Chico Food Network - Community Outreach

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Welcome to Chico Food Network
Wednesday, September 08 2010 @ 10:09 PM MST

What We're All About

Monday, February 02 2009 @ 03:48 PM MST
Contributed by: Jeremy
Views: 560

The Chico Food Network is a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization (EIN# 31-1776669) and is registered as a charitable organization with the State of California.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Jeremy Miller, President (530) 966-0239, jeremyATjeremymillerDOTorg

MISSION STATEMENT:
The purpose of the Chico Food Network is to foster a local food system that contributes to the long-term viability of farms in our region, provides Chico-area residents with fresh, healthy food choices, provides education regarding local food systems, and creates an awareness and interdependence between Chico consumers, food businesses, and local farmers.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE:
Chico Food Network meetings are held quarterly. Decisions are made by consensus. Officers include a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. All officers are board members; including the officers there are nine total board members. Our board consists of university professors, K-12 educators, chefs, farmers, and interested citizens. With the exception of GRUB activities (see below), all Chico Food Network programs are conducted on a volunteer basis. Any member of the community is welcome to participate in planning and implementing Chico Food Network activities.

BRIEF HISTORY:
Established in 2001 as the Chico Food Systems Project, the organization originally brought together local farmers, restaurant owners, and health education professionals in an effort to strengthen the bonds between individuals involved in the local food system. Early activities included the hosting of "Real Food Dinners" that celebrated the connection between local farmers and restaurants and highlight local food products. With the establishment of a Slow Food chapter in Chico (which filled this niche), the focus of the Chico Food Network shifted to cosponsoring nutrition education seminars and supporting the efforts of other food-related organizations and projects in Chico. This occurred via a web presence (www.chicofoodnetwork.org) and email lists. The Chico Food Network is presently focusing it efforts on supporting school and community gardens, and has begun an active grant-writing campaign for the benefit of these endeavors.

PAST PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES, 2006-2007:
--Annual Real Food Benefit Dinner (2004 - 2007)
--Contributer, Slow Food Shasta-Cascade Kickoff Dinner (May, 2006)
--Food Contributer, "Bidwell Parks and Creeks of Chico Cleanup" (September, 2006)
--$500 donation to the Dorothy F. Johnson Center (part of the Chico Area Recreation District) to support their Edible Garden project (September, 2006)
--Participant/Contributer, "May Magic 2007" fundraiser to support Community Collaborate for Youth (May, 2007)
--$500 donation to Community Collaborative for Youth to support nutrition education efforts and their Edible Schoolyard project (September, 2007)
--Co-sponsor, "Growing Healthy Kids" Growth and Nutrition Workshop (November, 2007)

PRESENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES:
Gardeners' Swap Meet Program
This program allows members of the public to share and trade excess produce (fruits and veggies) from their property with other growers every Wednesday evening during the summer. A community-building event, no money changes hands as Chico citizens are invited to celebrate with each other the joy of growing one's own food.

Coordination of Volunteers in School Gardens
In partnership with the Associated Students of CSU, Chico, the Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE) program allows students to gain course credit for 30 hours of volunteering in local education programs. The Chico Food Network is serving to help connect CAVE volunteers to specific gardening projects (teaching, constructing garden beds, etc.) at six different school sites.

Free Seeds for Education
In 2008 partnerships with three local nurseries led to the donation of over 500 vegetable and flower seed packets to the Chico Food Network. These have and continue to be given to local schools for use in school gardens, presently over 15 schools have been able to take advantage of this opportunity.

Restaurant Partnerships
The Chico Food Network has been contacting local restaurants to solicit support for school gardens. Red Tavern Grill and Bistro has donated roughly $500 to support the school garden at Chico Junior High School, three other restaurants have expressed interest in purchasing produce from school gardens for use in their menu items, thus giving the students experience in commerce as well as gardening. (Money earned would support continued gardening efforts at the school site).

Grant Writing
The Chico Food Network continues to solicit for grant funds on behalf of school and community garden projects.

