THE ON-LINE FARMERS MARKET IS OPEN AT AUGUSTA LOCALLY GROWN

HAPPY 2016 AUGUSTA LOCALLY GROWN COMMUNITY!
With the new year often comes a renewed commitment to health and well being. Your support of Augusta Locally Grown multiplies that commitment many fold. By keeping your food dollars IN the community you’re building a healthier local economy. By eating food grown cleanly, you’re building healthier soil, water and air. By teaching others to grow and cook whole, fresh ingredients, you’re rekindling invaluable wisdoms. The best part: the relations we forge as we work together. So here’s to another year of teamwork, of building, of getting it done … all in the spirit of YUM!

WELCOME NEW INTERNS:
We welcome two new student interns to our mix this semester:

• Thaddeus will assist with teaching gardens
• Precious will assist with teaching kitchens
  Both are part of our G.R.O.W. Harrisburg initiatives and we’re excited to have them on board.

WELCOME BACK CURRENT AND RETURNING INTERN:
Kyong, Diane, Jason and Adolfo at the AJCC market.
Tabias and Isaac at the Southern Made market.

WELCOME NEW PROJECT MANAGER:
We welcome Candace Zukas of Bottletree Farm as our project manager this year for our 200 in Harrisburg Raised Bed Project. So grateful for her enthusiasm and expertise as we take this home gardening education program to its next level!

TUES, JAN 5 – ON-LINE FARMERS MARKET RESUMES
Starting Jan 2016, all participating produce farmers (fruits, veggies and herbs) will hold certification as either Certified Organic or Certified Naturally Grown. Our board of directors has been working toward this goal with local farmers for a couple years now and we’re so happy to see it come to fruition. Big love to Laurie Ritchie and Sandy Legette for spearheading this big, important step toward more accountability, transparency and peer support within our own local foods system. For more information on these standards, visit www.certifiednaturallygrown.org.

THU, JAN 7 – AUGUSTA FOOD OASIS – We’ll host our “action plan” meeting of Local Food Activists on Thursday, January 7, 6pm-8pm. Location will be at St Luke UMC, 309 Crawford Avenue, Augusta. ! If you want to help create a more vibrant local foods culture in the CSRA, then please know: YOU are invited!!!! Email kim@augustalocallygrown.org to get the RSVP link.

FRI, JAN 8 – ’AUGUSTA EATS LOCAL" CAMPAIGN IS LAUNCHED AT HUMANITREE HOUSE! Come hear what all the excitement is about! Join us for a 2pm unveiling ceremony at 230 8th Street, Augusta. This campaign is run by a super dynamic committee of local food advocates and we’ll be telling you all about them next week!

MON, JAN 11 – WHOLESOME WAVE PRESENTATION – Several participants of our FVRx program have been invited to present their experiences with this national organization at their annual conference in Atlanta. G.R.O.W. Harrisburg!!!!

SAT, SUN, MON, JAN 16-18 – “MLK WEEKEND OF SERVICE” AT ICEBOX MINISTRIES’ CHILDREN’S TEACHING GARDEN – Come help build this teaching garden campus, designed for school children at Icebox Ministries in Harrisburg. Volunteer work goes from 9am-3pm each … lunch shared together afterwards. Get your church and other groups involved! RSVP to kim@augustalocallygrown.org.

FRI, JAN 29 – TEDX AUGUSTA – We’re very excited to again play a part in helping with the TedxAugusta event in 2016. What a great way to promote local foods among our community’s deep thinkers. Very very excited to announce that all our volunteer slots are filled! Big love to Leadership Augusta and our own board of directors for making that happen!

SAT, JAN 30 – VOLUNTEER WORKDAY AT ICEBOX MINISTRIES’ CHILDREN’S TEACHING GARDEN – Come help build this teaching garden campus, designed for school children at Icebox Ministries in Harrisburg. Volunteer work goes from 9am-1pm … lunch shared together afterwards. Get your church and other groups involved! RSVP to kim@augustalocallygrown.org.

SUN, JAN 31 – CROB MOB AT CLYDE’S FRESH PRODUCE IN GROVETOWN WITH THE SOUL CITY SIRENS – What’s a crop mob, you ask!? Good question! Imagine 30-40 volunteers, gathered for an afternoon on a farm, all volunteering their time to get something big done for the local farmer. This time, we’ll be planting dozens of fruit trees! And this event has a bonus … work alongside the Soul City Sirens Roller Derby Team who will also be volunteering that day! Of course, we’ll share a farm-fresh meal afterwards. Save the date! Time: 1pm-4pm for work, dinner
afterwards.

CHEERS!
Kim