Breast Milk: It's the first Local Food

As a new mom, it occurred to me recently that from a baby’s perspective, there is no food more local than breast milk.
Its delivery distance is measured in inches, not miles…..
The manufacturer is a well known and highly trusted source.
It’s fresh, nutritious, flavorful, seasonal and protected from bioterrorism (assuming Mommy eats well) and leaves Mommy and Daddy more money to spend in the local economy.  

And it’s green! Here are the ecological benefits of human milk consumption according to the La Leche League USA web site:
• It's a natural, renewable resource and is all the baby needs for the first six months of life.
• It requires no resources for packaging, shipping or disposal.
• No precious energy is wasted producing artificial baby milk and related products.
• No land needs to be deforested for pasture or crop production.
• It does not create pollution from the manufacturing of human milk substitutes, bottles, nipples and cans.

The La Leche League is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, education, information, and encouragement, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.

You can read about the health benefits to both mother and child on the La Leche League USA web site.

Here are just a few of the breastfeeding facts listed there:

• Human milk has been shown to kill cancer cells in a laboratory dish and has been used in oncology. 

• Mother’s milk has immune properties that can deliver a particular antibody in response to a new germ in the baby’s environment. 

• Mother’s milk is uniquely suited to meet her baby’s nutritional needs. 

• Breastfeeding decreases the incidence of dental cavities and the need for orthodontistry. 

• Up to 50% of the iron in human milk can be absorbed by the infant, as compared to 10% in cow’s milk, and 4% in iron-fortified formulas. 

• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of ovarian and pre-menopausal breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. The more months a women breastfeeds over her lifetime, the greater the protection. 

Breastfeeding is local, green and has amazing health benefits for mother and child.  Encourage the new moms in your life to breastfeed.  It's the best choice for everyone!

2009 Urban Garden Tour is Wednesday, August 5!

Here's an announcement from the Detroit Agriculture Network regarding their annual Detroit urban garden and farm tour.  This is a wonderful event and we encourage you to register early if you are interested in participating.  This tour fills up early each year!

Motown to Growtown: Detroit’s New Food System Grows

While foreclosures, unemployment, and rising food and energy prices affect the lives of many Americans, thousands of Detroiters are taking control of their health and the health of their city by building a new food system from the ground up. This new food economy provides more equitable access to fresh, chemical-free food, uses less land, and is more accessible for consumers than conventional models. On Wednesday, August 5th, we invite you to view this new urban food landscape at the 12th Annual Detroit Agriculture Network Tour of Urban Gardens and Farms.

This year’s tour will highlight a selection of prosperous, innovative, and visually stunning gardens and farms that are contributing to the new food system through bio-intensive urban agriculture and commerce between local restaurants and farmer’s markets. The Garden Resource Program Collaborative works to support the emergence of a new, sustainable food system in Detroit through a network of more than 517 backyard gardens, 244 community gardens, and 46 school gardens. The GRPC facilitates resources, education, and training of urban gardeners, farmers, and community leaders through a variety of programming. Last year’s sell-out tour was attended by over 500 people from across the region. In order to accommodate the growing number of participants, this year’s tour will feature four simultaneous routes. The bus tours will visit east-side, west-side, and central city gardens, while the bicycle tour will weave through gardens located in the Cass Corridor, Woodbridge, and Greater Corktown.

All tours will leave from Catherine Ferguson Academy located at 2750 Selden in Detroit. Sign-in begins at 5:00pm and tours will leave at 6:00pm sharp. After the tour, locally-grown food and refreshments prepared by local chefs will provide you with a taste of Detroit’s new food system. Registration is now open and early registration is strongly recommended. You can register by contacting Ashley Atkinson at 313-237-8736 or via email at aatkinso@umich.edu. When registering, please give the name of every person attending the tour. The fee for the tours is a sliding scale of $1 - $20 to offset costs and help grow Detroit’s agricultural movement. 

