Marin Organic Blog

Marin Organic & The Heart of Marin

2012-01-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

It's just a few days into the new year, and already Marin Organic is earning accolades! Below was in my inbox on Friday:

Greetings Marin Organic Producers, and Happy New Year!

We have exciting news to share with you! Yesterday Marin Organic was named the recipient of the Excellence in Innovation award at the 19th Annual Heart of Marin event. The recognition was for our work gleaning food for schools and resource centers, as well educating local children about sustainable agriculture on Marin Organic farms. More than 750 people were present, including many of our wonderful nonprofit friends, local businesses, and government officials. It was an honor just to be nominated by Bank of Marin, and humbling to be selected amongst so many other wonderful organizations.

This award was made possible by you, our members. So many of you open your hearts and fields to this good work, donating precious healthy food to the underserved, and graciously allowing groups of children to dig in your soil and nibble on your harvest. We are so grateful for all that you do (160,000 lbs. donated to date!), and appreciative of the many people that have forged this path for Marin Organic over the past decade.

We have a lot more to share with you in this New Year – including upcoming workshops, a Farm Bill event with Ken Cook of EWG (Environmental Working Group), the unveiling of our new Supporting Business program and Friends Loyalty card, and expansion of our school lunch program via Sow a Row for Schools.

So many exciting developments, and the year has just begun - here's to a great 2012!

Sincerely Yours,

Adrienne and the Marin Organic crew

Adrienne Baumann
Executive Director Marin Organic
P.O. Box 962
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

The Marin Organic team wants to convey our sincere gratitude to all Marin Organic's supporters, partners, and predecessors. With you, and the power of your gleaning hands, your donations, your thoughtfulness, your volunteer time in the office, your sponsorships, your creativity, and your encouragement, we are now giving 14,000 Marin school children access to local, organic food every week. We are bringing hundreds of kids to local organic farms for hands-on learning each year, and on top of all that, we are donating thousands of pounds of great organic food to Marin's neediest families and kids!

As Bank of Marin put it:

"Gleaning is an age-old concept... Marin Organic’s innovation is in harnessing the wisdom of this ancient tradition and effectively re-introducing it as a truly novel concept and practice, because it serves everyone reliant upon Marin’s food system."

For more about Marin Organic's Heart of Marin Excellence in Innovation award, click here. To donate to Marin Organic, or for ways to get involved, please visit us online or give us a call at 415.663.9667.

It’s A New Year!

2012-01-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! We here at Marin Organic hope that you had a wonderful Holiday Season! We're looking forward to deepening our work with the community, and continuing to bring fresh, locally grown organic food to everyone!

The Value of Heirloom Seeds

2011-12-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

The above is a picture depicting the reduction in genetic variety amongst some popular types of crops grown. What a difference a century makes! This year, give someone on your list the gift of heirloom seeds!

Changing Seasons, Consistent Goals

2011-12-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

Two Ways of Moving Produce

The weather has shifted in Marin county, and whereas we enjoyed a nice, extended Indian Summer, it is now certainly about to become a full-fledged winter. For those not familiar with the area, this will not mean snow and hard freezes, but rather rain. Lots, and lots of rain. And that's a good thing, because it gives us great green grass, and allows the aquifers to refill.

Many of lour local farmers have reacted accordingly, and what's available from the field has shifted. There are still a few people out there with apples on the tree, but I'm seeing more persimmons now. Kale and chard are still pretty common, and I still see some squash hanging on. One of the great things about being in such an agriculturally productive county is the abundance of seasonal foods. Celebrating the change in seasons and weather with new food is a joy that some people have forgotten about completely. It's easy to take food for granted, but when one eats with the seasons a new appreciation for subtleties of flavor and texture is cultivated with every bite.

A lot of the food that Marin produces is taken to market in the back of trucks. Sadly, we all can't make it out to the farms, and even if we could, I don't think all the farmers would be overjoyed with the increased traffic. You might have seen the Marin Organic truck on the road around the county, and undoubtedly it had some local produce in the back. We cover a lot of miles in that rig, and recently got some new tires. So rest assured, the Red Chard Rocket has some new shoes and will still be delivering good, locally produced, organic food all across Marin!

In other news, Marin Organic recently celebrated the end of the year with one of our valued partners, Marin Agricultural Land Trust. The open house was held at The Dance Palace in Pt. Reyes Station, and I'd like to think a good time was had by all. It's not every day that a congregation of farmers, fans, and others all get together under one roof! Of course we featured local products, because that's what we're all about. Not only were local edibles on display, but also local music!

Exclusive Fall Feast Recipe from Cavallo Point Cooking School, A Marin Organic Business Member

2011-11-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

When temperatures begin to dip, we like to warm up with hearty and flavorful dishes. At our recent Tale of Two Farms cooking class held at Cavallo Point Cooking School, Chef Jayne Reichert's Roasted Squash Soup with Cashew Cream, featuring heirloom squash from Mt. Barnabe Farm, was such a hit we had to share the exclusive recipe with you!

