4760 North High Street  •  Columbus, Ohio 43214  •  614-946-5553

Join Dan Milo and staff from Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Office of Food Safety to discuss farmers’ markets and the food safety laws that apply. Sessions are free.

Columbus Area: March 21, 2012, 9 am -12 noon
The Ohio Department of Agriculture
8995 E. Main Street Reynoldsburg, OH

Reserve your seat today! See all dates and locations.

Re-posted from:

Farmers’ Markets, Cottage Food & Food Processing Establishments « Farmers’ Market Management Network.

If you love the hot stuff next weekend you’ll have to go to North Market Fiery Foods Weekend on February 18th and 19th. From special vendors to fiery foods cooking and eating contests plus kids activities and live music.

Special fiery foods vendors for the weekend include: A Bit of A Bite Salsa, Aimee’s Blue Ribbon Spices, Bigfat’s Hot Sauce, Black Swamp Gourmet, Blaze Gourmet, CaJohns Flavor & Fire, Chuck Evans’ Montezuma Brand, Dragonfire Foods, El Gringo Loco, Heartbreaking Dawns, Mild to Wild Herb and Pepper Co., Mudflats Chef Inspired Sauces, Patter Fam Sauces, Race City Sauce Works, Red Lion Spicy Foods Company,  Surface of the Sun, Sweet Thing Gourmet, Uncle Jester’s Fine Foods, Urban Chefs and Volcanic Peppers.

More info at the Fiery Foods Weekend website.

Want to eat healthier, support the local economy, meet some new friends?  Check out the festivities for Local Foods Week.

Ist Annual Greater Columbus Growing Coalition Garden Tour & Potluck with Bicycle Tour Option!

“Four Great Gardens, One Great Meal!”

Read more about the GCGC Garden Tour and Potluck at Local Matters.

Meet Will Allen, founder of Growing Power, a national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities.

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet and learn from Will Allen, named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a MacArthur “Genius Grant” award winner, and adviser to Michelle Obama.

Reception at 5 p.m., limited to 50 people, costs $50, and includes admission to the keynote. The keynote starts at 6 p.m. and costs $35. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/174498.

Hands-On Two Day Workshop: Will Allen
Saturday, July 16-Sunday, July 17–8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
6147 Olde Orchard Dr.
Columbus, OH

Will Allen and staff from Growing Power will lead hands-on workshops on hoop house building, composting, aquaponics, vermiculture, and year round food production. The cost for the two day workshop is $170 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, and free admission to the Friday keynote. Limited to 60 people. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/174498.

For more information, see attached or contact Ameena Salahuddin at (614) 859- 4105 or info@stilettogardener.com.

Co-sponsors: OEFFA, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, Local Matters, Edible Columbus, Hounds in the Kitchen, and Slow Food Columbus.

Jaime  Moore of Wayward Seed Farm will be on hand before tonight’s Field &  Screen film to chat with guests about CSAs (Community Supported  Agriculture) and plans for the 2011 season at the Market at 15th &  High on the Wexner Center Plaza.

If you are farmer offering a CSA, a vendor at a Columbus area farmers’ market or a market representative come out to this event for some quality networking with other supporters of local food.

More Information

Thursday, January 13:
Ohio Neighborhood Harvest:  Demonstration of, and Best Practices for Creating Fruit and Vegetable Oases in Food Deserts
Public meeting with Kara Martin, Expert for National Healthy Corner Stores and hosted by the Center for Farmland Policy Innovation at The Ohio State University and made possible by a 2010 Ohio Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant and is part of the Ohio Food Policy Council’s Ohio Neighborhood Harvest.  Ms. Martin will discuss healthy food retailing as an economic development tool to increase community access to healthy foods.  She will discuss the challenges of healthy food retailing, share exemplary projects from across the country, and address opportunities for policy and system changes.  The purpose of this event is to give local organizations and individuals interested in healthy food access and opportunity to learn from a topical expert who has worked in corner stores across Seattle.  The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will be held in room 105, Agricultural Administration Building, 2120 Fyffe Road on the OSU Campus.  A reception will follow the event. The event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required by January 6, 2011.  To register send an e-mail to Jess Gambacurta (gambacurta.1@osu.edu).  To learn more, visit CFFPI’s project page – http://cffpi.osu.edu/oases.htm

Tuesday & Wednesday, January 25 & 26:
2011 Ohio Farm Management Conference sponsored by Ohio State University Extension and OSU’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at the University Plaza Hotel, Columbus, OH.  Six general sesssions are offered covering topics such as employee management, farm transition planning, the perception of agriculture, and agricultural and environmental policy.  Registration is $75 per person and $60 per additional employee or family member paid before January 7 (after Jan. 7 the fee is $125/person and $100 per additional employee or family member.  Registration includes meals, conference proceedings, and conference parking.  For additional information and to register, visit:  http://ohioagmanager.osu.edu/2011-ohio-farm-management-conference/ or contact John Yost at 740-335-1150 or via e-mail:  yost.77@osu.edu

