(Mount Vernon, WA) The Northwest Agriculture Business Center in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture will host a half-day grant writing workshop to assist producers in applying for a USDA Value-Added Producer Grant. The class will be taught by Sharon Exley, USDA Business Programs Specialist, and will be held on October 20th from 8:30 am -12:00 pm at the Burlington Public Library located at 820 East Washington Avenue, Burlington.
A recent CDC report highlights the lack of fruits and vegetables in American diets. The report offers brand new data with State by State breakdown of fruit and vegetable consumption. Using a standard of 2+ fruits and 3+ vegetables daily, Washington State’s consumption for adults is at 15.1% meeting that requirement, compared to a national average of 14%. Washington State does not have data on adolescent fruit and vegetable consumption but national trends suggest that it is significantly lower in adolescent populations.
With our system on its way to full functionality, the Puget Sound Food Network is already making connections within the Puget Sound region. Our first official transaction took place yesterday when Growing Washington delivered products including cukes and a braising mix to Western Washington University in Bellingham. This well received transaction will be the first…
Today, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released the 2008 figures for Washington State’s agricultural value and the top forty commodities. What’s changed since 2007? Overall, Washington State’s agricultural production value has decreased from $8.32 billion in 2007 to $7.88 billion in 2008. While this is a significant drop, compared to other states, Washington has…
In a recent article from The Globe and Mail, Sarah Elton discusses how big brand companies and supermarket chains are adopting the “‘buy local’ zeitgeist with marketing efforts aimed at capturing this audience.” Elton refers to several ad campaigns from companies like Frito Lay and Hellmann’s mayonnaise (a Unilever brand) utilizing depictions of farms that…
PSFN Team Member Lucy Norris just passed on this interesting tidbit about the formation of a new organization in New York called Basis. The brainchild of former management consultant Bion Bartning, Basis is a newly formed company that recently acquired (and greatly expanded) Farm to Chef, a wholesale distributor connecting small local farms to haute…
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Wednesday the launching of new online tools to guide consumers through the wide-world of food. These tools evidence a new stance on food education from the USDA and an embrace of technology as communication tools. USDA web-tools: Know Your Farmer promotes food issues, presents dinner options and celebrates food…
According to recent reports from the UK Climate Change Committee, it’s not just cars and cows that are contributing to CO2 production. Airplanes could account for 15-20% of all CO2 emissions produced by 2050. The CCC has made some drastic, albeit slow, recommendations to the UK: Aviation emissions in 2050 should be cut to 2005…
With the advent of the mad cow scare, pasteurization and various e.coli concerns, it was only a matter of time before the blogosphere focused its attention on Food Safety. Now, thanks to the US government and lawyer Bill Marler of Marler Blog, there are at least two ways to learn more about the latest in…
