August 22, 2010 by Sara Zoe.

A part-time Special Projects Coordinator is sought to support the work of the Food & Society and Culture & Sustainability initiatives of the UNH Sustainability Academy. The Special Projects Coordinator will organize and implement key special projects, research, and events related to issues of food, local and sustainable agriculture, nutrition, community, culture, and other related issues.

UNH Office of Sustainability seeks Special Projects Coordinator - 30 hours a week, $15/hour

Job posting:

https://jobs.usnh.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?postingId=139515

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June 16, 2010 by Heather.

The New Hampshire Farm to School summer newsletter is out. This edition has four great articles in it, as well as some great photos and links. There’s talk of shrimp tasting at Little Harbor School in Portsmouth, building a school garden in Andover, and more. 

To read the newsletter, just go here: http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=ce044ea3d72f324b2d8b462ad&id=485c3bcb0c&e=36ebe52b48 

And don’t forget you can visit the NH Farm to School Project at www.nhfarmtoschool.org.

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April 1, 2010 by Amy.

The University of New Hampshire Hospitality Management students will host six courses of Tuscan cuisine at the upcoming Gourmet Dinners in April for 200 guests per night. The students have procured such local faire as lamb and mutton, Borealis focaccia, sorbetto and organic salad greens from local farmers and businesses.  

Organized by the hospitality management students at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, Tutto Toscana will be held Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, 2010, at Stillings, 20 Ballard Drive, Durham, NH, beginning with aperitivo at 6 o’clock and dinner to follow. 

“Everything Tuscan” will feature famed Tuscan cookbook author Gina Stipo. The theme is representative of Gina’s life in Tuscany as well as her version of traditional Tuscan fare; where her recipes are noted in her latest cookbook Ecco La Cucina. Stipo lives in Siena, Italy where she teaches cooking classes that are focused on the rich culinary traditions and local flavors of Tuscany. She will sign copies of her latest cookbook available for sale at the dinner.  

Wine pairings will be provided by Banfi Vintners, and beer by Smuttynose Brewing Co.  

Purchase your tickets fast!—Saturday night is already sold out. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmetdinner.  

The event is nonprofit and the class is based on an experiential learning model where the students create and manage the entire event from marketing to menu design.   

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March 30, 2010 by Heather.

Greenfield Apple Box, in Greenfield, NH, is constructing apple boxes out of local on-site custom sawn lumber made from New England white pine. The sturdy boxes are good for apple storage and are great for displaying produce at farm stands and farmers’ markets. They produce a couple different sizes and are priced from $7 to $8, a price which drops with quantities of 20 or more. All sizes nest together for portability and easy storage.

Visit their website to learn more about this great local product.  

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March 3, 2010 by Heather.

It’s the time of year when it feels like spring will never come again. But have no fear, Bill Spiller started his tomato plants on Monday. Which reminds me, it’s time to pick a CSA!

Anna and Bill Spiller of Spiller Farm in Wells, Maine, farm about 130 acres with 30 acres in row crops, 4 acres in strawberries, 4 acres in apples, and 1 acre of raspberries as well as hay fields and 60 acres of pasture and woods. Their family has been farming in Wells since 1894. They’re easy to find, only minutes from Route 1, which will make it handy when you go to pick up your weekly CSA produce. Their CSA will be 18 weeks long, running from mid-June to mid-October, with participation costing $295. Visit the Spiller Farm Web site for more information on what they offer, http://www.spillerfarm.com/2010/03/community-supported-agriculture.html.

If Wells is just too far for you to travel and you’re looking for a different CSA there are plenty to choose from! This handy list of CSAs and CSFs that participated in our Winter Farmers’ Market CSA Day at Wentworth Greenhouses should get you off and running. http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/winterfarmersmarkets/CSAHandout.pdf 

Some additional information about CSAs and CSFs can be found at http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/winterfarmersmarkets/#events.  

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March 2, 2010 by Heather.

The Seacoast Family Food Pantry will be holding a Frugal Feast this Saturday, March 6, 2010, at the Masonic Temple, 351 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH (at the corner of Miller Avenue). The event begins at 5:00 p.m. with a silent auction and refreshments, followed at 5:30 p.m. by a family supper served in the tradition of local soup kitchens with local artists playing music in the tradition of street buskers. 

The Seacoast Family Food Pantry invites one and all to share this evening raising awareness and financial support to ensure that our neighbors and friends do not go hungry.

Tickets are $20 per person or $35 per couple while children under 18 are $5. A table for 8 can be had for $140; an absentee table sponsorship is $75.

For more information and to purchase tickets go to the Seacoast Family Food Pantry’s Web site, www.seacoastfamilyfoodpantry.org/.

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March 1, 2010 by Heather.

If you run a farm, restaurant, retail store, or other outlet for locally produced food within Merrimack County the Capital Area Farm and Community Connection (CAFCC) is looking for you. This spring, CAFCC will be publishing a guide to local foods in the Merrimack County area. The guide will be distributed for free throughout Merrimack County with an anticipated distribution of 12,000 guides.

Free listings in this guide are available. You need to complete a registration form by March 15, 2010. Paid advertisement and sponsorships are also available and welcome.

The registration form is available at the Merrimack County Conservation District Web site, www.merrimackccd.org, or by calling (603) 223-6023. Contact CAFCC coordinator Ruth Smith at localfood@merrimackccd.org if you need further information or want to take out an ad.

