Michigan: Get Involved with the Good Food Charter

Did you know that Michigan has a Good Food Charter?  
If you haven't read it, take a few moments to do so - you'll find that it will change the way you view your food, your actions surrounding your food choices, your shopping habits and where you spend your food dollars.

The Michigan Good Food Charter sets forth a food system vision for the state of Michigan and goals with quantified results and a targeted achievement date of 2020.  

The six goals can be read in detail here.  The goals cover topics such as 20% of institutional purchasing from local growers and producers and processors, Michigan generating enough agri-businesses to ensure that 20% of the food that is purchased in Michigan comes from Michigan,  and Michigan nutrition standards being met by 100% of school meals.  


So now that you've read the goals, what can you do to support them?

The next steps are to sign the resolution and take action by buying from local farmers, farmers markets or joining a CSA Farm.  Plant a garden.  Get 5 friends to sign the good food charter with you.  Post the Michigan Good Food Charter on your Facebook page.  Tweet about a local food business you love.  Encourage your friends and work associates to buy local.  Plan meals, cook and eat with your children and teach them everything you can about good, healthy food.  


Michigan, get involved with the Good Food Charter.  Through your actions, you can help attain one or more of the goals by 2020.  Help Michigan have a healthy economy and a healthy population - our lives will be better for it.

For more information about the Michigan Good Food Charter, contact:
Kathryn Colasanti
517-353-0642
colokat@msu.edu

Sustainable: Is There Wiggle Room?

sus·tain·a·ble

səˈstānəbəl/

adjective

adjective: sustainable

1. 1.

   able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

   "sustainable fusion reactions"

   • conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.

     "our fundamental commitment to sustainable development"
2. 2.

   able to be upheld or defended.

   "sustainable definitions of good educational practice"

I had to look up the definition of the word "sustainable" after I read the Mother Jones article about McDonald's announcement to transition to sustainable beef by 2016.  I wanted to see the exact definition, and as you can see there are 3 ways to use the word.  I believe that most food growers and producers intend the word to be used as "conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources".

Regarding their "transition to sustainable beef", McDonald's does not have a plan to accomplish this yet. From the article:
"The company is working with the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, a stakeholder group that includes Walmart and the World Wildlife Fund, to come up with a definition, and expects to announce further details of its plans in the spring."  The article's author, Dana Liebelson, goes on to say that Mother Jones asked McDonald's whether they have plans to stop using antibiotic-fed beef, and the answer from a spokesman was, "McDonald's will continue to rely on the sound science derived from this group of expert advisers including academia, suppliers, animal health and welfare experts, and the FDA, as we continue to review our policy​." 

Going back to our definition, is McDonald's really planning to conserve an ecological balance, or are they relying on "able to maintained at a certain rate or level"? McDonald's has proven antibiotic laced beef can be maintained at a certain rate or level - a LARGE level.

What do you think?  Is there wiggle room in the word "sustainable"?  Is sustainable the new buzz word to avoid, like "artisanal" and "cage-free"?  Is that cheese really being made by hand? And how large is that "farmyard" where those chickens are roaming free?  


Your local food marketing should have no "wiggle room".  The words you use to describe your brand, your product development, your growing or buying practices, should be accurate and authentic. You should be able to back up your marketing adjectives with facts, records, vendor invoices and the ability to talk freely without couching your words.  Your customers must be able to trust you, your words and your marketing materials.    

Make your business be sustainable - "able to be upheld or defended".

Eat Local Food's product catalog is available on-line

Eat Local Food's product catalog is now available on-line.  Eye-catching colorful designs for banners, natural cotton tote bags, reusable price cards, and note cards can be viewed at eatlocalfood.com.  All products are made in the USA, are functional, decorative and reusable.  Our tote bags are machine washable.

Eat Local Food "Local Roots" USA made tote bag

If you are a farmers market vendor, a food service supervisor, or a produce manager, your displays can be more informative, decorative and eye-catching with Eat Local Food's original fine art products.  Call us at 734.341.7028 or e-mail info@eatlocalfood.com to order or to get more information.

Contact Information:
Joan Rozelle
Eat Local Food LLC
23041 Gilbar Street
Novi, MI  48375
734.341.7028

Collaborate with Local Chefs for Boost in Sales

photo by Chris Witkowski

Here's a  collaborative marketing idea for those "In Season" strawberry, blueberry, tomato and sweet corn days:

Work with your local chefs, restaurants, ice cream parlors and hospital cafes to encourage them to offer special recipes using locally grown (and sourced) favorites during the season. 

