Posted by Ed Bruske | November 11th, 2009

By Ed Bruske
Contributing Editor
Cross-posted from The Slow Cook

Plans for Justice Park Community Garden

The last time I sat in on a planning meeting for our neighborhood’s new community garden I was nearly run out of the room for suggesting it be built along the lines of a CSA farm, rather than simply providing plots to individuals. I reasoned that lots more food could be grown on a small farm under single management, but gardeners want their individual plots.

The plans for this 1/4-acre garden have come a long way since then. Recently Mayor Adrian Fenty participated in a much ballyhooed ground-breaking. Since our last meeting, a working group of gardeners has put up a site on Facebook, registered a Twitter account and even printed business cards, along with the Yahoo! listerv we’ve been using to announce meetings.

Last night, revised architectural drawings were revealed to a meeting of about 20 prospective plot holders and representatives from the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, which is responsible for the land.

In all, the plans provide for 40 individual plots, each about 50 square feet in size. That’s a pretty good size for a community garden plot. But the parcel also has room for a public area with room to stroll, seating and even tables. The discussion now centers on a proposed storage shed that some members would rather not look at, or think is too big. But the more I look at the plans, the more I see a place for a community composting facility, or even a greenhouse.

One of the most frequent questions I get from neighbors is where can they compost their kitchen scraps if the don’t have a compost heap of their own. The District of Columbia does not have a municipal composting program (it needs one), and people want to be more environmentally responsible and not send their food wastes to the landfill, where it just turns into methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Last year, a group proposed building such a composting facility at another community garden but could not get the grant funding it needed to get the project off the ground. With the city funding our new community garden, this is the perfect time to take up the idea of a small neighborhood composting facility, perhaps an indoor worm operation that could be used as a model for the whole city, as well as providing valuable worm castings for the garden plots.

Better yet, if not a storage shed, what about a greenhouse? Even if it were just a large hoop house, it could not only house a worm composting operation, it would provide an invaluable site for gardeners to start their seedlings in spring and extend the growing season spring and fall.

And dare I mention chickens? Can you picture a community garden with chickens, just a mile from the White House? Kids would be lined up around the block to get a look. And the gardeners would have fresh eggs every day.

Well, I’m not sure they’d go for the chickens. But there are all sorts of tantalizing possibilities for making this site a valuable food resource. It’s a blank slate–a completely vacant lot–with tons of room around the perimeter for fruit and nut trees. A landscape architect has been working with the group, and apparently a desire for shade trees has been expressed. But why not trees that feed people? Walnut, hazelnut, chestnut: with very little care, these not only provide shade and valuable carbon sequestration, but shed edible nuts year after year. Cherry, plum, apple, peach, pear, fig thrive in the city. Paw paw has the added virtue of being native to the area.

The group has also requested hedging. But why not berries for hedges? Raspberries, blueberries, black berries, currants: they are all worthy landscape plants, as well as providing a bounty of nutritious food at different times of the year. Fruit and nut trees, berries, perennial vining plants such as grapes or kiwi–all should be features in any modern, sustainable community gardening scheme, to my mind.

On its Facebook page, the Justice Park Community Garden lists the Capital Area Food Bank as a partner. In fact, 10 percent of the garden–or four plots–are to be set aside for a local food bank. But it was disappointing at last night’s meeting to see only white faces representing an area of the city that is heavily populated with blacks and Hispanics. This garden is one of the most urban of any in the city. It is surrounded by apartment buildings. In fact, the garden site abuts a low-income housing complex.

At one point early in the planning process it was suggested that an effort should be made to go door-to-door, with interpreters if necessary, to encourage people who might benefit most from growing their own food to participate. I wonder if a more valiant outreach effort should not be made. We were told than anyone belonging to the Yahoo! listserv automatically qualifies for a garden plot. But as one would-be plot holder noted, many of our neighbors don’t even have computers. The question sits there waiting to be answered: how do you get the entire community involved?

Ed Bruske is author of The Slow Cook blog

Posted by Amy Johnson | November 10th, 2009

A couple of weeks ago, residents of the small town in Lantana, Florida organized in protest of USPS’s plans to close their local post office. Their organizing tactics were pretty unusual: they sent hundreds of protest coconuts by mail – one by one – to the Postmaster General’s office in L’enfant Plaza. Last week, Bread for the City received a call to ask if we would accept the many mail bins full of tropical fruit.

Given our recent Nutrition Initiative to bring more fresh produce into our food pantry, we figured this was an opportunity we could not refuse.

But it turns out that opening a coconut is quite a labor-intensive process, and there are very particular ways in which you can use its innards. I had never actually held a real coconut in my hand, and had no idea where to begin. Needless to say, the same goes for most of our clients.

