Want to support local independent restaurants and get a great meal for great deal?

Restaurant Week Portsmouth, a bi-annual culinary event that spotlights Greater Portsmouth as a culinary and cultural destination, runs from March 26 to April 3, 2010. Participating restaurants throughout the Seacoast will offer special three-course prix fixe menus (lunch $16.95 per person, dinner $29.95 per person). View menus for eachrestaurant through links on the Restaurant Week Portsmouth web page.

“Please note: Restaurants will not accept discount cards or other offers during Restaurant Week. Reservations highly recommended—diners must contact the individual restaurant(s) of their choice.”

Food & Water Watch announced today that the public lecture with Maude Barlow has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 31, 2010, at 7:00 pm. Part of the “Tap In” series at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the event originally was scheduled for March 4 (see the post about it here) was canceled due to a weather-related flight cancellation.) This lecture will be the last event in the series.

Please register for this event.

For more information …

About the organization: Food & Water Watch

About the Tap In series at UNH: UNH Office of Sustainability

About the event, and to register: New Date: Water Activist Maude Barlow Visits UNH

Ready to get your hands into the soil and bring back the green? On Saturday, April 24 (rain date: Sunday, April 25), join an inspired community in helping to bring new life to the historic gardens at Strawbery Banke Museum. The day starts with the Strawbery Banke Earth Day Volunteer Garden Cleanup and continues into the afternoon with a Slow Food Potluck and an Heirloom Seed Plant-In.

Other work opportunities also will be available throughout the site for those not inclined toward gardening, but all work done will help the museum get ready for its May 1 opening.

Morning: Garden Cleanup

Volunteers should arrive at the Strawbery Banke Visitors Center between 8:30 and 9:00 am for work assignments and refreshments. Please feel free to bring your favorite gardening tools, wheelbarrows, rakes, and gloves. All other tools will be provided by the Museum. Park in the lot by the Visitors Center at 14 Hancock Street, Portsmouth.

Midday: Slow Food Potluck Lunch

An optional Slow Food Potluck Lunch will follow at 12:30 pm. Visit the Slow Food Seacoast website and About Our Potlucks to learn more about Slow Food Seacoast and our potluck events.

Afternoon: Heirloom Seed “Plant-In”

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and to further the day’s theme, join us for an Heirloom Seed Plant-In from 1:30 to 4:00 pm!  Slow Food Seacoast is partnering with Strawbery Banke and the Chefs Collaborative to teach how to grow and eat food from your own backyard. Participants will receive free heirloom seeds and plants, and enjoy free workshops and talks. Afternoon sessions will include Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) information sessions, gardening tips, and heirloom seed planting, plus plenty of opportunities to get dirt under your fingernails.

>>Please RSVP by April 19 to volunteers@strawberybanke.org or 1-603-433-1110; tell us if you plan to bring gardening tools and a potluck dish.<<

Program Schedule and Locations [subject to change]

8:30–9:00 am: Volunteers arrive at Strawbery Banke for work assignments and refreshments (Visitors Center)

12:30 pm: Slow Food Potluck Lunch; visit About Our Potlucks to learn more about Slow Food Seacoast potluck events (Visitors Center)

1:30 pm: RAFT Heirloom Seed Plant-In and plant giveaway (Visitors Center)

1:30–4:00 pm: “Planting for Kids and Families” ongoing in the Children’s Garden with UNH Cooperative Extension Service Master Gardeners (Victorian Children’s Garden)

1:45 pm: David Buchanon of Slow Food Portland—”Slow Food in the Garden” The Ark of Taste and RAFT programs (Visitors Center)

2:00 pm: “Planting and Saving Heirloom Seeds”—Return to the gardens for a hands program planting early crops at the 1695 Sherburne, 1919 Shapiro, and 1944 Victory Gardens (meet in front of the Visitor Center)

2:30 pm: “Community Gardening”—Suzanne MacDonald (Community Gardens)

3:00 pm: “Slow Food—Sustainable Gardens” with John Forti, Slow Food Seacoast (Visitor Center)

Illustration donated by Brenda Drew Designs, www.brendadrewdesigns.com

The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) New Hampshire Herbal Network (NHHN) 1st Annual Spring Herb and Garden Conference will be held on Saturday, May 22, 2010, at Pine Hill Waldorf School in Wilton, NH.

The conference, entitled Beautiful Earth, “will feature some of New Hampshire’s top herbalists, gardeners, farmers, retailers, crafters, artisans and trades people who support organic growing methods, ecologically friendly products, local food, sustainable agriculture, natural medicine, and community awareness.”

Check out the NOFA–NHHN link for details!

It’s less than 2 months until the the first Seacoast Growers Association summer farmers’ market opens in Portsmouth, and the winter farmers’ markets in Newburyport, MA, and Northwood, NH, have finished for the season. But thanks to the efforts of local consumers, craftspeople, food producers—bakers, beekeepers, farmers, ranchers, vintners, and more—and the fabulous local organizations that bring us all together, we in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire are fortunate to have several more winter markets to get us there.

