Slow Food Nation!

Hate to interrupt all the great garden updates, but wanted to make sure everyone at CUFSP is aware of Slow Food Nation, taking place in San Francisco August 29th - September 1st. It promises to be a stellar event, you can read more about it here. If you happen to be in the Bay area for Labor Day weekend, I really recommend checking it out. In fact, I would even recommend traveling to the Bay Area just to go! (I hope to! :)

Most importantly, Slow Food is excited about the Youth Program taking place as part of the conference. They are still looking for BYTs who are leaders in sustainable food groups around the country (this means you!) to participate. To get involved, contact Gordon Jenkins (gordon/at/slowfoodnation.org.) It promises to be an exciting and inspiring event, with lots of great tastings, wonderful speakers, and even a Victory Garden.

If you are in New York and would like to get a head start on Slow Food Nation contact me (timothy.minerd/at/gmail.com) and I'd be happy to put you in touch with Slow Food's national office. They are headquartered in Brooklyn, and would love to see a Columbia presence at the event.

Weekend Work Party; CSA Shares; Articles

Here's the word on the weekend work time...

Saturday 10:30am, but feel free to show up before or after.

We will be clearing LOTS of weeds in anticipation of a real farmer coming to do a site analysis on Sunday, to give us some advice for future planting. I'll also be buying more starts at the Union Square Greenmarket Saturday morning, and anyone is welcome to join me for that--meet at 8:30am at the Columbia gates (I'll be doing a little market shopping as well, which I highly recommend to anyone who hasn't experienced the Union Square Greenmarket).

Don't forget to BRING YOUR COMPOSTABLES and NEWSPAPER Saturday so we can start the compost bin. We might also be making a few signs, and we will move one of the benches beneath the tree in the back of the west plot and carve out a little path to it.

Also, Megan McNally, the Morningside Heights CSA manager, reports that there are still plenty of available shares for this fall. If you are interested in a CSA share--in which you pay up front for weekly deliveries of fresh produce from a local NY State farmer for 8 weeks in September and October--email Megan: megan.mcnally@gmail.com. Pick-ups will take place on Thursdays at JJ's place beneath John Jay Dining Hall on the Columbia campus.

Hope to see you Saturday! Eat the herbs!

Becky

P.S. A couple good articles are on the moment's "Most Read" list of NYTimes.com:
Mark Bittman's take on meat consumption for meat eaters
and
A look at the recent surge in American gardening, courtesy of current economics