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Buckets of Rain and the greening of Detroit

Buckets of Rain and the greening of Detroit


Glen Arbor Sun

Just try to keep up with local musician and international vegetable grower Chris Skellenger. His nonprofit “Buckets of Rain” (previously called “11 Oaks”) teaches hungry people in Africa how to install gray water bucket irrigation systems in their parched gardens so they can eat vegetables, not just grain. Skellenger also teaches urban gardening techniques to the Guatemalan people who live in shantytowns next to the Guatemala City garbage dump. Now Buckets of Rain is creating urban gardens in Detroit. You can help Buckets of Rain continue to feed the poor in Detroit, in Latin America and in Africa. There is a fundraiser at Boonedocks in Glen Arbor on Sunday, Sept. 9 from 3-6 p.m. that will include extreme gardening demonstrations, music and lots of photos.

Go to "field to plate"

At 'field to plate' search for seasonal availability of fresh produce in your state or region. If your state is not listed, a readily available resource could not be located. We suggest you contact your state Department of Agriculture to ask about local availability of produce.



Michigan
Courtesy of the City of Holland, representative of Lower Peninsula:
http://www.cityofholland.com/Brix?pageID=423
Fruits: http://www.cityofholland.com/Brix?pageID=533
Vegetables: http://www.cityofholland.com/Brix?pageID=535
http://www.pickyourown.org/MIharvestcalendar.htm
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/Upick_avail_calendar_173366_7.pdf
Michigan Produce Availability (pdf)

Exit stage left

Fresh as it gets

eric@leelanaunews.com

 

Jess Piskor delivered a bushel of greens directly from his garden near Northport to the newly opened Northport Farmers Market Friday morning, and was feeling on top of the world.

“This kale is as fresh as it gets,” said Piskor. “And this is the most meaningful work I’ve ever done,” the 2004 University of Michigan graduate added.

Until recently, Piskor had been working at a popular delicatessen in Ann Arbor where, as he puts it, he “got into food and quality produce.”

“Growing and selling quality produce to your neighbors is about as satisfying as it gets,” he said. “Plus, I’m hoping we can keep my grandfather’s 40-acre farm in the family.”

Most of the farm is leased to cherry farmers. But Piskor’s 1.5-acre garden is keeping him and several of his friends and Ann Arbor “business partners” busy this summer. Farmers markets throughout Leelanau County are also bringing a little cash their way.

The farmers market season in Leelanau County is now well under way, with four of the five operations run by the Leelanau Farmers Market Association opening last week.

New this season is the Northport market, which opened Friday. Conducted outside The Depot next to the Northport Marina, the farm market will be open every Friday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. through Sept. 18.
The farmers market in Suttons Bay has been open since May 16.

Megan Gregory is the newly-hired “market master” for the Suttons Bay, Leland and Glen Arbor markets, which are open on Saturdays, Thursdays and Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. respectively.

With a marketing degree from the Traverse City campus of Davenport University, Gregory said she’s trying out a few new ideas this year to increase attendance at farmers markets. On Saturday, for example, she invited a local musician to play guitar and sing at the Suttons Bay market for tips.

On July 16, the Leland Farmers Market will host a tour for Learngreatfoods.com, an Illinois-based organization specializing in “agri-culinary” tours. The event will include a visit to the fish market in Leland as well as a local winery.

“The farm markets have been busy so far,” Gregory said, “even though some of the crops appear to be a little bit behind this year.”

Spring crops such as rhubarb and asparagus were still in abundance at local farm markets last week. Strawberries had been delayed by unusually cool weather earlier this spring, however.

“We had a few strawberries Saturday morning at Suttons Bay, but they sold out quickly,” Gregory said. “More of them will be coming in soon, I’m sure.”

The “market master” in Northport is longtime resident George Anderson, while Reuben Chapman heads the Empire market. Gregory, Anderson and Chapman all work for the board of the Leelanau Farmers Market Association, a non-profit organization that came into existence nine years ago through another organization called the Leelanau Agricultural Alliance, with the help of the Michigan State University Extension.