For every "in season favorite" recipe that is ordered, ask the business to give the customer a coupon for the farmers market.  The coupon could be for a free water bottle, package of seeds, discount offer (if vendors agree) or free ice cream cone.  The discount offer is ideal, as the cost of offering the item is only incurred if the individual spends additional dollars at the market, and no up front spending by the farmers market is required.

In turn, the farmers market can hand out a seasonal recipe card with a coupon for the business establishment.  If several businesses participate, consider weekly rotations so every participant benefits.

Local Food Marketing Requires Conversation

As many of you know, we made a decision to take down our on-line store in early 2013.  Rising compliance

costs were the main issue, but we also realized that we like to talk to our customers.  Local Food Marketing is not a ready-to-order on-line venture.  Each of our customers have unique products, locations and communities.  Often it takes a "real" conversation to determine what is needed.  For that reason, we have opted to fall back on our original business model, which is taking orders via phone and e-mail.  No credit cards, no on-line orders.  We'd like to speak with you one-on-one and personally help you with your marketing needs.  We are trying to keep our costs down while keeping a personal touch in our business.

We now have many of our products on-line for viewing.  Just click on the "Our Products" page and under the headings Banners, Tote Bags, Note Cards and Price Cards, you will see what we have to offer.  More of our product page details are on the way.   Thanks for your support and your patience while we make this significant change to our website.  

Contact Information:

Joan Rozelle

Eat Local Food LLC

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com

734.341.7028

Eat Local Food Banners

We are making great progress on our Eat Local Food on-line catalog!

I'm excited to announce that Eat Local Food vertical banner designs and pricing are available on our website.  Just click on the links to view our beautiful banner designs and pricing.  To order, please call us at 734.341.7028 or email us at jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com.

We appreciate your patience and your support while we make changes to our website and catalog.  Thank you!  There is more to come soon....

Get Creative: Marketing Local Food in Schools

It's late in the school year, but now is the time to look ahead to next year.  While all your teachers, administrators and parent volunteers are still available, it's the best time to consider changes in your local school food program for the 2013-2014 school year.

Here are some questions to consider:

• What are your goals for your school's local food program?
• Who will head-up and serve on your local food committee next year?
• How often will the local food committee meet?  When?  Where?
• What are your school food fund-raising plans for your school next year?
• What are your plans for marketing local food in your school next year?  
• How can you engage students, teachers, parents, administrators and community leaders to get involved, participate and co-market your program?
• How will you reach the community at large?  
• What are your plans to engage the community in a collaborative marketing effort?
• How will you measure your local school food program's results?  How often with the measurement take place?  Who will receive a report on the results?

All these questions, and we haven't even addressed food acquisition yet....here's a link to a fantastic resource for information on food acquisition, partnering techniques, financing, nutrition, etc.  The National Farm to School Network offers 20 minute webinars on a variety of topics.  Past webinars are available for download.  Called "Lunch Bites" they are designed to be short, information packed presentations to help guide you through the maze of offering a healthy school food program.
You can also search your state for involved groups and organizations that provide resources to assist you in your local school food planning.

Here's a discussion on marketing local food in schools:  Get Creative:  Marketing Local Food in Schools.  I co-authored and presented this talk with Michaelle Rehmann of the Food Systems Economic Partnership of SE Michigan (FSEP) at their 2010 conference.

And here's a link to another presentation I gave which discusses responsible marketing to children and healthier school fundraisers.  Kids are the Customers:  Marketing Local Food in Schools was presented in 2010 at the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Detroit.

I hope you find this information to be helpful.  Good luck in your efforts to create a healthy and successful local food program in your school!

Contact Information:
Joan Rozelle
Eat Local Food
jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com
734.341.7028

Marketing Explained: At the Farmers Market

The following represents our revision of a humorous but somewhat adult marketing-themed joke we received via e-mail.  We thought it was a cute marketing lesson so we’ve cleaned it up and added a farmers market theme…we hope you enjoy it, and we extend our apologies to the original unknown author. 

Photo by Chris Witkowski

What is Marketing?

You're selling vegetables at a farmers market and you see a prospective customer within range of your booth. You call to him and say, "Our tomatoes are the best around.”

That's Direct Marketing.

