April 18, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

Part of the Portsmouth Sustainability Fair Speaker Series:

Monday, April 20th 6pm - 8pm at Portsmouth Public Library

“The forum will address the critical interdependence of human health and the health of our environment. Both the impact that our health and well-being choices have on our environment, and how sustainable lifestyle practices have an impact on personal and community health and well-being will be discussed. A panel discussion will follow with audience questions and input welcomed.”

Wellness Coach and Nutritionist Tracey Miller, one of the panelists, will talk about the benefits of eating local and provide resources.

On May 4, the Speaker Series continues with a talk about local agriculture. More information on the Portsmouth Sustainability Fair website >

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April 17, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

In this week’s Wire:

Dover holds Local Gardening and Energy Fair
The average meal travels about 1,500 miles before it lands on a Seacoast resident’s plate. All that transportation equates to loads of fuel, packaging and carbon emissions, leaving a nasty footprint on the environment.
But that kind of waste is largely unnecessary. Area residents can grow much of their own food in backyard gardens or buy it from local farms. The first ever Local Gardening and Energy Fair in Dover will teach guests how to grow healthy foods and reduce energy consumption. The fair takes place on Saturday, April 18, at the McConnell Center at 61 Locust St.

Sponsored by Dover’s Cassily Community Garden and the Dover Energy Advisory Committee, along with Seacoast Eat Local, the fair will feature a number of workshops on gardening and energy efficiency from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. University of New Hampshire professor of natural resources John Carroll will deliver a keynote talk on the connection between energy and agriculture at noon.
Eric Stelzer, chair of the Dover Energy Advisory Committee, said the idea for the fair emerged after discussions with former committee member Eric Kelsey, chair of Cassily Community Garden.
“With the success that they’ve had with their own group as well as ours, we were just chitchatting a little bit about how both of them are very complementary to each other,” Steltzer said. The two began discussing ways to collaborate and decided to host a day-long event that would address both agricultural issues and energy efficiency in homes and businesses.
Local experts will lead workshops on a total of nine different topics, including healthy soils, pests and diseases, biofuels, beekeeping, renewable energy sources, EnergyStar appliances, energy tax credits and rebates, and residential energy audits. Between 10 and 15 energy-related vendors and organizations will offer displays and answer questions at the fair. Organic food will be available throughout the day at Green Bean restaurant in the McConnell Center.
“The highlight of all of this is going to be a presentation by Dr. John Carroll of the University of New Hampshire, who’s done years of work on the connection between energy and agriculture,” Steltzer said. A question and answer session will follow Carroll’s speech at 12:30 p.m.
The Dover City Council created the Energy Advisory Committee three years ago and voted to make it a permanent committee last summer. “We were initially formed by the City Council to come up with an energy action plan for the city, which we did,” Steltzer said. Since then, the committee has been coming up with ways to improve energy efficiency within the city.
The City Council will soon vote on whether to hire an energy service company called Johnson Controls to conduct a number of energy improvements to the city’s buildings and infrastructure. The improvements would total around $2.5 million. Steltzer supports the resolution.
“In my opinion, it’s the biggest vote of the year for the term of the City Council,” he said, noting that the improvements would provide $260,000 in savings for taxpayers in the first year alone. Long-term savings would eventually pay off the initial bond, he said, while the improvements would also keep tons of carbon dioxide out of the environment. He added that the agreement would stipulate that if Johnson Controls does not meet certain levels of energy efficiency, the company must pay the difference.
Steltzer said more and more New Hampshire communities are prioritizing energy efficiency. There are now more than 90 energy committees across the state. Portsmouth is preparing to hold its second annual Sustainability Fair in May, and many other communities hold similar events.
“This issue, as far as energy and community grassroots investment, is spreading rapidly throughout the state,” Steltzer said. “We just want to expand on that and have a little bit more informative workshops on specific topics.”

