Food Coaltion gathering April 26th

Save the Date:

The next gathering of the Central Indiana Food Coalition will be
Date: Tuesday, April 26th
Time: 6pm (intro - for newcomers) 6:30 -7:30 meeting
Location: Earth House basement

Agenda:
Advocacy Report: (New and Improved) Food Charter approval
Organization Report: Membership structure and application approval
Information/Visibility Report: New Logo and communication plan

You will find an document attached to this email that states the new name and current mission statement and vision statements of the coalition. Please review and send any comments you have before the 26^th. The Advocacy, Organization, and Information committee had the opportunity to sculpt these statements from the information gathered at the January 29^th meeting.

Volunteers needed for Earth Day! HELP!
The Earth Day Celebration at White River State Park is an important day for the Coalition and we would like to make our presence known to the community the year! Please contact me if you are willing and able! We are currently seeking volunteers during these 4 shifts:

Set-up 10:30am – 12pm

12 - 1:30pm

1:30 – 3pm

3 – 4:30pm Take-down

Sign up via facebook: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=20943&uid=338097624239

Or by emailing me at dependablefood@gmail.com

Search for Sponsors to fund printing of Local Food Guide 2010-2011

Currently the Coalition is seeking funding for the printing of the 2010-11 version of the Central Indiana Local Food Guide. Unfortunately this is all last minute because the funding we were hoping for to cover most of the cost of this year's printing has fallen through and we are now on the search for 16 advertisers.

If you know any business/organization that might be interested please pass on this flier and last year's version of the guide. Please let us know, if you know someone who may be interested. The cost will be $250 to be a sponsor and for this they will receive a ¼ page advertisement in the guide. Email dependablefood@gmail.com or call 317.417.8449 for more information.

Agenda Details:
At this Gathering we have much to discuss and approve thanks to our hard-working committees. By George, I do believe we've got it! =)

Since February, the Advocacy committee has been sculpting and editing the Food Charter created by a past committee of the Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition. The Advocacy committee has started by sending the charter to key people in our community in order to gain feedback about how we can make the guide more understandable for the general public and help us communicate our wants to the Indianapolis City government. Please call me, if you have any questions or have any input for us before the meeting. My cell is 317.417.8449.

To download the current version of the Food Charter, follow this link:
http://www.indyfoodsecurity.org/Documents/Indy%20Food%20Charter.pdf

We will also be approving a membership structure for the coalition that has been created by the Organization committee. This will include different membership categories and an application form.

The Information/Visibility committee has started thinking about new logo designs and also the re-organization of the website. The information committee will report on what deliverables they have created at the April meeting. Due to the fact that Earth Day is April 23rd, we may need to approve a new logo before the next meeting. Please watch carefully for any emails needing your participation before April 26th.

And as always Thanks for your AWESOME work!!
April

--
April Hammerand
Indianapolis Food, Farm, and Family Coalition
www.indyfoodfarmfamily.org


317-417-8449
april@indyfoodfarmfamily.org
Working to make Indianapolis a more food secure city through education, awareness, public programs, and connecting consumers to farmers.

The NEW Vision Statement

We envision a community in which:

• We are conscious consumers of nutritious food.
• We understand the role of food in building the community, strengthening the economy, and valuing the environment.
• We have access to a diverse range of healthy, affordable food.
• We have the opportunity, means, and skills to grow and prepare healthy foods.
• Consumers, producers, planners, and policy makers align and support each other to fulfill this vision.

What is in a Name?

Creating a name for an organization is a powerful act.

In the comment field below, please share the name you might choose for the organization. Serious names, silly names, striking names, all are welcome. And you do not need to have been to the meetings to suggest one to the group.

Here are a couple questions to ask yourself as you think of names?

-What is it that makes this group unique?
-What focus do we want to bring to the attention of the public?
-Who do we want to be our future members? And will they identify with this name?

During the meeting on January 29th, we created a new mission and vision for the Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition. Although we spoke of creating a new name, we tabled that discussion in hopes that after our brainstorming we would have a better idea about who we are and thus would have a better idea about how we could identify ourselves. Well I beg the question...What should we call ourselves?

On February 22nd, we will hang all of these different ideas up and make a decision about which name we identify with most.

STUCK..? Think about our newly formed mission statement:

"Our mission is to enhance the health of our community by improving the food system and increasing access to resources and nutritious food."

Gathering Feb 22, 2011

Save the date!
The next gathering of the "Food Coalition" has been scheduled for:

Tuesday, February 22nd
6:30 - 7:30 pm
KIB Keep Indianapolis Beautiful -Large Conference Room
1029 Fletcher Ave. Indianapolis, Indiana 46203

First of all, I would like to thank those of you who were able to attend the January 29th gathering. We had over 30 attendees at last count and with much concerted effort were able to form a mission statement and vision statement for the group. We must also thank our facilitator Carmen DeRusha, an employee of the Purdue extension, for her excellent work that day along with the rest of the volunteer facilitators and planners! Due to all of your hard work and resolve (it was intense!) the day was a success.

We decided on January 29th that we needed a meeting at the end of February to continue discussing "where do we go from here". We had a long day Saturday; after going through the strategic planning exercises we needed some time for our decisions as a group to "sink in" and also so time to figure our individually where or how we fit in to the group.

Meeting notes, will be sent out shortly. Basically three big decisions were made that day.

The group decided to adopt the current Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition (IFFFC) as the organizational structure of the group. Instead of creating an additional new organization the plan was to develop a mission and vision that was more inclusive than what was originally conceived in the IFFFC. The purpose for this action was to make sure everyone's perspectives and values were recognized and accepted, so that everyone working in the Indy food system is able to understand each other and work well together. During the strategic planning process we created a revitalized mission, vision, and group values for a membership-based coalition with April as the first paid staff.

