Local Food Networking ...toward strengthening our food community, harnessing the public’s awareness of food related issues, and fostering the viability and sustainability of our local food resources.      Download our Directory, "Networked Food Organizations of Lane County" (.pdf file; update coming soon) Upcoming Events: EAT DESSERT NOW! & A Film Screening of the Oregon-based documentary on local food: INGREDIENTS Movie details here   A Local Foods Dessert Potluck   & Movie   Sunday, March 14th Doors @ 6:30pm Movie @ 7:15pm 1st United Methodist Church (1376 Olive St.)   Bring a potluck dessert to share with as many local ingredients as possible and is at least enough for your party. Come see this Oregon produced film, featuring interviews with Oregon farmers. “At the focal point of this movement, and of this film, are the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system… and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local. Hosts: Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, Helios Resource Network Sponsors: Food for Lane County, Lane County Farmer's Market, Lost Valley Education Center, School Garden Project, Slow Food Eugene, Weston A. Price Foundation, Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance Other Contributors: Coconut Bliss and Hummingbird Wholesale  For more information contact: 284-7020   Past Events:   Monday, September 7th Fairfield Elementary School Garden – 3455 Royal Avenue 4 – 6:30PM   - Bring a potluck dish to share with as many local ingredients as possible and is           at least enough for your party. - Rich Glauber – Musical entertainment for kids - Learn about efforts to increase funding for school lunches - Hear from local groups including: Slow Food Eugene, School Garden Project, Farm to School, Tree by Tree - Challenge:Bring a potluck dish with LOCAL ingredients & PREPARED BY A KID! Click for Event Poster    Click for 4_up handbills   Eat Here Now Stewarding the Land Local Foods Community Potluck   Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 Lost Valley Educational Center (Just outside Dexter Oregon) Part of Lost Valley's 20 year Celebration   Special Guest: Alice DiMicele         2pm........Water Catchment Workshop - $5 – w/ Tammie Starks 3-5pm.....Guided Tour of the Land - w/ Rick Valley 6pm.........Potluck 7pm.........“Stewarding the Land” 8:30pm...Special Guest: Alice DiMicele - Concert *  $10 Bring a Potluck Dish to share! with as many local ingredients as possible enough food for at least your party PLEASE  BRING  YOUR OWN  TABLE  SERVICE!! Come for the Weekend Details/Directions: www.lostvalley.org   Eat Here Now Farmer Appreciation & Local Foods Community Potluck Saturday, February 7th, 2009 6 - 9pm First United Methodist Church 13th and Olive, Eugene Suggested Donation: $5 Click here for .pdf event poster   Bring a dish to pass and come thank the farmers  fostering the viability and sustainability of our local food system.       “How Local Can You Go?” Contest for most local and tasty potluck dish. · Old-time String Band · ICECREAM! · Massages and Gifts for our Farmers   Hosts: Willamette Farm and Food Coalition        Helios Resource Network Sponsors: Aprovecho Research Center, Environmental Center of Sustainability, Eugene Local Foods, EWEB’s Healthy Farms Program, Eugene Permaculture Guild, Food for Lane County, Huerto de la Familia, Lane County Farmer’s Market, Lane County Food Policy Council, Lost Valley Education Center, Lotus Project of Sikh Dharma, School Garden Project, Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance Eat Here Now Local Foods Community Potluck. 100 Mile Diet Oct. 12th at Aprovecho.   Workshops: 3pm; Apro Tour: 5pm; Potluck & Presentations: 6-8 pm; Bonfire & Music: 8:30-?   We did it! Eat Here Now! - 100 Mile Diet/Riot was a huge success and an amazing amount of fun. Our 5th (& first outside Eugene) Local Foods Community Potluck drew our largest crowd yet! Helios Resource Network and Willamette Farm and Food Coalition want to thank all of our sponsors, volunteers and everyone who showed up. And of course, a HUGE SHOUT OUT to APROVECHO,  our organizing partners and event hosts.   Here's a list of highlights that made this event so special: Weather! Close to 200 people! (Biggest yet!) Great workshops, tour and leaders! Awesome Apro organizing with incredible interns! Beautiful spaces and decorations inside and out! Fantastic volunteers from Helios, Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, School Garden Project and Lost Valley! Shuttles worked beautifully! Food! Food! Food! What a kitchen crew! Presentations, slideshow and intern-led 'zine! Wonderful and engaged community members! (Cottage Grove, Dexter, Drain, Eugene, Springfield, Albany...) Networking! Educational! Fun! Sponsors and their support! (3 organizational hosts and 11 organizational sponsors!) Co-Sponsors: Environmental Center of Sustainability (ECOS), School Garden Project, Slow Food Eugene, Lost Valley Education Center, Lane County Food Policy Council, Cougar Mountain, EWEB’s Healthy Farms Program, Slo Farm, Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance   Bring a Potluck Dish to share!   