In order to ensure that our customers weren’t as clueless as I, we handed out a flier with step-by-step directions on how to puncture, drain the juice, and eventually crack and cut up the coconut.

• Place the coconut on a hard surface that won’t damage, such as a cutting board.
• Find the soft “eye” of the coconut.
• Screw the coconut’s eye with a corkscrew, or hammer a nail through the eye.
• Place the coconut over a bowl with the eye face down to let the water drain.
• Keep the juice for use in cooking.
• Put the coconut in a plastic bag and smash it on a concrete floor, or wrap it securely in a towel and hammer it a few times. Take it out of the bag or unwrap the towel. (Cooking the coconut in the oven at 375 for 20-30 minutes after draining may make it easier to crack open.)
• Cut the white meat away from the shell with a knife. Rinse and drain. It should store well in an airtight container for 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

But once you’ve drained your coconut and opened it, then what? Well, you can use the coconut a number of ways. On the back of the flier, we included a few interesting and (relatively) easy suggestions.

First, the drained coconut juice is the healthiest part of the nut. Add a little milk and honey, and you’ve got yourself a cup of nature’s Gatorade!

Additionally, coconut meat can be used in many different dishes if it’s grated or cut up, added almost like another vegetable in the dish (but remember, it’s a nut). We included an easy recipe for coconut meat curry that can be made with a variety of different proteins and produce.

And, perhaps most delicious of all, you can make your very own coconut milk. (It’s not to be confused with the juice that’s naturally in the nut–coconut milk is made from the meat.) Add a cup or two of simmering water to finely grated/shredded meat, puree the mixture, and then strain the liquid through a strainer or cheesecloth. The refined liquid you get is pure, precious coconut milk that you can use to drink, supplement a smoothie, drizzle on a desert, add to a delightful dish (especially Indian or Thai recipes), and more. We included this recipe on the flier as well, although in practice I think this procedure is a little more challenging than it appears.

Armed with documentation of how to use the coconuts, we set up a distribution spot. The scene at the food pantry front desk looked a little comical, with two bins brimming with coconuts decorated with postage and pleas from Lantana residents. Atop the pile of cocunuts we placed a poster of palm trees: the food pantry suddenly looked more like a travel agency.

As the doors opened, customers gathered around the bin, browsing through coconuts of various shapes and sizes, occasionally giving one a good shake to hear the slosh of juice inside. One woman was exuberant: “My son’s going to have a field day with this!” Another customer examined his coconut and declared, “It’s gold. It’s going to be gone fast.”

A few people mentioned that it wasn’t worth the effort, or that they didn’t have a taste for coconuts. But overall, our clients wanted to try this new and unique item. We also shared information about the health benefits of eating coconuts. Coconuts are rich in fiber and calories. And although the fat in coconuts is saturated, it is composed of beneficial medium-chain fatty acids–especially Lauric acid–that boost the immune system.

One man was thrilled to hear this, saying “If it helps the immune system, it’ll work for me. I need that!”

We hope everyone enjoys the experience. Lantana, you timed your protest perfectly. You’re giving our customers not just a tropical taste but also an unusual way to prepare for the flu season!

Posted by Ed Bruske | November 9th, 2009

Liz Falk, founder and director of Common Good City Farm here in DC, recently traveled to Milwaukee to attend the Growing Power conference, led by urban agriculture trailblazer Will Allen. Growing Power has developed an array of innovative methods to grow wholesome food and make it available to those most in need.

On Wednesday, Liz will give a presentation about her impressions from Growing Power and lessons learned.

Free! 7pm, Nov. 11, at ArtSpace, 614 S St. NW. Event page here.

Some preview photos from her talk are below:

Inside greenhouse #2, sprouts and young salad mix grow in hanging baskets. Underneath, in wooden bins, is the Growing Power vermiculture system – millions of Red Wiggler worms chewing up comspot and making worm castings. The heat these worms generate while eating helps heat this greenhouse throughout the winter. 

Growing Power Founder and Director, Will Allen, explains stage 1 of their composting system, where food breaks down inside bins made of pallets. 

Common Good City Farm, the most prominent example of urban agriculture here in the District of Columbia, is part of a global movement to create resilient food systems in urban spaces where wholesome, nutritious food too often is not available or not easily accessible. As Will Allen has demonstrated, urban farms don’t just provide food–they put often neglected urban properties into productive use, creating jobs, income and a sense of community.

Posted by Barrett Jones | November 6th, 2009

The Lederer Youth Garden, adjacent to Marvin Gaye Park in northeast Washington, D.C., is operated by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. The department’s web page describes the garden as “an environmental resource for area youth groups, day care centers, home school students, and classroom groups…equipped with a computer lab, weather station, classroom, garden, and animals”. The plot of land is large, and features an impressive greenhouse.