Leelanau County MSU Extension director Rob Sirrine said he believes the farmers markets are off to a good start this year and have a bright future ahead.

“More people are interested in purchasing local food and supporting local farmers,” Sirrine said.

And “local” is what farm markets are all about. Rules promulgated for Leelanau Farmers Markets specify that “all products must be grown or produced locally” with “local” being defined as “within 60 miles of the Leelanau County Farmers Market that the vendor is selling at.”

Vendors pay fees for setting up a stand at farmer’s markets – as little as an introductory fee of $5 for one day, or as much as $250 for a space at all five farm markets for the entire season.

Farmer Karen Drake of Cherry Beach Orchards in Suttons Bay said the farm markets mean a lot to the bottom line for some local farmers.

“We do all five farmers markets,” Drake said, “and, so far, we haven’t seen as many customers as we’d like. We’re hoping more locals will stop by the markets this summer for some really great deals, some really fine products, and to help support local agriculture.”

Check out the Northwest Michigan Fair

http://www.northwesternmichiganfair.net/

Manitou Music Festival

Manitou Music Festival
Enjoy a beautiful summer’s evening at the foot of the Dune Climb in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore this Sunday (July 15) at 7 PM.
The setting is magnificent and the music is even better. The Dune Climb Concert is an annual presentation by the Glen Arbor Art Association and free to the public.
This year’s concert features Detour, a Michigan-based bluegrass band that combines original contemporary bluegrass sounds with great traditional favorite. Detour’s tight focused harmonies, precision instrumentals, and creative melodies will take the audience down a unique bluegrass road have landed the band at #1 on the national bluegrass charts! (scroll down for a video)
The band’s talented line-up features the soaring lead vocals of Missy Armstrong, the championship fiddling of Peter Knupfer, the inventive rhythm lines of Jack Grant on bass, the soulful guitar of Scott Zylstra, the hard driving mandolin and superb song writing of Jeff Rose, and the stellar banjo playing of Kevin Gaugier. Detour has quickly become a standout — “a bluegrass joyride” that the Lansing State Journal acclaims as “perhaps the best bluegrass band Michigan has yet produced.”
There is no charge for the 7:00 p.m. concert; however, a National Park pass is required for parking. Free shuttle busses will provide transportation to overflow parking lots. Bring chairs or blankets to sit on. Some folding chairs are also provided in front of the stage. In the event of rain, the show will go on at the Glen Arbor Town Hall.

Mother and Child

Hungry?

We are enjoying the wonderful free range chickens in the chicken pot. They are so tender and delicious. I love to slather them with barbecue
sauce and throw carrots and potatoes right in the pot.

Delicious!

You should consider contacting the farm for dibs on beef or pork!

Holy Rosary and A Chicken Dinner

Yesterday, I wandered up to Holy Rosary for their annual chicken dinner. The sky was so blue and cloudless. The colorful tents fluttered. I thought about how my father told me that these chicken dinners were a wonderful tradition. He thought that they were community events that were fading out of fashion.


Everyone was smiling and friendly. Kids were running everywhere. I stood in line and listened to people chat with each other. It would be a terrible thing if parish chicken dinners didn't happen. I was so filled with gratitude that I lived in a place where they were still going on.

Summer on the Farm

Ninth annual Michigan Family Farms Conference Set for January 14, 2012 in Battle Creek

Ninth annual Michigan Family Farms Conference Set for January 14, 2012 in Battle Creek

August 4, 2011: Register now for the ninth annual Michigan Family Farms Conference on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at Lakeview High School in Battle Creek. This year’s theme is “Building Your Success with Local Products, Partnerships and Planning”, and the day-long conference is packed with 18 educational sessions to connect family farmers with resources to build their farm’s successful future. More...

The Michigan Family Farms Conference is a forum for beginning, small-scale and culturally diverse farmers to network, learn and build sustainable family farms. It provides a unique opportunity to connect with other growers and great resources and learn about topics important to family farms.