GRUB--Growing Resourcefully, Uniting Bellies
The Chico Food Network voted to act as the fiscal sponsor for GRUB in February, 2008. GRUB was established in 2007 and has taken a multifaceted approach to supporting local, sustainable food systems. Their projects include:
--A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that distributes 40 shares (produce boxes) of locally grown fruits and vegetables to local residences each week. 4 of these shares are donated to low-income seniors. All produce is grown using organic methods on three sites all within 1 mile of the city limits.
--Restaurant Compost program, in which seven participating Chico restaurants have their food waste diverted via bicycles with trailers to the compost bins at GRUB's garden sites.
--Garden education programs at the Boys and Girls Club and a local preschool school, with plans to expand to other local preschools.
--Fruit Tree Registry, identifying the location of local "streetside" fruit and nut trees accessible to the public.
GRUB's efforts have been making both local and national headlines:
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082903447.html
Chico Enterprise - Record
http://www.agobservatory.org/headlines.cfm?refID=103581
Edible Shasta - Butte Magazine:
(Click on "Mutiny With the Bounty") http://www.edibleshastabutte.com/pages/articles/year2008/win2008/win2008.htm

FUTURE CHICO FOOD NETWORK PROJECTS
--Continuation of existing activities
--Provide a paid part- or full-time school garden coordinator for Chico Unified School District
--Establishment of one or more self-sustaining Community Gardens for the City of Chico
--Expand participation of Gardeners' Swap Meet program through publicity/advertising
--GRUB: Expansion of CSA program to 60 shares
--GRUB: Expansion of preschool garden education program to 10 sites
--GRUB: Gain additional funding support for the restaurant compost program

PARTNERSHIPS
In the past two years, the Chico Food Network has partnered with the following community organizations in various projects and endeavors:
--Chico Unified School District
--Community Collaborative for Youth (nonprofit)
--Opt For Fit Kits (a nutrition program of the CSU Chico Research Foundation)
--Sierra Cascade Nutrition and Activity Consortium (nutrition programs of the CSU Chico Research Foundation)
--Chico Grange Hall
--Chico Area Recreation District
--Local Restaurants
--Local Farmers
--Slow Food Shasta Cascade

--Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE), a program of the Associated Students of CSU, Chico (nonprofit)
--CSU, Chico "This Way to Sustainability" Conference

Growing Healthy Kids

Thursday, October 18 2007 @ 11:16 AM MST
Contributed by: richardhroth
Views: 900

The public is invited to a Professional growth nutrition workshop & dinner for parents, child care providers & teachers on Thursday, November 8th from 5:30 to 9:00 PM. Featured Speaker will be Dr. Cindy Wolff, Director of Opt for Fit Kids.

Suggested donation is only $5.00 and includes a special dinner prepared by Nutrition Educator and Chef - Eartha Shanti. Kids (with parent) are welcome and eat freee!

Additional Speaker/Demonstrator are Danielle Baker, Butte Co. Ag Extension - Master Gardener; Debra Abbott, Dardens in the Classroom After-School Teacher, and Earth Shanti, Nutriion Activist, Instructor, and the evening's Chef

Feature Video presentation will be "The Greates Diet on Earth by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, authro of "Disease Proof Your Child".

Location is the Chico Grante Hall, 2775 (Old) Nord Ave..

This is a child friendly event so bring the kids!

Reserve your ticket by November 7th! Call Chico Community Children's Center 891-5363 or come by the office at 2224 Elm Street, Chico. The event is hosted by Chico Community Children's Center in collaboration with the Chico Food Network.

