Next Winter Farmer's Market This Saturday at Town Hall in Stratham

Eat local year round! Seacoast area farmers continue to provide local food despite cold temperatures and snow on the ground. Seacoast Eat Local's winter farmers' market is an opportunity to re-stock the pantry with delicious and sustainable locally grown greens, winter squash, eggs, meats and poultry, dairy products, potatoes, and carrots, alongside locally produced foods including baked goods and organic tea. Shoppers will be able to purchase locally grown, organic blueberries that were frozen at the peak of freshness this past July from Berry Hill Farm of Stratham. Visit www.seacoasteatlocal.org for a full list of participating farmers and the foods they will have for sale.
January 10, 10am-2pm at the Stratham Town Hall at 10 Bunker Hill Avenue, Stratham, NH.

Rye Food Film Series Continues with King Corn Jan. 8

The Thursday Night Food Film Series at the Rye Public Library continues this coming Thursday evening, January 8th. The acclaimed film "King Corn" will show from 6:30 - 8:30, with discussion after the movie. Please come and bring friends - and potluck refreshments!

In "King Corn," two recent college graduates from the East Coast plant a single acre of corn and set out to follow it from field to dinner plate. Along the way, they make some unsettling discoveries about America's food system and the role of corn, our most-subsidized crop. And save the date for the next film, Eat at Bill's, on February 26th. Films sponsored by Rye Turning Green - the Rye Energy Committee, and Slow Food Seacoast.

Holiday Farmers' Market Saturday

Holiday Farmers' Market this Saturday, December 20th, 9am-2pm, McIntosh Atlantic Culinary School, 181 Silver St. in Dover, NH. The market goes on...snow or shine!

Forty farmers and food producers will be selling their own locally grown and locally made foods this Saturday in Dover. Everything from vegetables, cheeses, and maple syrup and honey to sustainably raised meats will be for sale.

In addition to an astounding variety of local food (including fresh salad greens! carrots! potatoes!) there will be a great number of gift foods and other stocking stuffers - goat milk soap, honey, maple syrup, jams, chutneys and salsas and more will all be on sale. And of course, 2009 Seacoast Eat Local Calendars featuring beautiful photos of local farms. Sales of the calendars support the work of Seacoast Eat Local, including the winter farmers' market series. Pre-order your calendar online if you wish to use a credit card; cash and checks accepted at the farmers' market on Saturday.

Lots to see and do!

Slow Food Seacoast is returning to the market with their successful Veggie Valet service. This is a free service that lets you drop off your bags of goods while you continue to shop, then pull your car around to pick your purchases up on your way home. Thank you Slow Food Seacoast for this service! Would you like to help the Veggie Valet program in a one- or two-hour shift? Contact slowfoodseacoast@gmail.com to volunteer!

Participating nonprofits will once again be accepting donations of food or financial contributions for local food pantries. Our collective efforts at the Thanksgiving Farmers' Market gathered over 400 pounds of potatoes, squash, onions, garlic, fresh bread, apples, maple syrup, and other local foods.

Musicians and chefs providing cooking demonstrations will once again be on hand. Plan to shop and enjoy all that the market has to offer!

The Transformation

Deb K sent this very interesting slide show/essay by Lisa Hamilton about a Slow Food/4H turkey growing and processing project in Sonoma County. The photos are outstanding.

Photo by Lisa Hamilton.

More Ways to Get Local Food in Winter

LocalMotive is a venture of the farmers at Nelson Farms, familiar from local SGA markets. They're offering a wonderfully flexible winter CSA called LocalMotive. They say "LocalMotive is our ‘fall in love with local food’ initiative. We have both a Summer and Winter CSA which runs biweekly until mid April. They are offering three size shares, single ($15.00), family ($25.00) and homesteader ($40.00) with biweekly deliveries. There will be drop locations on Dover, Durham, Portsmouth, Rye and Exeter. Each share has a base of eggs and greens. The single receives 1/2dz eggs and 1/4lb greens, the family will receive 1 dz eggs and 1/2 lb greens and the homesteader will receive 1 dz eggs and 3/4 lb greens. The rest of the share will be divided amongst our fresh produce, storage veggies, roots and fall fruits. Through our website there will be a weekly list of 'Add-ons'. Add-ons consist of the aforementioned products, dry goods, perishables and other speical order items to help customize your share. Feel free to contact us though email www.sustainablefarmproducts@hotmail.com and visit their website for more information.

Fresh Local Bayside Opening this Weekend

Do you miss the Fresh Local truck - the bright orange truck selling food made with local ingredients across the seacoast at summer events? Us, too - but you don't have to go without their food, thanks to their new project, Fresh Local Bayside. Michelle & Josh are opening a restauarant with walls around it at Great Bay Marine in Newington next weekend, December 21 & 22. They'll be open Saturday and Sunday 8am -3pm throughout the winter. Weather closings will be posted on their website.

They are planning have the best eggs benedicts, pancakes, all the normal breakfast fare in addition to some lunch favorites like pork sandwiches, soups and burgers. It's a great little space overlooking the bay (you may have been there when it was Currents a few years back).

Directions: Take Exit 4 off the Spaulding, turn left around backside of Rockingham Electric, right onto Nimble Hill Rd, right on Fox Point Rd, right on Beane Lane to the end. Just follow the signs to Great Bay Marine and you'll find them at the far end of the building facing the water. FRESH LOCAL BAYSIDE signage is in the works so don't look for any just yet.

Eat the View, On Day One!

Portland Slow Food member Roger Doiron has been very active in promoting Eat the View! a campaign encouraging President-Elect Barack Obama to plant a 21st-century Victory Garden on the White House lawn. Now, the project is a finalist for an award from On Day One, an organization that asked for innovative project ideas in 9 important areas such as poverty, peace, women's issues, and democracy.

To vote for Roger's project, please visit the On Day One website and select the "climate" option. You'll see the Eat the View icon and can watch a short video about the program idea - then vote in support of it, and the many other great ideas on the site!