Whether you throw an early Fall Feast or save the recipe for Thanksgiving, Jayne's Roasted Squash Soup is one seasonal dish guaranteed to have your guests clamoring for seconds AND feeling good about supporting local, Marin Organic growers.

Be sure to check the Marin Organic events page in early 2012 for the next scheduled Tale of Two Farms cooking class and dinner at Cavallo Point.

Roasted Squash Soup with Cashew Cream
Serves 4

3 pounds winter squash, separated
¼ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon fresh cinnamon, grated
1 large onion
1 carrot
1 parsnip
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel and seed both squash. Cut the whole squash in half or quarters depending on the size; alternatively, you may opt to cut the squash into a ½ inch dice to speed up the cooking process.

Season the squash halves or quarters with the melted butter, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Place the squash cut side down in a low sided roasting dish or on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Roast in the oven until the squash is very tender and slightly caramelized. Cut the other half of squash into a medium dice.

Peel and dice the onion, carrot and parsnip. Heat a medium size sauté pan and pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the onions, carrot and parsnip and cook until the onions are tender.

Next, add the diced squash and two cups of water, cook until the squash is very tender. Once the roasted squash is tender, spoon it out of its shell into the soup base and puree the mixture with an immersion blender. If the soup is too thick, thin it with a bit of water.

Top the soup with a spoonful of cashew cream and a dusting of smoked paprika.

Cashew Cream

½ cup raw cashews
1 cup water

Process the cashews and water in a blender until smooth. Add more water as necessary to create a very smooth pourable cream. Pass the cream through a sieve before serving and season with salt and pepper if desired.

Sasha Fedulow
Marin Organic Business Member Manager
Image Courtesy of womenonwellness.com

Happy Food Day!

2011-10-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Today marks the first official Food Day, which celebrates and promotes access to healthy and sustainable food nationwide. Started by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and backed by sustainable agriculture heavyweights like Michael Pollan and Alice Waters, Food Day is a reminder that what is on our plates is inextricably linked not only to our personal well-being, but also to our local economies, national legislative policies, food access inequalities and overall health as a society.

Food Day’s main goal is to raise awareness around “healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way.” Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can participate and make a difference, such as attending organized events happening all over San Francisco and the Bay Area - or join the Marin Organic gleaning team today at Green Gulch Farm in Muir Beach. You can also support the movement by buying produce from local farms (go to LocalHarvest.org to find a farmer’s market near you) or eating at restaurants that offer farm-to-fork options. Check out Marin Organic’s list of Producer Members and Supporting Businesses for some ideas on where to get delicious, real food!

Sasha Fedulow
Marin Organic Supporting Business Program Manager

Novato Charter School and Marin Organic Learn From Each Other!

2011-06-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

When asked what kind of food scraps belong in compost on a recent Marin Organic Farm Day at Star Route Farms in Bolinas, a sixth grade boy from the Novato Charter School enthusiastically raised his hand and answered with confidence, “Anything that’s living and doesn’t have a brain!” This clever answer was part of many great discussions and activities that involved this particular Farm Day. Those same sixth graders who have been well educated through their school garden program were excited to experience a day with Marin Organic on a local organic farm.

A few highlights from the day included a walking tour around the farm where the kids learned about the solar power panels that help run the irrigation. On this day the farm was producing more energy than it was using so the extra power went back to the grid! They were also very impressed with the size of the farm. Out of the 100 acres of land, Star Route uses only 40 acres for growing crops. This cultivates symbiotic relationships between the wild and tended life on the farm and the kids were thrilled with what this organic farmer has co-created.

A big thanks to Star Route Farms for giving these kids a very informative day in the warm sun and also allowing each kid to get their hands in the dirt as a farmer, harvest a bunch of Lavender, and plant a tomato start to take home to their own gardens!

Thanks to Kirsten Neff for providing her SmugMug photo gallery of the Farm Day, view them here.

David Long, Marin Organic Intern

Chester Densmore, Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Farm Days Season is Upon Us

2011-03-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

From Spring through Autumn, hundreds of Marin County students will visit Marin Organic farms with their classrooms for experiential learning and hands-on education. The Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program is eager to host students to teach, glean, and play in the fields with students! As winter comes to a close, harvest season inches near, and Marin Organic Farm Days spring season is opened. To learn more about how to connect students to learn and teach from our local organic farms please visit our website.

Below you can view the work of Marin Country Day School (MCDS) sixth grade students from Bob Densmore's science class. Bob is also known as Mr. D, or in my case 'dad'. This video is one of many from last springs MCDS sustainable agriculture project. After visiting Star Route Farms in Bolinas on a Marin Organic Farm Day and spending many classroom hours of research and post-production, this is the result. Great job Mr. D and the students at MCDS!

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Marin Organic; Sustainability Beyond Agriculture!