Last spring, in a promotional event with the makers of Miracle-Gro, various city officials including Ximena Hartsock attended to dedicate the garden. Everyone posed for a photo.

Unfortunately, since then the garden has been largely neglected. The classroom building sits unused and most of the garden is overgrown with weeds. Hundreds of bags of donated Miracle Gro now sit stacked on the side of the garden, still unopened. On the sunny October day I visited Lederer Youth Garden, the one full-time parks employee on duty sat inside playing video games.

Lederer is proof that growing a community garden takes, well, community involvement. In too many cases, that involvement seems to be missing. In the northwest quadrant of the city, the  waiting list for a community garden plot is often 3 years. But in the eastern wards, there are no waiting lists. Lederer Youth Garden and others like it sit idle.

Why is that? Carl Rollins has some ideas. I talked to Carl at the garden, as he was cleaning out weeds and preparing to plant fall crops.

Carl is a master gardener and co-president of the DC Environmental Education Consortium. He’s also a Farm Coordinator at Common Good City Farm. [ed note: Carl mistakenly states in the video that there are 60 community gardens in DC - a recent census notes that there are in fact nearly forty.]

Posted by Shaw_Girl | November 5th, 2009

The Great D.C. Food Blogger Bake Sale really started with a segment on Good Morning America. The piece centered around everyday people getting together to raise money and make a difference in their community. From car washes to talent shows, these people were coming up with creative ways to help others right in their back yards. Why not me? How could someone who blogs about food make a real contribution?

Sitting there on my couch watching how others were doing their part, I started thinking about ways I could get more involved. Thoughts of the school bake sales of my youth came into my head. Sure, most of the treats were bought at the local grocery store and not homemade. But there was always a sense of fun and camaraderie at those sales. I just knew that if I and some of my friends from the food blogosphere baked things from scratch–some of our personal favorites–people would be eager to buy.

Little did I suspect how eager.

I asked two bloggers I know–The Arugula Files and Thrifty DC Cook–for help reaching out to other bloggers. The next step was finding a venue where we could peddle our homemade treats. Because I’m a weekly farmers market shopper, the idea of holding it at a farmers market seemed a perfect fit. Writing about local markets for my blog, I’ve come to know several market managers in the area. One of those is Robin Shuster, who manages the 14th & U Farmers Market.

As it happens, the 14th & U Farmers Market also has a relationship with Martha’s Table, the charity selected to receive the proceeds from our bake sale. Robin gave us a green light. Everything fell into place from there.

We quickly rounded up about ten blogger/bakers eager to donate one of their favorite treats for the sale. We were also able to get bloggers (and friends of bloggers) to help with setting up and selling the day of the sale. Thrifty DC Cook was even able to get ACKC, the nearby chocolate shop and cafe, to donate coffee. Once the logistics were in place, the work of promoting began.

Food bloggers advertised on their sites, while I sent out a press release to local media. We had to work fast: We only had two weeks to plan the event. Other local bloggers, such as Prince of Petworth, DCBlogs and DCist, promoted the sale on their sites. Robin Shuster used the 14th & U Farmers Market Facebook page and e-newsletter to advertise as well, while Martha’s Table deployed their social media connections to get the word out.

As a food blogging community, we used Twitter and Facebook heavily to promote the bake sale as well. And never doubt the power of word-of-mouth. It helped spread news of the bake sale quickly.

Since the sale was going to be held on Halloween, we decided to play up all things spooky in our promotion of the event. From the name to the logo, Halloween was front and center for the sale.

We arrived around 8:30 to set up the tables and were shown our own tent, kindly loaned to us by Garner’s Produce. As the bakers started dropping off their goods, we got to work creating an irresistible display. By the time the market bell rung, we were ready to shill for a good cause.

The sale itself turned out to be an amazingly fun time for all of us. We got to talk food with the farmers market shoppers, hang out with fellow blogger, and tell people about all the good work Martha’s Table does for the DC community. The other producers at the market welcomed us and became some of our best customers. By the time the market closed, we had sold out. We all marveled at the positive response we received and at just how smoothly everything ran. Robin asked us to come back with more bake sales. Other food bloggers have now offered to help.

And let’s not forget the money we raised. Total proceeds: $500 for Martha’s Table.

Bloggers, take a bow:

The Arugula Files
Capital Cooking Show
French Twist DC
Gradually Greener
Karen Makes Sense
Macheesmo
Mango & Tomato
Modern Domestic
State Dinner
Stop the Planet of the Apes…I Want to Get Off
Thrifty DC Cook
Urban Bohemian

And the DC Food For All gives our thanks to Shaw Girl from Adventures in Shaw for guest-posting here!

