Buy Local Food In Kitsap

LOCAL EVENTS

Kitsap Community and Agricultural Alliance
February 9, 6:30pm.
Jean Schanen of Freshlocal will be on hand to speak about opportunities for farmers, eaters and urban farmers in local food. Norm Dicks Center, 345 Sixth Street, Bremerton, WA

NEW!! Kitsap Food and Farm Policy Council
February 11, 5:00pm
In the Port Gamble Room, 619 Division Street, Port Orchard, WA 98366-4614. For more information contact Sara Prout sprout@co.kitsap.wa.us  or (360) 337-7146.

NEW!! For the Love of Wine
February 13, 2:00 – 3:00pm
Monica Downen, of Monica’s Waterfront Bakery in Old Town Silverdale, shares her love for good wine, with tips for wine choices and pairing wine with good food. RSVP to the library at 692-2779, or sign up at the desk for this free library program. Register separately for a private wine tasting at 3:00 at the Bakery (3472 NW Byron St.), following the library program. Tickets are $10 per person, including several wines and a plate of food selected for the tasting. E-mail Monica at monica@waterfrontbakery.com  or call the Bakery at 698-2991, to reserve your place.

West Sound Beekeepers Association
February 16, 7:00pm
General membership meeting at Stedman’s Bee Supplies located at 3763 NW Anderson Hill Road, Silverdale, Washington. The general membership meeting follows the beginner beekeeping class that meets from 6:00p.m. to 6:45p.m.

Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society
February 18, 7:00pm
At the I.O.O.F Hall at 100 S. Dora, Bremerton, Washington. Special presentation by Kitsap County Search and Rescue.

QuickBooks for Business
February 20, 8:00am – 4:30pm
This introductory class includes set up and operations of the general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory, job costs, and payroll. Prerequisite: Computer usage and basic Windows skills. $139. Olympic College Continuing Education. To register, please call 360-394-2725 or visit our registration web page for more options. http://apps.olympic.edu/ClassSchedule/default.aspx?Quarter=1&Department=Continuing%20Studies–Small%20Business

Kitsap Food Coop Annual Meeting
February 22, 1:00 – 4:30pm
Now taking nominations for 2010 Board Positions. Nominations close January 4th. For more information visit their blog at: www.kitsapfoodcoop.org . Join them to bid in the silent auction, meet farmers and join the Co-op!

REGIONAL EVENTS

The Washington Swine Information Day
February 5, 8:45am – 5:30pm
At the Pill Rock Restaurant/Moses Lake Golf & Country Club in Moses Lake, Washington. The educational seminar is designed for progressive pork producers and stakeholders; addressing critical and emerging swine production issues in the Pacific Northwest. Swine producers of all sizes; 4-H/FFA youth producers; agency representatives; agriculture educators; and fair/show representatives are invited to participate. $30 includes the seminar, WPP membership, break, lunch, and handouts. Youth $15. For info www.animalag.wsu.edu or contact Sarah M. Smith (509) 754-2011, Ext. 413 or smithsm@wsu.edu

Goat Care Seminar
February 6, 9:30am – 4:00pm
Seminar date includes general goat care and nutrition, all about kidding and all about packgoats. Edelweiss Acres, Olympia. $20/person. Special rates for 4H folks $5/person, special rates for clubs and large families. Lunch will be served. For info call Donna at 360-481-0527 or edelweissacres@comcast.net  

Home Cheese Making Workshop
February 6, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Learn the art and science of making cheese in your own kitchen with easily accessible and inexpensive tools! Lunch will be served, including a cheese course. Cheese making kit, workshop notebook, and of course your own handmade cheese are all included! Call Suzanne: 360-732-0771.

NEW!! Best Fruit Varieties for the Pacific Northwest
February 6, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Sam Benowitz, owner of Raintree Nursery, will teach this class at the UW Botanic Garden, discussing what varieties do best in our climate, disease resistance, the importance of rootstocks, and pollination needs. Register at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/92812  or send a check to City Fruit at PO Box 28577, Seattle, WA 98118. Cost is $15 members, $20 non members

Harvesting Clean Energy Conference
February 7 – 9
Farmers, ranchers and rural communities throughout the Pacific Northwest can learn how to make renewable energy – like wind, biofuels and solar – a profitable new crop. Three Rivers Convention Center, Kennewick, WA. http://www.harvestcleanenergy.org/index.html

NEW!! Cascade Harvest Coalition’s 2010 Puget Sound Fresh Farm Guide
Deadline: February 8
The space reservation for display ads is February 8; payment and artwork are due February 26. For info contact Sheryl Wiser, sherylwiser@comcast.net  or call the Cascade Harvest office 206-632-0606.