2011-02-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

The many farmers, producers, employees, volunteers, teachers and community supporters of Marin Organic are working together to expand the definition of sustainability in Marin County - sustainability that goes beyond the choice to eliminate harmful chemicals and pesticides in food production and become certified organic, and encompasses a holistic, multi-faceted approach to agriculture. This definition of sustainability includes ecological health for the soil, water and air, community and cultural health for all families and workers, and economic viability for small-scale farmers, local restaurants and businesses.

One major factor in creating and sustaining a healthy environment is to become less dependent on fossil fuels. By using renewable energy resources, Marin Organic producer members are producing a food product that has quality beyond taste. Here are a few stand-out examples:

-McEvoy Ranch, along the Pt.Reyes-Petaluma Road, recently installed a large windmill to help produce electricity needed to run their organic olive oil production;

-Straus Family Creamery in Marshall operates a methane digester that captures naturally occurring gas from manure and converts it into electricity;

-Star Route Farms in Bolinas utilizes solar panels that capture and convert sun rays into electricity to run the farm's facilities.

Even our Marin Organic truck takes sustainability seriously! To keep fresh produce and dairy products cool for delivery via the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program, we plug into the Tomales Bay Foods building in Point Reyes Station, home of Cowgirl Creamery and the Marin Organic office, which has enough solar panels to power both the building and the refrigeration unit in our truck. Plus, our truck is fueled by 100% biodiesel fuel from recycled vegetable oil! (Pictured Above)

Lets continue these practices and work together to foster a healthy and sustainable place to grow food, families, and businesses. Thanks for your support!

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

We were on T.V.!!

2011-02-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend you could have been watching morning cartoons, or, maybe you were watching KTVU-2 Saturday, February 5th, at 9:30am which aired a wonderful news story featuring the Marin Organic Glean Team!

Created by Eco Company TV, the footage follows Marin Organic staff and volunteers on National Gleaning Day when 100 students, parents and administrators from eight schools harvested extra tomatoes, lettuces, melons, peppers, cucumbers, and chard from four Marin Organic member farms. Thanks to their hard work, more than 500 lbs of healthy, local produce was donated to schools throughout Marin County!

Six years ago, Marin Organic began creatively connecting local farms to local schools to help our communities thrive. Now this extraordinary program enables 10,000 students from more than half of Marin's schools to eat organic foods grown in Marin, while cultivating a strong connection to place through innovative, hands-on education.

For more information on the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program, or to join our Friend membership program, visit www.marinorganic.org

If you missed it, it's not too late. Watch it now by clicking here: www.eco-company.tv

Thanks for your support and I hope to see you out with the Glean Team. Enjoy!

Chester Densmore

Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Truely Farm Fresh to Cafeteria

2011-01-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

Fresh, fresh, fresh as can be.........

Last Thursday morning, upon arrival at County Line Harvest, a Marin Organic member farm located on the Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road, I was asked by farm staff to be patient as our order for the School Lunch Program was still being filled. I took advantage of the time to walk the fields in the early morning sunlight along with Dela, my dog and co-pilot of the Marin Organic delivery truck. We watched as the fresh lettuces were picked, washed and boxed for delivery in that very moment. Imagine: it's not harvested until you order it...

No giant coolers, no long distance transportation, just one bio-diesel truck connecting local organic farms to local schools. The Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program team is working tirelessly to bring schools across the county only the freshest, most nutrient dense, organic food straight from the farms that grew it. That’s our mission in a nutshell: knowing your farmer, creating a local foodshed, eating well and being connected to your food.

I feel honored and blessed to do this work, especially in my home land of gorgeous Marin County.

Chester Densmore

Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Happy New Years!

2011-01-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

The Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program continues to work on improving school lunches, as well as health and wellness, with local schools and communities in Marin County. Our New Year’s resolution is to nurture our existing relationships with schools while strengthening new relationships with all schools in our county. Marin Organic recognizes that, like every piece of land, farm and ranch is unique, so is every school, district and campus. We wish to work with every school in Marin in whatever way is truly helpful. Whether Marin Organic is delivering nutritious food to your school cafeteria, collaborating with parents, teachers, and school administrators, hosting an educational MO Farm Days field trip, or inviting you to join the MO Glean Team, we are here to help!

Here is a quote in honor of an existing partnership:

"From the delicious, nutritious food for our program activities and Family Night meals at the Manzanita Children's Center (and our benefit night), to our fun enriching Farm Day field trip at Green Gulch, as well as the so graciously and generously offered gleaned food throughout the past season, all that Marin Organic has contributed has enriched us and our program, and the lives of the children and families we serve so very much. Thank you!"
-Nicole Marelich, Director of Nutrition Education, Gardening, Culinary and Farm-to-Table Programs, LIFT/Levántate!

Thank You! Happy New Year!