Final Winter Markets

Come check out what the vendors have to offer at the last indoor markets of the season.

• March 13 - Seacoast Eat Local Exeter Winter Farmers’ Market at Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter (GPS users, please use 315 Epping Road)
• March 20 - Rye Farmers’ Market - 10 am to 2 pm at Rye Junior High (note new location!), 501 Washington Road, Rye
• March 20 - Newmarket Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm at the Stone Church, 5 Granite Street, Newmarket
• March 27 - Seacoast Eat Local Rollinsford Winter Farmers’ Market at Wentworth Greenhouses, 141 Rollins Rd., Rollinsford
• April 10 - Seacoast Eat Local Exeter Winter Farmers’ Market at Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter (GPS users, please use 315 Epping Road)

Spring Markets

• April 17 -Newmarket Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm at the Stone Church, 5 Granite Street, Newmarket
• April 24 - Farmer’s Market at Heron’s Pond Farm, 299 Main Ave, South Hampton

Summer Markets Opening Soon!

The first summer farmers’ markets of the season usually feature early spring greens and locally grown plants to decorate your flower beds, create a vegetable garden, and add color to your life after a long winter. Other food and nonfood products will be available, too. Come see what they have to offer.

• May 1 - Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 8 am–1  pm, 1 Junkins Ave., Portsmouth
• May 2 - Newburyport Farmers’ Market, Sundays, 9 am–1 pm, Tannery Marketplace, Newburyport, Mass.
• May 6 - Exeter Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 2:30–6 pm, Swazey Parkway, Exeter
• May 15 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 22 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 27 - Northwood Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 3–6:30 pm, Junction of Route 4 & Route 202A & 43, Northwood
• June 7 - Durham Farmers’ Market, Mondays, 2:15–5:30 pm, Pettee Brook Lane (Pettee Brook parking lot), Durham
• June 8 - Hampton Farmers’ Market, Tuesdays, 3–6 pm, 289 Lafayette Rd/Route 1 (Sacred Heart Church parking lot), Hampton, NH
• June 9 - Dover Farmers’ Market, Wednesdays, 2:15–6:00 pm, corner of Central Ave. and Sixth St. (parking lot of the new Dover Chamber of Commerce), Dover
• June 26 - Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 10 am–2 pm, 141 Rollins Road, Rollinsford (parking lot)

For More Information

Want to know which vendors are scheduled to be at the market, check a venue address, or get directions? Go straight to the source!

• Newburyport Farmers’ Market
• Newmarket Farmers’ Markets at Stone Church
• Northwood Farmers’ Market
• Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets
• Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Markets (Rollinsford)
• Rye Farmers’ Markets
• Seacoast Growers Association (Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hampton, and Portsmouth)

Follow Slow Food Seacoast on Twitter

Forwarded from Food for Maine’s Future, whose mission is “to help build a just, secure, sustainable, and democratic food system to the benefit of all Maine farmers, communities, and the environment”:

5th Annual Local & Sustainable Food Conference: Building Urban/Rural Alliances
April 10 & 11, St Mary’s Nutrition Center, Lewiston, Maine

Presented by Food for Maine’s Future, Lots to Gardens, Healthy Oxford Hills, Lewiston Public Library, and WERU

JOIN US FOR FOOD, FUN, ENGAGING DISCUSSION, MUSIC, & SHARING SKILLS

Register Today!

Registration is now open for the 5th Annual Local and Sustainable Foods Conference: Building Urban/Rural Alliances and Mud Season Dinner taking place in Lewiston April 10 & 11. This year’s conference will explore key issues facing Mainers working for positive change in local and regional foodsheds. Through discussion and facilitated planning sessions conference participants will help create a set of Action Plans to guide our growing movement towards an equitable food system with justice and dignity for all. Conference tracks include:

RURAL FOOD FOR RURAL PEOPLE
What are the principal barriers to rural Mainers’ feeding their own communities a diverse diet? How do we help rural producers sell locally first?

CULTIVATING MAINE’S FUTURE FOOD LEADERS
Creating a sustainable food system involves investing in our youth. How can youth and adults work together to better the food system? What role does farm-to-school and school gardens play in this? How do youth get a seat at the table for decisions that affect them?

WE CAN GET THERE FROM HERE: GRASSROOTS FOOD DISTRIBUTION
Maine has a number of successful grassroots models for getting food from farm or sea to our plates. How do we support and expand what is working? How do we create what is needed?

GROWING FOOD EVERYWHERE: THE HOME ECONOMY & FOOD SECURITY
What support and resources exist for homesteaders, subsistence farmers and fisherman, community gardeners? How can we help each other build a food economy based on bread labor, interdependence, and self-reliance?

