Weblog Entry

ANNOUNCEMENTS ====

THOSE SPECIAL SOMEONES
Sometimes, there is that special person in your community who – even when she moves away – will always feel like a “local.” In this case, we’re talking about TWO special people: Leslie Carson and Tara Roberts…

NEW WEBSITES FOR ALG, DESIGNED BY LESLIE CARSON:
Many of you know Leslie as the Luna Bug soap maker and a former market manager for ALG. But what you might not know is that she is also a technology genius. And an angel. Leslie (who moved to Florida last year) and Amy Sutter (another angel) have been working behind the scenes for months to create what promises to be a gorgeous, seamless, and effective on-line presence for ALG. Our official launch date is Oct 3, but you’ll see bits and pieces of it before then. Very, very excited to see this coming together in a way that we hope makes Augusta even more hopeful for its local foods movement.

FAREWELL TO OUR MARKET MANAGER, TARA ROBERTS
It wells me up every time I say it, but here it is officially: Tara Roberts is moving to Tennessee. This Tues, Sept 27, is Tara’s last day as our downtown market manager for the ALG On-Line Market. Please join us in sending her off with much love. Tara raised the bar for on-line markets in ways that few could. Her incredible attention to detail and genuine love for wholesome foods are true gifts from which we’ve all benefitted. Rest assured: there is a silver lining to all this. Tara has agreed to continue posting her popular Friday Seasonal Recipes, through our new websites, from a distance!!!! And Susannah, the fiber farmer at Southern Made – and one of our original growers – has agreed to take up the market reigns. Those special someones just keep coming our way, don’t they?

CONGRATULATIONS TO JandL – THE HEALING FARM
We were deeply moved by the winning “pitch” that Laurie Ritchie of JandL Farm gave at the Georgia Food Oasis meeting last night. She and John will use their mini grant to increase capacity within their “Healing Farm” program in Hephzibah, GA. Save the date of Sun, Dec 11, to attend their Christmas shopping fundraiser on the farm.

WELCOME NEW INTERNS
The Fall Semester of 2016 brings us a lovely batch of new and returning students interns:
HIGH SCHOOL INTERNS:
Jillian, Haley, Kyong, Andres & Adolfo – market interns at the AJCC
Jack, Jacob & Thaddeus – market interns at Southern Made
SENIOR YEAR PROJECT INTERNS:
Sejal – Project: Food Safety and GMO Labeling
CJ – Project: Aquaponics for GROW Harrisburg
Kendall – Project: Seed Saving
COLLEGE INTERN:
Anna – Project: GROW Harrisburg research – USA-Aiken
POST-GRADUATE INTERN:
Lisa – Project: Dietetic Internship – WIC
COMMUNITY INTERN:
Henry – Project: Urban Farming

COLLEGE INTERNSHIP POSITION OPEN: MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA
With our new marketing tools comes new responsibilities! We would welcome a local Marketing or Communications major to join our website team this semester. This is an unpaid internship that would be done from home for four hours per week or more. What a great way to build a portfolio as a local foods activist. Send your resume to arsutter@hotmail.com if you’re interested.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS ====

HUNDREDS IN HARRISBURG VOLUNTEERS
Sat, Sept 24 –
We need all hands on deck to help us install another round of raised beds in the neighborhood of Harrisburg! 9am-1pm! Meet up at Icebox Urban Farm, 1736 Fenwick Street, Augusta. Wear closed-toe shoes and bring a water bottle! Yes, we always feed our volunteers a hearty, healthy meal afterwards!

HARVEST BYTES VOLUNTEERS
Fri, Oct 28 & Sat, Oct 29 –
Help us pull together a strapping team of volunteers for our Harvest Bytes event on October 28-29 at the Clubhou.se! Cook, serve or set up! Be a part of the get-er-done crowd, and have fun doing it! Text Kim at 706-288-7895.

LOCAL FOOD EVENTS CALENDAR ====

TUES, SEPT 27 – VEGGIE TRUCK FARMERS MARKET!
Support the most feel-good farmers market in Augusta. And yes, we double EBT!!! Every Tuesday, 4:30pm-7pm, at 1850 Broad Street, Augusta.

FRI, SEPT 23 – WINTER GARDEN PLANTING AT THE CLUBHOUSE.SE GARDENS
Come help us out in our fall crops and learn what the upcoming “incubator kitchen and gardens” is all about! Friday, Sept 23, 8a-10a, 540 Telfair St, Augusta. RSVP Kim at 706-288-7895.

SAT, SEPT 24 – VOLUNTEER WORK DAY AT ICEBOX URBAN FARM AND THE HUNDREDS IN HARRISBURG PROJECT
There’s always something creative and fun to work on at this campus, dedicated to school group education. We’ll also be installing more free raised beds at individual homes in the community of Harrisburg. We’ll also be working on the teaching gardens at the Westabou Montessori Preschool at St. Luke UMC. Join our volunteer groups from 9am-1pm. And yes! We always feed our volunteers healthy, beautiful food. For more information, text Kim at 706-288-7895.

SAT, SEPT 24 – WHOLE FOODS BIRTHDAY BASH & “WHOLE KIDS” SCHOOL GARDENS FUNDRAISER
Join us and others to celebrate Whole Foods’ 2nd Birthday at their store in Augusta. Kids activities from 12noon-4pm; more adult activities after 4pm. Come learn about getting involved in our Food & Tech Hackathon too! Funds raised at this event will help support local school gardens through the Whole Kids Foundation.