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

A message from Chester

2010-12-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

My name is Chester and I’m behind the wheel of the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program. Every week I drive the Marin Organic truck through the county, across highways, neighborhoods and school parking lots, the refrigerator unit filled with organic food from Marin Organic producers. I imagine the community’s thoughts when they see the truck on the road: school chefs thinking to themselves, “I cook with those foods;” students and teachers saying to each other, “Our school lunch is made with that food;” happy parents knowing that a delivery may just have been made to their child's school. I envision local business owners, volunteers and Marin Organic supporters like yourselves nodding in satisfaction because they’ve supported our efforts. And, of course, I think about the farmers, the heart and soul of our work, who might say aloud, “I grew that food.”

Right here in Marin, so many schools lack funding, adequate kitchen facilities and cafeteria staff to properly feed students. But with the support, creativity and enthusiasm of our community, we’re paving the road to a healthier future for our kids. From Project Lunch to National Gleaning Day, Marin Organic has reached major milestones in 2010 thanks to our dedicated partners and volunteers, including the delivery of more than 140,000 pounds of free, certified organic food to schools and food pantries since the Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program began.

Your ongoing support has truly helped us build and nourish our local food community and establish Marin Organic as a model nationwide. Thank you! We hope you will consider renewing your contribution to Marin Organic this year by joining our new Friends program outlined in the enclosed brochure. Membership comes with savory benefits from Marin Organic growers and producers, as well as exclusive discounts and invitations to member-only events for you and your family.

Join us! My co-pilot Dela and I will thank you, and every time you see the Marin Organic truck go by, you’ll know your gift is fueling something that truly makes a difference in the lives, hearts and health of kids across Marin.

Chester Densmore

Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Thanksgiving Harvets Glean Event recognized as Heroes!

2010-12-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

Marin County's Pacific Sun Honored the Gleaners with their Hero of the Week award!

PacificSun.com

Thanks to the dedicated work of the Novato Unified School District's (NUSD) Food and Nutritional Services department, the 1st annual Thanksgiving Harvest and Glean Event was a sweeping success across the county. NUSD rallied a team of nearly 100 volunteers comprised of teachers, administrators, parents, and students to glean the fields of two Marin Organic producer member farms on Monday afternoon November 22nd.

Harvesting gleanable food, food that would otherwise be left in the fields, from the fields of Star Route Farm in Bolinas and Green Gulch Zen Center's Organic Farm near Muir Beach, the team collected 111 boxes totally more than 800 pounds of healthy produce. All food was then donated to Families, Community Centers, and the Marin County Food Bank to be distributed just before the holiday.

A reporter from Marin Independent Journal photographed the event, interviewed gleaners, and released on article on the event.

Marinij.com

A volunteer wrote about her experience and posted pictures on the Novato Patch community news share:

www.Novato.Patch.com

A job well done. Hope to see you out with the Marin Organic Glean Team soon.

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

The Project Lunch Challenge

2010-11-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

More than 200 lunch advocates gathered at the Project Lunch Challenge last Friday at Marin Academy in San Rafael. Teens Turning Green and the Project Lunch Stakeholders gathered an esteemed group of participants such as Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (pictured above with Executive Director of Marin Organic Helge Hellberg and Novato's Garden of Eatin' Project Director David Haskell) Assemblymember Jared Huffman, Novato Unified School District's Food and Nutritional Services Director Miguel Villareal, Marin Academy Teacher Mark Stefanski, Food Service Manager of Straus Family Creamery Anna Kharbas, Marin Organic Executive Director Helge Hellberg (pictured above), and The Renegade Lunch Lady Ann Copper. Copper was one of six local chefs partnering with students in a friendly competition to make the best tasting and highest quality lunch meal on a meager $1.2o per person (the current amount allotted California School Chef per student).

The event successfully united local and national politicians, school administrators and policy makers, food service directors, non-profit members, nutritionists, restaurant and school chefs, organic farmers, teachers, parents, and students - 200 of us - cooking, sharing, eating and envisioning a brighter future for school lunch together.

Dominican University and Marin Organic glean from each other

2010-11-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

(Pictured Above: Dominican University students Mariel Kamp, Krysten Kimbel, and Ka'ua Kahololeula advertise their CSA style boxes to Prof. Julia van der Ryn)

This fall Dominican University, of San Rafael, Professors Lynn LoPresto and Julia van der Ryn are co-teaching a Humanities course entitled Living Justly, or Just Living. The course is heavy handed in community health and nutrition. In September the entire class participated in the Marin Organic sponsored National Gleaning Day.

We meet in the Fields:

Gleaning the fields for extra food from a Marin Organic producer member farm alongside students of all ages and community members alike was the Dominican students first introduction to the ways Marin Organic is involved with community supported efforts towards a healthy community and improving school lunch.

We meet in the Community:

LoPresto and Van der Ryn then helped organize the class to assist the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program distribute the abundance of gleaned food harvested from National Gleaning Day. The Dominican students were able to connect and support school chefs and other organizers to receive local and organic produce to better serve Marin youth at Terra Linda High School, Canal Alliance Community Center, and The MYC youth center. A job well done!