with as many local ingredients as possible and enough food for at least your party Workshops and Schedule: Fermentation Station Preserve your food through fermentation. Eating fermented foods improves beneficial organisms in your digestive track. It can be done without a refrigerator. The ferments will be discussed, shown, tasted, tested, tried and judged, smelled, sniffed and listened to at Aprovecho from 3 -- 5 pm. Apples Galore Keep the doctor away, bob for apples. Press these shiny spheres into cider, enjoy the bounty littering our driveways and gardens from 3--5 pm at Aprovecho. Saving Seeds: Defending the last frontier Money infiltrates horticulture from the potting mix to the mechanical harvester. Money's attempt to monopolize seeds is a story yet un-written. Save the Seeds from this ignominious fate by coming to this seed saving workshop 3-5 pm at Aprovecho. 5-6 pm Tour Aprovecho Over the course of 27 years, Aprovecho's stewardship of their 40 acre land trust has had many incarnations. Permaculture is blossoming in 2008; check out the ecological forest management, bio-intensive gardens, and all the edges in between from 5 - 6 pm at Aprovecho.   6:30 pm Potluck   8 pm Bonfire and Music. Bring your instruments. Eat Here Now  - Local Food Community Potluck - Urban Food Production - Its Really Local!   Donation $5 - $10  May 17, at the First United Methodist Church 6-9 PM The goal of the evening is to connect people with new opportunities to support and be a part of urban food production.   Bring a Potluck Dish to share!   with as many local ingredients as possible and enough food for at least your party   Speakers for this event included: School Garden Project, Huerto de la Familia, City of Eugene Community Gardens, St. Thomas Episcopal Church/Food for Lane County, Urban to Farm Connection, Eugene Permaculture Guild, Victory Gardens Overview- What is urban food production and why is it fun and important. Given the trends in energy costs, climate change, the environment and economics - urban food production looks better than ever! Urban food is a fast evolving movement and its benefits go far beyond food – it builds community cohesion, creates beautiful landscapes large and small while adding to our community's economy and security. Its really local! Brief reviews - Descriptions of a variety of urban food initiatives. Find out the excitement of school gardens. Learn how to rent a plot in a community garden on city property. Also, find out about empowering low income people to grow their own food. We will hear what can happen when the faith community steps up. Be impressed with before and after photos of suburban grass to garden projects Another exciting innovation is self organized urban co-ops leasing land from nearby farmers. We will hear about a volunteer brigade turning grassy yards into gardens, your place could be next!   Eat Here Now - See photos! Farmer Appreciation & Local Foods Community Potluck Saturday, January 19th, 2008 6 - 9pm First United Methodist Church 13th and Olive, Eugene Suggested Donation: $5 Click here for .pdf event poster   · “How Local Can You Go?” Contest for most local and tasty potluck dish. · Live Music · Door Prizes · Farm Slideshow · ICECREAM! · Farmer Grab bag   Hosts: Willamette Farm and Food Coalition        Helios Resource Network Co-Sponsors: Eugene Permaculture Guild, EWEB's Healthy Farms Program, Food for Lane County, Food Policy Council, Lost Valley Educational Center, Slow Food Eugene, Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance, Weston A. Price Foundation   This event, Saturday, January 19th, was a lively community gathering of over 150 people including 24 farmers representing 11 local farms. The abundance and variety of local food dishes was beautiful, delicious and inspiring. Great efforts were made with food dishes to pursue the theme: "How Local Can You Go?". Our local farmers received the appreciation and warmth of our community, on-site massages and gifts donated from local businesses. And, live, old-time music warmed up the evening and contributed to the festive occasion. Overall, the evening was one of appreciation, education and community building! Join us for the next one in May! Donating Businesses: Kiva, Onsen, Body Jaz, Sweetlife, Euphoria, Lochmead, Adam's Place, Down to Earth, Bijou Art Cinemas, Mountain rose Herbs, Mrs. Thompson's, Sundance Natural foods, Jon Broome Consultations, Jenya Lemeshow Massage, Peter Chabarek Acupuncture, Oregon Wine Warehouse, Benton-Lane Winery, Sweetwater Farm and Koho Bistro.   ********************************************************************** .pdf of event poster to download   Helios Resource Network organized the “Local Foods Community Potluck & Corn Boil”, held September 16th, 2007. This was the second local food networking event, following Eat Here Now, to continue highlighting local food issues. The theme, How Local Can You Go? helped challenge participants to think about the ingredients they used to prepare their potluck dishes and focus the evening on community networking regarding local food issues.   Approximately 80 people enjoyed socializing, local food dishes, sweet corn (provided by Groundwork Organics) and old-time music by the Skinner City String Band.   Representatives from many of the wonderful local foods organizations, who co-sponsored the event, presented on the important work they are doing in our community. These organizations also provided information and literature on their programs. An example was the Lane County Extension Service who, due to the harvest season, brought their information and expertise regarding food preservation techniques.   Co-sponsors for this event were: Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, School Garden Project,EWEB’s Healthy Farms Program, Food for Lane County, Eugene Permaculture Guild, Lost Valley Education Center and OSU's Lane County Extension Service.   ********************************************************************** Eat Here Now: Local Food Networking Banquet: was held on Thursday evening May 24, 2007, at the United Methodist Church at 13th and Olive. The evening included film shorts, food for thought from local speakers and learning about the issues and efforts of fellow organizations, farmers and food businesses over a delicious meal of local foods. At least 125 people attended and over $450 was raised and donated to "That's My Farmer Low-Income Fund", which subsidizes CSA shares and farmer's market dollars for low-income families. We hope that Eat Here Now will be the catalyst for regular quarterly networking events around local food issues. The Hosts The Willamette Farm and Food Coalition facilitates and supports the development of a secure and sustainable food system in Lane County – one in which our farms are economically viable and all members of our community have access to fresh local foods. The Coalition promotes the purchase of locally grown and produced foods to keep valuable agricultural land in production, to ensure the economic viability of farmers, to benefit human and environmental health, and to strengthen the local economy. Current projects include: Buy Local Campaign & Locally Grown Directory, Food On! Farm to Cafeteria, and Farmland Preservation.   Contact: Lynne Fessenden (541) 341-1216   info@lanefood.org   www.lanefood.org   Helios Resource Network promotes community livability by empowering local groups and businesses working toward sustainability. Helios finds it imperative to create living economies based on living democracy, with both the producers and consumers shaping their food cultures through participation and partnerships, as well as cooperation and caring. Contact: Cary Thompson (541) 284-7020 helios@heliosnetwork.org  www.heliosnetwork.org   Co-sponsoring Organizations School Garden Project Contact: Jared Pruch  (541) 284-1001      www.schoolgardenproject.org   School Garden Project fosters hands-on, schoolyard-based learning experiences for children by creating vibrant and sustainable school gardens and habitats. Current projects include: Cultivating and teaching at 9 Partner school gardens. Providing plants, seeds, and consultation to 13 additional Member school gardens. Leading the field in developing ways to grow vegetables in conjunction with the school year. Building and expanding our Growing Volunteers program. Slow Food Eugene Contact: Tom Barkin  (541) 343-2619       www.slowfoodeugene.org Slow Food is an international movement dedicated to local foods that are GOOD (as in good tasting and nutritious), CLEAN (produced with sustainable practices), and FAIR (priced in a way that compensates producers and workers fairly). Slow Food Eugene encourages interested individuals and families to join Slow Food USA and to support the important goals of the national and international Slow Food movement.  