Dan Carmody, President of the Eastern Market Corporation, is this year’s keynote speaker. Eastern Market has been feeding Detroit since 1891 and has grown and evolved with the times, from the boom of the automotive industry to today’s recession. It is still offering fresh produce to Michigan families each Saturday.

Because this is the Michigan Family Farms Conference, we also have a youth track for young farmers which will include educational topics like nutrition, careers in agriculture and natural resources, and the dollars and cents of farming. This track also includes a field trip in the afternoon to Binder Park Zoo.

Early-bird registration is open online and is only $35 per person before December 16, $30 for MIFFS members and $25 for youth. Visit www.miffs.org/mffc or contact MIFFS at (517) 432-0712 or miffs@msu.edu for more information or to register. The registration deadline is January 10, 2012. Some scholarships are available.

Partners and sponsors so far include: Michigan Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS), the Farm Research Cooperative, USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), W. K. Kellogg Foundation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), Michigan State University (MSU), MSU Extension, the Potawatomi Resource, Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council, the C.S. Mott Chair for Sustainable Agriculture, the MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Morgan Composting, and the Calhoun Conservation District.

For more information, please contact MIFFS at (517) 432-0712 or miffs@msu.edu or visit www.miffs.org/mffc.

###

Founded in 1998, MIFFS is a statewide membership organization (501c3) whose mission is to help small and medium-sized farms operate profitably, produce healthy food for all people and protect the environment for future generations. MIFFS has been effective at establishing successful partnerships among producers, markets and institutions that have created more profitable, environmentally friendly food systems in Michigan.

To learn more, please visit www.miffs.org or call (517) 432-0712.

Summer on the Farm

Free Range Chickens

We stopped by the farm yesterday and picked up 30 chickens. You cannot beat the taste of naturally raised chickens. Dan had been working hard since 5 AM getting the killing and preparing out of the way.

Beautiful

Micro-Loans Available For Small Farmers In Northern Michigan

By Peter Payette
http://ipr.interlochen.org/ipr-news-features/episode/5273


The number of small farms in northern Michigan has shot up in recent years with almost no help from modern capitalism's main weapon: loans.
Banks in Michigan are accustomed to lending money to farmers. But a lot of new farmers are avoiding debt.

Some people think that should change.

Like a lot of the new farmers in the local food movement, Jess Piskor is young, and not from a farming family. He doesn't own any land. But he's excited about growing vegetables, even if his farm looks more like a large garden.

"It's just an acre, a small bit of land, but we're producing a lot of food for a lot of families and it feels really good," he says.

He and business partner Abra Berens started Bare Knuckle Farm this year with their own money. And, fortunately, they were able to use land in Northport that Jess's grandfather owns.

Jess is amazed by the amount of debt some conventional farmers carry.

"That kind of farming requires that kind of investment," he says. "This small scale farming doesn't require that much capital. Anyone can afford this."
 
Still, Jess and Abra plan to borrow $1,000 dollars for next season. They want to help people eat locally year round. And their idea is to encourage people to buy large amounts of potatoes in the fall that can be stored and eaten through the winter.

So the loan will help them plant a lot more seed potatoes next spring.
They also want to create pamphlets with advice about storing potatoes and cooking them.

Abra is a chef and she says learning about food involves more than just sharing recipes.

"How do you get to know that food and know how to work with it," she says.

Farmers like Jess and Abra almost never approach banks or credit unions for a business loan, according to research done by Michigan State University.
Susan Cocciarelli is an economic development specialist, who wrote the report. She says the banks generally loan to commodity farmers that sell to known markets. But the bankers do know about the new trend in agriculture.

"I would say the majority of the people I interviewed had heard about local food suystems and could point out, 'yeah I've seen more farmer's markets,'" she says.

And that can mean missed opportunities. Coccerellie says wait to expand their businesses because they have to save up cash for every new investment. She'd like to see the banks and the people in the local food movement come together.

She calls it: "A financial pathway to scale up food."

Coccerelli says any pathway should also offer help to new farmers learning the trade and developing sound business models.

And that's exactly the goal of a new program based in Traverse City. The Utopia Foundation has started a loan fund that will help a handful of farmers in Leelanau County.