Read the full article >

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April 11, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

Dover Cassily Community Garden and the Dover Energy Commission have teamed up to bring an astonishing array of speakers and presenters together for a day of free workshops, information sharing, and fun! more information >

You can help spread the word by downloading, printing, and hanging a poster at your workplace, coffee shop, church, neighborhood store, library or any other place that happens to have a community bulletin board!

Download a poster (.pdf)

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April 11, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

Next up in UNH’s Sustainable Agriculture Seminar Series is Dr. Fred Kirschenmann.

Dr. Kirschenmann, a longtime leader in national and international sustainable agriculture, shares an appointment as Distinguished Fellow for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and as President of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills NY. He also oversees management of his family’s 3500-acre certified organic farm in North Dakota and is a professor in the ISU Department of Religion and Philosophy.

At 4:00pm, Dr. Kirschenmann will present his seminar entitled “Sustainable Agriculture in a Post-industrial World.”  Cole Hall 219. Refreshments at 3:30pm.

Free and open to the public

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April 10, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

“Community Supported Agriculture” April 22 at 7 p.m.Join Anne
Dickerson and Charlie Reid, from Madbury’s Osprey Cove Organic
Farm as they discuss organic farming, how to be part of a CSA and
answer your gardening questions.

“Bees: Getting started in backyard honeybee-keeping” April 29 at 7
p.m. Amy Antonucci has kept bees for five years and is the
vice-president of the Seacoast Beekeepers Association.  She will
tells all about honeybees, how to get and keep them, and she will
discuss products and services of hives.  The cost of raising bees,
in terms of time and money, will be part of the evening
discussion.

“From Seed to Farm stand” May 6 at 7 p.m. Jill Leavenworth has had
experience in creating a neighborhood community garden and will
share her results with you.  Her presentation will touch upon
canning, jelly making and salsa tips.  She will also share her
knowledge of edible flowers.

“Chickens in your backyard, eggs in the basket!” May 20 at 7 p.m.
Join Peter Leavenworth as he tells about chickens, pens, pests,
coops and costs.  His talk will be geared for startup operations.
Details and plans for several types of habitats will be available.

“Build a root cellar in your own basement”  May 27 at 7 p.m. Now
that you have all that produce where do you put it?  Craig Stephan
has created a root cellar in his home and will share with you all
the details you have to know in order to complete this project.

All are free and open to the public.  For more info contact the
Madbury Public Library, 9 Town Hall Road, Madbury, NH 03823,
603-743-1400, www.Madburylibrary.org

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April 9, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

from the Portsmouth Herald:

Meeting focuses on connecting farmers with school lunchrooms

By Susan Morse

 

YORK — Four local farmers attended a meeting Monday to find out how to get their produce into York and Kittery schools.

Doris Demers, the nutrition director for the schools, held the meeting before an estimated half dozen people in the York Middle School cafeteria.

Demers wants to get more fresh local vegetables into school lunches. Local farmers want to sell more produce.

Sunny Acres Farm owners Joe and Gail Colarossi grow potatoes, tomatoes, other vegetables and some beef on their Wells farm. Joe Colarossi wanted to know if there would be a market for his extra produce if he bought additional seed this year.

Demers said farmers need to contact her about what and how much produce they have.

She serves 1,700 students daily at seven schools in York and Kittery.

For the past two years, she has been getting potatoes from local farmer and York Police Sgt. Brian Curtain, and baking them to serve at lunch.

She’s found students love fresh corn on the cob and acorn squashed, baked and sliced. They often run out of the vegetable, there’s such a demand, she said.

Buying local cuts out the cost of the middle man. Selling more food would help keep costs down. Telling parents there’s a healthy alternative to a bagged lunch, she said, can go a long way to promoting the school cafeteria.

To reach Demers, call 439-4846 or 363-5554.

read the full article >

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April 9, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

A one-day farmers’ market will be held in tandem with the 2nd annual arts festival. 6 vendors have already signed up and there is room for 8 more. Contact Brint Stone at bshone@greatmillsmanagement.com or 603-944-2580 to sign up. 