Our newly formed mission statement is:

"Our mission is to enhance the health of our community by advocating for improving the food system and increasing access to resources and nutritious food."

At the end of the meeting, we created sub-groups "working groups or action teams" based upon our strategic directions. We will be working on defining and sculpting these at the February meeting. They are listed below:

Information Group: Share information among participating organizations and the general public.
Advocacy Group: Influence public policy in issues related to our mission.
Education Group: Educate the public about growing and eating healthy food.
Collaboration Group: Strengthen relationships among participating organizations to improve the impact in the community.
Support Group: Support growers and producers by providing access to resources that enhance their capacity.
Organization Group: Create a new structure for the group by analyzing the process by which we want to make decisions and understand how all of the moving pieces work together so that in the end the organization can have the greatest impact possible in the the community.

We will discuss more about these different sub-groups at the February Meeting. If you would like to join one, simply send me an email.

As always please feel free to pass on this invitation to anyone who may be interested in attending.
If you do, please Cc my email, so that I can keep track of the email addresses or send me any names/emails of people who should be invited. I'm slowly compiling of list of new people to invite to the meeting and will be writing personal letters of invitation explaining what we are doing.

Hope you have a great weekend =)

February Local Food Potluck

Local Food Potluck

Thursday, February 24th at 6-8 pm
New Day Meadery
1102 E. Prospect St. (Shelby and Prospect in Fountain Square)

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Come celebrate Indy's healthy farms, families, and locally-grown foods at our monthly

Local Food Challenge Potluck
The Indianapolis Food, Farm, and Family Coalition, Slow Food Indy, and the Weston A. Price Foundation invite you to come taste the delicious mead at the New Day Meadery in Fountain Square and share a delicious meal together of locally-sourced food. More about the New Day Meadery below.


On a personal note, this February Local Food Potluck marks April's first year as program manager of the IFFFC and her move to Indianapolis. April's first day on the job was the 22nd of February 2010; a week before Food Con. April's first look into the strong Indianapolis Arts and Food Movement.

"I would like to thank you all for making my first year working in the community a success. Everyday is a new adventure and every challenge is a new chance to grow. After living here a year, I continue to love Indy, love the Food Movement, and love every moment in this inspirational, creative, passionate community. Thank you for making what I do possible!" -April
We "challenge" you to bring something local! Simply bring a potluck/pitch-in dish to share made with locally grown/produced food.

Dining ware will be limited. Please bring your own plate and utensils for yourself and your family, if possible. We will have a few to spare.
Think Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover.

RSVP on Facebook: Admission is Free and Everyone is Welcome =).
February Local Food Potluck at the Meadery
Remember a copy of the Recipe:
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Bring a copy of your recipe for the dish you brought to share with everyone.
Or send you recipe by email: april@indyfoodfarmfamily.org

The Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition will post these recipes on the blog [http://indyfoodsecurity.blogspot.com] so that we can have many more locally-grown, delicious meals even after the potluck is over!

More about New Day Meadery:
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New Day Meadery is a true family owned and operated entrepreneurial endeavor. The husband and wife team of Brett Canaday and Tia Agnew work tirelessly as the proprietors of New Day Meadery. Brett, your Merry Meadmaker, takes great care in crafting our meads while Tia orchestrates all marketing and operational matters. They, along with a dedicated group of family and friends, form the main labor force when it comes to crafting New Day Meadery fine honey wine.

Brett and Tia started making mead in 2001 when they moved to Brett's family farm and started keeping bees. Their mead making began as an enjoyable pastime, a way to combine their love of bee keeping, gardening and good food during their off-time. While pursuing their careers outside of mead making, they strove to identify a business they could pursue that would allow them to remain in Indiana and tap into both their professional talents and passion for local food.

Read more about New Day Meadery on the website:
www.newdaymeadery.com


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Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition Working to make Indianapolis a more food secure city through education, awareness, public programs, and connecting farmers to consumers. www.IndyFoodFarmFamily.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April Hammerand
Program Manager
email: april@indyfoodfarmfamily.org
phone: 317-417-8449

We are on Facebook: www.facebook.com/indyfoodfarmfamily
And Twitter: http://twitter.com/IndyFoodFarmFam
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Local Food Potluck Recipe # 19

Corn zucchini and red bell pepper quesadillas

courtesy of Mona Li and Food Network

1 T olive oil

1/2 chopped onion

1 zucchini sliced

1/2 red pepper diced

2 t cumin

1 t cayenne

pinch salt

1 1/2 cup corn

pack of tortillas

monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees

Heat olive oil and onion in skillet.

Saute zucchini and red pepper and stir in cumin and cayenne.

When finished sauteing add in corn.

Place quesadilla and cheese on cookie sheet.
Then add vegetables and another quesadilla.

Put in oven for 5 to 7 min until cheese is melted.

Cut into quarters and enjoy?

Local Food Potluck Recipe # 18

Frittatas













courtesy of Katherine Ogawa

1 head broccoli
2 red peppers
3-4 shallots
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
Pinch of salt, pepper, basil, parsley, and marjoram

6 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 lemon
8 oz shredded monterey jack cheese

Heat up 1 T of butter and 1 T of olive oil in a skillet.
Once skillet is heated saute the broccoli, red pepper, and shallots.
Season the vegetables with the salt, pepper, basil, parsley, and marjoram.
While the vegetables are sauteing mix the eggs with the sour cream and the rind of the lemon into a bowl.
When the vegetables are done add them to the egg mixture and put 1 T of butter and 1 T of olive oil on medium heat in a skillet.
Cook mixture in skillet for approx 5 min or until it starts to come away from the sides of skillet.
Then add shredded monterey jack cheese and cook on high for approx 5 more min.
Wait 5 min to serve. Enjoy!