The earth911.com site is one of those things that's so simple it's genius. You type in your item you want to recycle, your zip code and it spits out the info.For example if you want to recylce that old computer monitor instead of dumping it…
It was interesting to hear Spovegan assess my perspective on local food in the following terms last week. She said;Craig seems to be approaching the idea of veganism from an environmental view point, whereas the Times contributor takes an ethical stance using some rather polarizing…
Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="http://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="http://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="http://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a>Go here for the full article. Go here for a recent post on my own conversation with Fred Fleming from Shepherd's Grain.
We had a great Thanksgiving dinner from locally sourced ingredients (mostly). The turkey is from Rocky Ridge Ranch and it was great. The highlight of the meal was our tri-colored mashed potatoes from this year's garden harvest. We used purple, red and white fleshed varieties,…
Some students at a Medford, Mass. High School are threatening a protest of their school food. More than 400 students have pledged on Facebook to boycott the food next week, even as schools Superintendent Roy Belson insists that it is healthy.“We are fighting for multiple…
I stumbled across www.good.is today, full of interesting perspectives and provocative ideas about the environment, food, etc. Check out the magazine version too, Good 100. Of the Good 100 here are a few that jumped out to me.The Crap Caper in Chicago where a someone…
I had the privilege of going to Pasadena Park Elementary yesterday to present 4th grader Sean Levinson with a copy of Farmers' Market Today magazine whose latest edition features his award winning market poster from last season. The other award winners can be seen on…
NOT One of our discoveries from Nancy cooking Thai food all the time is how much better Shark brand sriracha sauce is than the "rooster sauce" that's so common in restaurants and in the grocery store. Most of the sriracha (pronounced sreeracha) consumed in America…
Go here for Spovegan's thoughtful response to my post. The accompanying comic strip copied above is hilarious.I suppose manna in the wilderness would be vegan approved so at least they had 40 years.Here's the gist of her response:The approach that Spokane Vegans takes is very…
As the great debate about food and the environment has evolved in recent years the argument that eating local is a good way to cut down on carbon emissions has lost its luster. If food is being shipped on average over 1500 miles to the…
Volunteerism as I understand it, is a way of compensating for economic or social failure. If you have an economy that impoverishes land and people, as now, then decency will try to compensate by various kinds of volunteerism. But the only effective answer to economic…
At the Food and Faith Forum last week I was encouraged to here Peter Illyn from Restoring Eden mention that Wendell Berry is a rock star among many of the ecologically minded evangelical college students he works with. Berry is a poet and a farmer…
This just in from Governor Gregoire in Olympia:Whereas, the holiday season is a time to be thankful for America's abundant supply of safe, wholesome and affordable food; andWhereas, Washington's farmers and ranchers produce the food that nourishes our bodies and serves as the centerpiece for…
Remi over at Spokane Food Blog has the scoop. Natural Start had a lot of great press and visibility as they set out two years ago to source the ingredients of their baked goods within 30 miles of their Gonzaga area location. They will apparently…
Here is the rundown on winter farmers' markets Spokane area for 2009-2010. Millwood Farmers' Market: Wednesdays from 2-6pm at the Crossing Youth Center.Downtown Community Building Market Thursdays: 11am - 3pm at the Community Building.Coeur d'Alene Saturday Market: 11am - 3pm at at the Plaza right…
When we jumped into our year long experiment we didn't make preparations so when January 1 hit we desperately sought out any remnants of locally grown food. Our search brought us to Siemers Farm in Greenbluff where we had been told they had winter squash.…
I enjoyed being a part of the Food & Faith Forum this past Saturday put on by the Faith and Environment Network. One of the highlights for me was meeting one of my heroes, Fred Fleming of Shepherd's Grain renown. Fred co-founded the co-op that…
Must read article on the efficacy of local food movement at MIT News. Yes that MIT. Not Moonbeams In the Twilight food co-op or Michael pollan Is Totally awesome fan club newsletter. It's the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From a scientific perspective they take a…
They're sold out. At least that's the short answer for Spokane area folks this year. Rocky Ridge Ranch is sold out. The Hutterites (no web site for obvious reasons) are sold out. And I don't know of any other small farms in the area that…
Here's an interesting article on the idea of "slow money", or a system of investments that stay local in your own community:What if the money you invested stayed within 50 miles of where you currently live and was committed to local merchants and growers who…
Angela Pizelo from the Liberty Lake Farmers Market and board member for the Washington State Farmers Market Association reports:Rep. Scott White (46th District, North Seattle) is spearheading legislation that provides a property tax exemption for church property loaned or rented to non-profit organizations that conduct…
The Belgrade, Montana town council has shut down the efforts of residents to allow for backyard chickens. The objections are kind of hilarious.Menicucci also said Clark was concerned over procedural issues involving “stray chickens.” Under city ordinance, dogs require licensing and strays are taken to…
I'm a long time fan of Despair.com and couldn't resist posting these pics. If you've ever blogged or Twittered or facebooked you just might spit your coffee all over the keyboard. Go here for the lowdown on the growth in web authors. Can there be…
Two posts from recent months are deserving of some follow up. One post was on the recycling habits and sustainability sensitivities of Christians in the U.S. In the post I suggested that Christians were, for some reason, not as engaged with issues of sustainability as…
I'll be speaking at the Food and Faith Forum on November 14. Should be a good event. The Spokesman has the scoop. To register, contact Felicia Reilly at (509) 294-3944 or at faithandenvironment(at)gmail.com.
The Year of Plenty blog was created by Craig Goodwin in the winter of 2008 to chronicle the experiences of his family as they sought to consume everything local, used, homegrown or homemade. That journey was a wonderful introduction to people and movements in the Spokane area who are seeking the welfare of the community through local foods, farmers markets, community gardens, sustainable transportation, and more fulfilling and just patterns of consumption. In 2009 and beyond the blog will continue to report on these relationships and practices, all through the eyes of a family with young children. Craig manages the Millwood Farmers' Market, is a Master Food Preserver and Pastor at Millwood Presbyterian Church. Craig can be reached at goody2230@gmail.com