The 2^nd Annual Arts Festival at One Washington Center in Dover has been set for Saturday, May 9, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.  The Festival celebrates the vibrant Dover arts community featuring visual arts, dance perfomances, live music, theater and much more. Professional artists and craftspeople will be selling unique New Hampshire made items; just in time for Mother’s Day.  The Dover mounted police will give a demonstration of their equestrian skills, and our younger visitors are sure to also enjoy the face painting and balloon sculptures.  Local children’s artwork will be displayed, gallery-style, throughout the mill. Last year’s Festival attracted over 1,000 visitors.  The event is free and open to the public. 

Event partners include the Children’s Museum and the Dover Main Street program.  The Children’s Museum will have a special visiting guest on the same day, Dr. Seuss’s “Cat in the Hat”. The Children’s Museum is just a short walk across the bridge from the mill property. 

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April 8, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

April 18th, 11am

Join owner Frank Reinhold at at Flag Hill to learn about pruning your already growing grapevines or about starting grapevines from clippings.  Multiple varieties of clippings available for you to pick up from the vineyard.  No reservations necessary.  Bring a pair of hand held pruners and gloves if you have them.

Directions >

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April 6, 2009 by Amy.

So many questions were posed at the latest meeting. How best to calculate nutritional information for diabetic students? Does it make sense to raise the cost of school lunch to provide healthy, sustainable options? Where are the parents?This write-up is by Ashley Blake, UNH Nutritional Science graduate and volunteer.

The morning welcomed an eager and enthusiastic group in Dover for the bi-monthly Dover School District Dining Facilities Council meeting. The group met at 9:00 am on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at Horne Street Elementary School. 

Old matters were first on the agenda, starting with discussion around the Guiding Stars program. Concerns were expressed about cost of the program. The annual licensing fee is at about $1,000 per year per school. Mark Covell, School Lunch Program Director, pointed out that the cost of the program would be approximately a nickel increase per hot lunch in order to cover $1,000 per school. Mark would like to raise the cost of hot lunch by $.15 to cover improvements to the current system. When speaking in terms of cost efficiency, this program is well worth the money.  Efforts to apply for grants is still encouraged and appreciated. The ability to receive funds necessary is feasible. 

Questions were also raised about the desire for this program if Dover was already in accordance with national dietary guidelines. However, Dover has just begun the long process of reviewing food labels and progressing towards all that the program has to offer. In regards to how the star labels would be presented to the kids, determination of this has not yet been established. Though, the star labels may be displayed on the serving line.

Will there be a gap in education with the star ratings? This was a valid question brought to the group’s attention. Do the kids really know why they would be choosing a 3-star food over a 1-star food? The education component of the Guiding Stars program cannot be dropped. The schools must continue to educate their students on healthy eating and lifestyle choices. Guiding Stars also provides education as a part of the contract. Dover has also agreed that it will not serve foods without any star ratings. 

As far as parental response, it is difficult to predict. Will parents respond in a positive way to healthier meals for their children? The numbers of meals served cannot be predicted until the changes are made and undergo a trial period. Parents must also receive education regarding the meals being served in the schools, as consistency is important. 

Next, Amy Winans shared about the experience with her UNH Field Experience students in the taste-testing that occurred on March 12, 2009 at the Woodman Park Elementary School. She shared that the feedback from students, teachers, and the kitchen staff was all-around positive. Some attendees at the meeting hope to participate at the two taste-testings that will take place at Horne Street and Garrison Elementary in May.

