What the Heck Are You Doing?

If you've been wondering what the hell I'm up to when I go weeks without making a blog post, you're not alone. My parents ask me similar questions all the time. Not because they're actually reading this blog. They're not. But, because they are very, very concerned about how I'm actually earning an income. Here's a sample phone conversation:

Dad: Well, hello...we haven't heard from you in a while. What have you been up to? Why hasn't there been a Melissa@Market piece on Zomppa recently?

Me: Now that the season is winding down, we are only running those a couple of times a month. But, I have a Food Fighters piece coming out every other week instead!

Dad: Hmm. Well, we're not really interested in those.

Me: oh.

Dad: What else have you been doing?

Me: Teaching classes, traveling, writing.

Dad: Do you get PAID for any of this stuff??

So, anyhow. I'm not sure if you've been wondering where I've been hiding because you're actually *interested* in what I'm learning and writing about or if you're just nosy as to how I survive on a day-to-day basis. My dad wants to makes sure I'm (a) alive and (b) supporting myself (legally). If those are your priorities also, then you can quit reading now. Here's a pretty picture for you to leave on:

Gorgeous mural from my last Philly trip

Actually curious on how I've filled the last 2 1/2 weeks? Here's a brief recap that I'll hit more in depth soon. (I know, I know...I say that a lot. Just trust I have good notes and an *excellent* memory.)

• Attended the Philabundance Hunger Symposium.  We all already know I've got it bad for Philabundance, but the conference was seriously one of the best 1/2 day events I've ever attended. It was jam-packed with energy, innovation and knowledge. Mari Gallagher spoke about her research on food deserts and Joel Berg gave a rousing anti-hunger speech. And that was just the last 1 1/2 hours. Must find a way to condense soon.
• Spent a lovely evening at Talula's Garden. The company was unbeatable even if the food was a bit uneven.

•  Traveled to Chicago. But only after being held hostage in the Philly airport by United Airlines for almost 9 hours. Managed to run into both Joe Theissman and Michael Jordan though, so things were not all bad.

This view from my Chicago hotel room did not suck

• Visited with the kind and generous Kevin Pierce of The Resource Center. The Resource Center in Chicago runs a variety of projects aimed at connecting individuals and businesses, creating equality and evening the food supply. 

• Spent an evening with a dear friend eating at the sleek pub The Gage on Michigan Ave. 

• An early start to check out a couple of local farmer's market including the large Green City Market at Lincoln Park. 
• A morning tour of one of Growing Power's farms in inner city Chicago where I learned about their upcoming hydroponic project and saw their compost worms in action.

• Brunch at Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill where I scarfed down this wonderfulness.

• Attended City Farm's (a division of The Resource Center) Urban Harvest Festival where I saw some of the most gorgeous produce I've ever seen in an urban farm. 

• Back in DC, tried out a new class with Academy of Hope that I call "One Method, Many Meals". Basically, it involves sauteing protein and veggies and combining them with various Latin, Asian, Italian flavors plus how to turn this knife and fork dish into a soup or frittata. All meals are under $5/serving and feature readily available ingredients. More on that later.

• Checked out the Neighborhood Farm Initiative in the Fort Totten area here in DC. 

• Traveled back to Boston for the Boston Local Foods Festival. Look for a full breakdown of the event at Zomppa on Monday.

 

• Attended the National Food Policy Conference at the Capital Hilton and enjoyed hearing panels on everything from global hunger to nutrition education to the Philadelphia healthy foods initiative. A really solid day of information.  

And that's why my brain is about to explode. Stay tuned.