You are selling vegetables at a farmers market and a friend stops by.  You both see a prospective customer within range of your booth.  Your friend goes up to him, and pointing at you, says, "Her farm’s tomatoes are the best around.”

That's Advertising.

You see a prospective customer near your booth at a farmers market. You make eye contact with him and encourage him to give you his e-mail address. The next day you e-mail him and say, “Our farm’s tomatoes are in and we’ll have a special tomato salsa sampling at the farmers market this week.  Our tomatoes and salsa are the best around!”

That's E-Mail Marketing.

You see a prospective customer at a farmers market, you grab a business card, and you walk up to him and hand him a salsa sample.  You say, "Please enjoy a taste of our wonderful fresh salsa," then continuing, “This farmers market offers many fresh samples of the wonderful local produce available here", and finally, adding, "By the way, my farm’s tomatoes are the best around."

That's Public Relations.

You're at a farmers market and see a prospective customer. He walks up to you and says, “I hear your tomatoes are the best around!"

That's Brand Recognition.

You're at a farmers market and see a prospective customer.  He’s interested in buying fresh tomatoes from you, but you talk him into buying tomatoes from your friend’s farm instead.

That's a Sales Rep. 

Your friend’s farm can't satisfy the quantity of tomatoes the customer needs, so she calls you.

That's Tech Support.

You're on your way to the farmers market when you realize that there could be prospective customers in all these houses you're passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the centre and shout at the top of your lungs, "My farm’s tomatoes are the best around!"

That's Junk Mail.

We hope you enjoyed our marketing lesson today!

Contact Information:

Joan Rozelle

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com

Eat Local Food

734.341.7028

More on First Impressions: E-mail v. Texting

My recent post on making a credible first impression focused on your web presence.  Your company website is what potential customers first see when they look for you.  The impression you give should be professional, positive and confident.  Your blog, e-newsletter and social media posts should all be extensions of your website, having the same level of professionalism in both look and content.  You never know the route a customer takes to your website - they may first see a post from you on Facebook or Google+ which spikes their curiosity and their search for your company.

Yesterday, I had an e-mail conversation with a new vendor and it drew my attention to the first impression that an e-mail can make.  During my e-conversation with the vendor:

• He responded in single sentence e-mails, without a greeting or a closing.  
• He wrote in caps, which of course gave me the impression that he was shouting at me.  
• He used abbreviations, which made him appear hurried and even disinterested.

Ultimately, I got what I needed, which was new "made in the USA" labels for the inside of our Eat Local Food tote bags.

I not only felt happy that my order was complete, I was relieved my conversation was over.  Then I realized that my unsettling conversation was because my vendor and I were using two different forms of communication.  I was on my laptop using e-mail, and he was on his I-phone texting.  Aha!  I immediately knew that if I had been on my phone receiving a text, I would not have thought the conversation to be clipped.  

In a professional e-mail business conversation, your e-mail should have

1. A greeting, or salutation
2. A  closing , or valediction
3. Proper use of upper and lowercase letters.
4. Your signature, including contact information and a link your web address, your blog and/or your social media pages.  If it's a business e-mail, don't include quotes about your hobbies or religious preferences - save that for personal e-mail use.

In my opinion, if you are sending a message to a phone number, you can be brief, immediate and ignore the polite rules of e-mail etiquette.  If you are writing to an e-mail address, the traditional e-mail rules should be followed.  Your contact with the outside world impacts how your brand is viewed.  Your customers should feel important and respected.  

Competition is fierce. Get your foot firmly in the door with a good first impression!

Farmers Market Promotions: Be Creative and Collaborate

It's time to think about marketing your Farmers Market, but how can you afford to do so?  Advertising can be costly, and one-time only print advertisement might be missed by potential customers.  Billboard advertising gets more repeat attention, but it's costly to rent space.   Maximizing your marketing dollars requires creativity and collaboration from the community. 

Customers shop at Farmers Markets because they believe in supporting local farmers, they like to eat healthy food, they appreciate the camaraderie among fellow shoppers, or they enjoy the festive atmosphere.  

How can you harness that customer loyalty to assist with your Farmers Market promotions?

Involve your customer.  Appeal to their emotional involvement.  Allow your customers an opportunity to participate in your promotions.  Customers show their support for Farmers Markets through social media, wearable merchandise, repeat visits and ultimately, their pocketbooks.    Centering  your creative, collaborative promotion around these concepts will increase your customer base and market loyalty.  