If you’re a farmer in Rockingham and Strafford counties, don’t feel left out; it’s time to submit your information for the 2010 edition of Seacoast Harvest.

Complete a form for the 2010 Seacoast Harvest at www.tinyurl.com/seacoastharvest.

Guidelines for who can be listed are found at http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/seacoastharvest/index.php?page=about.

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December 9, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

From New Entry’s website:

Staring down old man winter

from New Entry Sustainable Farming Project

The New England winter is around the corner with its short days and cold temperatures - not the ideal conditions for growing vegetables. So what? New Entry is offering three winter skills workshops to help growers extend the season and keep busy until spring. The first is coming up in just two weeks:

Winter Growing and Hoophouse Workshop with Adam Montri, Michigan State University

DATE: Friday, December 18th

TIME: 9 am - 1 pm

LOCATION: Casey Family Services Conference Room (18 Palmer Street), Downtown Lowell, MA

Topics will include:- Structure Options and Selection- which hoophouse is right for me?- Site Selection and Preparation- Crop Selection, Scheduling, Harvesting, and Pricing- … And lots of Q&A and crop profitability discussion.

The course costs $15, checks made payable to: Community Teamwork. To register, please email nesfp@tufts.edu.

Adam Montri is an outreach specialist in the Horticulture Department at Michigan State University where he coordinates outreach efforts for the MSU Student Organic Farm focused on hoophouses/high tunnels and sustainable and organic production and marketing with both urban and rural farmers across the state of MI. Adam was one of the original student organic farmers while an undergraduate at MSU. He received his master’s degree in Horticulture from Penn State University where he focused on organic high tunnel tomato production. He and his wife, Dru, and daughter, Lydia, own Ten Hens Farm in Bath, MI. Check out Adam’s Hoophouse Blog here: http://hoophouse.msu.edu/blog/index.php.

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October 30, 2009 by Amy.

Dover Public School District is trying a new method to communicate positive school food initiatives. UNH Nutritional Science Field Experience student, Erica Siver researches, writes and submits her column titled Monthly Munch to all district school newsletters–most are online editions. The district also posts Erica’s work on the district site and Edline, a parental resource.  

Monthly Munch

by Erica Siver

Dover school food launches forward. The spork is out as dark leafy greens are in! A superior utensil, the fork, is a much needed vessel to get heftier lettuce from plate to mouth. One of our heroic UNH Nutritional Science Field Experience students has been in the trenches with cafe staff, working in unison to assemble a salad bar offered weekly for lunch at Dover High School. The salad excursion will offer healthful greens like spinach, many different vegetable and bean options and a yogurt bar with granola and fruit toppings. The salad bar will be open every Friday. Food service already has a wrap-style bar in place every Thursday and the salad bar is an extension of an ongoing attempt to offer less processed school food. And of note, all schools will be switching to ‘green’ trays and dishes in the next month. The trays are compostable and recyclable. Mark Covell, Food Service Director, is currently applying through the State to institute three after school snack programs. The snacks will be provided to the 21st CCLC Program at Woodman Park Elementary school afternoon program, the General Education Development Options Program at the McConnell Center  and the after school program located at the Seymour Osman Community Center. In total it will provide healthy snacks such as fresh fruits and vegetables, 100% juice products, milk, whole grain crackers and breads for approximately 150 students if approved by the State. Check back next month for more nutritious tidbits.

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October 26, 2009 by Amy.

Durham, NH, October 25, 2009- Mollie Katzen, award winning author of the famed Moosewood Cookbook, embraces the work of University of New Hampshire (UNH) hospitality management students for Simply Southern, a Gourmet Dinner to be held November 20^th and 21^st, 2009. The theme reflects the regional distinction as well as the simple, warm pleasure of fine food and drink, hospitality and good company. Mollie’s newest book get cooking. will be available for sale and a book signing will take place during the cocktail hour from 6 to 7 o’clock in the evening.

Mollie Katzen’s visit to UNH combines the Gourmet Dinners, a campus lunch cooking session with University Dining and book signing. She is also a new member of the EcoGastronomy advisory board—the first dual major of its kind offered in the country.

The students enrolled in the Advanced Food and Beverage Management course embrace the challenge of creating a fine dining, nonprofit venture. The time-honored Gourmet Dinners, dating back twenty-five years or more, give students a glimpse of what is to come after graduation, as they take full responsibility for budgeting, service standards, marketing, sustainable practices and ethics surrounding a high-end event. And the students are expected to develop a theme and menu that will capture guest interest within a targeted demographic.

Six of approximately 20 students are chosen for executive leadership and the remaining become mid-level management. The preparatory experience smoothes the transition as students rise to upper management in hotels, inns, food establishments or other hospitality positions. The executive and management teams dedicate an immense amount of time, nearly 15 hours a week outside the classroom—often difficult for a full-time student.

Simply Southern, The Heart of Hospitality will feature six courses of southern-inspired dishes with local ingredients as available, while capturing the excitement surrounding Mollie Katzen’s visit to UNH.

The dinner will take place at Stillings, 20 Ballard Drive, Durham, NH, on November 20, beginning with a cocktail hour and book signing at 6 o’clock and dinner to follow. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online at www.wsbe.unh.edu/gourmetdinner .

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