Posted by Amy Johnson | November 4th, 2009

Posted by Jody Tick | November 3rd, 2009

When I first started at the Capital Area Food Bank a little over three years ago, I was stunned at the disparities between wards east of the Anacostia River and the rest of the District. I am still stunned today.

Especially stark is the lack of access to affordable, healthy foods in Wards 7 and 8 compared with Wards 2 and 3. DC Hunger Solutions’ 2006 report, “Healthy Food, Healthy Communities,” found only two major chain grocery stores east of the Anacostia River for 140,000 residents in Wards 7 and 8 (Wards 2 and 3 had one store for every 11,881 residents). Since that report was released, the statistics have changed, but the magnitude of disparity remains the same.

In 2007, a Giant supermarket opened in Ward 8 after almost a decade without a major chain grocery store. While the opening was touted as a victory for Ward 8 residents, three stores is hardly sufficient to meet the need of the community’s 47,000 residents.

My questions are these: How has this situation been allowed to develop and continue for so long? Why aren’t more District residents aware of this situation? And, most importantly, what will it take to change the situation?

During my time working in the East of the River community as part of the Food Bank’s Harvest for Health program, I have learned that in order to change the current situation and increase community food security, all stakeholders have to make a commitment to make change a priority. This may sound rhetorical, but what I mean is that affected communities have to take ownership of their situation and want to change; the non-profit sector which provides services to the community has to collaborate to ensure that programs meet the needs and wants of the community, are not duplicative, and have impact; and the District Government must make access to healthy foods a priority and provide support to agents of change to ensure lasting, sustainable solutions.

Maybe the most difficult of all these pieces is raising the visibility of the issue(s) among all District residents and empowering underserved communities to advocate for themselves. By providing an open forum for discussion on food system issues that affect everyone in our community, the DC Food For All has the potential to raise awareness and question the status quo. That is a critical first step towards action and meaningful change.

Posted by Amy Johnson | November 2nd, 2009

Amy Johnson is an Emerson National Hunger Fellow, working with Bread for the City to research issues pertaining to food and community health.

A couple of years ago, after a series of conversations about the need for more healthy food in our client communities, Bread for the City decided that our food pantry should walk the same walk that our medical clinic talks. Thus began a nutrition initiative that ultimately led to an overhaul of our entire pantry menu.

Changes to the menu included fewer processed meats, and less red meat. More whole grains, dry beans, fruits canned without heavy syrup, as well as low sodium canned beans and vegetables. We’ve changed our wish list of donated foods to promote healthy eating by discouraging foods that can contribute to disease and encouraging foods that are consistent with the advice patients get from practitioners in our medical clinic. And of course, one of the most dramatic changes: the inclusion of fresh produce in every bag. (This was largely made possible through our gleaning program, Glean for the City.)

Input from our clients was and is essential in this process. Two surveys were administered to gauge client interests — one in 2008, as the transition began, and one last month. During this second survey process, we’ve found some results that we’d like to share.

One of the most revealing questions was, “What item do you appreciate the most?“

In our recent survey, meat/chicken/fish had the highest frequency, receiving 101 responses, or 26 percent of the selections. That’s to be expected – given the cost and societal value associated with meat in our society. However, this result reflects a decrease of 16 percentage points from our survey last year, when meat/chicken/fish received 42 percent of the responses. Though meat remains at the top of the list of our clients’ preferences, we can our community has begun to take more interest in the variety of our other offerings.

In our 2009 survey, fresh fruit and vegetables came in as a close runner-up to the top choice of meat/chicken/fish with about 20 percent. But when we combine preferences of fresh or canned options, preference for fruit+veg rises to 36 percent — higher than meat! Additionally, this statistic rose by 12 percent throughout the year, potentially because of the increase in fresh fruits and vegetables due to our gleaning program. (We must also note that this question’s format differed slightly from year to year, which likely affected the results to some degree.)

Another question that received interesting responses was, “Would you choose to get less meat/chicken/fish if you instead got a larger amount of food overall?“

Meat is the most expensive kind of item in our pantry, and our hope is that we could reduce the quantity of meat we purchase in order to purchase more of a variety of other items. At 55 percent, a majority of respondents circled “yes”: they would prefer less meat in exchange for more food, whereas 41 percent responded “no,” and 4 percent provided no response. These numbers are slightly different from 2008, in which 49 percent responded “yes,” 37 percent responded “no” (14 percent no response). The gap between “yes” and “no” widened by only 2 percentage points between 2008-2009 – but we are encouraged and will continue to look into the opportunity for more individual choice among the various items on our menu.

As an endnote, it was wonderful to receive many positive comments about the food pantry: “I really appreciate what you are doing for the people, thanks!”