Happy Holidays to All

Hello folks!

Hope you all are keeping warm with the colder weather and keeping dry with the rain coming in (Yay, it's about time!). The semester has come to an end and we thank you all for your continuous support and encouragement. We have some exciting activities already planned for spring semester so keep posted! We will be having movie nights, pot lucks, garden work days, general meetings, and other events in and around the community. As always, if you have any questions or would like to learn more about Slow Food SSU then feel free to e-mail us at: slowfoodssu@gmail.com.

Happy holidays- hope you all have fun, keep safe, and enjoy some really great food!

Free Movie Night!

FOOD, INC.

Thursday, Dec 3rd @ 7pm

Schultz 2015B (Second Floor Library, Multi-Media Area)

How much do we really know about the food we buy & serve to our families? Food, Inc. takes an in-depth look at America’s food system and its effect on our environment, health, economy & workers’ rights

General Meeting

SSU Slow Food General Meeting!

Nov. 12

7p.m.

SSU - Commons

Supporting Good, Clean, and Fair Food

Anyone and everyone is welcome to partake in the meeting.

This is a good way to get involved or just to learn what Slow Food is all about!

Thank you!

Thank you all those who came out to Good Eats & Music last Sunday!! Though the weather was not ideal, the company, food, and speakers were great. Thank you for participating and joining us to celebrate good food and great company!

Good Eats & Music update

*Devour a locally-sourced lunch* *Relax on a campus lawn*

*Enjoy music and distinguished speakers* *Meet new friends*

It's all happening at Good Eats & Music on October 11 at Sonoma State University!

Join us for a fun-filled afternoon on campus. You'll hear from guest speakers including CA Assembly Person Noreen Evans, Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel, Sonoma State University President Dr. Ruben Arminana, and author Mark Arax. Enjoy the musical entertainment of local bands *Open Market *and *Blue Shift*, and learn more about local Slow Food projects from volunteer leaders.

There are two ticket options:

Attend the entire afternoon (12-5pm) and pay $38 - students pay $25

or

Attend only entertainment and speakers (2-5pm) for just $5!

*Purchase your tickets today at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/80256

If attending the lunch, please purchase tickets no later than October 5.

We hope to see you on October 11!

Good Eats & Music!

The Sonoma State University student-chapter of Slow Food USA will host a Slow Food regional event featuring speakers, a locally sourced lunch and live music on Sunday, October 11, 2009 from noon to 5 p.m. The event site is the campus “Pond” area.

The purpose of this event is to celebrate life’s greatest pleasures and necessities — good food, good music and great company.

In addition to great food, there is a great band scheduled to play during the wine and cheese mixer, along with the two bands playing after the luncheon: The Easy Leaves, Open Market, and Blue Shift. The event is open to the public and will include a wine and cheese mixer, a presentation of local Slow Food chapter projects, and the opportunity to hear from distinguished guest speakers: Josh Viertel, the Slow Food USA President, Dr. Ruben Arminana, Sonoma State’s President, and Mark Arax, Noted Author of “West of the West; Dreamers, Believers, Builders, and Killers in the Golden State”.

For more details and to purchase tickets please go to: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/80256.

Time for Lunch- Potluck//Eat-In

Slow Food at Sonoma State University Presents

Time for Lunch

Potluck // Eat-In

To support the campaign to get real food into schools! Come have a good time while demonstrating the need for more money to go to school lunches. Bring friends, lovers, family members, and a little sumpin sumpin to share.

Live Music Barbecue Volleyball

Labor Day, September 7th

12-4PM

Valley End Farm

6300 Petaluma Hill Rd.

Santa Rosa, CA 95404

As we know, children who grow up enjoying food that is both delicious and good for them learn healthy eating habits that last throughout their lives. By giving schools the resources to serve real food, we can make sure that the legacy we’re leaving our children is a future filled with opportunity, security and good health. But to make that happen, our leaders in Congress need to hear that when it comes to our children and the legacy we’re leaving them, change can’t wait. School lunches are woefully underfunded, which makes it difficult for schools to provide healthy lunches to children. This is unacceptable. *That’s why Slow Food USA is organizing a National Eat-In on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009*. On that day, people in communities across America will gather with their neighbors for public potlucks that send a clear message to our nation’s leaders: It’s time to provide America’s children with real food at school.

Cook Food Using the Sun

Cook food using the sun

...in 8 easy steps

Might as well utilize our free natural resources. The Museum of Science and Industry has composed a quick and easy process to cook food with the assistance of household items. Not only is this method simple and resourceful but it's also fun and a good learning experience! So...what not? Cook Food Using the Sun!

INTRO TO PERMACULTURE WORKSHOP

Sunday, May 17, 2009, 10am-4pm

Meadow View Elementary School

2665 Dutton Meadow, Santa Rosa

$30-60 sliding scale. Please bring your own lunch.

 

Experienced instructor Kyle Collins will cover:

• Permaculture Design Process
• Companion Planting
• Perennial Polyculture
• Sheet mulching/Soil Building Strategies
• Building an herb spiral

RSVP Now! 707-571-8868, jenna@conservationaction.org

FOOD INC MOVIE

Watch the trailer for Food Inc. Coming to theaters June 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQVll-MP3I

Directed by Robert Kenner, Produced by Eric Schlosser

With insights from Michael Pollan & others

The Food Forum featuring author Wendy Johnson was a great success! Thanks to all for attending and to those extra special folks who helped to set up and clean up afterwards. Also, thank-you to Frederique for the soil demonstration and the fascinating close up view through the microscope. Wow, amazing.

