Farmer’s Market to Showcase Local Food Producers

Ashland, OH- A Farmer’s market and information fair will be held on March 27^th, from 7-9pm in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium and surrounding areas.  The film ‘Good Food’ will also be presented twice during this event at start times of 7:15pm and 8:15pm.  This program is sponsored by the Ashland Center for Nonviolence at Ashland University and is free and open to the public.  

Participants of this program include Local Roots Ashland, a unique type of market, first established in Wooster, OH in 2009. An affiliate market to Local Roots Wooster, they will provide a year-round outlet where shoppers can conveniently browse a variety of products from local producers.  When asked, Louise Fleming, an Ashland resident stated that “Local Roots is a wonderful asset in the Ashland Community!  I am so excited to have locally grown foods and local products, including meats and cheeses, available all year round.  Joining the cooperative is a chance for people to make an investment in the community where they live.”

Other vendors include Ann’s Raspberry Farm & Specialty Crops (raspberries & other theme-related items), Buehler’s Fresh Foods, Goldberry Roasting Company (coffee), Honey Haven Farms, LLC. (potted herbs & flowers, honey bears, and hot pepper butter), Martha’s Farm, Maple Syrup Vendor, Samaritan Hospital Nutritionist, Trinity Farms and Amish baked goods.

“We realize it is very early in the season to host a farmer’s market; however, we are excited to invest in our community and provide this opportunity to members of the Ashland community”, said Dottie Collura, Assistant Director of ACN, “We’re expecting a great turnout”.

The video Good Food visits the producers, farmers’ markets, distributors, markets, restaurants and public officials who are working together to develop a more sustainable food system for all.  Described by author Frances Moore Lappe as “a film to awaken our taste buds and our courage,” Good Food explores the local foods and farming system in the Pacific Northwest.  With the resurgence of a local food economy in this area, the film explores how this has occurred and highlights specific stories of individuals who are affecting this change.

Good Food was created by Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin, and has received very positive reviews from film critics and other local food economy experts.  It offers the opportunity for individuals to see the success that locals foods can provide for a community, so that other areas can implement similar local food strategies themselves.

The farmer’s market and information fair will take place before, during and after the screening and will consist of several tables with local and neighboring produce, in addition to information regarding healthy food options and sustainable living.  It also will take place in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center, in areas surrounding the auditorium.  

This program is the final one in ACN’s annual symposium on “Creating a Caring Community” which focused their efforts on local foods and building community. Previous events included March 13^th’s “Food, Farms, and Community” and February 14^th’s “The Emerging Local Food Economy and What It Means for Ashland.”

The Ashland Center for Nonviolence, located on the campus of Ashland University, is committed to exploring and promoting alternatives to violence in ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world.  The center is committed to finding choices when there seem to be none, as well as answering the seemingly unanswerable question, “What else can we do?”  For more information about this event, or to learn more about the Ashland Center for Nonviolence, please call 419-289-5313 or visit us online at www.ashland.edu/acn.  ###

UPCOMING EVENT: 'Food, Farms, and Community' - Tuesday, March 13

Christopher Norman, Executive Director of Crown Point Ecology Center in Bath, Ohio, run by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron, will present “Dirty Nuns and Guerilla Gardening!” An Amish farmer will be presenting “Who is Your Farmer?” 7:30pm on Tuesday, March 13^th in the Schar College of Education’s Ronk Lecture Hall at Ashland University. They will be addressing such topics as food deserts, food security, and the current and fundamental role of local foods and farmers in building up our community. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.  This lecture, sponsored by the Ashland Center for Nonviolence, is part of the 2012 “Creating a Caring Community” Symposium. This presentation is free and open to the public.

Norman’s presentation is called “Dirty Nuns and Guerilla Gardening!” This presentation will explore the motives some religious groups have in addressing environmental health, especially sustainable agriculture.  A discussion of Crown Point’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and environmental education programming will highlight the challenges and opportunities that re-building the local food system present. 

