Nourish The Spirit » sustainability

Farmer Jane hits up the Bay: Photos, Food and Amazing Women

Vera — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:25:40 +0000

Listen up, all you eco-foodie gals: this event’s for you. On Saturday, May 15, The San Francisco Museum & Historical Society welcomes author and activist Temra Costa for an evening behind the scenes of her new book, Farmer Jane. Costa will walk attendees through “a photographic journey” of the women featured in her book – women blazing trails and taking initiative in the fight for healthy, sustainable, homegrown food on farms and in schools, businesses and advocacy groups across the nation. Temra Costa celebrates the women and their work, of course; but she also explores “the impact that femininity has in changing businesses for the better.” A marriage of feminism and sustainable food, with a new spin on the feminine mystique into the mix? Sounds pretty neat to me.

The exhibit and presentation hosted by the SFMHS costs $10 ($5 for society members) and will begin at 4 p.m. at 88 5^th Street in San Francisco.

Up next? The Farmer Jane Book Launch at Revival Bar + Kitchen in Berkeley, Thursday May 20^th. Check back here @ Nourish the Spirit for event details next week.

Contributed by Lauren Westerfield

Veggie Gardens growin’

Vera — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 02:39:22 +0000

San Francisco made a big statement with its new veggie garden, planted right in front of City Hall, and a highlight to many seeing it for the first time at Slow Food Nation. Tickets to lectures and an exclusive 50,000 square foot tasting pavillion made it possible to hold the public event there for free, where the public had a chance to meet farmers by the new edible, organic garden.

Various organizations helped build it, ncluding City Slicker Farms with donations from Seeds of Change. It’s there as a reminder of where food comes from – a key mission of Slow Food, and wouldn’t be there without mayor Gavin Newson’s support.

Volunteer opportunities
You can volunteer to work at the garden by contacting anna-AT-slowfoodnation-DOT-org. Produce that’s harvested goes to the SF Food Bank.

Boycott bottled water – take back the tap

Vera — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:19:11 +0000

I recently created a Facebook group for Take Back the Tap after reading Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte. Years ago we somehow got sold on the idea that bottled water was the healthy thing to drink. But doing so, we’re draining water reservoirs from communities that depend on it in plastic bottles that end up in landfills. This not only hurts small towns and depletes natural resources, but consumes tons of oil for both gas and plastic production.

Bottled water companies claim health benefits over tap water that aren’t true. New York City, Portland, and San Francisco are all getting active in taking bottled water off their menus and large public events. At Slow Food Nation in SF, an estimated 100,000 plastic bottles were spared from going in landfills when tap water was used as a substitute.

There’s lots of information on how to go back to tap water on Food and Water Watch. Check out Gristmill or watch Thirst to learn about the bigger picture, including issues like water privatization. We have to prevent water from becoming the new oil.