An (Evolving) Plan for Santa Fe's Food Future

The New Mexico landscape is one of many contrasts: deserts, mountains, meadows, orchards, and gardens; dry as the bones in the cemetery, our final resting place. Part of what defines our querencia, which gives us this sense of place, is our food, contrary to those who say that there can be no sense of place in today's global experiment. And our food cannot be separated from how we work the land and how we water our crops.

Again we learn from folklore: paravos, paranos, y para los animalitos de Dios; for you, for us, and for God's animals (and plants). Water is a don divino, a divine right, not a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder. This dry landscape, with a beauty only we might understand and find sustenance in, is what defines our querencia. 

- Estevan Arellano New Mexican, Historian, Farmer, and Writer

That quote from Estevan Arellano introduces Planning for Santa Fe's Food Future. This is a dynamic blueprint that will evolve over the next several weeks and months, with the Santa Fe Food Policy Council and partners continuing to gather input from the nutrition, farming and consumer communities. Organizers have already put a lot of work into the plan and offer you  this draft document. (Even though this is not the completed version, the document already has some great information and beautiful photographs).
 
This plan represents the first step of our collective journey to building a local, healthy, and prosperous food system for Santa Fe County. Over the upcoming year, this document will serve as a tool to reach out to all corners of our county to gain input, understanding, and build relationships around how to design a local food system that works for us. Our process will culminate in the development of a final strategic food plan for the city and county of Santa Fe--- a detailed roadmap for action and accountability.

Within this process there is an opportunity for every person, organization and agency to help transform our local food system; with collective effort and innovative collaboration we can accomplish more as a community than we ever could alone. We will see this plan evolve from a call to action to a success story; its impacts felt in our daily lives. Together we will celebrate progress, overcome boundaries, strengthen partnerships, identify common shared goals and commit to action.

The plan was introduced as part of a Food Day Event on October 24 at the Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute.  While the plan is still evolving and discussion is continuing, I recommend that you scroll down to Page 20 to the section entitled, At a glance: our recommendations. And stay tuned for updates.

Here is a video of the Oct. 24 discusssions, courtesy of  Jeff Ethan Green, a grassroots advocate of sustainability and healthy food systems.

A Celebration of Local Food and a Vision for Santa Fe's Food Future

In honor of Food Day, the Santa Fe Food Policy Council, Cooking with Kids, the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute, and Farm to Table are co-hosting a free event: ‘Planning for Santa Fe’s Food Future’. This evening will be a celebration of local food as well as an educational opportunity exploring the reality and potential of our regional foodshed.

The event will feature an introduction to Santa Fe’s first ever Food Plan and a panel discussion relating to the major themes of food security and healthy food. Organizers will kick off subsequent outreach efforts and ‘community listening sessions’ which are associated with the Santa Fe Food Plan. When: Thursday, October 24, 6-8 pm Where: The Santa Fe Farmers Market, 1607 Paseo De Peralta #1 Santa Fe, NM 87501

Event Highlights:
6:00 pm Welcome from Councilor Bushee and Commissioner Holian
6:10 pm Featured speaker Janet Poppendieck  (author of Free for All: Fixing School Food in America, )
6:30 pm Introduction to Santa Fe’s Food Plan
6:45 pm Panel discussion on community food issues,including food security and healthy food
7:30 pm Reception with refreshments and conversation

(Please feel free to bring your own cups) There will be copies of the Santa Fe Food Plan for distribution.
Contact: Erin Ortigoza, Santa Fe Food Policy Council Coordinator
Phone: (505) 473-1004 ext. 16
E-Mail: lightningcalm@hotmail.com

Eight Opportunities to Participate in Food Day

Food Day, a nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food and a grassroots campaign for better food policies, is coming to New Mexico.

Organizations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Silver City, Anthony, and El Paso, Texas, have scheduled a commemoration around Food Day in October. Some of the events will beheld on October 24, which is the official date for Food Day. Others will take place a few days before or after the official date.

Below is a listing of events in our state and in neighboring El Paso, Texas. 