Culinary / Agritourism Workshop
February 10 – 11
Fort Worden State Park Conference Center, Fort Worden Commons, Company A, 200 Battery Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Topics include: Today’s Trends in Culinary/Agritourism, How To Make Money in Tourism, Defining what is Distinctive about Food/Farm/Culinary in Washington, Marketing Your Region’s Assets, Construct Destination Packages and Itineraries. $30 per participant. Register at: http://agritourismwaolypen.eventbrite.com/

NEW!! Sustainable Seattle’s Environmental Film Festival
February 11, 6:00 – 9:30pm
Support Sustainable Seattle, local filmmakers and learn how a difference is being made and you can increase your impact. Join us at The Chapel at The Good Shepherd Center (Wallingford). 4649 Sunnyside Ave. North, 4th Floor. The Center is served by Metro buses # 16, 26 & 44. Ample parking available. Donation: $20 public and $5 students, under- /unemployed. Register at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/95063 Cash only at the door!

Workshops Series for Horse & Small Farm Owners
Feb 11 to March 4, 6:30 – 9:00pm
Hands-on workshops co-sponsored by the Pierce and King Conservation Districts on livestock management practices. See a variety of options and work with technicians to discover how you can have less mud, better pastures, manage manure, and care for streams and wetlands.
    • February 11: Streams and Wetlands: Living with Livestock near Water.
    • February 18: Mud Management: Record Rainfall=Record Mud.
    • February 25: Manure Management: Got Livestock? Got Manure!
    • March 4: Pasture Management: Becoming a Grass Farmer.
To register and receive directions contact the King Conservation District at 425-282-1904, or paul.borne@kingcd.org  

Jefferson Conservation District Native Plant Sale – Order Deadline
February 12
Workshop participants will be able to place an order for plants at the workshop. Orders for plants will be accepted by the Conservation District until February 12. Plant will be available for pickup at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds or the Quilcene Community Center on February 27. For more information about the plant sale and a list of the plants for sale go to: www.jeffersoncd.org  or call Rosie Taylor at 360/385-4105.

Small Farm Winter School
February 20
Washington Hall at Centralia College, Centralia, WA. Information 360-140-1212.

WSU Cheesemaking Short Course
February 16-18
Basic-Plus Cheesemaking Shortcourse. Chehalis, WA. This 3-day offering is intended for the beginning cheesemaker who is serious about pursuing cheesemaking as a business activity at the farmstead or artisan level. $259. For more info: Marc Bates at cheeseguy@charter.net (preferred) or 509-595-8652. http://www.wsu.edu/creamery/basicplus.htm

Farm to School Workshop
February 25, 11:30am – 5:00pm
This event will provide a forum for direct conversations between farmers and school districts to connect and strengthen the schools food purchasing abilities with local farmers. The workshop is an opportunity for school food service managers and local farmers to combine their efforts to benefit their operations and their community. At the Wenatchee Valley College on in the Campus Theater of Wells Hall. For info: Joan Qazi at jqazi@nwi.net or Michel Wiman at (509) 633-8181 x-235.

2010 Labor Conference: Measure Your Success
February 25 , 9:00am – 5:00pm
Issues such as healthcare, immigration, preview dramatic changes in store for our state workers’ comp system and breakout sessions – industry experts and agencies address the issues of concern – and the areas that agencies intend to target. Register at www.wsfb.com  Wenatchee Convention Center

OSU Extension Service Small Farms Conference
February 27
Oregon State University, LaSells Stewart Center. $35.00 each or 2 for $60.00. Registration brochure can be found at http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu  or call 541-766-3556 or Chrissy.Lucas@oregonstate.edu  

NEW!! Farmer – Chef Connection
March 1, 8:00am – 6:00pm
All-day networking opportunity for local Food Producers & Buyers, brought to you by Seattle Chefs Collaborative. At Herban Feast SODO Park, 3200 1st Ave. S, Seattle WA 98134. Buy tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/95536  Cost: $50 Feb. 1 – Feb. 14th. $60 thereafter. No sales at the door if event is sold out!

NATIONAL EVENTS
 
American Grass-Fed Conference
February 4-6
Conference topics will include: Growing Your Grass-fed Business: Smart Risk Management and High-Quality Marketing PLUS -” From Farm Gate to Customer’s Plate” Butchery and Cooking Sessions with some of America’s Best Butchers and Chefs. Lexington, Kentucky http://www.americangrassfed.org/

Using Economic Development Funds to Create Incentives for Healthy Retail
February 9, 12:30pm – 2:00pm PT
This call will outline how economic development tools and financing mechanisms can be leveraged to work with small corner stores to increase the availability of healthy choices and create new business models for small food retail. Presenters will discuss the opportunities and limitations of economic development tools and offer ideas for how partnerships with local economic development agencies and small store owners can deepen the impact and sustainability of their healthy corner store work. Register for this webinar in advance at http://webex.com/. Meeting Number: 576 667 835 Password: planning123

FARM NEWS & VIEWS

Growing food in fashion
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2010845906_pacificpfootvictory31.html

Portable communities – perhaps for farm workers?
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jan/31/temporary-city-kitsap-planners-idea-for-portable/

Feeding the food gardening trend
http://crosscut.com/2010/02/03/lifestyle-leisure/19562/

Frugal Foodies
http://crosscut.com/2010/01/18/food/19514/