A Loud Mouth in the Quiet Car

Tomorrow, I return to Philadelphia as the start of two weeks of crazy travel. I'm very determined not to repeat the travel hiccups of my past two trips (Boston. Tunnels. 'nough said.). When I went to Philly a month ago, I took the train (which I'll be doing again) and had no idea how serious people got about queueing up to board. I ended up towards the rear of the line and, on top of that, was pulled for random drug testing (with that little felt piece that they reuse 50 times in 5 minutes to swipe bags). By the time I headed for the train, all the front cars (back cars? train nomenclature is not my strong suit) were full. Not being a seasoned train rider, I wasn't sure how far I could go on the cars before I hit first class. I stopped to ask an employee, showing him my ticket. Then, I managed to ignore everything he said and walked to the wrong car.

At this point, the train actually started moving, so I jumped into the closest car which happened to be the "quiet" car and under no circumstances should a person like me ever sit in the "quiet" car. I found a seat, catching my breath and then realized my I.D. that I'd been carrying in the same pocket as my ticket was missing. Did I mention the train was *moving*? And that I was in the quiet car? So, I began stage whispering to the poor man who had the extreme misfortune of having the only empty seat next to him. Of course, there was nothing he could do, but he felt terrible so he started lifting up my jackets and flipping through my books while I managed to panic everyone else in the quiet car that I was some sort of deranged lunatic with laryngitis. When our search turned up nothing, I went searching for the ticket guy (again, not good with official train titles).

Pressing buttons and racing through doors like Jake Gyllenhaal in SourceCode, I found him 4 or 5 cars down where I breathlessly explained that I thought I'd dropped my driver's license on the platform. Very calm-like, in a manner similar to which you'd treat a mental patient, he told me to sit down and he'd "check". (I wasn't sure what this meant, but I was having delusions of being tossed from the train in Delaware, so I thought it was best to obey.) Returning to my seat, I continued searching through my purse with the vigor of a chain smoker trying to find a last cig. My seatmate continued to look pained, either because he was the most empathetic person on the planet or because he was envisioning 8 possible hours trapped next to me. (The train goes all the way to Boston.) Meanwhile, I began frantically texting my dog sitter about how I was going to need her to FedEx me my passport the next day. In the middle of a hurricane. (Oh, yeah. Remember how I went to Philly in a hurricane?!) Intelligent woman that she is, she ignored every single one of my texts.

When oxygen began to finally flow to my brain again, it occurred to me that I'd been holding my ticket when I lifted my luggage into the overhead compartment. I stood up, open the bin, lifted the bag and ran my hand along the floor of the cabinet. As it closed around the cool, slim piece of plastic, I couldn't help exclaiming, "I found it!" In the quiet car. Yeah, yeah..."sssshhhh" and all that sh*&.

So, um, I'm just hoping tomorrow's trip doesn't start that way.

ACTUAL CONTENT
Oh...would you like to actual read about some Food Fighting and stuff?! Ok. Here are some good links from the past two weeks for that.

• Last week was all about the $5 Slow Food Challenge. Check out this interview Washington Post Food Editor Joe Yonan did with Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel to learn all about the reasoning behind the throwdown. Then, read Joe's summary of his own private $5 Dinner Challenge.  Finally, you can check out *my* recap of my 40+ guest dinner party at Zomppa.
• After you consider whether or not you could take on the $5 Challenge, read this (depressing) article on how little Americans care about cooking. A real bummer since the best path to better eating is getting busy in the kitchen.
• If those things can't get you to try some from-scratch cooking, maybe reading more about your food supply will. Ever wonder how cereal turns into cereal? Find out here. Need some milk to wash that down? You might be surprised at the process milk must go through.
• Finally, if you aren't already convinced to cut down your intake of meat (and poultry!) then at least be convinced to buy organic. This Atlantic article should do the trick.

Maybe next week, I'll cover some ways cities are getting inventive in supplying the community with these products and teaching them how to use it all. In the meantime, I suggest old-fashioned oatmeal, fruits and vegetables (anybody can do salad) and a lot of hummus and whole grain pita. Low-maitenance cooking.

Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

A sale chart from the entrepreneurial kids at City Blossoms in WDC

Three months ago, I started this project officially. Time has flown by so quickly, I still feel I haven't adequately addressed half the things I've learned. I'm optimistic though that in the end it will accrue to create one (sort-of?) seamless flow that might be useful not just to myself, but others. One thing is for certain, and that is the fact that all the organizations I've visited so far have been amazing in their own right. I've visited places in Boston, Philadelphia and my hometown of Washington, DC so far, and next week, I'm off to Chicago.

A downtown Philly pop-up garden designed to utilize temporarily empty space.

My visits have been centered around observing three main areas of food equity: production of food, distribution of food and education about food. I've also tried to incorporate any businesses that might be involved in creating a larger network of local, sustainable food for a city. Of course, many places overlap in their focus. Here, I group them loosely based on the central premise of their organization.

I welcome suggestions for more visits and stops! Please use this blog, the email, Twitter or Facebook to send them my way!

Visitors tour Common Good City Farm in WDC

Production
Common Good City Farm, LeDroit Park, Washington, DC: Read more about this 1/2 acre urban farm in my Zomppa post or in this blog post. Best take away: The abundant amount of plant life that can grow in a small space on a former elementary school baseball field. Peach trees! Peach trees!
City Blossoms, Shaw Neighborhood, Washington, DC: I just visited with City Blossoms at their Marion Street location this past week and doggone if I didn't leave with the biggest case of the warm and fuzzies. This spot really puts the "community" in community garden. As with Common Good, education about gardening and fresh food is part of the package. The emphasis here is on kids, but all sorts of community members and volunteers participate.

The Food Project, multiple locations, Boston, MA and surrounding areas: Although the Food Project operates several farms in the greater Boston area, their focus is equally split on growing food and growing community. Teaching youth leadership skills is a majority part of this 20-year old organization's goals. They also work to distribute the food they grow to areas of the community in need, often partnering with health organizations, schools, and youth groups to promote healthy eating. You can read a little more about what I've written about them here.
Walnut Hill Community Farm and Philly Rooted, West Philadelphia, PA: There's a lot more to what Nic Esposito has going on then just this farm outside of a Septa station on Market Street. He's also a big proponent of local entrepreneurship and community mobilization. This farm is ingenious not just for its use of space, but for its design, such as a drainage cistern and pipe that slopes down the public transit system's roof. (Yep, they managed to get through all the government red tape for permission to do it!)
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society: Ok, so they're clearly involved in gardens. But, did you know this organization (originally founded in 1827) also runs a prison greenhouse program and a work release "Roots to Re-entry" program? Their training classes to help organizers start community gardens is innovative in that they focus only 1/3 on actual gardening and 2/3 on community mobilization (often the most difficult component of starting a neighborhood garden). The City Harvest program connects gardeners who can grow surplus with food security organizations that might use it.
Greensgrow, Philadelphia, PA: One of the original urban "gardens" in Philadelphia. Also runs a farmer's market, CSA, and nutritional cooking classes. 

The greenhouse at Greensgrow in Philly, PA

I'll be adding to this list in Chicago where I'm scheduled to stop at:
City Farm, Chicago, IL: Not only will I be touring this farm and speaking with a director at the organization (The Resource Center) that runs it, but I'll also be attending their fall Urban Harvest event.
Growing Home, Chicago, IL: Both exploring this farm and speaking with someone to learn more about their programs.
Gary Corner Youth Center Gardens, Chicago, IL: Another scheduled garden stop!