The Eat Well Guided Tour...coming to Chico

Monday, July 23 2007 @ 05:42 PM MST
Contributed by: richardhroth
Views: 950

The Eat Well Guided Tour of America

August 2 � September 8, 2007 You are where you eat!
Food & Water Watch and Sustainable Table cordially invite you to
The Eat Well Guided Tour
...coming to Chico for a Movie Night with Pie & Local Dessert Wines! Where: Chico Women's Club, 592 E. 3rd Street When: Sunday, 7�10PM What's Showing: The Meatrix & Eat At Bill's Join Sustainable Table as we visit Chico on our cross-country tour to celebrate local, sustainable food and the small family farmers that help make it happen! Special guests include Diane Hatz, producer of
The Meatrix

http://www.youtube.com/v/HM0lEcg8ynA
and Executive Director of Sustainable Table along with several local farmers...the real food celebrities! Free admission with a suggested donation of $5 to $50. Fundraiser for the local Chico Grange Hall revitalization.

Chico Farm to School Idea Gets A Boost

Wednesday, July 11 2007 @ 09:33 PM MST
Contributed by: richardhroth
Views: 949

Lauri Niles and Karen Goodwin inspect a possible space for a Farm to School Program distribution center. Lauri approached Maria of the Red Tavern Restaurant about the idea and she is tentatively offering the space as a possible resource for such a project if the front part of the building can be rented out to defray the costs.

Why cellulosic ethanol, biofuels are unsustainable and a threat to America

Tuesday, June 26 2007 @ 08:40 AM MST
Contributed by: richardhroth
Views: 1,087

Written by Alice Friedemann
Released April 10, 2007

"The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Peak Soil: Why Cellulosic ethanol and other Biofuels are Not Sustainable and are a Threat to America�s National Security

Part 1. The Dirt on Dirt.
Part 2. The Poop on Ethanol: Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI)
Part 3. Biofuel is a Grim Reaper.
Part 4. Biodiesel: Can we eat enough French Fries?
Part 5. If we can�t drink and drive, then burn baby burn. - Energy Crop Combustion
Part 6. The problems with Cellulosic Ethanol could drive you to drink.
Part 7. Where do we go from here?
Appendix
Department of Energy's Biofuel Roadmap Barriers
References

Editor's note: There are many serious problems with biofuels, especially on a massive scale, and it appears from this report that they cannot be surmounted. So let the truth of Alice Friedemann�s meticulous and incisive diligence wash over you and rid you of any confusion or false hopes. The absurdity and destructiveness of large scale biofuels are a chance for people to eventually even reject the internal combustion engine and energy waste in general. One can also hazard from this report that bioplastics, as well, cannot make it in a big way.

The author looks ahead to post-petroleum living with considered conclusions: "Biofuels have yet to be proven viable, and mechanization may not be a great strategy in a world of declining energy." And, "�only a small amount of biomass (is) unspoken for" by today�s essential economic and ecological activities. To top it off, she points out, "Crop production is reduced when residues are removed from the soil. Why would farmers want to sell their residues?" Here�s an Oh- god-she-nailed-it zinger: "As prices of fertilizer inexorably rise due to natural gas depletion, it will be cheaper to return residues to the soil than to buy fertilizer." Looking further along than most of us, Alice has among her conclusions: "It�s time to start increasing horse and oxen numbers, which will leave even less biomass for biorefineries." - JL

May Magic: Music, Magic, Art, Gardening, Cooking Demonstrations & Great Food

Tuesday, April 17 2007 @ 05:14 PM MST
Contributed by: richardhroth
Views: 532

This year's May Magic, the 5th Annual, is shaping up to be a rare, new, and exciting event. Thanks in large part to the combined talents of the Dorothy F. Johnson Center staff, Opt 4 Fit Kids, and the Chico Food Network's Chef and President leading a free cooking demonstration featuring the "Three Sisters", corn, beans, and squash. Click on the images on the left to enlarge and get the full details. Then see you Saturday May 12th for a wonderful afternoon with Music, Magic, Art, Gardening and Cooking Demonstrations. See you there!

[image4_left]

Richie's Chico

Wednesday, January 31 2007 @ 11:09 AM MST
Contributed by: richardhroth
Views: 552

Richie's Chico cooking classes and catering company is the sister company of Grow Cuisine, where kids cook with the vegetables they grow. They promote local organic - natural - sustainable farming and food products (and LaRocca Vineyards all organic wines) and the principles of sustainability.

