Pierce Co. Gleaning Project - Volunteer Training Sessions - July 14 & 23

Join the Pierce County Gleaning Project's effort to feed people and reduce food waste in our own backyards!
 
Volunteer or sign your tree up for the neighborhood fruit harvest this year. We depend entirely on volunteers to pick and deliver home grown fruit to food banks, not to mention, fresh fruit abounds! Sign up online at www.piercecountygleaningproject.org and join us at one of our volunteer training sessions: July 14th from 6:30-7:30pm at Tacoma's Main Downtown Library, and July 23rd from 10:30-11:30am at the Tacoma Weelock Library.
Wanna feed your mind too?

We have also been hosting a gleaning project book club/discussion group. This month we will meet at Kings Books at 6:00pm on August 2nd to discuss Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle. Next month in September, we will be discussing Free For All: Fixing School Food in America.
 
 

Food Lust 2011 - June 4 - The Feast is On! A Regional Fundraiser for CHC

 
The Feast is On!  Food Lust 2011   Saturday, June 45 PM - 10 PMThe Fields at Willie Greens Tickets $85 per person, proceeds to benefit Cascade Harvest Coalition Click here to purchase A special tip of the fork to this year's sponsors: Charlie's Produce, Grand Central Bakery, King-Pierce Farm Bureau, Northwest Farm Credit Services, One PacificCoast Bank, Organic Valley, Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, PCC Natural Markets, Seattle Tilth and Urban Food Link.
 
Cascade Harvest Coalition (CHC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to “re-localizing” the food system in Washington State by more directly connecting consumers and producers.  Programs include Puget Sound Fresh (www.pugetsoundfresh.org), FarmLink (like match.com for farmers and landowners working to grow a next generation of farmers), and Farm-to-Table (connecting farmers and food buyers throughout the State to get more products into local eaters mouths and to increase sales of local farm products ;).  CHC is a great partner in Pride of Pierce County efforts.
 
 

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Mother Earth News Fair & Tours Coming to Puyallup Fairgrounds - June 4-5

 
"Mother Earth News magazine has been helping folks live self-reliant, sustainable, meaningful lives for more than 40 years.  With an audience of more than 3 million readers worldwide, it is the largest and longest-running environmental lifestyle magazine on the planet.... The Mother Earth News Fairs are fun-filled, family-oriented sustainable lifestyle events that feature dozens of practical, hands-on demonstrations and workshops from the leading authorities on: Renewable Energy, Small-scale Agriculture, Gardening, Green Building, Green Transportation and Natural Health."
 
There will also be farm tours associated with the Mother Earth News Fair... links and details on tours below... some in Pierce County... some farther afield.
 

Meat Tour - Direct Marketing and Small Scale Meat Production

http://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=5445

 

Why Buy Local Tour of Orting Valley Farms

http://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=5446

 

Snolqualmie Valley Farm Tours - The New American Farmer

http://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=5447

 

Organic Vegetable & Small Fruit Production and CSA'S

http://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=5448

 

Small Scale Dairy Tour - Cows, Goats and Sheep Dairies

http://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=5449

 

Season Extension/ Hydroponics/ Winery Tour

http://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=5450

 

 

 

Quick order form

https://www.motherearthnews.com/order/order.aspx?promocode=MMEINB41

 

 

 

Celebrate Arbor Day by signing up your fruit tree for gleaning

Friday, April 29 is Arbor Day.  Celebrate this year by signing up your fruit tree to be gleaned with the Pierce County Gleaning Project. Details below.

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Don't be alarmed if you find people embracing their trees this Friday because it is National Arbor Day... the day to plant and care for our verdant pals. If you are the proud owner of a fruit tree (or know somebody who is), we have an easy way for you to show them some love: Register your tree for a community fruit tree harvest in your area!

So often fruit trees provide way more than we can handle at once, and much fruit falls on the ground, creates a mess, and provides an easy vector for tree diseases. Several organizations around the sound are trying to prevent this waste and use this local produce to feed people in need by picking their neighbors' unwanted fruit, and giving it to local food banks. With half of food bank clients being either children or the elderly, this ready to eat fresh local produce is always needed and appreciated.

This Arbor Day, love your trees, love your community, and register your fruit trees!

