout the area. Become a Land and Table supporter Because Land and Table is a labor of love that we do on the side we have always operated on a shoe-string budget (or no budget at all). For three years we have hosted monthly networking potlucks but we have a vision to do more. We want to:

Develop Marketing Resources: Create a marketing program that local producers and food entrepreneurs can leverage to communicate the value of local food to the community.
Create a Local Buyers Guide: Create and publish an online directory and Local Buyer’s Guide for the Lynchburg area with a focus on sustainable and chemical-free farms, etc.
Host Regular Workshops: We often include educational aspects in our free monthly potlucks but there is often not enough time to dig in deeper. We would love to host more in-depth workshops on various food production and homesteading topics.

To sink our roots into this expanding vision we will need to re-imagine Land and Table as something more than a grassroots network. We have thrown around the idea of becoming a non-profit and we continue to lean into this possibility. Join us as we consider ways to resource this vision. This year we hope to start fundraising by releasing an original ‘Grow Local’ Land and Table t-shirt and bumper sticker that will be available on a per donation basis. Help us cultivate a lasting impact for food producers and eaters alike. Thank you! It’s been an honor to be a part of the growing Lynchburg/Bedford area local food movement over the past three years and we anticipate 2016 as being another important year of strengthening our regional foodshed and the families that it supports. Thank you to each of you who have and continue to be a part of the Land and Table community.]]>

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Land and Table: Potluck, Networking, Crop Mob | September 3

Jason F. — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 19:51:17 +0000

DETAILS: WHAT WILL WE BE DOING?

Community Potluck
Networking (hang out with local food movement friends and meet some new ones)
Crop mob/community weed pull (bring work gloves)

COME PREPARED:

Bring a homemade healthy dish to share (emphasis on sourcing local ingredients but not required). Also, if you can, please label your dish with your name & what you made (helpful but also not required)
Bring your own dishware (plates, cups, utensils, etc)
Bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on. (This event is rain or shine)

TIME & PLACE: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 (4:30-7:30 pm) Mountain Run Farm (saloon/farm store – near the pond) in Bedford County, Virginia (Sedalia) Address: 2734 Charlemont Rd, Big Island, Va 24526 (view map) This gathering is open to everyone in the regional community. Please RSVP by sending an email to: Jason [at] SustainableTraditions [dot] com . Also feel free to RSVP and spread the word on Facebook. Download the event flyer: here [pdf http://landandtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/sept-2013-land-table-event-flyer-lo.pdf 590 750] ]]>

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Five Steps You Can Take To Start Eating Local

Jason F. — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:07:24 +0000

1) Learn the issues Choosing to eat local is a shift in thinking. It is a reorienting of our food and money priorities. Economic, ecological, social, and personal health issues intersect our dinner table. It’s important to seek out resources, books, documentaries, etc, that can give us a rounded understanding of why eating local matters. Movies like ‘Fresh‘ and ‘Food Inc.‘ as well as books like Fast Food Nation (which is also a movie, by the way) and the non-fiction work of Wendell Berry are great places to educate yourself. There is also a wealth of websites online that you can find by searching terms like ‘locavore‘ or ‘eating local‘. 2) Grow your own One of the most common criticisms I hear against choosing to eat local and sustainable is that it is too “elitist”. Because buying healthier foods can be more expensive you may think it won’t fit into your food budget, especially lately as food prices are rising. The surest and quickest way to eat local and even somewhat organic is to grow it yourself. Choosing to be a producer and not just a consumer is the first place to begin. You can start with a tomato plant in a pot or a small garden. If you are really adventurous you can start with a few chickens (yes, even in the city). Growing your own can be economical, very rewarding and it is as local as you can get. 2) Buy cooperatively There are times when buying as a group can really save you a lot of money. For instance, if you are interested in buying local, grassfed beef it would be most economical to go in with a few other families to buy a whole cow rather than buy particular cuts a little at a time. You can also start or join a buying club. This can work for everything from raw milk cowshares (or herdshares) to farm, fresh eggs. Start by identifying what you are interested in and ask the farmer or food producer about starting a buyers club. 3) Support sustainable producers The local food movement is integrally linked with sustainable agricultural practices. Sustainable agriculture involves growing food and raising animals in a way that continually restores the land and respects the animals. Using toxic pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers is destructive over the long term and does not build the health of the soil. Also raising animals in confined feeding operations raises the risk for disease. One of the main reasons for buying local is that it makes more sense ecologically. Whenever possible support farmers who are committed to methods and means that heal the land, because if the land and animals are healthy it will translate to the food. And don’t forget to patronize restaurants and other businesses that source from local farmers. 4) Define what matters to you Eating local can mean different things to different people. For some people it means a 100 mile radius; for other people it means only eating food grown in the state; still for others they are fine if it comes from the their part of the country. You need to decide what matters to you and why. Start small and be flexible. Go into this for the long haul making changes incrementally if you need to. Decide what is important to you and begin to take steps toward your new priorities. 5) Seek the source Right now eating local is a popular trend so it seems everything and everybody wants to be in the game. The reality is though there is no certification for what local means. I have heard of produce being bought from Sam’s Club and being resold in farmer’s markets locally. It turns out the produce was from China. I’m sure most resellers in our area do not use deceptive selling tactics but many produce stands (and sometimes farmers at the local markets) are buying in bulk from North Carolina and other out of state sources. You should always inquire where the food comes from and how it is grown. The whole point of eating local is restoring our relationship with the food, the land and those who grow and produce it. Build relationships with the farmers and it will change the way you eat. As farmer, philosopher, and writer Wendell Berry has said: “Eating is an agricultural Act“]]>