Following Norman’s presentation will be “Who is Your Farmer?” which will focus on the benefits of a local food economy.  Locally-raised foods, found in places such a farmer’s markets, co-operatives, and some restaurants, solve many problems. Local foods are neighborly, connecting people with the gardeners and farmers who are growing their food. They are fresh and more nutritious, especially if they have been raised organically, and they taste good.  They are “food secure”: every product can be traced to the grower. Awareness of the growing practices assures the consumer that the food is safe to eat and that farmers have taken good care of the soil, their crops, and their livestock. Buying directly assures that the farmer makes sufficient and fair money to assure that unhealthy short-cuts will not be taken. Finally, local foods encourage food independence. Rather than relying on the “global market,” people are encouraged to seek local sources of food, grow their own, and preserve it. 

Make sure to put 'Food, Farms, and Community' on your calendar for March 13th. See you there! 

Creating a Caring Community:
Local Foods and Building Community

Tuesday, February 14 – ‘The Emerging Local Food Economy and What It Means for Ashland’ by Brad Masi, Former Executive Director of the New Agrarian Center, 7:30pm, Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium at Ashland University.

This presentation will look at the growth of sustainable local food system initiatives across Northeast Ohio, covering both broader impacts on the regional economy and on-the-ground examples of innovative communities. A sustainable local food economy directly connects consumers, farmers, local businesses, and institutions. How can food localization comprehensively address nutrition and health, economic development, ecological sustainability, and community vitality?

Tuesday, March 13 – ‘Food, Farms, and Community’ by Chris Norman, Executive Director of Crown Point Ecology Center and David Kline, Organic Dairy Farmer, Naturalist, and Writer, 7:30pm, Schar College of Education, Ronk Lecture Hall, Ashland University.

Christopher Norman will join David Kline to present Food, Farms, and Community. Chris will present “Dirty Nuns and Guerilla Gardening.” David will present “Who is Your Farmer?” They will be addressing such topics as food deserts, food security, and the role of local foods in building community.

Tuesday, March 27 - Video Presentation of ‘Good Food’ and Information Fair, 7:30pm, Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium & surrounding areas, Ashland University.

The video ‘GOOD FOOD’ visits the producers, farmers’ markets, distributors, markets, restaurants and public officials who are working together to develop a more sustainable food system for all.

The information fair will consist of several information tables and representatives from local and neighboring communities regarding gardening projects and healthy food options.

Climate and Agricultural Ethics: 
Winds of Seeds and Change

Presented by:

Dr. Calvin DeWitt

Professor Emeritus, Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Study, University of Wisconsin-Madison and president of the Evangelical Society of Scientists and Ethicists

David Kline

Ohio author and naturalist

Saturday, January 28 at 7 pm

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

3186 Burbank Rd, Wooster

For more information, see http://uufwc.org/pdf/dewitt_flyer.pdf

UPCOMING AREA EVENT NEWS

MANSFIELD - Wednesday, January 18 – Day of Unity, 12:00pm, Ohio State University – Mansfield Campus.

This event is co-sponsored by OSU Mansfield, North Central State College and Ashland University.

CLEVELAND - February 2 – 3 – Bullying Prevention Summit: Changing School and University Culture and Climate, Cuyahoga Community College, East Campus, Highland Hills, Ohio.

Summit details and registration materials available at: http://www.tri-c.edu/enrichment/communityservices/GRIC/Pages/ProfessionalDevelopmentEvents.aspx

Sponsored by: Global Issues Resource Center, Cuyahoga Community College, in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves, Virginia Tech, Cleveland State University, University of Akron, Orange High School, Beech Brook, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The Ohio Department of Education and The Office of the Ohio Attorney General.

ACN EVENT NEWS

TONIGHT - Tuesday, January 17 – Video Presentation & *Discussion of ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’, 7pm & 9pm, Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium at Ashland University.

‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’ is the gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn to shreds by a decades-old civil war. The women's historic yet unsung achievement finds voice in a narrative that intersperses contemporary interviews, archival images, and scenes of present-day Liberia together to recount the experiences and memories of the women who were instrumental in bringing lasting peace to their country.