We meet again:

That was the first time the class worked alongside Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program. The second time around LoPresto, Van der Ryn, and their students have a fundraiser project that involved creating transportation for the Novato Youth Center to visit a Marin Organic producer member farm and volunteer with the Glean Team. Creating access to a farm to glean is to ultimately see the cycle continue with more students working to create a healthier school lunch. The fundraiser: A local and Organic CSA style vegetable box sale on the Dominican University Campus.

We meet on Campus:

The class went above and beyond by creating a Food Justice Day on Oct. 21st near the Dominican University cafeteria. As well as advocating for and educating the masses on food justice issues, the students were selling CSA boxes made up entirely of Marin Organic produce such as beets, carrots, chard, tomatoes, squash, onions, and potatoes. What a deal! The buyers were essentially supporting so much it was overwhelming. Each person who bought a CSA box was supporting a college class project, local organic farmers, a local non-profit organization, a youth center in Novato, as well as personal and community health. Can I say it again, what a deal!

With Community health and Nutrition in the forefront, this class has truly created a beautiful picture of healthy community involvement. Thank you Dominican University Students, I hope we meet again.

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Honoring 10/10/10 Climate Action Day

2010-10-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

In collaboration with MALT (Marin Agricultural Land Trust) and Hearth and Harvest, Marin Organic rallied community members to participate in a world-wide day of Climate Action organized by 350.org. 10/10/10 was a day of communities and townships working together across the globe, taking large and small steps to raise awareness and take action to help reduce our collective carbon footprint.

Co-led by Marin Organic staff member, Kerry McGrath, West Marin residents helped build a new community garden and plant winter garden starts at the Green Barn in Point Reyes Station. To learn about other fun and exciting ways to get involved with Marin Organic events please e-mail her at kerry@marinorganic.org.

Everyday is a good day to take action and help create a healthier ecosystem, whether riding your bike to work, helping establish a community garden or buying (and eating!) locally.

Yours in Action,

Chester Densmore

Today is National Gleaning Day!

2010-09-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Marin Organic Launches the First-Annual National Gleaning Day, September 20^th!

Founded by Marin Organic, National Gleaning Day unites communities, farms and schools across the nation for a day of harvesting healthy food for kids! As part of Project Lunch Week: MARIN, today the Marin Organic Glean Team and our partners across the nation will glean extras from the fields of local farms to take back to schools throughout the county, and country.

The Marin Organic Glean Team regularly harvests extra food from local farms - food that does not meet strict market requirements and would otherwise be left in the field, or plowed under – and donates the harvest to local schools and resource centers. To date, Marin Organic has delivered more than 140,000 pounds of free, certified organic potatoes, squash, kale, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, lemons, apples and lettuces, plus donated meat, eggs, milk and yogurt! With help from our amazing volunteers, school administrators and chefs, as well as our incredible farmers, this wholesome food offsets the cost of purchasing additional local, organic, ingredients for cafeterias by 20-25%. It’s a win-win for our kids and our farms!

Would it be possible to feed every student in the US better by simply gathering this extra food together? We think so!

A Shout Out to the following Friends and Partners joining us on National Gleaning Day:

Valley Stewardship Network gleans organic produce from 1-2 farms each mo. for public school, food pantries and residents of a senior housing facility.

Backyard Bounty, a program of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, has harvested over 330,000 lbs to date of under-utilized produce growing throughout the community for distribution to residents in need.

Faith Feeds in Lexington KY will glean from local farms for donation to Kid's Café for school lunches and after-school programs.

Benzie County Schools in Bensonia MI will glean apples from local ranches for their own school food services.

Society of Saint Andrew, based in VA, and with gleaners across the US, will glean from several farms and markets to then deliver to regional schools and food pantries.

Urban Gleaners in Portland OR glean a few times each week from farmers' markets for delivery to local schools.

Valley Stewardship Network's Kickapoo Harvest in WI will glean extra cherry tomatoes for their local school district lunches.

Marin Organic is rallying student volunteers from 8 schools to visit 4 organic farms in Marin to harvest extras for their own school lunches.

Windfall Farm in Petaluma, CA, will glean apples, tomatoes, lettuces and figs for distribution by Elim Lutheran church in Petaluma.

Thanks gleaners!

Now…. let’s go get our hands dirty!

See you in the field,

Chester Densmore

Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Marin School Lunch in the News

2010-09-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Non-profits, local food service directors, policy-makers, schools, chefs, farmers, green grocers, journalists and community organizers alike… It really is apparent that together we can create a healthy and educational school lunch program in Marin County.

Last week, Allen Ng, the western regional administrator for the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, called the Novato Unified School District one of three California schools that are considered models for how to improve our school lunch program. Novato U.S.D. attributed part of its success to working closely with Marin Organic's Glean Team to supply school cafeterias with local produce. During Ng’s visit to Novato Unified he praised the work of Miguel Villarreal, Director of Food and Nutritional Services. Miguel is a committed Glean Team member and continues to bring staff, parents and students from Novato schools to glean too. Keep up the great work, Miguel!!