This is how Bare Knuckle Farm hopes to finance next year's potato crop.
In order to borrow money from the Utopia Foundation's fund you have to be part of the borrowing group. It's a group of farmers that meets each month to help each other with their businesses. They also help develop the proposals and advise the foundation about loans.

Utopia Foundation board member Heather Jordan says the group also has to help out a member in a pinch -- that is, if a member of the group is having trouble repaying.

The foundation also uses this group borrowing model to make micro-loans in Guatemala. And leaders say the needs of poor people in Guatemala are not that different from the needs of new farmers in northern Michigan. Both can use financial help and advice about starting or building a business. And Heather Jordan says both may end up moving if they don't get some help.
But farmers aren't lining up for the loan program.

The foundation could make up to five loans this year. And there may not be that many proposals.

Lunch?

Traverse City, Michigan Is A New Foodie Haven

By John Flesher, Associated Press:

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Attention, traveling foodies: Something yummy is happening in the Traverse City area, and it's even grabbed the attention of luminaries such as celebrity chef Mario Batali, who has a summer home on the scenic Leelanau Peninsula just northwest of town.
Long a top Midwestern tourist draw for its lakes, rivers, forests, beaches -- and the orchards that inspire the self-proclaimed moniker "cherry capital of the world" -- the Traverse City area is now home to an increasingly varied and sophisticated culinary culture with a strong emphasis on local ingredients.
The Lake Michigan resort town is awash in award-winning restaurants and wineries, artisan bakeries, dairies and farm markets. Midwest Living magazine recently placed Traverse City second on its list of the region's best "food towns," trailing only Madison, Wis.
The area's food scene "has just exploded" in the past decade, Batali said in a phone interview: "What you're seeing up there is a renaissance, the rise of a gastronomic subculture that makes it a fascinating place to be."
Trattoria Stella restaurant serves Italian fare ranging from crescenza cheese ravioli to veal scaloppine, but the menu also lists information about where the ingredients came from.
Sleeping Bear Farms provided the honey, Shetler Family Dairy the milk and cream. From Land of Goshen came eggs and Italian sausage. Other producers from the Grand Traverse Bay region of northwestern Lower Michigan supplied veggies, ground beef and lamb, maple syrup.

