The Farm Forum

May Events at Midway Farms!

jrsleeper — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:24:46 +0000

Local Food and Farming Forum Flyer!

jrsleeper — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:19:04 +0000

A Festival on the Farm

A community coming together

jrsleeper — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:18:11 +0000

Hi All!

It’s been a busy last couple of weeks, and things are starting to really get moving. Currently, the following organizations have confirmed that they’re going to have a booth at the LFFF: Slow Food Corvallis, Northwest Earth Institute, That’s My Farmer!, Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership, the OSU Organic Growers Club, 1000 Friends of Oregon, The First Alternative Co-op, and the OSU Food Group/Food Bank. I’ve got many more that I’m talking to and working out logistics right now. There are also going to be a ton of local small producers, some antique tractors, some live music, and a “BYO container” seed planting booth! And of course, there’s going to be tons of free samples!

If you know of anyone who’d be interested in having a booth, or would like to sponsor the Local Food and Farming Forum, please pass this information along — my email is thefarmforum@gmail.com, and my phone number is (503) 880-4654. Feel free to drop me a line with suggestions, requests to participate or volunteer, or anything else!

Cheers!

Local Food and Farming Forum — Update!

jrsleeper — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:53:15 +0000

Hi everyone!
Thanks for visiting — this will be updated on a more frequent basis now that I’ve had a chance to get things pulled together.
I attended the OSU Small Farmers Conference over the weekend, and while the conference itself offered a lot of great information, the real value I got from it was through networking. Just from talking to people about the project, I got several organizations to commit to being there, and several more asked for more information. I also had a chance to interact with Cynthia’s vendors — they are really stepping up and offering to have booths and do demonstrations at the Festival, which is awesome! I’m really excited to see what they bring to the table .
At this point, the LFFF has really taken on a life of its own; it is going to happen whether I’m there or not, which is incredible — I would never have thought that a simple idea like this would grow so much larger than myself. It is inspiring to watch people take hold and create it in their own vision of what a celebration of local agriculture looks like.
However, because it’s growing so big, I could really use a team of volunteers who would be willing to put in a couple hours each week promoting the Festival, and then some help during the Festival setting up and maintaining orderly parking . It should be a total blast — free local food, interesting people, live music and an awesome reason to be outside on a beautiful May day! If you’re at all interested or know someone who is, let me know; I’d love to talk to you!

Welcome!

jrsleeper — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:40:06 +0000

Hello!

Welcome!

This is information central for the Local Food and Farming Forum!

As a graduate of OSU’s Animal Science Department with an option in Animal Behavior and Bioethics, I entered the real world thinking that all the evils in modern agriculture stemmed from animals being treated as food-producing machines. However, through my reading and experience working with small farmers over the last six months, I have recognized that animal welfare issues are merely a symptom of a system of food production that just doesn’t work. I decided at that point that getting involved with my local agricultural community and promoting local food as a viable option for everyone in the community was a path that I wanted to pursue. So here we are!

The Local Food and Farming Forum is an ever-evolving project that is designed to really connect the Corvallis and Albany community with their local food producers. While there are many local food groups at work on similar projects, I feel that this one is different because it brings people to the direct source of their food: the farm.

The project anchors around a specific farmer who opens their doors to the public for a kind of “showcase” of their operation. This showcase has two purposes: to bring people out to an actual farm so they can experience in the most fundamental way where their food comes from; and to give the farmer a chance to develop direct marketing opportunities. The first showcase is being hosted by Cynthia Kapple of Midway Farms out on Highway 20 between Corvallis and Albany on May 9th.

At this point, our vision of the event includes booths from local food advocacy groups such as Slow Food Corvallis, Ten Rivers Food Web, and the Food Action Team, as well as some of the vendors that Cynthia hosts in her farm stand. We would like to have a panel of speakers to create a dialogue with the public on the benefits of eating local and supporting small farmers. A farm tour and samples of the products grown by Cynthia and her vendors are also on the agenda. Other ideas include live music, demonstrations, and some sort of a project that participants can engage in (there’s always something to do on a farm!) as a way of giving back to the farmer (it would be completely optional, of course).

The main goal of this project is to effectively meet of the needs and desires of the community that becomes involved. For this to truly be a “community” project, there will be many people from different groups that make it become a reality. I want this to be the best representation of their missions as it can be. Therefore, the structure of the event is still very flexible, and is pending those groups choosing to get involved in some way. If the first event is successful, there is a definite potential for an ongoing program, where multiple farmers do showcases throughout the year. The possibilities are endless.

So! If you feel that this project is in tune with the mission of your group, or you are interested in becoming more involved in your local agricultural community, let me know! The more help I can enlist, the more magnificent a representation of our community this event will become. Please leave me a comment, or shoot me off an email to Jackie at thefarmforum@gmail.com . I’d love to hear what you have to say!