Webinar to cover business, science of home-based food production

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Just in time for the farmer’s market season, a series of Purdue University online workshops will provide up-to-date information for entrepreneurs selling food products from their own kitchens or gardens.

“Cooking Up a Food Business in the Home Kitchen: Opportunities and Challenges of Starting or Growing a Home-Based Vendor Food Enterprise” will address issues of safety and profitability in three weekly webcasts beginning March 20. The webcasts will be streamed live online, so viewers can watch at home or at their local Purdue Extension office. The sessions will also be available as recordings.

Topics will cover legal requirements for home-based food businesses, basic food science and microorganism control, tools and techniques to improve quality and safety, safe preparation practices in the home kitchen, and safe handling practices at farmers’ markets and roadside stands.

“In our current economic situation, people are looking for options. This webinar is a great opportunity for people to explore the option of a home-based food business and to learn the legal limits and requirements of running that business,” said Katie Clayton, Extension outreach specialist in Purdue University’s Department of Food Science.

The webinar’s introductory session on food science is helpful for new and experienced vendors alike, Clayton said.

“Many vendors have been cooking for years, but there are a lot of things that people do just ‘because.’ This session will help people to understand from a science standpoint why they need to do things in certain ways and not just because Mom said so.”

More information and registration forms can be found online at http://www.ag.purdue.edu/foodsci/Pages/extension.aspx.

Early registration is due by March 16 and costs $20 per person viewing all sessions, with no fee for additional attendees from the same household. Cost for individual sessions is $8 per person. There is a late fee of $10 per person for registration after March 16.

from Amy Thompson

Extension Educator Agriculture and Natural Resources

Purdue Cooperative Extension Service – Monroe County

3400 South Walnut Street

Bloomington, IN 47401

ph -812-349-2575

fax - 812-349-4637

http://www.ag.purdue.edu/counties/monroe

Many Purdue publications are available electronically at the following

address:  http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs

Community Supported Agriculture Day 2012

February 11, 2012
9 a.m. – noon, at Harmony School

Come and learn more about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs in our area!

The Local Growers Guild is providing a forum for local farmers to present their CSA subscription programs for the 2012 growing season. Interested customers can learn more about how CSAs work and peruse the subscription programs offered by various small Southern Indiana farms at this special event, which coincides with a regular session of the Bloomington Winter Farmers Market. The CSA day will be held at Harmony School (909 East 2nd Street) on Saturday, February 11 between 9 a.m. and noon.

Subscribers to a CSA delivery program pay a flat fee at the beginning of the growing season for a weekly or biweekly box of fruits, vegetables and other farm products. This arrangement supports local farmers by ensuring a consistent demand for their products and benefits consumers by providing them with a diverse selection of produce and other farm goods at below-market rates. At this CSA day, customers will be able to compare the products, schedules, prices and delivery options offered by various local farmers.

Growers who will be attending the CSA day run small operations that are devoted to organic, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible farming methods. Subscription programs will be available for produce boxes only or for boxes that include meat, eggs and dairy products.

If you are a farmer interested in presenting your 2012 CSA program, please contact Vanessa at 345-7435, or localgrowers@localgrowers.org to reserve a space at the event.

Growing a Sweet Potato Vine

“Which potato would you rather eat?” Remember that science experiment when you were young: putting toothpicks in a sweet potato, and leaving it in water, in order to grow a vine? Here’s a link to a child’s science project, which turns into a lesson about the toxins that may be in our foods.

Vegan Local Carrot Soup

Megan Hutchison, of the LGG Board of Directors, made a large pot of this soup for the Winter Guild Gathering, January 21, 2012.

Ingredients

2 to 3 lbs. of local carrots (I bought big beautiful carrots from a farmer in Rockville, Indiana, available at Bloomingfoods)
3 cloves of garlic (I bought these from Michael Hicks with the Center for Community Empowerment at the Bloomington Winter Farmers’ Market)
1 yellow onion (from the garden!)
olive oil
1 can of coconut milk
3 cups of veggie broth (leftover veggies in the kitchen)
curry powder
cayenne peppers (dried from the garden)
maple syrup (from Maplewood Farm)

Preparation

Slice onions and dice carrots. Heat olive oil in soup pan and cook onions, carrots, and garlic with curry and cayenne until carrots are soft. You can also bake the carrots if your soup pot isn’t wide enough to cook them thoroughly. Add veggie broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add coconut milk and heat on low for another 5 minutes. Use immersion blender or regular blender to blend to desired consistency. Add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Stir maple syrup into soup—serve and enjoy!

2012 Annual Winter Guild Gathering

Animal Husbandry Workshop

On Saturday, January 21st, the day of the 2012 Winter Guild Gathering, there was ice everywhere — preventing a number of the Winter Market farm vendors from making it in to Harmony School. Nevertheless, we had a very successful day, with almost 50 participants, including volunteers who helped with lunch and snacks.

At the Winter Guild Gathering, local growers offer a dynamic series of workshops. Throughout the day, professional and backyard growers participate in discussions and lectures, learn new skills and techniques, and network with fellow gardeners and small farmers. The 2012 WGG topics included fruit tree planting and care, urban agricultural methods, diverse livestock management, beekeeping, composting, an update about the Indiana New Farm School, an info session about LGG’s new website (Here we are!), and a discussion about aggregating products for a viable local distribution system. Each session was led by local experts, with time for questions and conversation.

We sold Winter Guild Gathering tickets here at our site via paypal, at the Bloomington Winter Farmers Market (at the LIFE Farm stand) and at all Bloominfoods locations. The 2012 ticket cost was $20 for LGG members and $25 for non-members. A home-cooked lunch prepared with local ingredients was served at noon, with afternoon snacks of banana bread, brownies, and farmer cookies, courtesy of Bloomingfoods. Those who bought tickets before January 15th saved five dollars, making the price $15 for members, $20 for non-members.

In the morning, the Winter Guild Gathering ran at the same time as the Bloomington Winter Farmers’ Market, from 9am to noon. There was plenty of time between workshops to shop and to visit with the vendors there.

Many thanks to those who got together for friendship and knowledge-sharing on this cold Winter’s day!

Type of Ticket

LGG Member $15.00 USD Non-Members $20.00 USD