Explore these links to read more about the USDA visit AND learn about exciting events happening during Project Lunch Week: MARIN (September 20 – 24), five days of events designed to encourage schools and communities to stand up for healthy food and sustainable lunch programs throughout Marin:

Marin I.J., USDA Administrator visits and honors Novato Unified School District for its efforts.

Sept. 20Th National Gleaning Day

Sept. 20Th to the 24Th Project Lunch Week: MARIN

Also, check out two articles fresh-from-the-press about Project Lunch and National Gleaning Day published by Novato's own Dirt Diva, author and journalist, Annie Spiegelman. Thanks, Annie!

Pacific Sun, Home and Garden: Bringing Up Lunch

The Huffington Post, Glean, Baby, Glean!

Project Lunch Week: MARIN is such an exciting effort to create access to healthy school lunch in all Marin county schools. We hope you will join us at the kick-off this Sunday hosted by Savory Thymes. Bring your family and friends to share a delicious local, organic dinner, wine and music in a majestic setting in the hills of Mill Valley. Hope to see you there!

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Its That Time Of Year Again!

2010-08-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome back students, teachers, staff and administrators, school chefs and food directors. The 2010-2011 School year is under way and the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program is excited to continue working with school cafeterias to feed students nutritious, local, organic food while advocating for a healthy, sustainable, and organic county.

Marin County organic farmers, producers, and artisans have been working through-out the summer in fields, kitchens, and markets to supply our communities with the best possible food choices. Whether you're shopping from your local grocer, farm stand, or farmers market or enjoying a meal from home or at a restaurant using local organic products, you can be sure that the food was grown with respect for the soil, the environment, and the local community.

The Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program is helping to transform the school lunch choices for our kids. Five years ago, Marin Organic saw the potential in creatively connecting local farms to local schools to help our communities thrive. Now this extraordinary program each week enables 10,000 students from more than half of Marin’s schools to eat organic foods grown in Marin, while cultivating a strong connection to place through innovative education for these school children. Please join us in our work.

We are kicking off the school year with some exciting new developments to provide a healthy, empowering, and educational school lunch program. Here's whats to come:

National Gleaning Day, September 20th. You're Invited!

Project Lunch Week: Marin

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

What a Gleaning Success!

2010-07-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Marin Organic is now underway with the second complete season of the Glean Team. From youth groups to elder groups, families and individuals, volunteers are meeting every Monday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m. to help harvest extra food from the fields of Marin Organic farms. This nutritious organic food is allowing many schools and organizations in Marin greater access to local, healthy food through the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program.

In the month of July alone, the Marin Organic Glean Team supplied over 2,000 lbs of local organic food to participating schools and organizations. This includes a variety of produce and products such as lettuces, spinach, chard, kale, cabbage, broccoli, squash and yogurt.

The Gleaning Program is working to increase access to healthy food for Marin County schools, day cares, youth groups, summer camps, educations centers and so on, as well as community centers, senior services, and other local organizations feeding people in need. These schools and organizations are then able to feed people wholesome meals as well as reallocate funds towards the purchase of more healthy and nutrient-rich ingredients.

Let’s work together on creating healthy solutions and a happy community! We welcome all of you to join the Marin Organic Glean Team to help harvest, meet other community members and learn where your food comes from.

For more information on the Glean Team go to: www.marinorganic.org

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Glean Team, 2010!

2010-06-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a success the Whole Foods 5% community giving day was for our organization. Thank you Whole Foods staff, Marin Organic volunteers, and all our supporters for your contribution.

The sun is out and its time to glean.
Gleaned food is produce which would otherwise be left in the fields because it doesn't meet the strict aesthetic requirements of restaurants and retail markets. This can account for up to 20% of what is grown, and throughout the year may include potatoes, squashes, spinach, leeks, beets, carrots, arugula, lettuces, meats, eggs, yogurt, ice cream and more!

So far over 130,000 pounds of local certified organic products have been gleaned and delivered to participating schools, camps, and underserved communities throughout Marin, offsetting their costs and therefore allowing them to serve local and organic options while staying within their limited budgets. Each week the program enables 10,000 children to eat organic foods grown from Marin soils.

Join our Glean Team today! There’s plenty of food to glean and so many people to feed. Many hands make light work. Come out and enjoy the afternoon on the farm, meet new people, and give back to your community.

Please contact Program Manager Scott Davidson at (415) 663.9667 or scott@marinorganic.org.

Please visit our Farm Tours webpage and Volunteers webpage for more exciting opportunities.

Links to MO Glean Team in the News:
Marin Independent Journal

CBS Bay Area

Please bring your friends and family. We hope to see you out on a marin organic farm.

Chester Densmore

Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Whole Foods Market Community Giving Day Supports Healthier Food in Schools!