Don’t want to sit in meetings all day? Take part in one of eight Skill Shares:

Seed Saving - Will Bonsall, Scatterseed Project
Sheet Mulching & Permaculture Principles - Jesse Watson, Mid-Coast Permaculture
Making Kombucha - Gail Wartell, Winter Cache Project
Starting a Community Garden - Shelby Childs, Stone Soup Garden
Raising Backyard Poultry
Starting a School Garden
Starting a Buying Club
Season Extension

or take a self-guided tour of Lots to Gardens‘ community gardens!

End the day with our Mud Season Dinner, a (nearly) all-Maine meal & a enjoy vaudeville revival with over a cardboard sea!

One day not enough? Join us on Sunday for a round table discussion:

Whose Rules? Balancing Food Safety, Food Traditions & Food Policy
Opening remarks by Mark Silber, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, USM
10:00am - 2:00pm St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, Lewiston
**Please note: Registration for this round table is limited. Please contact Bob St. Peter to register. There is no charge for the event and lunch will be available for a small donation.

Registration for the Saturday, April 10 conference is $15-50 sliding scale, suggested donation is $25. Members of Food for Maine’s Future receive free admission to Saturday’s conference. Sign up today!

Mud Season Dinner is $15-150 sliding scale, suggested donation is $20. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Registration for Saturday, April 10 conference and Mud Season Dinner is required and space is limited.

Register Today!

The World Affairs Council of Northern California presents the WorldAffairs 2010 Live Webcast on March 11 and 12, 2010: “The world that the Obama administration inherited a year ago is already a very different place. From global economic crisis to climate change, from international security dilemmas to development challenges, the path forward will require innovation from all sectors. Governments, non-governmental organizations, private sector initiatives and individual actors must all contribute.”

Topics include environment, economy, development, and security—all global issues. (Download the Webcast agenda in PDF format here.) Both days end with a session entitled Local Solutions to Global Problems, and Josh Viertel (president of Slow Food USA) will be speaking at this closing session on March 12.

The webcast is free, and no log in or registration is required! Simply go to the WorldAffairs 2010 Live Webcast page on March 11 at 12:45 PST and begin watching!

Via Nada Haddad, Extension Educator, Agricultural Resources, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension:

Growing Your Farm Markets and Profits: Alternatives to Cash Payments

Who should attend this workshop? Growers selling at summer or winter farmers markets, farm stands, PYO operations, or selling through Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs); market coordinators and volunteers; and anyone exploring alternatives to cash payments. Besides growing your farm markets and profits using alternative to cash payments, you will also make food accessible to low-income families and increase nutrition for the well-being of individuals and families.

Sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County, the workshop will be held on Thursday March 18, from 3:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., at the Rockingham County Nursing Home Auditorium in Brentwood.  The workshop will cover alternatives to cash at farmers’ markets and farmstands. The alternatives include Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons; (WIC and Senior) coupons;  Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food stamps/EBT cards; as well as debit and credit cards.

Speakers:

• Laurie Desmarais (Vendor Manager, Nutrition and Health Promotion Section, NH Department of Health & Human Services)
• Peter Conti (Assistant Director, Field Operations, USDA Food & Nutrition Service, Northeast Region)
• Diane Souther (Grower, Apple Hill Farm, Concord, NH)
• Amy Miller (Farmers Market Coordinator, Lebanon, NH)
• Joel Breton (President, MJM, Associates Merchant Service, Hooksett, NH)
• Nada Haddad (Agriculture Extension Educator, UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County)

No cost; registration is required. Email Deb Stevens or Nada Haddad or call 603-679-5616.

Hope you’ll be joining Slow Food Seacoast for its public potluck supper on March 7th. Bring a dish to share and your own reusable dinnerware, and share in a feast created by the whole group. After the meal, Erika Zollett, a marine scientist in fisheries management as well as proprietor of the sustainability consulting business Green My Restaurant, will be speaking on the topic of Sustainable Seafood. Discussion about seafood that’s both sustainable and slow will follow!

For those who’d like to prepare a seafood dish with a view toward sustainable sourcing, Erika has a few recommendations. “For fish that qualify as both sustainable and somewhat local, I would suggest Gulf of Maine shrimp, farmed mussels, clams (farmed is better), farmed scallops, or line-caught haddock.” She says. She also invites everyone to have a look at Seafood Watch, a site created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Check out our Events page for details about this Sunday’s potluck, and please take a moment to read About Our Potlucks if you’ve never attended before!

Photo credit: Culinary Delights Farm

From Local Harvest, just in time for CSA/CSF Day at the Wentworth Greenhouses Winter Farmers’ Market in Rollinsford this Saturday, 2/27 (and 12+ other CSA fairs around the region on Sunday, 2/28), comes an informative article entitled How to Choose a CSA.

More resources:

List of all Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets: http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/winterfarmersmarkets/index.html

Slow Food Seacoast blog post on local 2010 CSA fairs, Feb. 27 and 28: http://www.slowfoodseacoast.org/category/blog/2010/02/csa-csf-days-for-2010/