Distribution
Bread for the City, Shaw and Anacostia neighborhoods, Washington, DC: I've worked with BFC for several of their farmer's markets. They are an immense organization of wrap-around services that do much more than hand-out food. Education is also a big priority here to ensure their clients become self-sufficient and independent as the ultimate goal. You can read some more about them here and here.
Community Servings, Boston, MA: Originally founded as a healthy food delivery service for those suffering from acute illnesses, Community Servings has expanded its offerings to include nutritional cooking classes that utilize fresh produce and farmer's markets whose proceeds help support the non-profit. Both offer provisions that make them accessible to a wide range of incomes.
SHARE, distribution from West Philadelphia to areas of PA, DE, NJ shore, MD shore and metro NY: SHARE acquires food from the USDA's commodity program and supplements it with local farm goods to create weekly "boxes" of groceries that are then sold for a fraction of the retail cost. Federal and state assistance monies as well as cash can be used to purchase a box which is picked up at a local distribution site.
Philabundance, greater Philadelphia, PA: Philabundance grew out of a food bank system, but does much more beyond mere distribution. If you want to hear me turn all gooey and wax philosophic about them, check out this post.  They have a lot going on! And it's all fabulous!

I'll be adding to this list in Chicago where I'm scheduled to take a peek at the:
Fresh Moves Bus, various locations, Chicago, IL: This produce stand on wheels takes reduced price produce into underserved areas of Chicago.

Working in the City Blossoms Marion Street Garden

Education
Haley House, South End, Boston, MA: Haley House has a wide variety of wrap-around services, but several of their growing projects involve food education and training. I recently wrote about them here on the blog. 
Cambridge Community Kitchen, Cambridge, MA: A fledgling business hoping to host both local, nutritional cooking classes for a variety of populations as well as provide a separate kitchen to serve as an incubator for start-up food businesses.
Chefs Move To Schools, nationwide: A component of Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative, this program helps to pair those trained in culinary arts with a local school. Resources and ideas are provided online to help chefs and schools incorporate food education. I was recently paired with Takoma Park Educational Center and am looking forward to starting a food exploration unit there. 

This does not even cover the other local DC organizations I partner with who are interested in nutritional cooking education for their clients.  These places include Even Start, Academy of Hope, Unity Healthcare, and the Latin American Youth Center among other non-for-profits.

Shoppers choose from the fresh produce at FreshFarm Market in WDC

Local Sustainable Food Systems
Crop Circle Kitchen, Jamaica Plains, Boston, MA: A food business incubator that carefully and selectively screens potential businesses to maximize efficiency. In addition, CCK provides detailed guidance on running and growing a business. The founder also runs a distribution hub called OrFoodEx that allows small producers and buyers to link up in a way that minimizes costs.
Boston Local Foods, Boston, MA: A linking organization for local businesses and producers designed to emphasize location, fairness and sustainability in the food system. I'll be attending their Boston Local Foods Festival on Saturday, Oct. 1. 
FreshFarm Markets, Washington, DC area: A non-profit that organizes 11 markets in DC, VA and MD filled with farmers from within a 200-mile radius. Several of their markets accept SNAP and WIC and utilize a program called "Double Dollars" that matches federal funds up to a specified amount. And, of course, there's the awesome FoodPrints kitchen , curriculum and garden at Watkins ES.  I frequently work at their markets doing simple cooking demonstrations with the produce and am looking forward to participating in the Watkins program soon! 
Fair Food Philly, Philadelphia, PA: Fair Food Philly began as a way to connect restaurants with local farms and has grown to include schools, institutions and the public at large. A leader in linking food networks in the city. 

Fair Food Philly's Farmstand at Reading Terminal carefully describes where the food originates and how it is produced

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Philabundance

September is Hunger Action Month. Each week, Food Fighters will be posting features on some of the amazing organizations around the country fighting to make sure all Americans have access to fresh, healthy food. To learn more about, Hunger Action Month or how you can volunteer in your neighborhood, visit the Feeding America website or follow them on Twitter @FeedingAmerica or #HungerActionMonth.

You're smart. I know you're smart. But, I'm still going to call the "Driving Hunger From Our Communities" phrase to your attention. It's on a truck. Get it? Driving...truck. Love the clever.