2010-06-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

Save the Date!!!
Wednesday, June 9

Shop at a participating Northern California Whole Foods Market on Community Giving Day next Wednesday, June 9, and 5% of net sales benefit Marin Organic and the Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program!

The Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program serves as a replicable model for other counties and school districts throughout the United States. This award-winning initiative donates "gleaned" foods - surplus produce that would otherwise be left in the field - from its producer members to schools and community centers, enabling 10,000 children and underserved residents to choose organic local food options, every week. To date, more than 140,000 pounds of free certified organic produce, meat, eggs and yogurt have been distributed through this innovative program.

"Whole Foods Market enthusiastically supports the important work that Marin Organic is doing to promote eco-literacy in the Bay Area and across the country," says Danny Olivas, Executive Marketing Coordinator of Whole Foods Market, Northern California Region. "We know this donation will support this fearless organization's programs and allow them to continue their incredible work with farmers and communities locally and worldwide. We invite our communities to come shop on June 9th, knowing their purchases will make a difference."

Marin Organic is an association of farmers, ranchers and food artisans dedicated to creating a regional food system that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially just.

A leading organization in the sustainable food movement, Marin Organic has established unprecedented collaborations with a wide range of stakeholders including government agencies, educational and environmental organizations, local schools and businesses, helping make Marin County, as described by the New York Times, "the national epicenter of the organic food movement."

As a special "Thank You," Marin Organic will gift a one-year Friend membership to all shoppers who spend $100 or more at a Northern California Whole Foods Market on June 9th!*

*Please mail your receipt of $100 or more to:

Marin Organic - PO Box 962 - Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

Northern California Whole Foods Markets not participating in the June 9th Community Giving Day include: Sebastopol, San Mateo and Los Gatos.

For more information about the Friends program and benefits click here.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Strawberrys and Eggs

2010-05-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

The month of May has indicated that the warm season is upon us. True growth in production on Marin's Organic farms has come after many long month of rain replenishing the soil. This year's heavy rains has giving the regions crop production a delay but with the emergence of food such as Strawberries, Green Garlic, many new lettuces such as Romaine Hearts and Curly Frisee, and much more to come, a plentiful and abundant season is to follow.

A few of the recent School Lunch Program favorites include Strawberries from County Line Harvest, and newly certified Organic Free-Range Chicken Eggs from Redhill Farm. (Photos above by Sarah Arndt)

Support healthy school lunch and Marin Organic by becoming a friend in our work. Enjoy the spring and summer crops as they slowly emerge into the markets and out of their dormant state like hibernating animals.

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Come One, Come All!! New Friends Program

2010-05-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Marin Organic Friends Program

Our mission at Marin Organic is focused around the economic viability of Marin county organic farmers, producers, and artisans. Being a young person in Marin, and having been raised here, I truly feel blessed to be involved with such a profound local food movement.

Everyone of us is making a difference.

The simple daily food choices you make as an individual has such possibility to enrich, inspire, create, and empower a healthy local community. Whether you chose local to eat healthy organic foods, support the local economy, create healthy change in school lunches, support food security and food justice, advocate for a clean environment, feed your family well etc, etc, etc, or because it simply taste great, then thank you. It is the every day consumers in Marin who are leading the way. We support you and we value your support too. Become a friend of Marin Organic and join us in our work.

Marin Organic Friends Program

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Farm Days with San Domenico 7th Graders

2010-04-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the 7th Grade class at San Domenico School, of Sleepy Hollow, for participating in one of many educational farm days this spring with Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program. Also, thanks to Farmer Warren Weber and farm manager Doug Gallagher for allowing Star Route Farm, of Bolinas, to become an outdoor, working classroom. Its always fun to spend a day using nature as the active teaching tool.

After learning, sharing, playing, and questioning the arts and sciences of a small scale organic farm, all 48 students demonstrated their farming potential and helped to glean the last of the winter chard crop, tucked away near the back of the farm, otherwise left to be turned back into the lineage of fertile soil.

What was truly fun for me is sharing this gleaned chard with other school chefs around the county. The first four chefs I offered it to said 'yes please' and were quick to share with their kitchen staff that 'it was harvest by San Domenico students'. What I wish to express is the all encompassing tasks of educating, working with food, sharing and generating community support and cooperation is really what motivates our work for this program.

Support Marin Organic: http://marinorganic.org/organic_school_lunch.php

More on School Lunch: http://marinorganic.org/become_partner.php

Chester Densmore

Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Gleaned Chard for Everyone

2010-03-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Every week I find myself witnessing and participating in amazing acts of generosity, caring and well being for the land and people of Marin County. This week, thanks to Green Gulch Farm in Muir Beach, the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program received more than 20 boxes of fresh beautiful, delicious and nutritious Rainbow Chard. After Green Gulch sold and distributed what they could of the high quality chard, the rest became gleaned food for our program. With nearly 30 years of Buddhist teachings and ecological gardening practices at Green Gulch, this chard was as good as it gets, destined to bring good health to anyone who enjoys it.