Slow Food Eugene is a vibrant and diverse convivium whose members include restaurateurs, food purveyors, farmers, educators, and committed food-and-wine lovers from all walks of life. We sponsor educational events, form partnerships with other local organizations, and coordinate with Slow Food USA.   Lost Valley Education Center Contact: (541) 937-3351    www.lostvalley.org Lost Valley Educational Center is an intentional community and nonprofit educational center dedicated to learning, living, and teaching sustainable, ecologically based culture. We run a variety of workshops and courses, host conferences, and welcome visitors on selected days. In feeding our own community as well as our guests we maintain a strong focus on local foods, eating from our own gardens as well as our farmer neighbors, and choosing the most locally-sourced products we can purchase form our distributors in Eugene.   Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance Contact: Bill Klupenger  (541) 463-4614   www.wvsfalliance.org Lost Valley Educational Center is an intentional community and nonprofit educational center dedicated to learning, living, and teaching sustainable, ecologically based culture. We run a variety of workshops and courses, host conferences, and welcome visitors on selected days. In feeding our own community as well as our guests we maintain a strong focus on local foods, eating from our own gardens as well as our farmer neighbors, and choosing the most locally-sourced products we can purchase form our distributors in Eugene.   Eugene Permaculture Guild     Contact: Jan Spencer   (541) 686-6761    www.eugenepermacultureguild.org   The Eugene Permaculture Guild advocates eco-logical living.  Principles of Permaculture can be applied in scale from the back yard to the bio region- multiple benefits from thoughtful design with Nature in mind.  The Guild offers a speakers bureau and workshops to the public on a wide range of green living topics such as gardening, local economics, global trends and suburban conversion. The website has an event calendar.     EWEB's Healthy Farms Program    Contact: Karl Morgenstern  (541) 341-8552    www.eweb.org   The Eugene Water & Electric Board is actively helping growers to reduce chemical use along the McKenzie River, which is the sole source of drinking water for nearly 200,000 people in the Eugene area. Global uncertainties such as climate change and peak oil highlight the need for strengthening food supplies to local communities in a way that also protects regional drinking water resources.  EWEB and its partners have launched a number of initiatives and innovative programs aimed at helping growers in the McKenzie watershed transition to sustainable practices as well as gain access to local markets.     FOOD for Lane County      Gardens Program Contact: Jen Anonia  (541) 343-2822     www.foodforlanecounty.org FOOD for Lane County is a private non-profit food bank serving all of Lane County. Our mission is to eliminate hunger by creating access to food. We accomplish this by soliciting, collecting, rescuing, growing, preparing and packaging food for distribution through a network of social service agencies and programs.  Our Gardens Program includes three garden sites that combine hunger relief with skill-building activities for low-income youth and adults.  At our Youth Farm, a crew of low-income teens plant, care for and harvest vegetables, half of which they sell at their farm stand and through a 40-member CSA, and the remaining half is distributed to low-income individuals and households.   Lane County Food Policy Council      The council was formed in January 2006 as a joint citizen and government advisory body to review and recommend policies that strengthen the local food economy and improve access to healthy and nutritious food.  Council members represent the diversity of stakeholders involved in the food system, including farmers, processors, retailers, anti-hunger organizations, nutritionists, governments and citizens. We are currently organizing a countywide food system assessment.   Co-sponsoring Businesses Café Mam  Fisherman’s Market Hideaway Bakery Holy Cow Café and Catering Ivy’s Cooking The Kiva New Frontier Market Newman’s Market Palace Bakery Red Barn Natural Grocery Sundance Natural Foods Sweet Life Patisserie   Co-sponsoring Farms   Cattail Creek Lamb Deck Family Farm Ferns' Edge Goat Dairy Food for Lane County Youth Farm Groundwork Organics Horton Road Organics Laughing Stock Farm Lochmead Dairy McKenzie River Farm Nettle Edge Farm Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm River Bend Farm Ruby & Amber's Organic Oasis Sweet Briar Farms Sweetwater Farm and Nursery  Winter Green Community Farm   Helios Resource Network 1192 Lawrence, Eugene, OR 97401 (541) 284-7020 |helios@heliosnetwork.org | www.heliosnetwork.org