  

First I'll address a topic that's near and dear to our heart....creatively collaborating on a customized tote bag promotion.  

Friends of the Lathrup Village Farmers Market "punch card" 

With some creative collaborative promotions, a farmers market can subsidize the cost of producing a customized tote bag, and create buzz for their market at the same time:

• Find a local business to co-sponsor the tote bag
• Selling the tote bags for $15 to $20 as a fundraiser for your farmers market
• Starting a Friends of the Market program where a $40-$50 donor receives a complimentary friend of the market tote bag
• Begin a “punch-card program” where an individual with 6 visits to the market (and 6 punches on their card) receives a complimentary farmers market tote bag
• Sell the tote bag at your cost as a promotional item for your farmers market
• Offer a weekly raffle and fill the tote bag with market vendor items
• Ask local businesses to sell the bags and give the market the proceeds
• Sponsor a Spring or Harvest Dinner during the market season and give a market tote bag to everyone who purchases a ticket to the event.  The ticket price should reflect the cost of the event including the tote bag.

The important thing to remember is that a customized tote bag is actually a promotional tool for your Farmers Market.  Any item that has your Farmers Market name on it represents your market and your vendors.  Your bags should be attractive, durable and washable.  Our preference is always that the bag be made in the USA.  You want your customers to say, "what a nice bag!  I have to have one.  Where did you get it?  Well, that must be a great farmers market!"  Your customer with the tote bag will enjoy spreading the word about their favorite farmers market.  

The end result is that you will create buzz about your market and your customers will be walking billboards for you - repeat advertising without the high cost of rented space!

Over the next several days, we will address other creative collaborative marketing approaches for your Farmers Market.   How do you creatively collaborate with your community?  We'd love to hear from you!

Contact Information:
Joan Rozelle
www.eatlocalfood.com
734.341.7028

Make a Credible First Impression

This morning, I had an e-mail from an individual requesting advice on whether to include their website address on their new business card, even if the website wasn't up and running yet.  This person was going to attend a conference where they hoped to make business contacts, so she was going to have new business cards printed to take and pass out.  She understandably didn't want to print business cards without the website address and then print more again when the website was ready.  My response follows.

If you are passing out your business card, you certainly want to give the recipient a website reference to check.  It adds credibility to your statement that you have started a business.  If someone goes to your page and sees “under construction”….or sees an unavailable notice; they will (even subconsciously) think that you are not credible.

Here’s how to add credibility to your new business even if your website isn’t completed yet.  Create a home page that someone would land on when looking up your domain.  It could just have your name, contact information and perhaps an illustration or two or a list of your product offerings, where your products are sold, or your upcoming engagements.  Most hosting sites offer an option of putting up a page until your site is ready, and many offer templates that are nice, and can be modified to add some photos or your logo.  Then when your website is ready to go live, you just swap out the temporary home page with your new and fabulous website.

In today’s business world, an instant impression can make all the difference between someone walking away and someone taking a second look.

If you have the same issue with a website in progress but are not sure how to proceed with setting up a temporary home page, just ask your web hosting provider.  Many have a support desk which will be more than happy to help.  This is usually something you can do yourself at no extra cost to you.

What is your experience in setting up your business website?  If you'd like to share your experience, we welcome your comments.

Eat Local Food: On-line catalog coming soon!

Banner artwork by Chris Witkowski

Many of you have written to ask what happened to our on-line store.  In case you missed our earlier post, we did make a tough decision to take down our store at the end of 2012.  The cost of compliance with regulations for maintaining a secure site (for our customer's safety and ours) was becoming too high.  One of our goals is to continue to make our products in the USA, and to keep prices manageable for our customers.  In order to keep these goals, we try to effectively manage our overhead costs.  Please bear with us as we make some changes to our website.

We are currently working on a on-line catalog made up of PDFs which will be available for download on our Eat Local Food Product Page.  Orders can be placed by phone or by e-mail, and we plan to have a page to allow you to pay on-line in the near future.  We will keep you posted on all our plans and our progress!

In the meantime, please contact me with any questions regarding our Eat Local Food customized banners, tote bags or postcards, or our in-stock products.  We are currently accepting orders by telephone and e-mail, and we look forward to working with you.

Thank you for your patience and we hope to be of service to you in the near future!