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Land and Table Featured In Lynchburg Living

Jason F. — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:14:38 +0000

“…Jason Fowler, a transplant from Northern Virginia, along with his wife, Pam, was vexed by a similar theme. Over the years, the couple grew stronger in their conviction to become self-reliant. “We just started with a garden,” Jason remembered. The Fowlers consider themselves a part of a post-consumerism movement. “Consumerism cannot continue forever,” Jason pointed out. They also felt a spiritual conviction to conduct their lives in a way that fosters intentional community. “In Northern Virginia life was very disintegrated and disjointed. There was an absence of community,” Jason said. So after migrating south and living in Lynchburg for a bit, the couple, along with their children became homesteaders on the Village Farm in Bedford, Virginia, owned by Joe and Teresa Dittrich. There on a wildly picturesque spread complete with a flowing stream and incredibly cute lambs, Jason and Pam tend to chickens, sheep and cows. Lucy, the dairy cow, is milked daily in a late afternoon ritual. “I grew up in the ‘burbs. Interacting with a cow … has been a learning experience,” Jason said with a gleam in his eye. Jason points out how much most of us rely on industrial farms to get meat, vegetables and grains. Skills like milking a cow are hard to come by these days. “These are skills we all knew a couple of generations ago,” Jason reasoned. The Land and Table Movement It’s not just learning how to milk that gets Jason zealous. He has been an integral part of a local food movement occurring in Lynchburg and the surrounding areas. Through an initiative called “Land and Table,” people who care about sustainable agriculture and the local food movement gather once a month to network, discuss local issues and most importantly, eat together. Fowler wears two hats. As a member of the Region 2000 Technology Council and a local homesteader, he serves as a liaison between farmers and regional leaders. According to Fowler, the intention behind creating “Land and Table” was “to seek the shalom of our community, to seek the renewal of our local economy, the land and our bodies. We are asking ourselves, ‘How can we help grow the local food movement and sustainable agriculture in our regional foodshed?’” Danielle Hunter of Spring Mill Farm, along with her husband, HB, are part of the core “Land and Table” team as well and provide artisan meats and cheeses locally. They sell their cheese at the Lynchburg Community Market, the Forest Farmer’s Market and will soon be selling at the new Campbell County Farmer’s Market. Their pork and eggs are available at the Lynchburg Community Market and their cheeses are sold at the Bedford Avenue Meat Shop and seasonally at the Farm Basket. Their cheeses can also be found at dish, Mangia, Rivermont Pizza, Bull Branch and Isabella’s. In addition, their pork is used in dishes at Bull Branch, Rivermont Pizza and Isabella’s. According to Danielle, “’Land and Table’ has provided fellowship with other farmers who share a similar interest in being a part of the local food scene, and for those who share an interest in sustainable farming. We appreciate connecting with farmers who offer similar products so that we can network and help each other out with maintaining a constant supply of goods to our customers.” “Land and Table,” she added, is open to the community “with the purpose of establishing a local food forum from which a larger foodshed renewal movement can grow…” (Read the entire article at LynchburgLiving.com) You can also read an interactive version of the full article and magazine with all the pictures: here. ]]>