SUN, SEPT 25 — THREE FARM TOUR & PROGRESSIVE FARM DINNER
This is a sold-out event! Thanks to everyone for the enthusiasm! And special thanks to the cook: Chef Charleen Tinley!

THU, SEPT 29 – LOCAL FOOD EDUCATION AT ICEBOX URBAN FARM
So blessed to work in partnership with Icebox Urban Farm to host weekly school groups this season! Our fall schedule is full. Now, let the growing/cooking/learning/fun begin!

FRI, SEPT 30 – WINTER PLANTING AND HERB TASTING AT THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
All are welcome to help plant winter seedlings at the new teaching gardens at Augusta’s Department of Public Health. Located at the corner of Laney Walker & James Brown Blvd, Augusta. Come join the WIC team as they use fresh grown herbs in a pesto-making demo. To get involved, email Carla at CarlaTrenaWalker@gmail.com.

SAT, OCT 1 – MICROBIAL MAKEOVER WITH ICEBOX FARM
Icebox Farm has just announced a fascinating, full-day workshop called “Microbial Makeover,” held at the Savannah Rapids Pavilion in Evans. In this hands-on workshop, you and your friends will find out what microbiota and microbiomes are, where they come from, and how we interact with them in ways that affect our health. Expert facilitators are Dr. Steve Fountain, MD, PhD, and Tasha Alison, of Icebox Farm. Visit the event’s new website at microbialmakeover.com. to register. Space is limit, includes an amazing meal, and will sell out fast!

WED, OCT 5 – ALG SPEAKS WITH THE WESTLAKE GARDEN CLUB
We’re always grateful to meet up with our local garden clubs!

WED, OCT 5 – FARMERS MARKET EVENT AT BRANDON WILDE
The folks at Brandon Wilde, a residential retirement community in Evans, will host a farmers market event for their residents, followed by yet another fabulous farm-to-fork meal. It is truly impressive how the chefs and dieticians at this facility are leading the way in the CSRA to support local farms. It just goes to show: our community’s elders are wise in many ways, and good food is no exception.

FRI, OCT 7 – PRE-SALE PLANT SALE AT SOUTHERN NATIVE PLANTINGS
Get great deals on your fruit trees and other edibles for fall planting. More juicy details below.

SAT, OCT 8 – PLANT SALE & GARDEN TEA PARTY AT SOUTHERN NATIVE PLANTINGS
Get great deals on your fruit trees and other edibles for fall planting. Join Southern Native Plantings, Longwood Plantation and the all-new Moore Meadows to enrich the biodiversity of your gardens with organically-certified, edible plants, trees, herbs, pollinator-loving flowering plants and even zika-defense bug repelling plants! This event is free, from 9am-4pm. 1549 Pryor Road, Newington, GA 30446.

TUE, OCT 11 – ALG SPEAKS WITH THE HILLSIDE GARDEN CLUB
We’re always grateful to meet up with our local garden clubs!

SAT, OCT 15 – VOLUNTEER WORK DAY AT ICEBOX URBAN FARM AND THE HUNDREDS IN HARRISBURG PROJECT
Join the Soul City Sirens on this work-day in the neighborhood of Harrisburg! We’ll be working on Icebox Urban Farm and installing more free raised beds at individual homes in the community. Works goes from 9am-1pm. And yes! We always feed our volunteers healthy, beautiful food. For more information, text Kim at 706-288-7895.

WED, OCT 19 – CREATING A LOCAL FOOD HUB: AN OPEN DISCUSSION
Please consider attending this brain-storming session! Members of our community will continue to look at ways to build a local food hub in Augusta. This meeting will be held at the Clubhou.se, 540 Telfair Street, from 10am-2pm. Lunch will be provided. For more information, contact Kisha Burke at burket.ga@gmail.com.

SAT-SUN, OCT 28-29 – “HARVEST BYTES” – A FARM TO TABLE TECHNOLOGY EVENT
Join us as we partner with the Clubhou.se in downtown Augusta to explore ways in which sustainability and technology intersect to improve our local food system overall. Partake in an intellectually satisfying, gastronomically-elegant, farm-to-table meal created by the dynamic duo of Chef Charleen Tinley and Chef Jonathan Marks, formerly of the Roosters Beak. Start the night with a Socratic-style cocktail hour, following by “Hacking the Microbiome” with speaker Dr. Steve Fountain. We’ll kick it all off with a competitive Good Food Hack-A-Thon the night before, sponsored by Whole Foods Market! Be a part of the thinking crowd … and eat well while doing it. Proceeds from this event will fund an “Incubator Kitchen” at the Clubhou.se to support start-up and pop-up chefs in Augusta. Tickets are on sale now at www.harvestbytes.org.

TUE, NOV 8 – ALG SPEAKS WITH THE HIGH GROVE GARDEN CLUB
We’re always grateful to meet up with our local garden clubs!

THU, NOV 10 – FOOD OASIS MEETING
Join with other local food activists, led by Georgia Organics, to make some real progress in our community together! Location TBA.

SAT, NOV 19 – NATIONAL VOLUNTEER FAMILY DAY AT ICEBOX URBAN FARM AND THE HUNDREDS IN HARRISBURG PROJECT!
Save the date! Bring your family! Make a difference!

SUN, NOV 20 – BRUNCH ON BROAD WITH GROW HARRISBURG
… More details soon!

SUN, DEC 4 – LOCAL CHRISTMAS TREE PROMO
… More details soon!

SUN, DEC 11 – HEALING FARM HOLIDAY EVENT AT JANDL FARM & STABLES
… More details soon!

Cheers!
Kim