I'm a little obsessed with Philabundance. Not only do they have one of the catchiest names in all of hunger relief, but they abound with positivity. Certainly, hunger is not something that brings a smile to anyone's face. However, many recipients at food banks often feel a certain stigma in participation. Philabundance works hard to create community and a sense of hope that I, and many of their clients and patrons, can certainly appreciate.  Even their colorful graphics and catchy T-shirts help raise spirits in what can be a bleak and desperate situation. Based on the individuals I communicated with and met for my visit, I can say this optimistic vibe pulsates among the staff. Couple that with a variety of innovative programs (listed below), and I think you'll see why I'm crushing on this organization and their vision of Philly Abundance for all.

A Philabundance T-shirt. Order one here.

Philabundance has existed in the greater Philadelphia, PA area since 1984. In 2005, it was integrated with the Philadelphia Food Bank and now provides direct service programs with over 500 member agencies.  Some of their innovative programs include:

A Philabundance Fresh for All site

• Fresh For All: Started in response to the expressed desire and need for more fresh produce in low income areas, this program operates at 12 different sites: 6 in New Jersey and 6 in Pennsylvania. Each site practices reliability and consistency in that each is year-round (except for very inclement weather days) and allots produce based on expected numbers to ensure all participants receive a share each and every week. 
• Share the Harvest: This sow-a-row initiative encourages local gardeners to grow a little extra and then donate their surplus to Philabundance.  Community organizations (such as churches and schools) can turn unused space into gardens that can be dedicated to helping others. Backyard gardeners can squeeze in a few extra plants to harvest for the program.
• Innovative Volunteer Activities: Philabundance encourages community involvement (which in turn generates awareness which in turn leads to more resources...a fabulous cycle) through such events as "Macking and Packing"- a singles sorting night to pack boxes of nourishing food to be distributed at various sites. Afterwards, volunteers mingle at a happy hour.  (Sooo my kind of event!) Volunteers also staff tables at Fresh for All and share their tips and recipes for cooking the produce available.  Interaction amongst varying demographics is a big tenet of Philabundance.
• Those are just a small taste of what Philabundance is doing in the greater Philly area.  They also have seniors programs, grocery donation campaigns, a job-training kitchen and numerous food drive incentive programs.  

Learn more about Philabundance by visiting here.  Or think about attending their half-day Hunger Symposium on Thursday, September 22.  I'll be there!

Also available on the Philabundance website.

Yes, I Traveled to Philly for a Hurricane (and other adventures)

Center City

I just got back from another fabulous Food Fighters road trip.  This time to the love-ly city of Philadelphia.  Interestingly, despite my extensive travels across the U.S. (I've been to every state but Alaska) and my mom's insistence of making every summer vacation of my childhood "historical", I'd never stopped in Philly. (My mom was living in Philly when she met my dad.  I'm not saying this has anything to do with her neglecting to cover Our Nation's First Capital on our summer jaunts through ages past, but you have to wonder, right?)  Anyhow, besides a quick there and back for a concert at Veteran's stadium once (R.I.P. in-stadium jail), I'd never explored the city.

And, yes, there was this little thing called Irene in the middle of my visit.

Other than the fact that Philly...what's the word I'm looking for?...overreacted by closing every place of business except the hotel bar by 8pm on Saturday night and keeping them shuttered until well past noon on Sunday, it was another incredible experience.  The people, the food, the city, and, of course, all the organizations I met with completely won me over.  I can't wait to go back.  (No, literally...I've already signed up to go back for this Philabundance Hunger Symposium in 3 weeks.)

Rittenhouse Square

Here's a quick peak at what I did over my 4 days in Philly:

I took the train from DC.  And lost my license before I even sat down.  In the quiet car.  Luckily, the crack search&rescue team at Amtrak recovered it.  Sadly, the passenger seated next to me is still hearing my loud and frantic whispering.