You can read more about this extraordinary film here.

*Discussion on the power and possibilities of nonviolence in the contemporary world to follow each video presentation.

2012 CREATING A CARING COMMUNITY

SYMPOSIUM EVENTS

Tuesday, February 14 – ‘The Emerging Local Food Economy and What It Means for Ashland’ by Brad Masi, Former Executive Director of the New Agrarian Center, 7:30pm, Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium at Ashland University.

This presentation will look at the growth of sustainable local food system initiatives across Northeast Ohio, covering both broader impacts on the regional economy and on-the-ground examples of innovative communities. A sustainable local food economy directly connects consumers, farmers, local businesses, and institutions. How can food localization comprehensively address nutrition and health, economic development, ecological sustainability, and community vitality?

Tuesday, March 13 – ‘Food, Farms, and Community’ by Chris Norman, Executive Director of Crown Point Ecology Center and David Kline, Organic Dairy Farmer, Naturalist, and Writer, 7:30pm, Schar College of Education, Ronk Lecture Hall, Ashland University.

Christopher Norman will join David Kline to present Food, Farms, and Community. Chris will present “Dirty Nuns and Guerilla Gardening.” David will present “Who is Your Farmer?” They will be addressing such topics as food deserts, food security, and the role of local foods in building community.

Tuesday, March 27 - Video Presentation of ‘Good Food’ and Information Fair, 7:30pm, Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium & surrounding areas, Ashland University.

The video ‘GOOD FOOD’ visits the producers, farmers’ markets, distributors, markets, restaurants and public officials who are working together to develop a more sustainable food system for all.
The information fair will consist of several information tables and representatives from local and neighboring communities regarding gardening projects and healthy food options.

Advocating for the Homeless: Lorenza Andrade Smith

Wednesday, Dec. 7th - 'Advocating for Systemic Change' by Lorenza Andrade Smith - 1-2pm, Ridenour Room, Dauch College of Business & Economics, Ashland University.

Lorenza Andrade Smith took a leave of absence from her church and conference duties and renounced all of her possessions, including her home, her car and her salary.  She chose to become homeless to fight for the homeless.

Hear her amazing journey on Wednesday, December 7th, from 1-2pm in the Ridenour Room, Dauch College of Business & Economics on Ashland University's main campus.  This presentation is FREE and open to the public.
At age 42, Smith has already led several lives: that of a U.S. Air Force cadet, a housewife and mother, and the pastor of a United Methodist congregation in San Antonio. Contrary to her short stature and soft-spoken nature, Smith now leads the life of an outspoken advocate with a penchant for protest and latched onto politically charged social movements gaining her national attention.  Smith sold all her possessions, rejected her church salary and benefits (which she estimates at around $45,000 a year), and traded her bed for benches, park grass, and parking-lot asphalt. This life has become her newest protest on behalf of the poor and marginalized, she says, a fight for "systemic change."

Over the last few months, Smith has moved between shelters, local rallies, the U.S./Mexico border, jail cells, and meetings with local faith leaders at a frantic pace. "Really, the goal of this is to be in community with those who do not have a voice. ... I'm learning from them, this isn't charity."

In photo above, the Rev. Lorenza Andrade-Smith (right) visits with Jody, a homeless man who is taking shelter inside a box culvert beneath a busy street in El Paso, Texas. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

This program is being underwritten by the Department of Foreign Language, Department of Religion and the Ashland Center for Nonviolence at Ashland University.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Circle Process Workshops

IMPORTANT! SAVE THE DATES! Circle Process Workshops:

Saturday, November 19, 10 - 12:30 -- Hawkins-Conard Conference Rooms A/D
Using Circles to Build Community
Using Circles to teach Content
...
Saturday, December 3, 10 - 12:30 -- Hawkins-Conard Conference Rooms A/D
Implementing Circles Where There Is No Understanding of Circles
Bringing Restorative Justice to a Punitive Justice Setting

Please join us, and invite others who you think would be interested!

If you are attending one or both sessions, please RSVP at RJ-AU@ashland.edu. See you there!