Recently, I had lunch with my friend Rebecca Gerendasy of Cooking Up a Story (CUPS). She is such an
amazing woman, dedicated to sustainable food and farming, and an all out foodie. And, she is a tremendous wealth of knowledge. We talked about a ton of things, but she left me with some resources I just have to share. In fact, they are so great, I am cross-posting this information on Gardener to Farmer and
Portland Foodie...
I want to start with CUPS' new contributors, The Two Junes. These women are urban homesteaders with a ton of knowledge...the kind we seem to have lost along the way to industrialization. Check out the first part of their bio:
"We cook every day, from scratch, a life that seems perfectly normal to
us. Doesn’t everyone tend a vegetable garden? Compost? Make stock and
preserves? Save bacon and duck fat? Make dog food? Put up kumquats and
crab apples? Well, no, apparently not. Jaws drop when we describe
anything related to our kitchen life."
Um, hi Two Junes, can I be your new best friend? No seriously, can I?
Tune in to the Two Junes on CUPS every Tuesday morning...their latest post, Sustainable Food Movements' Dirty Little Secret is bound to get you talking...
On to Rebecca's next recommendation: Friends of Family Farmers. This groovy site is about promoting and protecting socially responsible farming in Oregon. Seriously?? How did I not know about this? I swear, I have to start leaving the house more often...
Here's their mission:
"We are a grassroots organization promoting sensible policies, programs,
and regulations that protect and expand the ability of Oregon’s family
farmers to run a successful land-based enterprise while providing safe
and nutritious food for all Oregonians. Through education, advocacy,
and community organizing, Friends of Family Farmers supports socially
and environmentally responsible family-scale agriculture and citizens
working to shape healthy rural communities."
I love that they are fostering a conversation about sustainable farming practices. We can feed people without giant agri-businesses that use environmentally irresponsible methods.
And finally, she recommended the Pacific Northwest Cheese Project. This is an amazing site dedicated to the lovely artisinal cheeses produced in the PNW. Seriously, Tami Parr (site owner) is a cheese lover from day one. She spent quality time on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, need I say more? Here's what she has to say about her site:
"My family originally hails from a small farming community in southern Wisconsin. Growing up, I visited Wisconsin just about every summer and while there, spent a lot of time on my aunt and uncle's dairy farm. It was there that I learned about the hard work that goes into creating the food that goes onto the dinner table, the relief of getting the milk check in the mail, and the joy of a good harvest.
In Wisconsin cheese is a way of life so perhaps some of my passion
about cheese came from there. Mostly I'm fascinated by cheese as a
living, breathing food and a complex intersection of animal, land and
craft. This is what I'm exploring when I think about, taste and write
about cheese."
Tami is also participating in the Oregon Food Bank's Blog for Food. In the month of February, Oregon Food Blogs are asked to participate in the Blog for Food campaign to help raise money and awareness for the food bank. We all know that times are tough...but now is the time to step forward and make sure that everyone in our community has access to food. Please consider donating by going to the Oregon Food Bank's secure donation page. If we all pull together, we can make sure that Oregonian's have access to the most basic of needs: food.
Whew...that was a lot of information, but like I said, Rebecca is a wealth of knowledge! Be sure to check out Cooking Up a Story on a regular basis...she has the most awesome foodie videos!