"It's just better when it hasn't traveled thousands of miles to get to your plate," Trattoria Stella proprietor Paul Danielson says.
It helps that Traverse City's Northwestern Michigan College hosts the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, which has trained many of the region's chefs. "I can't go into many of the restaurants around here without seeing what looks like a class reunion," says Fred Laughlin, the director.
Local farms by the hundreds reflect a statewide agricultural diversity second only to California's. Michigan leads the nation in production of tart cherries, blueberries, three types of dry beans and pickling cucumbers while ranking in the top 10 for dozens of other commodities, including apples, asparagus, carrots and potatoes.
And nature cultivates its own jewels. Batali delights in the morel mushrooms that grow wild on damp forest hillsides. So highly prized are the delectable fungi that productive gathering sites are closely guarded secrets.
Want to prepare your own meals while visiting Traverse City? The area has a couple dozen farmers' markets during harvest season, which typically runs from May to October. Or stop by a roadside stand en route to attractions such as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a half-hour's drive west of town, or Mackinac Island two hours northeast.
Of course, many of us want someone else to cook while we're on vacation. That's where the restaurants come in.
"You can bring home all the cherries and asparagus you want," Batali said, "but if no one is creating sophisticated, specialty dishes with them it can have a sort of state-fair quality." Fortunately, he added, northwestern Michigan has restaurants and chefs whose skills are up to the challenge.
Danielson and his wife Amanda, co-owners of Trattoria Stella, are among many restaurateurs whose arrival in recent years has bolstered the region's culinary credentials. They chose an intriguing location: a building that once housed the Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane. Seriously.
Constructed in the late 19th century, the mental institution occupied a grassy, tree-lined 480 acres. The yellow brick buildings are of Victorian Italianate design, and their rooftop turrets are reminiscent of European castles. Nowadays, the complex is a tourist attraction unto itself as it's redeveloped into a village with boutiques, eateries, wine tasting rooms and more.
With the asparagus harvest in full swing, Trattoria Stella's menu on a recent day featured the tender stalks in two appetizers -- one with poached egg and toasted sourdough -- and as a side dish for a Berkshire pork loin entree. Among other choices: fettuccine topped with morels sauteed in garlic butter and salad with pickled local ramps.
"Our suppliers have such an amazing selection of great stuff, we can rewrite the menu every single day," Paul Danielson says.
Plenty of neighboring restaurants are showcasing local ingredients as well.
Hanna's morel mushroom ravioli draws raves. The Cook's House, tiny but popular, wows customers with smoked rabbit salad, walleye and whitefish dishes -- and liberal use of cherries. Eric Patterson, chef and co-owner, apprenticed under the celebrated Andre Rochat in Las Vegas before migrating to northern Michigan. His business partner, Jennifer Blakeslee, is a local native who began working with Patterson at the celebrated Andre's restaurant in Vegas.
Both are among a cluster of quality restaurants in Traverse City's thriving downtown on Grand Traverse Bay. During the summer, sidewalks are busy as tourists sample cherry jams and salsas from vendors such as Cherry Republic and American Spoon or take in a movie at the historic State Theatre, headquarters for an indie film festival headed by Michael Moore.
For simpler fare, try a salad or sandwich at Lake Street Kitchen and Cafe in the Oryana Natural Foods Co-op, where shelves are packed with organic vegetables, fruits and locally produced foods ranging from peanut butter to ice cream. And just about anywhere, you can savor a slice of oven-warm pie oozing tart cherries, northern Michigan's signature fruit.
Dining opportunities abound outside town as well. A few miles east, Aerie Restaurant & Lounge changes menus seasonally as different local produce becomes available. An added bonus: its location on the 17th floor of Grand Traverse Resort, offering spectacular views of the bay and verdant countryside.
To the west, the Leelanau Peninsula is dotted with lakefront tourist villages and restaurants galore. Martha's Leelanau Table, a European-style bistro in Suttons Bay, stuffs its pancakes with northern Michigan blueberries and its frittatas with cheeses from nearby dairies.
Thirsty from all that food? Wineries and breweries have sprung up across Michigan's northlands, and their products are featured on many local restaurant menus. A favorite day trip for tourists is the 18-mile drive to the lighthouse park at the tip of Old Mission Peninsula. Along the way, visit tasting rooms at the likes of Chateau Grand Traverse, Chateau Chantal and Bowers Harbor Vineyards and watch a spectacular sunset. Nice way to work up an appetite for the next meal.
___

Leelanau Peninsula

by Chicago Magazine

Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula—a relatively narrow outcropping just north of Traverse City, with its collection of lakeside towns, farms, beaches, and rolling hills—was a fairly well-kept secret until a few years ago. That’s when Mario Batali, the New York-based celebrity chef who has a summer home in Northport, started promoting the farm-to-table restaurants, cafés, shops, and farmers’ markets like only a TV personality can. The buzz is deserved and the peninsula’s towns are thriving on the attention. Connecting them all is M-22, a gorgeous stretch of road that follows Lake Michigan.


