Of course the food was fantastic. There's no pressure to be a culinary star; we just bring what we like to eat. It's amazing how diverse and colorful the dishes are. I don't have any pics because I came prepared only to eat and chat, which is exactly what Slow Food is about.
Tim Curry from Wood Fire Roasted Coffee provided caffinated and decaf to go with the huge table of desserts.
Doug Booth from Buckbean Brewery brought beer. Doug and I started talking about beer, of course, and he told me Buckbean hosts beer dinners. Contact them if you want to get on the list. His place also generates a lot of spent grains and hops and anyone who wants them for chicken feed, or whatever, can drop off some empty containers and pick them up later.
Ty Martin brought wine. Ty is opening a new shop called Craft Wine and Beer. His new place will be at 22 Martin Street, phone: 775-287-2646. Look for it in November.
The speakers/entertainers were Rick Lattin from Lattin Farm, Dawn Spinola from Reno Egg, and me.
Dawn and Alan Spinola run a local business called Reno Egg, selling farm fresh eggs to all including local restaurants, specifically Dish, Back of the House, and Bistro 7. They're working with others to sell out of markets, so watch for that soon. Dawn told of their hilarious journey from urban dwellers to living with about 400 chickens, and it all started with a horse. Seems like Dawn is the dreamer gal and Alan makes the infrastructure happen. BTW, their eggs are natural and free range...not labeled organic for the usual reasons, which are more about paperwork and administrative fees than food ethic.
Rick Lattin from Lattin Farms entertained us with his quick wit and sense of humor and at the same time told us what's happened in Nevada farming over the last decade. First, let me just say that the Lattins rock! Rick and B. Ann are a formidable team and have done so much to promote farming in this region. Rick really honed in on why it's important to value farming in Nevada....we love where we live, and if we're going to live here we should grow our food here.
Here are a few of the high points from his presentation.
Over the last decade of so a handful of local food enthusiasts have created the initiatives that move local food forward in our community. Through these organizations and motivated people we now have greater access to local food and new growers entering the market. They've shown us it can be done and how to do it!
In no particular order:
Great Basin Community Food Co-op - BTW they've outgrown the 600 square foot building and are planning to move to something like 5,000 sq ft. This in itself is a great indicator in this economic climate.
Great Basin Basket, which feeds 400 or so families and supplies local restaurants with fresh food.
8 or 10 other CSAs - This type of program is where much of Nevada's new farmers. People with a few acres grow food for those who want it. Rick says that larger farms like his are not the norm.
Nevada Grown - a list of organic and conventional growers in Nevada.
Local Food System Network - a loose networking group that strives to bring local initiatives together and develop partnerships.
Nevada Certified Farmers Market Association - provides support for anyone wishing to start a farmers market in their neighborhood.
Western Nevada College Specialty Crop Institute - The workshops teach us it can be done.
I'm going to include Eliot Coleman on this list because even though he's not from Nevada (he lives in Maine) his work with hoop house technology has resulted in growing practices that create Zone 5 growing conditions in a Zone 7 region. If you want to know more read any one of his books but I recommend The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses. Rick uses these techniques on the farm, and Mark and I use them in our backyard.
My topic was the Mobile Slaughter Unit presentation we attended in September. There's too much info for this post, but watch for it in a separate one.
Looking forward to the winter potluck!
2 comments:
I am determined to make it to the next one!
Excellent! Track me down when you get there...I'd love to meet you.
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