HOW TO GROW SPROUTS!

SUPER EASY!

Click here to check out a YouTube video on how to grow sprouts in your kitchen.

new lambs

At the movie night I was called back home to help with the successful delivery of our new lambs. As promised here are a few pics. Ferdinand and Fin were born on March 3 at 7:20PM. The barn pics are from the night they were born and the pics of the gang out in the pasture were taken a week later.
- Carleen (www.weirauchfarms.com)

Salad Garden Project Photo Update

clearing all the weeds from the area, preparing beds, planting seeds and starts

CALIFORNIA STUDENT SUSTAINABILITY COALITION

The California Student Sustainability Coalition unites students, campuses, and campaigns from across California to transform our educational systems into models of sustainability. It is their mission to unite and empower the California community of higher education to collaboratively and nonviolently transform ourselves and our institutions based on our inherent social, economic, and ecological responsibilities.

• General Inquiries, Questions, and Comments: info@sustainabilitycoalition.org
• To Submit News, Calls to Action, or Job Opportunities: news@sustainabilitycoalition.org
• To Submit Events to the Calendar: events@sustainabilitycoalition.org

EAT THE VIEW

Eat the View is a campaign to urge the Obamas to plant a large organic Victory Garden on the First Lawn with the produce going to the White House kitchen and to local food pantries. Eat the View is coordinated by Kitchen Gardeners International, a Maine-based 501c3 nonprofit network of 10,000 gardeners from 100 countries who are inspiring and teaching more people to grow some of their own food.

Eleanor Roosevelt during WWII had a food garden at the White House. During WWII 40% of our produce came from Victory Gardens. It is time to create more support for local gardens and what better example to have one at the White House.

Learn more and sign the petition at http://www.eattheview.org

JOIN THE CLUB STEERING COMMITTEE

This semester we vote in a new leadership team! President, Vice President, Secretary, Communications & Programing Director are all positions that will need to be filled by the end of the spring semester. Start thinking about yourself in a leadership role. Its fun and is a great networking tool for off campus opportunities like internships and employment. Remember: Slow Food is an international organization with a wide variety of roles for scientists, educators, planners, farmers, chefs...etc. Lets keep this club going. Our club "meetings" will take place at the end of the three FOOD FORUMS on our calendar. At these meetings decisions are made about projects both on and off campus and it is also when voting takes place. See calendar to the left for FOOD FORUM dates, times and locations.

GARDENING OPPORTUNITIES

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY

This semester we have THREE (!) gardening opportunities:

1. Slow Food SSU Community Salad Bowl Garden Project workday this Sunday, May 8th from 12-2 assuming the weather is clear. Our bed is located just west of the ETC building. Come check it out and follow our progress. Also a few of us are meeting casually in between classes on Wednesdays from about 12-2PM for mini garden tasks. Feel free to drop on by.
2. ETC Garden Friday workdays with Frederique Lavoipierre, Department of Biology Masters Candidate. Time: 10-2, on Feb 20, March 20, April 24 and May 8
3. The church on the corner of E. Cotati and Snyder is interested in starting a community garden! This is an opportunity to really grow a lot of vegetables for you, your friends and family. If you, or anyone you know is interested in getting in on this community project please direct them to Frederique. Here is her contact info: Frederique Lavoipierre Masters Candidate, Department of Biology lab tel: 707-664-2977 (no voice mail) 707-829-0751 (home)

SLOW FOOD COMMUNITY GARDEN PILOT PROJECT - SPRING SEMESTER

We are starting a semester pilot project utilizing one of the beds in the ETC Garden. Would you enjoy getting your hands dirty periodically throughout the semester? We need some volunteers. NO EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY. This will not require any long term commitment, just communication about when you can join us as the project progresses.


TO DO LIST

• Create garden info signs and handouts
• Paint donated garden bench to reflect the vision of the garden
• Seek out donations: seeds, plant starts, and drip line irrigation suitable for our project
• Plant seeds in seed trays for starts
  
• Prepare soil as necessary
• Plan out garden bed layout

The Slow Food SSU Community Salad Bowl Project - Celebrating Our Right to Fresh, Local, Organic Produce

1. This is not a class but a student driven collaborative, educational project, facilitated by Slow Food SSU. Slow Food SSU members and supporters from the campus community will be the "farmers" of this project on a volunteer basis.
2. What will be planted and tended to will be shared with the SSU Community at an end of the semester special event. This special event will reflect what we believe is our right to grow, eat and share food that is good, clean and fair. GOOD = tastes good because it is fresh; not shipped from hundreds or thousands of miles away. CLEAN = free of chemicals or the influence of GMO's. FAIR = produced, harvested and distributed in a socially just manner
3. We will focus on growing edibles for a raw salad: assorted greens, herbs, onions, carrots etc. These are seasonally appropriate for cultivating now and should be harvestable at the end of the semester in May.
4. We will respectfully adhere to the guidelines of the ETC Garden, acknowledging that we are very fortunate to have this opportunity to share the garden with the horticultural classes and research projects happening there already.
5. We will use this pilot project as a stepping stone to cultivating a larger Slow Food SSU garden in the future.