Last year’s beneficiary of funds raised at Urban Ag Fest IV was Rosemont High School Green Academy. And they have put the funding to good use! In addition to adding much needed fencing, Green Academy students completed the ADA beds; graded and plumbed; planted fava beans, asparagus, cilantro, and potatoes; and reserved the clay extracted during excavation to build wood burning ovens!

Culinary Arts teacher Chef Scott Singer, Masonry Program educator Brett Hutchison, and Principal Leise Martinez are excited to demonstrate the practical life and job skills, linked learning, and critical thinking applications possible in a school garden environment. And in the 3rd week of April, almost 70 Rosemont HS Green Academy students walked to neighboring Sequoia Elementary to do a full day of work in that garden alongside their younger friends.

See some photos here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrendaruiz/RosemontHSGreenAcademySpring2013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMDcy_6Qs5OwsgE&feat=directlink
or on twitter at @RHSCulinary.

Please join us for Day on the Farm, May 19, at Soil Born Farms American River Ranch at the School Garden Expo. At this event, you can get connected to a few of the region’s school gardens and edible education programs. Thanks to Assemblyman Roger Dickinson for in-kind support helping to make the expo possible. Help needed on May 18 and 19th! To volunteer, learn more about the Coalition and the exciting work ahead, or to donate resources contact Brenda Ruiz at chefbrendaruiz@gmail.com. 

Bariani Olive Oil
http://www.barianioliveoil.com/
Office: (415) 864-1917
9460 Bar Du Lane
Sacramento, CA 95829

The Barianis make fabulous olive oil and are well-known in the community, attending many farmers markets. “We don’t have any employees and never will. (More Information.)

Del Rio Botanical
http://www.delriobotanical.com/
(916) 991-1843
20030 Old River Road
West Sacramento, CA 95691

Del Rio Botanical, located on old River road between Sacramento and Woodland, is a privately owned 200-acre ranch producing open-pollinated organically grown seed and freshly packed specialty produce. (More information.)

Devine Gelateria & Café
http://devinegelateria.com
(916) 446-0600
1121 19th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

Devine Gelateria & Café features gelato made with a base prepared onsite under the direction of the owner, a licensed pasteurizer, who studied gelato making in Italy so she could produce authentic Italian gelato. (More information.)

Dragon Gourmet Mushrooms
http://www.dragonmushrooms.com/
1225 North B Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

Their mushrooms are hand grown, hand picked, and hand delivered. They use the untreated hardwood waste from a local moulding shop for their sawdust. (More Information.)

Feeding Crane Farms
http://www.feedingcranefarms.com/
(916) 698-5171
5333 E. Levee Road
Sacramento, CA 95835

An organic farm in Natomas, Feeding Crane sells beautiful produce at the Oak Park Farmers Market, Corti Bros, and many of our Snail of Approval restaurants. (More Information.)

Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
http://gingerelizabeth.com/
(916) 706-1738
1801 L Street, #60
Sacramento, CA 95811

Ginger Elizabeth was voted one of the “top 10 chocolatiers in North America.” She uses seasonal items in her chocolates, jams, and sundae sauces. (More Information.

Lundberg Family Farms
http://www.lundberg.com/
(530) 538-3500
5311 Midway
Richvale, CA 95974

Lundberg Family Farms founder, Albert Lundberg, had a favorite saying: “Leave the land better than you found it.” (More Information.)

Revolution Wines
http://www.revolution-wines.com/
(916) 444-7711
2831 S Street
Sacramento, CA 95816

Revolution Wines produces wine under their own label using locally grown grapes from Clarksburg and Sacramento and Amador counties, generally from within 50 miles of their facility. (More information.)

Soil Born Farms
www.soilborn.org
(916) 363-9685

American River Ranch
2140 Chase Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

The Farm on Hurley Way
3000 Hurley Way
Sacramento, CA 95864

And I anticipate that forging relationships with California’s other three governors and the governors across the country will bring loads of ideas and energy to our efforts to promote good, clean, fair food for all. I’ve already learned that Slow Food Sacramento is a standout chapter in this region and state. I’ll point SFUSA our way when they are looking for replicable models and best practices for other chapters. I’ve also learned that I’ll be the main connector between the region’s chapters and SFUSA. I welcome your suggestions and counsel.