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Reclaiming Our Food (Book Review)

Jason F. — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 01:33:22 +0000

Virginia is a leader in the local food movement nationwide. It turns out the author, Tanya Denckla Cobb lives and teaches in Charlottesville, Virginia – just a little over an hour from us. She is a writer, professional environmental mediator, and teaches food system planning at the University of Virginia. I was also delighted to discover that she has recently written a book about the local food movement called ‘Reclaiming Our Food: How the Grassroots Food Movement is Changing the Way We Eat‘. The local food movement is a decentralized cultural shift in the way we think about, grow and consume food. Tanya Denckla Cobb’s book is the quintessential survey of the diversity, creativity and viability of this movement. Reading this book is like going on a roadtrip with the author to meet the multitude of people and organizations that are using food as a means to renew and transform their communities. Accompanied by the beautiful and candid imagery of photographer Jason Houston, the author’s narrative comes alive as you see the faces and hands of the main characters in this living cross-section of America. One part photo essay, one part food system philosophy, and one part storytelling- featuring nearly 60 grassroots food projects- this is the book I have always wished someone would write to prove once and for all that there is truly a revolution happening across all our major cultural divides. There is a deep shift occurring across geographic, racial, economic, political and religious divides – as communities come together around the importance of soil and food, land and table. On reading this collection of inspiring food, land and community centered projects I was struck by how many different ways there are to arrive at the importance of sustainable agriculture and local food. And it is not a movement for just the economically affluent and the cultural elite – this is a broad-based people’s movement. Communities of all kinds – from rich to poor, urban to rural and everything inbetween, are reshaping their local economic and social landscapes. It is a revolution, if we are willing, that leaves no one behind. One of the highlights for me was reading about two organizations local to us here in the Lynchburg, Virginia regional area – the Society of St. Andrew, a national anti-hunger, gleaning network and Lynchburg Grows, an urban farm that serves disabled citizens, at-risk youth and the community at large. This book is a brilliant cross-section of food projects like these that are rooted in particular communities all over the nation. Near the beginning of the book, the author states:

“The grassroots food movement is a broad tent encompassing a multitude of initiatives…Some focus on food, some on the environment, and some on community…Their motivations are diverse, from something as simple as wanting to sell fresh tomatoes to local restaurants to a deeply spiritual yearning to heal the land and our relationship with it…No matter the starting point, no matter how richly diverse the motivations or approaches, the stories in this book demonstrate that, over time, successful grassroots food projects ultimately converge around two central points: local food and community” (p.8, and p.9)

She goes on to further explain the roots and source of this growing grassroots food movement:

“Suddenly the connecting thread became apparent. Across America, the grassroots food movement seems to be arising from a common feeling that we have lost our center. Across our nation, we see spiritual restlessness, children disconnected from nature, people disconnected from each other, a proliferation of foods that fail to nourish either body or spirit, and a lack of community, neighborliness, and relationship. This book tells the story of people who are seeking to find a new center, to create meaning and purpose in their lives, to restore harmony and balance in their relationships with the land, food and each other” (p.9)

If you have wondered if the local food movement is a lasting legacy or merely a passing fad – this book will help you begin to wrap your mind around it’s deep importance. If you are already an advocate or practitioner of local food and sustainable agriculture – this book will be a heartfelt encouragement that you are not crazy and you are not alone. If you are totally uninterested in issues of food and agriculture – this would be a great starting point to educate yourself and to begin to accept the fact that we all have a role to play in this revolution. (above: video trailer for the book ‘Reclaiming Our Food’ by Tanya Denckla Cobb) ________________________________________________ You can follow the conversation beyond the book at the author’s website: www.tanyadencklacobb.com. A big thanks to Tanya and the fine folks at Storey Publishing for providing us a review copy of this incredible book. ________________________________________________ (Editor’s Note- Disclosure: Land & Table is an initiative by Sustainable Traditions who receives free review books including the book reviewed above. LandAndTable.com is an independent website free to express opinions and reviews unhindered by any contractual requirements to any publishers or organizations.)]]>

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