After loading the bountiful harvest on the Marin Organic truck, I delivered four boxes to three grateful and excited school chefs. As it was Thursday afternoon, the school chefs couldn’t take all 20 boxes so I distributed the remaining chard to two active local resource centers in Marin that serve food to low-income communities.

St. Vincent de Paul in central San Rafael took ten boxes (nearly 250 pounds!) of chard to incorporate into their menu. The St. Vincent de Paul Free Dining Room relies on a completely volunteer-driven program where neighbors provide neighbors with hot food, a place for respite and a listening heart. They serve all who enter the doors, 365 days of the year. http://www.vinnies.org

Meals of Marin happily welcomed the remainder of the gleaned goods. From their small kitchen in San Rafael, the Meals of Marin crew works to prepare and deliver appetizing, healthy, home-cooked meals to people with life threatening illnesses living in Marin County. In January 2009, they passed the 900,000-meal mark. Due to funding challenges, Meals of Marin is no longer open five days a week, but down to three. One hundred pounds of locally produced organic chard was a welcome addition to their menu this week and a wholesome option for the people they serve, whose health benefits greatly from eating such nutritious food. http://www.mealsofmarin.net

What a blessed land we have here in Marin. The daily efforts of our local farmers and their dedication to grow high quality food, when partnered with Marin Organic’s role in making it accessible to as many people as possible, is truly an amazing act of life and well being.

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program

Student Artists after visiting a Marin Organic Farm

2010-03-11T14:18:00.000-08:00

Growing Community and Growing Food

2010-03-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

I see the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program as a source of building community. Every week I drive the Marin Organic truck through the county, across highways, neighborhoods and school parking lots, with the refrigerator unit filled with organically produced foods from a variety of Marin farms. I imagine the community’s thoughts when they see the truck on the road: Chefs thinking to themselves, “Hey, I cook with those foods;” students and teachers saying to each other, “Our school lunch is made from some of that food;” or parents proudly knowing that a delivery may have just been made to their child's school. I envision restaurant goers and farmers market customers smiling because they have recently eaten something connected to Marin Organic; local business owners, volunteers and Marin Organic supporters nodding in satisfaction because they’ve supported our efforts; and, of course, I think about the farmers, the soil architect geniuses, who might say aloud, “I grew that food.”

It’s thanks to all of us that this is possible.

There are many community projects oriented around food, like community gardens and school garden projects. I recently saw a forum about the Novato Community Garden Project. It is amazing how many organizations, teachers, parents and city councilors are involved in making this happen. Contact the Novato Live Well Network for more information about that project: http://www.novatolivewell.org/

I'm also actively involved with making friends at the College of Marin Indian Valley Campus Farm and Garden Class. Thanks to community organizing by the Conservation Corps North Bay, the University of California Cooperative Extension, College of Marin, the instructor and participating students, this project is a thriving success.

Growing food is a fabulous tradition for growing community. Knowing where our food comes from and who grew it, and eating healthy foods with our friends and family, sows seeds and plants roots that flower for generations. Spring is here, and it’s so inspiring.

By Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

The Seasonality Of It All

2010-02-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday I spent the entire day driving in the rain, picking up and delivering food to schools. The county is beautiful, filled with vibrant green rolling hills, dramatic cloud formations, and occasional sun rays breaking through. I have spent several days making deliveries to schools in the rain this winter, and want to thank all the schools who continuously participate regardless of the season, using what's available and abundant in the winter on our local family farms to embellish the cafeteria menus.

The modern state of our globalized consumer society has created a sense of continuous availability of foods from around the world. This sense can cause a disconnect to seasonality as well as a disconnect to the natural ecology of our local region. Luckily, Marin's Mediterranean climate creates a moderate winter. The winter season here has an obvious lull, but none the less a continuous year round growing season. Right now the winter crops are abundant; Chicories, braising greens like Kale, Chard, and Collard Greens, and root crops such as leeks, turnips, and radishes, are all now available.

During the rainy month of February the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program has served 28 Marin County schools and community centers by delivering over 40 different products from 11 Marin Organic Farmers, Producers and Artisans.

Stay tuned and join the Marin Organic Glean Team on Monday afternoons in harvesting extra crops from a Marin County farm as soon as the rainy season clears. For more info:
http://www.marinorganic.org/organic_school_lunch.php#glean

Chester Densmore
Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program Associate

Welcome!!

2010-02-16T15:55:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the Marin Organic blog! Once a week we will be sharing stories, highlights, updates, and much more, about our work and our wonderful programs, such as the Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program!

Learn how Marin Organic is making connections with the communities of Marin through the distribution of healthy, local, high quality organic food to schools, community centers, food pantries and other community organizations. See how Marin farmers are taking the extra step in becoming leaders for a healthy and strong county while bettering the environment. Learn, share and join the fun by contributing what you believe in, starting with supporting access to Marin Organic food in Marin County schools!

You are part of the solution – thank you!

And please spread the word!!