Started Day One at SHARE- a food distribution that serves areas of PA, MD, DE, NYC and NJ.  SHARE compiles food "packages" filled with a mix of healthy staples and produce that will last about a week.  The box may be worth up to $45, but participants pay less than half that amount.  Steveanna Wynn, the incredibly personable director of SHARE, works hard to find local sources of food at the most affordable prices.  SHARE distributes through community centers (where individuals can pick-up) and also services food banks.

The Philabundance Fresh for All produce distribution in Upper Darby

Next stop was a Philabundance Fresh for All site. The Philabundance food banks saw a need for fresh produce and sought to fill it.  This program was the result.  At 12 spots across the metropolitan area in NJ and PA, Philabundance delivers a consistent, weekly amount of produce.  Participants "shop" similarly to a farmer's market, choosing produce they like and would use.  Volunteers are on hand to give cooking suggestions and recipe advice.

One of UNI's gardens

On the way back to downtown Philadelphia, we made a quick stop at one of the gardens of the Urban Nutrition Initiative- a group that works with high school youth to establish gardens and educate and empower youth to engage in healthier lifestyles.

From there, it was lunch at Reading Terminal Market (more on that later) and a discussion with my "tour guide" for the day from Fair Food Philly. Fair Food Philly helps to link various restaurants, schools and community organizations to a more sustainable, local food supply.  They also host various events and run a farmstand at the Reading Terminal Market aimed at helping people investigate where and how their food is raised.

In the afternoon, I headed out to meet Nic Esposito at Walnut Hill Community Farm. Nic recently wrote a book called Seeds of Discent about changing communities.  He's one of those whip-smart entrepreneurs that understand systems and how to interconnect people and ideas.  Nic's got his hands all over different food initiatives in greater Philadelphia. Plus, he tolerated my complete ineptitude with the Philly subway system, and the fact that I was over 30 minutes late for our meeting.  I like that in a man.

Walnut Hill Community Garden

Finished Day One with drinks outside at Parc cafe and dinner at Twenty Manning Grill.

Day Two was hurricane day.  I managed to take a run along the Schuykill River and run the Philadelphia Art Museum Stairs like Rocky.  I also had a brunch of so satisfying whole wheat banana almond pancakes at a Marathon restaurant.  Marathon is a local chain that sources from its own farm and as many other local places as possible.  I'm kind of obsessed.  (I had lunch there again on Monday before leaving.)

The rest of Saturday (Day Two) and Sunday (Day Three) are kind of sad...except for Sunday night when it got inexplicably gorgeous and I was able to both walk all over the city (Old City! Society Hill! Rittenhouse Square!) and people watch at the park while I enjoyed a leisurely meal at Parc.  THAT was blissful.

Day Four (Monday) was glorious.  Sunday night's weather only improved, and it became clear that Philly had been playing coy with me all weekend.  Just as I was about to depart, she really showed off.  I found a sweet coffee spot, and I enjoyed a leisurely walk around downtown.

The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society has been around since the 1820s, and their depth of knowledge is immense.  I enjoyed not only visiting their Market St. Pop-Up Garden (like a pop-up restaurant but better for the environment), but also learning more about their City Harvest and Roots to Re-Entry programs.  City Harvest not only shares PHS's expertise about gardening with local start-up community gardens, but also key tips on community organization and motivation- key factors for a successful garden.

My last visit was with Greensgrow greenhouse in the Fishtown neighborhood. Often referred to as the "original" urban garden in Philadelphia, Greensgrow not only runs a CSA, but also conducts a program known as "LIFE" that makes produce accessible to low income participants and teaches them how to use it.

The only thing Hurricane Irene disrupted was my visit to Greener Partners who I hope to connect with on a future visit soon, along with The Food Trust, a huge participant in the Philadelphia food justice community whose influence is pervasive in many of the other agencies I visited.

That's the quick and dirty on the Philly trip.  Look forward to more on these amazing organizations and some great tips I learned, coming soon!