This new company, Richie's Chico, launched by Local Chef - Richard Hirshen, is starting as an at-your-home resource for private classes and catered events for adults and children alike. In February '07, the Richie's Chico web site will be up and running.

Linked to the Grow Cuisine web site, the Richie's Chico site will be a resource for local organic farmers, Farmers' Markets and worldwide web organizations that also promote sustainability. These organizations include Kidsgardening (Richard is a National Advisory Board Member...Kidsgardening is a division of the National Gardening Association) and the Chico Food Network 501c3 non-profit organization (Richard board president) bringing sustainability to the local community through California State University Chico's organic crops and natural beef programs, and through other local programs led by conscious caring friends of the earth, literally and figuratively.

Bidwell Park and Creeks of Chico Cleanup 2006

Thursday, September 07 2006 @ 01:52 PM MST
Contributed by: richardhroth
Views: 722

The Fall Bidwell Park and Creeks of Chico Cleanup 2006 will be held Saturday, September 16th from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Cleanup will focus on heavily impacted areas of Bidwell Park, Lindo Channel, Big Chico Creek, Little Chico Creek, and Comanche Creek. This annual cleanup clears thousands of pounds of trash from Chico�s park and creeks.

Please meet at 9 a.m. at the Hooker Oak Recreation Area overflow parking (off Manzanita) for park cleaning or at Foster�s Old Fashioned Freeze at the corner of 9th Street and Broadway for the creeks cleaning. Please bring sturdy gloves and shoes.

Refreshments will be available to start and end the day. The Chico Food Network and Grilla Bites Restaurant help provide a "healthy lunch" for volunteers for the event. There will also be a chance for all participants to win prizes from local merchants in a drawing that will occur at the picnic (volunteers need not be present to win). For more information please call BEC at 891-6424 or visit its web site at www.becnet.org <http://www.becnet.org/>;;

TUESDAY JULY 11TH FROM 11:30 AM-12:30 PM CARUSO, MORE OPERA AND FOOD on KZFR 90.1FM's Mama Rose's Kitchen Radio Show.

Thursday, May 18 2006 @ 10:03 PM MST
Contributed by: rhirshen
Views: 6,428

Look (listen!) for chef Richard Hirshen on KZFR's Mama Rose's Kitchen Radio Show bantering with host Rosemary Febbo about food and opera...Puccini, Verdi, Spaghetti alla Caruso, Peach Melba and lots more! Tuesday July 11th from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Welcome to KZFR 90.1 FM - People Powered Radio!

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Chef Richard Hirshen's Organic Dish Donation to the Shasta-Cascade Slow Food Convivium's Kick-Off Event

Thursday, May 18 2006 @ 09:09 PM MST
Contributed by: rhirshen
Views: 5,095

The Chico Food Network's Donation to the Local Slow Food Convivium's Kick-Off Event...A Local, Artisan Organic Extravaganza.

See the farmers/producers below AND...several links including:

www.organicvolunteers.org/farmfinder

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Food Network Video Feature
Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children Ann Cooper, author and Berkley School District Food Director - feeds over 4000 kids each school day. This is revolutionary stuff that is saving kids lives. Check it out here.

Important Links

Sponsors/Supporters
GRILLA BITES ORGANIC-NATURAL RESTAURANTS
Mim's Bakery
Red Tavern Restaurant

Local Food Resources
Eat Local Challenge
Local Harvest
Slow Food Shasta Cascade

Favorite Seed Sources
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Bountiful Gardens
Fedco Seeds
Gourmet Seed International
Johnny�s Selected Seeds
Nichols Garden Nursery
Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply
Seeds Of Change
Snow Seed Co.
Sow Organic Seed
Turtle Tree Seed
Vermont Bean Seed

Farm & Nutrition Conferences
4th Annual Organic Farm & Food Conference

Family Nutrition Resources
Kinderkitchen
Opt for Fit Kids

Collaborators
cChaos
Chico Grange

Blogs
Chico Sustainable
I've Been Wrong Before

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