Peninsula Daily News
Jennifer Jackson
PORT TOWNSEND - How many angry moms does it take to change a school lunch menu?
According to the film "Two Angry Moms," it takes a whole community to change the status quo.
Which is why a coalition of local parents is circulating two petitions SEmD one for adults and one for students SEmD asking the Port Townsend School Board to do three things: maximize use of fresh, whole food in the cafeteria; minimize processed food in lunch and breakfast programs; and buy more food from local sources.
"We started the petitions last week," said Rosanna Herman, a coalition organizer. (Read More)
For more information on the Jefferson County Farm to Schools Coalition
Showing posts with label Article. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Article. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 30, 2009
To market, to market, to buy local goods
By Allison Arthur of The Leader
April 29, 2009
Fresh from an International Farmers Market conference last weekend in San Francisco, Port Townsend Farmers Market Manager Will O'Donnell was excited Monday about the market opening Saturday, May 2.
It was the farmers market that brought O'Donnell and his wife, Kate Dean, who is Small Farms program director for the Washington State University Extension in Port Hadlock, to Jefferson County a decade ago.
And it's the same farmers market - a market that has grown in that decade from 15 to 70 vendors and from $80,000 to $800,000 in annual sales - that is keeping the family in Jefferson County, in an Uptown home not far from the market.
While the worldwide economy might be in the doldrums, O'Donnell says the future of the farmers market is bright.
"Our success rate is off the charts, and that's due to the fantastic and enlightened community we have. We have the perfect demographics for a farmers market," he said of a community that is middle-aged, highly educated and interested in healthy foods. (Read More)
April 29, 2009
Fresh from an International Farmers Market conference last weekend in San Francisco, Port Townsend Farmers Market Manager Will O'Donnell was excited Monday about the market opening Saturday, May 2.
It was the farmers market that brought O'Donnell and his wife, Kate Dean, who is Small Farms program director for the Washington State University Extension in Port Hadlock, to Jefferson County a decade ago.
And it's the same farmers market - a market that has grown in that decade from 15 to 70 vendors and from $80,000 to $800,000 in annual sales - that is keeping the family in Jefferson County, in an Uptown home not far from the market.
While the worldwide economy might be in the doldrums, O'Donnell says the future of the farmers market is bright.
"Our success rate is off the charts, and that's due to the fantastic and enlightened community we have. We have the perfect demographics for a farmers market," he said of a community that is middle-aged, highly educated and interested in healthy foods. (Read More)
Friday, December 12, 2008
PT Leader Letter: The higher price of organic
Letter To The Editor: December 2008
I want to thank the people of Jefferson County and Port Townsend for supporting our local farmers markets.
In response to Mary Davies' recent column asking why prices at the Farmers Market are often higher than at the Food Co-op, I would like to challenge that presumption. As a farmer, I keep track of prices at both Safeway and the Food Co-op, and find that I am often charging the same or less than what's charged for mass-produced, non-organic produce. If the prices are higher, it is not that the target buyer is a tourist; it is that we Americans are used to paying low prices due to mass production, exploitation of migrant workers and government subsidies. Your dollar spent at the Port Townsend Farmers Market is helping a local farm family earn a living wage, grow really fresh produce brought practically to your door step. In fact, you should pay more to have produce picked less than a day earlier, packed and brought to market. (Read More)
I want to thank the people of Jefferson County and Port Townsend for supporting our local farmers markets.
In response to Mary Davies' recent column asking why prices at the Farmers Market are often higher than at the Food Co-op, I would like to challenge that presumption. As a farmer, I keep track of prices at both Safeway and the Food Co-op, and find that I am often charging the same or less than what's charged for mass-produced, non-organic produce. If the prices are higher, it is not that the target buyer is a tourist; it is that we Americans are used to paying low prices due to mass production, exploitation of migrant workers and government subsidies. Your dollar spent at the Port Townsend Farmers Market is helping a local farm family earn a living wage, grow really fresh produce brought practically to your door step. In fact, you should pay more to have produce picked less than a day earlier, packed and brought to market. (Read More)
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Farmers of the farmers market celebrate year of growth
It's not often that the farmers of Jefferson County get to sit at a banquet of gourmet local food for $75 a plate.
In part, that's because there aren't many banquets made entirely of gourmet local food, though the Port Townsend Farmers Market third annual Harvest Dinner on Oct. 26 was certainly the exception.
But in part it's also because most farmers can't afford the $75. The growth of local farms and the ranks of farmers, marked by the rapid growth of the farmers market here, has not changed the economics of small farms. It's hard work through many hours through many cold months that produces a barely livable wage. That's the way it looks to longtime farmer Robert Greenway of Corona Farm.
"The success of the market truly rests on the farmers," he said, "and this is a raggedy, wily, persistent bunch, for the most part willing to work 60- to 70-hour weeks for a few bucks an hour." While many local farmers have been at it for years, others are new and bring new energy and skills to the fields. Among those new skills, said Greenway, are business models that "show them, rather harshly, just how hard they are working and how little they are compensated for it." There are exceptions, such as farms supported by family money or a strong legacy, he said.
In part, that's because there aren't many banquets made entirely of gourmet local food, though the Port Townsend Farmers Market third annual Harvest Dinner on Oct. 26 was certainly the exception.
But in part it's also because most farmers can't afford the $75. The growth of local farms and the ranks of farmers, marked by the rapid growth of the farmers market here, has not changed the economics of small farms. It's hard work through many hours through many cold months that produces a barely livable wage. That's the way it looks to longtime farmer Robert Greenway of Corona Farm.
"The success of the market truly rests on the farmers," he said, "and this is a raggedy, wily, persistent bunch, for the most part willing to work 60- to 70-hour weeks for a few bucks an hour." While many local farmers have been at it for years, others are new and bring new energy and skills to the fields. Among those new skills, said Greenway, are business models that "show them, rather harshly, just how hard they are working and how little they are compensated for it." There are exceptions, such as farms supported by family money or a strong legacy, he said.
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