Fair Food Matters

Radio Farmer gains steam. Later this week, I'll have some news from the WMU gardens, plus WMU Natural Areas and Landscaping Services. Pictures to follow on Sunday from the volunteer workday at Growing Matters Garden.

Fair Food Matters is a not-for-profit community organization founded about ten years ago in Kalamazoo. Growing Food Matters is the gardening / education arm of Fair Food Matters. Their quest is similar to that of Radio Farmer, including their affinity to using locally grown food as a catalyst in community building.

Their garden locations are north of the city, and they serve multiple markets in the summer season including People's Food Co-Op's (PFC) 100-Mile Market and - new for this year - the Douglass Market which meets once a week. More info on those markets in future posts.

Internships at Growing Food Matters can include more teaching and social interaction or more gardening and market work. On a daily basis, the workshops range from learning about soil maintenance to music in the garden. Interns can go into a shadow-type position with full time employees to become comfortable around the community and material.

April 2nd, 12 - 4pm Volunteer Workday @2119 N. Westnedge
May 21, 2 - 5pm Open House @2119 N. Westnedge

You can check out everything Fair Food Matters does at
http://www.fairfoodmatters.org/

Bill McKibben : Hope, Human and Wild

Bill McKibben. Born 1960, Palo Alto, California. Acclaimed author of The End of Nature (1990). McKibben has been known to be quite the "doom and gloom" writer, someone who throws the dreadful facts in our faces with no shame whatsoever and lives on to write another bestseller. He is easy to read, fun to follow on adventures and analysis, but also quite insightful with his methodologies.

The second chapter of Hope, Human and Wild is one of the keystone topics of the book. McKibben focuses on the livability of Curitiba, Brazil. Bringing in former experiences living in other major world cities, the compare and contrast scenarios exemplify how different cultures, politics and agendas roll with the design of a city and lifestyle. Where automobiles are the common thread among cities in the U.S., Curitiba immediately took a hands-on approach to this issue by focusing on the people. How can a city live lightly with a million and a half inhabitants? Curitiba showed McKibben the way to salvation with public transportation, appropriately designed streets and buildings, and probably most importantly - a political environment that bends with the times.

The Radio Farmer Blog Project

The Radio Farmer student project aims at exposing the local and regional food communities of Kalamazoo and West Michigan but also involve areas such as Detroit and Pittsburgh. We'll bring together the innovative techniques and experiences of city farmers, producers, marketers, and buyers. Creative information for local agriculturalists and holistic land users in the new age.

With support from guest writers and photographers, Radio Farmer will hit on a broad range of topics important to local communities. News and events, volunteering and activism. As the growing season gains steam, Radio Farmer will be covering everything from seed to fruit.

Stay tuned!