Saturday, October 19
World Food Day Community Dinner   6:00 PM
To celebrate World Food Day, the New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps is hosting it's 2nd annual FREE Community Dinner for 100 people. The meal will be entirely local, made from the generous donations of farmers present at the Downtown Growers Market.
St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church425 University Blvd NE
Albuquerque 

Marigold & Harvest Festival   10:00 AM
A a celebration of local, sustainable, and accessible food. La Parada Mercantile, Farm & Table and Sol Harvest Farm will be featuring lots of fun activities including: live music, produce stand, farm walk, hands-on crafts, workshops, games, yoga, food demonstrations, fun shopping, marigold garland-making, and more.
Farm & Table8917 4th St NW
Albuquerque

Thursday, October 24
Planning for Santa Fe's Food Future   6:00 PM
The featured Speaker Janet Poppendieck, author of Free for All: Fixing School Food in America
Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute
1607 Paseo De Peralta #1
Santa Fe

Public Screening of A Place at the Table    6:30 PM
Three speakers (details TBA), followed by the screening of the documentary 
Western New Mexico Global Resource Center
1000 W College Ave
Silver City

Cooking Demonstrations at Food Basket   10:00 AM
Food Basket
1220 N Hudson St
Silver City

Food Day 2013: Nuestro Desierto Delicioso    8:00 AM
Gadsden Middle School
1301 W Washington St
Anthony

Saturday, October 26

Farm2Chef Showcase   10:00 AM
Silver City Farmers Market
614 N Bullard St
Silver City

El Paso Texas Food Day Event   9:00 AM
Downtown Art and Farmers Market
117 Anthony St
El Paso, Texas

Next Wednesday: A Discussion on How We Get Food to Our Table

The Social Justice and Bread & Blessings ministries of Immaculate Conception Parish would like to invite you to join us for a simple meal and presentation for Food Day, Wednesday, Oct. 24th after the 5:30pm mass.  The church is located at 619 Copper in downtown Albuquerque.

Learn about the myths of industrialized foods and participate in a discussion about how we can make a difference for farmers and hungry people both here and abroad. 

From the Despensa Program to a Food Bank for Sunland Park

(This is the fourth in a series of blog posts to commemorate  Local Food Month  and Food Day in New Mexico during October in which we feature  people and organizations who seek to raise awareness and offer solutions to problems of hunger and poverty and promote nutrition and sustainability.  We will also highlight a number of anti-hunger events).

Today we feature the efforts of the local chapter of  Spirit Mission to create a full food bank in Sunland Park, New Mexico, a poor community near the border with Chihuahua. The organization created a program to provide food on a regular basis to people in the community living below the federal poverty level through a special distribution effort known as the Despensa.  But the needs are greater than the program can offer because 47% of Sunland Park live below the federal poverty level.

"The Despensa program at the beginning set out to help a small amount of families with their food needs. This has grown from a 90 family handout at the beginning on July 20th 2011, to a 500-family distribution program in the span of just six weeks," said Rafael Ramos, president and CEO of Spirit Mission "

Ramos said the goal is to provide service to 750 families by the end of December 2011, but they need to create a full food bank to accomplish this task.   "We will need help in the form of capital to establish a stable method of distributing food that can be sustainable in three years," said Ramos.

"Our organization is working to establish a permanent, sustainable delivery system of food services to the community on a long- term basis," said Ramos.

Ramos' son, a community development specialist, said the organization has been  working with Casa de Peregrinos to obtain food for distribution, but is looking to establish a direct relationship with Albuquerque-based Roadrunner Food Bank.  "Casa de Peregrinos is helping us do the transition smoothly," he said.

"Now we have a very good system to track people coming to receive food and make the process go a bit faster," said Ramos Jr.

But the move to a larger operation is going to take money. "At this moment, we have local donors who are helping this program to continue running at its small current level," said Ramos Sr.  "This is helping us stay on course with our efforts, but it is not enough to reach our mid-term goals. For this, Spirit Mission South would need steady funding to grow our base and market our services to the southern New Mexico area."