Head up M-22 north of Traverse City, where the road winds along the shores of Grand Traverse Bay and Suttons Bay. You’ll soon see signs for Ciccone Vineyard (10343 E. Hilltop Rd.; 231-271-5553), a local winery also known for the winemaker’s world-famous daughter: Madonna. Not long after, you’ll encounter Black Star Farms (10844 E. Revold Rd.; 231-944-1270), a gorgeous agriculture estate and winery. Park your car and walk around the property, which includes a stately inn, horse stables, tasting rooms, and a distillery. It will be the first of many moments when the Leelanau Peninsula reminds you of Northern California. Stop for lunch at The Hearth and Vine Café (231-944-1297; entrées from $10); the kitchen makes a fine wood-fired pizza.
A few miles north on M-22, Suttons Bay (see “Hot Hood,” below) is one of the more popular destinations on the peninsula for its walkable central area and boutique shopping. Continue inland on M-204 toward the town of Lake Leelanau, a gold mine for fresh produce. Local farmers set up humble stands on both sides of M-204. These typically operate on the honor system—look for a basket and leave what you think you owe.
Stay on M-22 as you leave Suttons Bay, and the road will lead to the adorable tiny town of Omena. Just steps from the water, the tasting room at Leelanau Cellars (5019 N. West Bay Shore Dr.; 231-386-5201) has a wall of windows overlooking Grand Traverse Bay. While there—or at any Michigan winery, for that matter—pay special attention to the rieslings, chardonnays, and other whites, since the region’s short growing season favors white varietals over reds. Across the street from the tasting room is another treasure: Tamarack Gallery (5039 N. West Bay Shore Dr.; 231-386-5529), a decades-old shop that represents more than 60 artists from around the country.
M-22 rolls and winds for another five miles before reaching the rustic town of Northport. If you get there early enough, grab your coffee and an old-fashioned doughnut or cinnamon twist at Barb’s Bakery (112 N. Mill St.; 231-386-5851) before they’re gone. The town offers a wealth of outdoor activities: Wander by the Northport Farmers’ Market at the marina, hike the dunes of Cathead Bay, walk along Christmas Cove, jump in the lake at any of the quaint beaches, and visit the historic Grand Traverse Lighthouse.
For a casual lunch or dinner, head south to Fischer’s Happy Hour Tavern (7100 N. Manitou Tr., 231-386-9923; entrées from $11), on a section of M-22 that runs along the western edge of the peninsula and through some of its most breathtaking vistas. Fischer’s has the cozy ambiance of a backwoods lodge and serves great no-frills classics: fried chicken, fried mushrooms, fried cauliflower, and some nonbattered items like burgers and fish. During the dinner rush, expect a considerable wait—but don’t leave. Get a drink at the bar and sip it on the restaurant’s porch.
Continuing south from Northport, M-22 cuts through gorgeous rolling hills, orchards, and forests before reaching the town of Leland. In a perfect world, your trip would include at least one of the following: the Leland Wine & Food Festival (June 9); the town’s Fourth of July parade, which oozes small-town Michigan charm; or a boat or fishing trip with one of the local charters, such as Manitou Island Transit (231-256-9061; day trips $20 to $35).
You can certainly squeeze in an afternoon stroll through Fishtown, a bygone fishing village where shops and charters still operate out of weathered shacks. Head to Carlson’s (205 River St.; 231-256-9801) for the day’s fresh catch, as well as smoked chub and whitefish (the adventurous will love the fish sausage). If you’re looking for a sit-down meal, locals will direct you to the 80-year-old Bluebird (102 River St., 231-256-9081; entrées from $16) and suggest that you order the whitefish or perch. The restaurant at The Riverside Inn (302 E. River St., 231-256-9971; entrées from $21) is great for something more formal.
South of Leland and inland a bit, Maple City is home to two restaurants where area chefs are known to dine on their day off: La Bécasse (9001 S. Dunns Farm Rd., 231-334-3944; entrées from $24) and Funistrada (4566 W. MacFarlane Rd., 231-334-3900; entrées from $25). But the biggest attraction is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a breathtaking stretch of sugar-sand dunes, beaches, and cliffs.
Watch the sun go down over Lake Michigan from the dining room at Blu (5705 S. Lake St., 231-334-2530; entrées from $25) in nearby Glen Arbor. This town feels livelier than most, especially when weekend crowds come to shop and sit outside at the restaurants and bars. At some point, pop into the Cherry Republic (6026 Lake St.; 800-206-6949), a store that pays homage to the county that “grows more cherries than any other county in the country” by—you guessed it—selling cherries, food with cherries, and trinkets involving cherries.

The Call of Story

Check out the wonderful stories and storytellers at the following link:


http://byutv.org/watch/6b6c3ccb-68e2-4d34-baf3-da2c482714c3#ooid=90dTNvMTr25e_YBIG6FLrnWNv4LByHXd