Sign your tree up today for this year's harvests at one of the following organizations around the sound:

Pierce County Gleaning Project - in Tacoma and Pierce County Register your tree here
City Fruit - in North Seattle (email here for more info) and South Seattle (email here for more info)
Solid Ground Lettuce Link - in Downtown and Central Seattle - Call the Seattle Tilth Hotline to register your tree (206.633.0224)
Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle - in west Seattle - Register your tree here
Urban Abundance - in Vancouver, Wa

Even if you don't have fruit trees, you can still help out by spreading the word to your friends, neighbors, and family, or sign up to volunteer to help with the harvest!

May TFC Coffee Talks!
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May 2011 Tacoma Food Co-op Coffee Talks

Come and learn more about membership, what we are up to, and our next steps!


Please plan to arrive about 15-30 minutes early to join me for some food or drink!

 

Saturday May, 7th

11am-12pm

The Greener Bean
1039 Regents Blvd
Fircrest, WA
98466

Thursday May 19th

6-7pm

Bluebeard Coffee
2201 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA
98403

Monday May 23rd

5-6pm

Shakabrah Java
2618 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA
98406

Tuesday May 31st

6-7pm

Swasey Library
7001 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA
98406


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Plant an Extra Row for the Pierce County Gleaning Project

Today at the community garden summit plant starts were given away for folks to Plant an Extra Row and grow food to donate to food banks. Plant an Extra Row is a project of the Pierce County Gleaning Project. The starts were grown by Bellarmine, Peace of the Earth farm, L'Arche Farm and Gardens, Tahoma Farms, and Tagro. In 2010, the Pierce County Gleaning Project harvested over 8,300 lbs of produce from urban fruit trees and farmers market vendors for county food banks--which have experienced a large increase in the number of clients seeking emergency food. If you want to help your local food bank by growing an extra row or saving those apples on your or your neighbor's fruit tree, head to www.piercecountygleaningproject.org or call 253.584.1040.

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Sent from my wireless device with good thoughts.

Tacoma's Mayor Strickland Opens the 2nd Annual Community Gardens Summit

Today is the 2nd annual community garden summit at the manitou community center in Tacoma! It was kicked off with a great visit from Mayor Strickland, who has a goal to have Tacoma be the city with the most community gardens per capita. With over one hundred people in attendance, the garden summit has been a hit. Workshops include edible flowers, food access, composting, square foot gardening, worm composting, fruit tree gleaning, container gardening, garden art, trellising, and permaculture! Many of the workshops are hands on and being held outside, even better on one of the sunniest days yet this spring.

For more information on community gardens in Tacoma and Pierce County, visit: www.growlocaltacoma.com

Sent from my wireless device with good thoughts.

GardenSphere Tacoma Urban Coop Tour - June 25

GardenSphere is hosting the first Tacoma Urban Coop Tour.  The date is set for June 25, 2011.  It will run from 10-4.  [They were] looking for people to be tour participants.  If you would like your coop to be on the tour stop by the store for an application.  The applications will be due 3/31/11.  Coops must be in the city limits of Tacoma and meet all municipal code requirements.  Volunteer help needed too.

Stop in to get some information or an application for the tour.  

If you've ever wanted chickens and wanted to see what it takes to be an urban farmer, this is the event for you.  If you already have chickens and want to see other coops we encourage that too

GardenSphere is located at 3310 North Proctor Street.


2nd Annual Community Garden Summit - Saturday, April 23

http://www.growlocaltacoma.com/events/184/community-garden-summit

Come one come all to the 2nd annual Community Garden Summit

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23rd, 2011
Manitou Community Center, 4806 S. 66th St., Tacoma.

Children are welcome.

This is a free event and is open to all Tacoma and Pierce County residents. Come learn about growing food and community gardening! Event is not limited to those who garden in Community Gardens – all of us who grow vegetables are gardening in community.

To register, contact Community Garden Coordinator Kristen McIvor at kristenm@cascadeland.org or (253) 363-1846.

Lunch and childcare are provided at no charge, but you must register Wednesday, April 20, 2011.

Register by following this link

The summit will include:
• A brief address by Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland. 
• Free workshops. Topics include square-foot gardening, composting, edible flowers, gardening with kids, art in the garden, trellising, how to plant a food bank garden, how to make your own fruit tree picker, worm composting, urban food sovereignty and how to do outreach for a diverse garden. 
• Free vegetable starts will be handed out to help kick off Pierce County’s “Plant a Row for the Hungry” campaign. 
• Free lunch, featuring fresh local produce.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Community Garden Project is about creating great communities, connecting people to their food supply, empowering them to grow their own food, promoting healthy activity and better nutrition, and creating a more livable urban environment