If you want to help, send donations to:

Spirit Mission Inc.

1885 McNutt Rd.

Sunland Park, NM 880063

Celebrate Local Food in AlbuquerqueThis Sunday!

(This is the third in a series of blog posts to commemorate  Local Food Month  and Food Day in New Mexico during October in which we feature  people and organizations who seek to raise awareness and offer solutions to problems of hunger and poverty and promote nutrition and sustainability.  We will also highlight a number of anti-hunger events, including this great festival in Albuquerque this coming Sunday).

Local Food Festival and Field Day

Healthy Land - Healthy Food - Healthy People

Sunday, October 9, 2011 - 11:00am-4:00pm

Gutierrez-Hubbell House, South Valley, Albuquerque

Map

The Local Food Festival and Field Day, a celebration of food from the ground up, is an annual event highlighting local food and agriculture in our region. The festival is organized by the Mid-Region Council of Governments Agricultural Cooperative, in partnership with a variety of local groups and organizations.

This year’s festival will be bigger and better than ever. In addition to some fabulous food (we’ll have lots of prepared food and neat lunches from gourmet food trucks), please see below for the first sneak peak at the many additional activities:

Ongoing Events

CHEFS TENT – Main Field

Cook with the Chefs, cooking demonstrations and tastings with four local chefs:

· 12:00-1:00 - Chef #1: Jason Greene, The Grove Cafe & Market

· 1:00-2:00 - Chef #2: Maxime Bouneau, Torrinos’ @ Home

· 2:00-3:00 - Chef #3: Saul Paniagua, Winner of the 2010 Chef Knockout

· 3:00-4:00 - Chef #4: Jaye Wilkinson, Los Poblanos Inn & Organic Farm

BANDS AND POETRY TENT – Center of Main Field

· 11:00am – 1:15pm - Young Edward

· 1:30pm-1:45pm - Yasmeen Najmi – Poetry Readings

· 1:45pm – 4:00pm - Mala Maña

SPEAKERS TENT – Hubbell House Courtyard

· 11:00-11:30 - Isaura Andaluz, The Importance of Seed Saving

· 11:45-12:15 - Jen Prosser, Food Preservation – Quick and Easy

· 12:30-1:00 - Bernadette Torres – Curandurisima(o) – Learning About Folk Medicine & Healing

· 1:15-1:45 - Bruce Milne, UNM Summer Foodshed Field School

· 2:45-3:15 - Amanda Bramble, The Power of Solar Cooking & Dehydrating

· 3:30-4:00 - Bard Edrington, Water Harvesting Tips and Techniques

Food Day Meets Basketball in Española

(This is the second in a series of blog posts to commemorate  Local Food Month  and Food Day in New Mexico during October in which we feature  people and organizations who seek to raise awareness and offer solutions to problems of hunger and poverty and promote nutrition and sustainability.  We will also highlight a number of anti-hunger events).

Organizers of Food Day in northern New Mexico and students at Northern New Mexico College invite you to join them during the week of Oct. 24-31 for two simultaneous celebrations -- the kick-off to the 2011-12 women's and men's college basketball seasons at NNMC and a week-long series of food-focused events to celebrate national Food Day.  They include the grand finale of their local harvest season & Farmers Market, the grand opening of Sostenga Center's new sustainable food cafe on the NNMC Española campus, and the Traditional Agriculture & Sustainable Living Conference,

NNMC's Student Senate has declared this week "Basketball Spirit Week" to celebrate the beginning of 2011-12 college basketball season and launch our men's and women's Northern Eagles to high-flying championship seasons. College basketball season kicks off on the weekend of October 28th-29th at NNMC's gymnasium in Española with the Santa Claran Classic Tournament.

**SCHEDULE OF EVENTS*** 

Monday, Oct. 24 -- Student Senate celebrates national Food Day & the start of Basketball Spirit Week by sponsoring a locally harvested feast for our basketball teams and all Northern students! Time: 5:30 to 7 pm. Location: NNMC gymnasium, Española campus. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP COOK & SERVE FOOD! E-mail asnnmc@nnmc.edu for more info or to help volunteer.