In regards to micro grants or stimulus grant funds available for school lunch programs, the government passed a $100 million grant for food service equipment, which will be presented in micro grants. Mark hopes to qualify in some way.  However, the guidelines include that there must be 50% of students receiving free and reduced lunches. Out of 500 schools in New Hampshire only around 30 have this program. Dover has one school on the edge of being eligible. Mark put in for a grant for extra allocation for fruits and vegetables for snacks. This is separate from the afterschool snack program, which has so many restrictions. The snacks provided for afterschool cannot be eaten or served until after school hours. 

Concerns with middle schoolers’ snacking habits was brought to the group’s attention. Because the middle school age is a transition age for many adolescents, they are caught between independent and dependent. A lot of parents struggle with this transition and expect (rightfully so!) a certain level of responsibility for their children. As a result, many students forget their snacks and find themselves hungry during snack time. Although there is currently no money in the budget to help with snacks at the middle school level, coming up with grant money for snacks, educating parents, along with letters home to parents are reasonable interventions for this issue.

After old business was discussed, I, a UNH nutritional sciences graduate, gave a presentation on my findings with the nutrition labels of all of the foods served throughout the district. I flagged foods containing trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and indicated opportunities to incorporate more whole grains. I also expressed concern with high sodium content in some meats and canned vegetables.  The presentation was well-received and the next step is replacing the flagged foods with alternatives!

The district will be testing Yo Zone healthy vending in the high school. These vending machines contain organic and natural snacks, which are more expensive than the run of the mill candy bars. The current machines will be eliminated if the Yo Zone vending machines attract students. The big question is: will the students pay more? 

The next Dining Facilities Council meeting will be held on May 21 at Garrison Elementary.

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April 2, 2009 by Amy.

 So… we are finally cookin’ in Dover! The piece below is written by Ashley Blake, UNH Nutritional Sciences grad and fellow volunteer with our Dover school food project.

UNH Nutritional Sciences Field Experience students prepared quesadillas for Woodman Park Elementary School students in Dover on Thursday, March 12.  The group of interns, supervised by UNH lecturer and Dover parent, Amy Winans, made the whole wheat tortilla quesadillas with black beans, broccoli (sneaky!), garlic and white cheddar cheese in an effort to revamp the menu and make strides towards healthier eating.   

In a yearlong effort to change school meals and vending items in the Dover schools, the three UNH Field Experience students, Dana Poist, Kimberly Povec, and Ashli Franck planned the quesadilla taste testing, which was served with locally made salsa, donated by Blue Mermaid restaurant in Portsmouth.   

“This first taste testing session has given us a lot of hope and I think it is feasible to start getting more nutrient dense foods into the schools,” reflected Dana.   “It is difficult to find fresh local produce during the winter months in New England, due to the harsh winters. We hope that for the tastings this spring, farmers will be able to donate some fresh spring vegetables,” stated Ashli after her efforts to incorporate local foods in the tasting.  

The Field Experience students have not only tried to allow healthier choices in Dover schools, but have also tried to embrace the concept of sustainability. “The ladies that were working with us could not have been nicer and were more than willing to help us in anyway,” commented Dana.   

Lynne Chavez, Woodman Park Elementary Kitchen Manager, and her staff Jean Rae Richard and Christine Marston, were excited to have the UNH group in the kitchen and found the project motivating. Lynne plans to find ways to cook more food from scratch.  She hopes to purchase some ingredients at the Dover Farmer’s Market during the spring and fall seasons. 

Student social interaction is encouraged during the short lunch period and large round tables facilitate student chit chat. Eyeing the room, it took one brave student to take the first bite and claim the quesadilla’s tastiness in order for others to go for it.  

“It was fun to be able to expose the kids to food they might not have tried before and give them something nutritious that still tasted good,” said Kimberly.  The near 300 Dover elementary students, although apprehensive at first, tried the quesadillas and the positive feedback from students proved the event a success! 

The elementary school taste-testings will determine if quesadillas will be served at all grade levels and incorporated into district menus. The Field Experience students will host two more taste-tastings on May 12 at Horne Street Elementary School and May 13 at Garrison Elementary. 

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