Saturday & Sunday, February 19 & 20:
The 32nd Annual Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA) Conference – Inspiring Farms, Sustaining Communities featuring keynote speakers, Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens, organic farmers since 1993 and owners  and operator’s of New York’s only dedicated organic feed mill and organic seed operation and Joan Dye Gussow author of several books, including This Organic Life and most recently, Growing Older.  For more information, including the schedule and a listing of workshops and to register, visit:  http://www.oeffa.org/conference2011.php

On-Going 8 Week Program in Several Locations Starting in January 2011
The Southern Ohio New and Small Farm College is an 8-week program that introduces new and seasoned farmers to a wide variety of agricultural production topics to help them diversify and explore new enterprises and new markets.  The program teaches participants how to set goals, plan, budget, and where to find resources available to help start a small farm operation.  The course will layout how to manage financial and farm records.  Extension educators will illustrate many different enterprises that can be profitable on land as small as one acre.  A bus tour is included to visit are farms and to see first hand how small farm life works and to assist in making contacts with practicing farmers in the area.  Previous Southern Ohio New and Small Farm Colleges have helped 420 individuals representing 338 farms from 43 Ohio counties improve economic development of their small family owned farms.
Registration is $150 per person and $50 for each additional family member.  Registration is limited to the first 50 participants per location.  Registration fee includes resource materials, a soil test, refreshments and a bus tour.  For more information, contact Tony Nye at 937-382-0901 or e-mai:  nye.1@osu.edu or visit:  http://clinton.osu.edu/events/2011-small-farm or http://clinton.osu.edu/events/2011-new-and-small-farm-college-classes

Announcements

Job Opportunity – Center for Closing the Health Gap
The Center for Closing the Health Gap in Greater Cincinnati is seeking a Community Health Program Coordinator.  The Center is a nonprofit organization leading the effort to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in Greater Cincinnati through advocacy, education and community outreach.  For more information, visit:  http://www.closingthehealthgap.org or e-mail:  ClosingTheGap@uchealth.com

Job Opportunity – OEFFA is currently accepting applications for two positions:
Organic Educator. http://www.oeffa.org/documents/OrganicEducatorFeb.2011FINAL.pdf

Bookkeeper/Office Manager.  http://www.oeffa.org/documents/Bookkeeper-OfficeManagerDec2010.pdf

Fellowship Opportunity – Master’s or Ph.D. Level Studies in Rural Sociology and associated fields of sociological inquiry, including Environmental/Natural Resource Sociology, Sociology of Agricutlure and Food Systems or Development Sociology at The Ohio State University

Please consider or forward this announcement to prospective graduate students as appropriate regarding an opportunity for Master’s or Ph.D. level studies in Rural Sociology and associated fields of sociological inquiry, including Environmental/Natural Resource Sociology, Sociology of Agriculture and Food Systems or Development Sociology.  The Rural Sociology specialization in the School of Environment and Natural Resources is seeking high quality applicants for at least three fellowship worthy candidates.  Qualified students may also be considered for teaching and research associateships depending on school and faculty needs.

Fellowship awards are for one and possibly multiple years and include stipend, tuition and fees, with additional years of support possible via teaching or research associateships.  Fellowship awards are available beginning in Fall, 2011.  To be considered for a fellowship, applications for graduate study are due by January 15, 2011. Contact Amy Schmidt (Schmidt.442@osu.edu or 614-292-9883) for guidance regarding submission of an application and contact Jeff Sharp (sharp.123@osu.edu or 614-292-9410) for further detail about graduate studies in Rural Sociology.  See http://senr.osu.edu/ for more information about the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State and http://senr.osu.edu/Future_Graduate_Students/Rural_Sociology.htm for information specific to the rural sociology specialization.

Graduate studies in Rural Sociology offers in depth training in the core fields of rural sociology, including the Sociology of Agriculture and Food Systems, Environmental and Natural Resource Sociology, and Development Sociology.  Additional faculty strengths exist in topical areas such as rural crime and community sociology.  Studies also include training in sociological theory, research methods and statistics.  An additional strength of this program is its close association with other social scientists in the School of Environment and Natural Resources (including faculty trained in decision-science, public policy, and law) as well as natural scientists with expertise in the environmental sciences, soils, wildlife, water quality, etc.   Recent students in Rural Sociology have explored topics related to local food systems, water resource management, animal welfare, sustainable agriculture, rural poverty, gender and development, and immigration.  Students and faculty engage in research both within the U.S. and in different global settings with research emphasis spanning theory, applied work, public-sociology, and policy.  Recent graduates have taken positions in both academic and applied settings (such as government agencies and nongovernmental organizations).