On a more personal note, we recently hosted an organic farmer from Japan, seeking refuge in California from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Read about it here.

Charity Kenyon
charity@slowfoodsacramento.com

Everyone was pleased to see real progress on the garden, which was constructed by Bill Maynard of the Sacramento Community Garden Coalition with the help of volunteers from Slow Food Sacramento and St. John’s Shelter. Spring Warren’s talk was inspiring and many of us took home a signed copy of her Quarter Acre Farm. The food, supervised by Bobbin Mulvaney and made and served by Plates’ volunteer learners was delicious and plentiful. And the auction items were irresistible. We raised over $10,000 for the garden and introduced lots of new fans to the great café at Plates—open Monday through Friday 11-2. Visit and enjoy!

This library/academic convivium features presentations by three internationally known speakers, Ken Albala, Steve Sando, and, Leopoldo López Gil on Latin American food, its roots and its modern interpretations. Fee includes lunch.

On May 9th, 2011, the UC Davis Library will host “Nuevo Latino Cuisine: Culinary Artistry, Community and Conversation.” This fee-based library/academic convivium features presentations by three internationally known speakers:

• Ken Albala, a noted food historian, faculty member at the University of the Pacific and prolific author and editor of publications that include Eating Right in the Renaissance and A Cultural History of Food, will speak on “The Roots of Latin American Food.”

Steve Sando, owner of Rancho Gordo: New World Specialty Food, culinary consultant and author of Heirloom Beans, will discuss “Redefining the New American Kitchen: Bringing Latin American Heirloom Ingredients to the Modern Table”.

• Leopoldo López Gil, a founding member of the Slow Food Movement in Venezuela; President, the Academia Venezolana de Gastronomía; and restaurateur. Señor López will talk about the “new modern Latin cuisine” and the ingredients and culinary traditions that encourage chefs and serious home cooks to experiment and create new fusion dishes. A book signing will follow the presentations.

Location: Putah Creek Lodge, University of California, Davis

Time: 12Noon – 5PM, Monday, May 9th, 2011
Cost: $50, includes lunch and presentations
Registration forms: http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/events/nuevo-latino-cuisine/nlc-registration.pdf

The convivium is accompanied by a Shields Library lobby exhibit, “Nuevo Latino Cuisine: Culinary Art, Community and Conversation” : http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/ul/about/exhibits/?item=nuevolatinocuisine

Contact: Myra Appel, mlappel@lib.ucdavis.edu, for additional information.

Limiting our reliance on convenience foods and fast food, with their abundance of packaging, greatly reduces the trash we send to the landfill. Shopping at the bulk aisle allows you to reuse your plastic bags or bring your own containers. The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op will weigh your empty containers and mark them with a tare weight so you can completely eliminate packages and bags. I buy my spices, oatmeal, peanut butter, powdered milk, flour and dried
beans in the bulk aisle. The name of the game is pre-cycling (choosing products with eco-friendly or no packaging), which provides on the best method of reducing the amount of waste we generate.

Karen Auwaerter
President, Slow Food Sacramento
Karen@slowfoodsacramento.com

Today 32 million children will line up in school cafeterias across the nation. Right now, underfunding means that the people filling our kids’ trays have no choice but to do it with food that will lead to one in three of those children contracting diabetes.

It’s time to serve our kids a better deal.

The Child Nutrition Act Congress has before it is far from perfect, but it contains the first real increase to school lunch funding in the entire 44 year history of the legislation. That is an amazing achievement for all of us who’ve pushed this hard for so long.

But if we have any hope for getting real, nutritious food on school menus, we have to let Congress know that we want the Act passed now, not later, and we want the flaws in this bill – the funding taken from food stamps – fixed before the end of the year.

Your message could literally make the difference – and is the last chance for this Congress to deliver healthy lunch to our kids.

So far on this ‘Time For Lunch’ campaign, our community has sent over 100,000 emails, made countless phone calls to Congress, and 20,000 of us gathered for an ‘Eat-In’ all over the country. Now it’s time to seal the deal, and for Congress to deliver our children this historic legislation.

Thanks for making it Time For Lunch,
Jerusha, for the Slow Food USA Team

PS – Other than inflationary increases, Congress has never raised the level of funding for the food our children eat at school. Let’s make sure this Congress passes the historic Child Nutrition Act, and delivers America’s children the nutrition they deserve.