Here's our contact information:

Joan Rozelle
Eat Local Food LLC
jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com
734.341.7028

Help Your Kids Choose What to Eat

Attention Parents:  This article was brought to my attention and there's one quote that applies to all of us.  ‘Step up’ on obesity before regulators bite, says Mars chief  
Candy makers must take responsibility to tackle obesity and should act before regulators force their hands, says Mars Chocolate North America's president.
http://www.confectionerynews.com/Manufacturers/Step-up-on-obesity-before-regulators-bite-says-Mars-chief

Debra Sandler, president of Mars Chocolate North America said, "If we don't [act], I worry that someone else will do it for us.....don't wait for regulators to tell us what to do".

I have never met this woman and I know nothing about her business ethics but I think this is perhaps the best advice for all of us.  Do we really need government telling us that a 48 ounce cup of soda is bad for our health?  How many of us have investigated our kid's school lunch program or know what vending machine snacks are available for purchase?

In the article, Ms. Sandler's comments focus on product labeling, innovating to give consumers more choices and reformulating candy products to be more nutritionally sound.  All excellent ideas - I think the calorie count label on the front of the package is a good start.

I love Mars candy and I'm a firm believer that candy, soda and other treats enjoyed in moderation are just fine.  But treats are treats and not a substitute for healthy, nutritious food.

So get involved, take action and find out what your kids are eating.  If you know what they are eating and it's not a healthy choice, don't wait for regulators to tell you what to do.  Keep your parental right to choose alive.

Michigan State University Organic Reporting Session

Our friend, Vicki Morrone of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, has asked us to share this opportunity with you.  The Organic Reporting Session at Michigan State University, to be held this Friday, March 1, is a chance to have your voice be heard.  There will be a facilitated discussion to identify areas of interest to organic farmers, a presentation by Maureen Wilmot from Organic Farming and Research Foundation, an on-site lunch featuring MSU Organic Farm greens and if there is interest, a tour of the new MSU hoophouse.  See Vicki’s note and all the details below:

Hope all of you can come and join in this inaugural event-we need your experience at the table and ideas!! Please share too-we need all types of organic farmers!

Hey Friends-

YOU WILL Not want to miss this! March 1-Friday is the Organic Reporting Session at Michigan State University. This year we are offering a special chance to have YOUR voice heard!!!

We are offering a facilitated discussion with farmers like you-researchers and ag resource folks  to identify priority areas for future organic Research! The program starts at 9:00 with research reports and a presentation by Maureen Wilmot from Organic Farming and Research Foundation. She will share with us, "Where have all the dollars gone?"- fill us in on what is happening on the Farm Bill development and how we can engage to find support for organic research with farmers.  

Visit:

Www.ofrf.org <http://www.ofrf.org/> for info on her organization.

Whether you see a need for crop production, harvest, storage, scale, transport, marketing or distribution whether you are an urban farmer in  Flint or a 500 ac bean farmer in Caro, we want to hear from YOU!!

The venue is at Michigan State University campus, Brody Hall, located just off Harrison Rd across from the conference center. Of course there is also the chance to catch up on what research and results are happening at MSU and visit with our Graduate students as they share their work via posters. Lunch is at Brody Café- featuring MSU's own Student Organic farms greens. If there is interest we will offer a tour of the new on-campus hoophouse growing organic herbs for the MSU kitchens. Social time will offer a Taste of Michigan.

All of this wonderfulness for $15 for students and farmers and $25 for others.

Register at www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu

<http://www.michiganorganic.msu.edu/> TODAY! 

Event will be from 9-5 and the discussion/priority setting will be from 1:30-3:00

Please share this with others via your newsletters and listservs.

We want to make this a great event to identify great research.

Please contact me with any questions.

All the best,

Vicki

Contact Information:

Vicki Morrone

Organic Farming Specialist

Center For Regional Food Systems at MSU

480 Wilson Rd. Room 303

East Lansing, MI 48824

517-353-3542/517-282-3557 (cell)

Sorrone@msu.edu

Www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu

What Should You Look for in a Reusable Bag?

Eat Local Food "Odette" Bag

We originally talked about what you should look for in a reusable bag in the following post from January 2011, when USA Today reported about the high levels of lead found in some reusable grocery bags.  We’re reposting now as a good reminder of what to look for in a reusable bag:

A news story was published this week (January 2011) regarding tests finding high levels of lead in reusable bags. According to the story, "the non-woven-polypropylene bags, sold by chains including Safeway, Walgreen's and Bloom, all had lead content above 100 parts per million — the highest level that many states allow in consumer packaging. The tests were conducted by Frontier Global Sciences for the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), which plans to release the results Monday."