Wednesday, Oct. 26 -- ¡Sostenga! Tiendita Grand Opening! with ¡Sostenga! Farm & Commercial Kitchen tours. Time: All day. Location: JCI Building and field at 1021 North Railroad Avenue, NNMC Española campus. Come support the launch of Northern's new "tiendita" (little store) specializing in espresso coffee and healthier, locally produced & processed food choices. E-mail sostenga@nnmc.edu or visit http://www.sostengalavida.com/ to learn more about the exciting programs coordinated by NNMC's ¡Sostenga! Center for Sustainable Food, Agriculture & Environment.

Thursday, Oct. 27 -- Bonfire and pep rally at NNMC's Espanola campus with Student Senate and Northern Eagles basketball players! On the night before the start of our 2011-12 college basketball season, join the whole Northern community to send our prayers into the fire for a successful winning / championship season! Time: 7 to 9:30 pm. Location: Outside NNMC's gymnasium at the Española campus.

Friday Oct 28 & Saturday Oct 29: Traditional Agriculture & Sustainable Living Conference, with keynote speaker physicist and environmentalist Vandana Shiva, PhD. The conference includes internationally renowned speakers as well as local and regional experts in the areas of food security and sustainable ecology a heritage seed exchange, workshops, and panels on youth issues in the 21st century, food and nutrition, water issues, traditional farming, land restoration and medicinal herbs. Register to attend through the conference Web site Click here to view schedule

Monday, Oct 31: Join the Española Farmers Market for a Halloween/Season Finale Celebration! Time: 9 am to 5 pm. Location: 1005 North Railroad Avenue, Española, New Mexico.

Author Sherman Apt Russell: Food Should be a Basic Human Right

(In commemoration of Local Food Month  and Food Day in New Mexico, this October I want to feature people who seek to raise awareness and offer solutions to problems of hunger and poverty and promote nutrition and sustainability.  We will also highlight a number of anti-hunger events).

I want to start with a presentation by writer Sharman Apt Russell, who was the featured speaker at the the Hunger for Knowledge dinner in Silver City, N.M., hosted by the Social Inequality class at Western New Mexico University in the fall of 2010.  Ms Russell is author of the book Hunger: An Unnatural History.

Here are some excerpts of her presentation at WMNU:

I’m going to say briefly why I think there is hunger in America, the land of plenty. I don’t think it’s because we are uncaring as individuals. I think it’s because we have chosen as a society, as a group, not to see food as a basic human right—much as we don’t see health care as a basic human right. And so we haven’t embedded this right into our institutions.

We don’t work to make Food Stamps and WIC and Meals on Wheels wonderfully functional because we are still arguing about whether we should even fund these programs. We don’t work for a livable wage because we haven’t agreed that there should be one. Once we make that decision—once we agree that everyone in America has a right to food—then we will get everyone food just like we get them postal service and electricity and other services that we consider basic to being American. 

Click this blog post to read the full text of her comments.

Incidentally, the WNMU Social Inequality class, taught by Dr. Emma Bailey, will host the 3rd Annual "Hunger for Knowledge Dinner" and Volunteer Center fundraising event  on Nov. 2.  This year's event  will feature a Hunger Expo, a meal, entertainment and an update on the state of hunger in Grant County.  Stay tuned for more details.

Here is more information about the Social Inequality class, which collects and interprets data related to hunger and poverty as part of a Service Learning Project.

Students present their research on hunger statistics in a way most have never seen before. Guests are divided into social classes based on real social statistics for the United States, and their meals reflect their assigned positions of upper, middle, and lower classes. Upper class guests receive multiple courses of high quality foods, while the lowest classes receive small portions of low quality and nutrition. Just like in the U.S., the majority are somewhere in the middle with decent food at decent portions. Participants also hear from speakers who address the themes of hunger and inequality.