Good Food is Everybody's Business
The 2011 Provender Conference, the premier Northwest event for retailers, food producers and processors, distributors and brokers, will be held this year in Hood River, Oregon, October 5-7. Launched in 1977, Provender Alliance presents its 35th annual event designed to help businesses and organizations in the natural food industry to do business together better. Plenty of time to sign up!
In this piece we connect Gary Paul Nabhan’s Terroir-ists Manifesto and the Lexicon of Sustainability – both focused on knowing your connection to the earth and to your food.
“Taste our meats?” was an invitation I gladly accepted. I was at the Milwaukie Farmers Market, being offered locally made sausages. Sous chef Colin Stafford of Olympic Provisions was staffing the booth and as I tasted the sausages I was hooked.
Jerry Pipitone, Pipitone Farm, Rock Island WA, talks about his part in the local food economy. He dries tons of fruit, for his own farm and for other farmers. And with the odd weather we’ve been having the last couple of years, farming is a little tougher than usual.
Lori Stahlbrand, Founder and President of Local Food Plus, talks about the potential for institutional procurement of local and sustainable food. Local Food Plus is committed to creating local sustainable food systems that reduce reliance on fossil fuels, create meaningful jobs, and foster the preservation of farmland – and farmers.
Food co-ops are different and they fit more comfortably into small towns and unique neighborhoods. Because they reflect the values and principles of their owners and members they can differentiate themselves more easily. We offer you a look at six very different natural food co-ops. Each one has its own personality and each one is committed to buying products from local providers.
We eat a lot of soy in our household. Soy milk, tofu, tempe, soy “ice cream,” soy yogurt… So when we say that Small Planet Organic Tofu is our favorite brand, you can see that we’ve done our comparison shopping!
Austin, Texas is already home to Whole Foods, but that won’t stop a group of entrepreneurs from founding a new grocery store right in the natural food behemoth’s backyard. While the new store – In.gredients will also specialize in local and organic ingredients, there’s one major difference between this venture and its hometown competition: In.gredients promises to be the country’s first ever “package-free, zero waste grocery store.”