Here's a link to the article in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2011-01-23-reusable-bags_N.htm

While we've never been a fan of the non-woven-polypropylene bag, it's been for the following reasons:
1) They are usually not made in the USA
2) Lots of fuel is used transporting them to the USA
3) They are recyclable but not biodegradable
4) The material typically lacks strength and the bags do not withstand heavy loads

And now there is a claim that these bags have a high lead content. We've also heard that the Center for Consumer Freedom - the organization that paid for the funding - is not an environmental or consumer protection group. The Center for Consumer Freedom website describes the group as "a nonprofit coalition of restaurants, food companies, and consumers working together to promote personal responsibility and protecting consumer choices". But there's more! CCF's website goes on to say: "A growing cabal of activists has meddled in Americans’ lives in recent years. They include self-anointed "food police," health campaigners, trial lawyers, personal-finance do-gooders, animal-rights misanthropes, and meddling bureaucrats."

We all know we should always consider who is funding the study and for what purpose. We don't know the purpose behind The Center for Consumer Freedom's study. But if there are high levels of lead in these imported non-woven-polypropylene bags, let's get them out of our U.S. grocery stores.

Here's what we know about our Eat Local Food reusable tote bags:
1) They are made in the USA
2) They are reusable
3) They are made of cotton
4) Cotton is biodegradable
5) They are sturdy and hold up to heavy loads

6) They are washable! (See our related post on washing your reusable bags)
7) They all have beautiful, original fine art designs!

Interested in ordering an Eat Local Food USA made tote bag?  Please call or e-mail to place an order.  Thank you!

Contact information:

Joan Rozelle

Eat Local Food

734.341.7028

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com

Don't Blame the Bags: Carry, Clean and Carry Again

Eat Local Food Apple Tote

Using a reusable grocery bag is a habit.  In order to establish that habit, you might have put your reusable bags by the door, or in your car or bike so you remember to take them to the grocery store.  After a time, you didn't have to think about it much anymore, you just remembered the bags.  Much like brushing your teeth or washing your hands, right?

A story was brought to our attention today about how the plastic bag ban is responsible for the increase in E. Coli infections.  We're providing a link to the Huffington Post story here, originally published on February 7, 2013.  

To quote from the article, researchers found "a spike in San Francisco hospital emergency room treatment due to E. coli infections and a 46 percent increase in deaths from foodborne illness in the three months after the bag ban went into effect in 2007. E. coli bacteria, common in the human intestine and frequent suspects in food poisoning, can range from harmless to lethal."

Let's not blame the bags.  Cotton, bamboo or other natural fiber grocery bags are probably the most environmentally friendly way to carry your groceries.   Disposable bags take 100 years to break down, they litter our roadways and cause harmful effects to wildlife.   It's a habit to wash our hands, our dishes and our pots and pans.   Please remember to wash your reusable bags.   It's another healthy habit, and the environment will thank you, too!

Interested in ordering an Eat Local Food USA made tote bag?  Please call or e-mail to place an order.  Thank you!

Contact information:

Joan Rozelle

Eat Local Food

734.341.7028

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com

Up for a Challenge? Enter the 2013 Michigan Junior Chef Competition

The Challenge is back!  The Michigan Junior Chef Competition has returned for 2013.  The official rules have been posted, so get your teams ready!  The deadline? Team applications and recipes must be e-mailed by March 26, 2013.    Here are the official rules, from the Michigan Junior Chef website:

The goal of the Michigan Junior Chef Competition is to provide youth participants hands-on cooking experience and knowledge of healthy food choices. It is made up of two parts, a Recipe Contest and a Cook-off Competition. Recipes for the Recipe Contest must include fresh, local, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) foods (federal commodity foods) and should be practical and easy for school food service operations to offer as part of their meal programs. Finalists from the Recipe Contest will be eligible to prepare their meals on-site at the Cook-off Competition at Michigan State University on May 9, 2013. Top recipes will be shared with schools throughout the state in a Michigan Junior Chef Cookbook.

I. Teams

• Teams should consist of 3-4 students in grades 7-12 and 1-2 adults. Youth team members must be enrolled in Michigan schools and may be any combination of 7-12th graders.
• Each team must have at least 1 adult coach to participate in team meetings/practice and to chaperone the team to the Cook-off Competition, if eligible. The coach can be a school food service director, teacher, other school employee, or parent/guardian.
• Adult coaches are not allowed to cook with the students during the Cook-off Competition, but they may provide guidance in cooking techniques and food safety.