Detroit Agriculture Network’s mission is to promote and foster urban agriculture and the sustainable use and appreciation of urban natural resources. The Detroit Agriculture Network, Earthworks Urban Farm/Capuchin Soup Kitchen, The Greening of Detroit, and Michigan State University Extension work collaboratively to support community, school, and family gardens in Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck.

To participate in the Garden Resource Program, learn more about urban gardening programs in the city, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, visit www.detroitagriculture.org or contact the Garden Resource Program Collaborative at 313-237-8736.

Capuchin Soup Kitchen hosts Summer Dinner

Our friends at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit Michigan are hosting a summer dinner on Tuesday, July 21 at 6:30 PM at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen located at 1264 Meldrum in Detroit Michigan. The dinner will be prepared by Executive Chef Alison Costello, and following the meal, Patrick Crouch will give a tour of the Earth Works Urban Gardens. The cost is $15.00 per person and proceeds will benefit the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Slow Food Detroit. Please RSVP via email to valerie@slowfooddetroit.org. by Friday, July 11. The fee will be collected at the event.

Here’s the menu for this wonderful dinner:

• Gunthorp Farms Roast Loin of Pork with fresh cherry chutney

• Earthworks mixed greens, with hazelnut and cider vinaigrette

• Crushed potatoes with parsley and thyme

• Asian mustard greens

• Peach-phyllo strudel with goat cheese cream

There’s also a job opening at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, but the application deadline is July 10, so if you’re interested, make sure you apply this week!  This is an organization that does wonderful work - here's a link to their "2008 Year in Review"  so you can read more about Earthworks Urban Farm and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen's impact on the local community.  

The Capuchin mission is based on service and nurturing of the human spirit. Employees of the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order will exemplify the values of this mission in the performance of their responsibilities. Employees are expected to demonstrate and support the Capuchin mission, vision and values throughout all professional responsibilities and activities by acting at all times towards clients, volunteers, vendors, benefactors and co-workers with hospitality, joyful service and compassion; and to partner with all for empowerment and justice. The Soup Kitchen ministry serves meals at our two soup kitchens, assists with groceries, clothing, and furniture items on an emergency basis at our warehouse services center and provides a men’s residential substance abuse recovery program.  

The Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order is an equal opportunity employer. The Capuchin Soup Kitchen is a ministry within the Province. Neither the Province nor the Capuchin Soup Kitchen will discriminate against any otherwise qualified employee or applicant for employment with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, disability or other legally protected status.

Position: Earthworks Education Coordinator
  (full-time 30-35 hours per week)

Location: Meldrum Kitchen

Position to start: August 8, 2009

Brief Description
The Earthworks Education Coordinator is responsible for ongoing development of the program curriculum, supply acquisition, program preparation and implementation and program assessment. Additionally the Coordinator will be working in the gardens and kitchen with the youth in the program and will supervise one assistant and the volunteers. The Coordinator will also work directly with the Earthworks Program Manager and Outreach Coordinator in joint program implementation. 
Skills needed
2 years post secondary education required 
Experience and/or advance education in nutrition or child education preferred
Cooking and gardening skills required
Demonstrated excellent communication and planning skills
Excellent driving record 
Valid Michigan Chauffer’s license (or willingness to obtain)

Requires operation office equipment: Fax, phone, copy machine, digital camera, Microsoft and excel computer programs.

Requires working in gardens in the weather variances of the State of Michigan (heat and rain in the spring & summer and cold in the winter), exposure to soil, organic soil & plant pest control materials

Job Grade: 13 Beginning Salary Range: $13 - $17 per hour  

If you would like additional information before applying, please contact Human Resources at 579-2100, ext. 221. To apply, please submit resumes to Human Resources at 1820 Mt. Elliott, Detroit, MI 48207 no later than July 10, 2009. The hiring process will include an interview and extensive background check for qualified candidates, and any individual hired must complete a pre-employment drug and alcohol test.