Teams must submit a  Team Application  and Recipe Entry Form  for the Recipe Contest by March 26^th, 2013. Finalists will be announced by April 11^th, 2013.

For complete rules and more information, including videos of past competitions, please visit the Michigan Junior Chef website.  Sponsors of this year's competition include:

• Michigan Team Nutrition
• Michigan Department of Education
• United Dairy Industry of Michigan
• MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

Eat Local Food is proud to have designed the Michigan Junior Chef logo, website and promotional materials.  

Contact information:

Joan Rozelle

734.341.7028

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com  

Eat Local Food: We're Still Here!

At Eat Local Food, we recently "took down" our on-line store.   Maintaining the on-line store merchant bank, following strict security rules and compliance requirements became cost prohibitive so we had to make a tough decision.

Please bear with us as we revise our website to add a new image gallery and payment option that works for our customers.  We will keep you posted as we make progress on this endeavor.  In the meantime, we still have all of our beautiful designs available on banners, tote bags, posters and custom designs for your conference or program.  And as always, we are available to work with you by telephone and e-mail.

Thanks for your continued business, we look forward to working with you in 2013!

Questions?  Please contact:
Joan Rozelle
Eat Local Food
734.341.7028
jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com

Eat Local Food: Grants for Good Food

Interested in starting a school garden but short on funding?  Jamba Juice has just announced that it will award 40 youth and school garden grants.  To celebrate the National Gardening Association's 40th Anniversary, and to promote nutrition and gardening to students, the grants will award $500 in gardening supplies, plants, curriculum, and more.  A good start to a healthy school garden initiative.

Who Can Apply?  The Program is open to schools, community organizations and nonprofit gardening programs with at least 15 children between the ages of 3 and 18.  Schools must be located within a 50 mile radius of a Jamba Juice location.

Is There a Catch?
The only catch I could find is the condition that your school garden must be located within a 50 mile radius of a Jamba Juice store.  And although it precludes some from applying it's not really a "catch".  I'm sure store officials want to be able to visit the school gardens and perhaps do some promotional tie-ins for offering the funds.  A quick peek on the Jamba Juice website will help you to determine if your school garden qualifies.    For example, there's a store in Toledo Ohio, but none in the Detroit Michigan metro area.  Detroit appears to be out of the 50 mile radius range, but some other Southeastern Michigan communities appear to qualify.  For example, Wyandotte, Riverview, Monroe, and Ann Arbor are all within 50 miles of the Toledo Ohio store.

Tips:  What to Include in your Proposal
Make sure you address these items in your proposals!  Based on the National Gardening Association Kids Gardening website, those likely to be awarded a grant are those who:
1)  Those who incorporate fruit and vegetable activities into their curriculum.
2)  Those who promote nutrition education, and
3)  Those who demonstrate that their program and garden are sustainable over multiple years.

For More Information:  Visit the NGA's Kids Gardening website for complete program guidelines, application procedures, and access to the Jamba Juice store locator.

Deadline:  February 18, 2013

Like Nature Intended: Eat Local Food

Have you been to Blue Spring State Park in Florida?  It's a wonderful place to visit and we got a chance to spend a beautiful day there last week.  Blue Spring State Park covers more than 2,600 acres, including the largest spring on the St. Johns River. As a designated Manatee Refuge, Blue Spring State Park is the winter home to West Indian Manatees seeking warm water refuge during the winter.  If you'd like to learn more about Manatees, please visit the Save the Manatee Club web site.    They are currently airing live streaming of the manatees at the park.  

In addition to manatee sightings, we were captivated by the shore birds along the St. Johns River.  The shore birds are plentiful and stunning.  We saw Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Wood Storks, Cormorants and many more. 

One Great Blue Heron treated us to a view of his local lunch. 

This was an amazing feat to witness, with the Great Blue Heron fighting to conquer the large fish (I think it was a Black Crappie), and never giving up.  We left him with his prize, thankful for this special glimpse of the natural world. 

Is there a lesson for local foodies here?  Not sure….perhaps it’s a reminder to fight the good fight in protecting and supporting your local food system.  And a reminder that nature knows best:  eat green, eat healthy, eat natural and eat local.