Good Food Kalamazoo seeking Organizer/Facilitator

The FIC has been working with our friends at PFC Natural Grocery & Deli, Michigan State University Extension, and Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes to organize a networking effort called "Good Food Kalamazoo".

Good Food Kalamazoo (GFK) is an effort to engage & empower our community to provide itself with healthy, green, fair, and affordable food. While strongly aligning with the Michigan Good Food Charter (MGFC), GFK has historically (2011-2014) offered information and networking opportunities to individuals and organizations that are involved with or interested in good food.

After a short hiatus, a renewed and more focused effort has begun. In 2016, we held two meetings, attended by over 40 organizations; we plan for meetings to continue quarterly in 2017 with clear objectives around shared commitments and collaborative projects. 

We have received a small grant Michigan Local Food Council seed grant from the Center for Regional Food Systems at Michigan State University to support this work!

And, we are seeking an organizer to help move things along. Please check out this Call for Proposals and get in touch if you are interested in working with us!

Beekeeping at the FIC!

This is a guest post from our summer intern Kara Harrison. 

Something is buzzing over at the Food Innovation Center – bees! Since June, the Food Innovation Center has been home to four beehives. When I went over there last week, I was able to help feed a hive and learn about how bees live and work. They are some of the most efficient and unique animals I’ve ever seen!

With the outer and inner covers removed, you can see
the frames on which the bees build their comb. The queen
lays eggs inside the cells of the comb, and it is also used
to store honey (not in the same cells at the same time!)

KVCC's hives were custom built by local
beekeeper Cathy King.

Before I could dress up like the Michelin Man and go see the hives, I had to learn how they are constructed. The beehives are tall, rectangular boxes that have an outer cover then an inner cover. Underneath those covers are separate boxes containing eight to ten frames. The frames have a repeating hexagon wire foundation; this is where the bees lay their eggs and then honey.

That’s right, the bees use the same space for eggs/larvae and honey (I told you they’re efficient!). Inside the hive, there is one queen. The queen bee is vital to the hive, because without her, the rest of the hive has no direction. The queen is responsible for laying ALL of the eggs; if a hive loses a queen, other bees may try to start laying eggs or no eggs will be laid. While the queen and drones (male bees) are busy inside the hive, the worker bees (females) are out gathering pollen and nectar to bring back that will eventually be made into food/honey/wax.

When we went out to feed the bees, we poured sugar water into the topmost super. This way, the bees can hang onto the wire and collect the food without drowning. Sugar water from humans is only needed until the bees produce enough honey to feed themselves; we were simply expediting the process!

This frame of comb contains both honey (top and bottom) AND "brood", or larvae (in the capped cells in the middle).

Bees aren’t only interesting, but they’re very significant to our ecosystem, too! When the worker bees are out collecting pollen and nectar, they’re also pollinating plants and crops. According to Greendustries, honeybees are major pollinators of almonds, apples, avocados, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers, sunflowers, watermelon, and many more. Without the bees, supply of those crops would drastically decrease.

Therefore, let’s be kind to the honeybees, so that they will continue to help us produce all of those delicious foods. I encourage you to learn more about honeybees, and I will do the same!

Want to learn about beekeeping yourself? KVCC is offering a course this fall in Beekeeping 101! It will be held Tuesdays from 6-8pm at the Food Innovation Center, 224 E Crosstown Parkway. 

Register at kvcc.edu/trainingschedule

And check out the WWMT News story about our apiary and the class! 

Local Food Supply and Demand!

This winter, we worked with the Michigan woman-owned firm New Growth Associates to conduct a supply and demand analysis for our Food Hub at the Food Innovation Center. We interviewed farmers about their crops and ability to expand production, and we interviewed local hospitals, schools, and colleges about their demand for farm-fresh products. The results are in - and good news, they say we are right on track!

The report from New Growth Associates is HERE! Check it out!

AmeriCorps Position available!

We are very excited to announce that we have been awarded an AmeriCorps volunteer position through our local LISC office!

The position will start in October 2016 and serve full-time through July 2017. The AmeriCorps member will be working jointly with our team at the FIC and with the excellent education staff at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum to help increase community and volunteer engagement around KVCC's food-system-focused community programming. Please see the FULL POSTING HERE for details!

We will review applications on a rolling basis and must fill the position by September 12. Thanks for your help spreading the word!

Farmers Market Odyssey #1: Fresh on Q! in Texas Township

As I continue to learn about sustainability, one of my goals this summer is to go to as many farmer’s markets as I can around Kalamazoo. When I go back up to school, I want to continue to find new markets around East Lansing, too. Buying from farmer’s markets just makes sense; it’s locally grown, fresh food, and you’re supporting business and farmers in nearby towns. The produce traveling a shorter distance from field to plate, and the fact that they’re in-season both contribute to lower prices. That sounds sustainable and logical to me!

The market I was able to go to this week was Texas Township Market (Fresh on Q!). When I got there it was raining, but that didn’t matter because Texas Township has built a great pavilion for the market to keep the tables (and you) dry from the rain (or in the shade on a sunny day!). Walking up, I could smell the barbeque from one of the food trucks drawing me in closer. There were multiple food trucks/ stands selling hot foods including barbeque, wood-fire pizza, and Mexican-style foods. I visited the market around 6pm on a Tuesday, and I easily could have eaten any of those for dinner!

One thing that I believe makes Texas Township Market unique is the amount of baked goods that were offered. Some available items included muffins, pies, cookies, gourmet desserts, cinnamon bread, take-n-bake varieties, and more. Some sellers had organic, others had gluten-free; it’s safe to say that you can find something that suits you.  Another noteworthy aspect of this farmer’s market is the friendliness of all the sellers. Almost every table I walk past acknowledged me with a “hello” or a simple smile. The approachability of everyone there made it a very comfortable and relaxed experience.

Now, of course, I get to the produce. The selection at Fresh on Q! is great; along with the food and treats already mentioned, the fruits and vegetables look delicious. On a rainy day, it was so nice to see the colorful array of produce.  I wandered down to the end and I saw a basket of mini cucumbers, which I had to get. At the same table they had container labeled “HUGE zucchini” for $1.00 each, and they weren’t kidding. I bought a zucchini that is bigger than my forearm for a dollar! Other sellers had great deals, too. For four dollars you could get one and three-quarter pounds of green beans – that’s a hefty amount of beans. A pint of red juicy raspberries cost $3.00, and ears of corn were only $0.50 each! It’s hard to beat these prices, but even better, it’s hard to beat the freshness that comes with buying from farmer’s markets.

Fresh on Q! is located in Texas Corners on 60^th Avenue right next to the fire station. It’s open on Tuesdays from 4-7pm and Saturdays from 8am-noon. If you haven’t been by this market yet, I encourage you to check it out! If you already go to the Texas Township market, keep it up! You’re benefitting your community, local farmers, small business, and yourself.

Thanks for reading!

Kara

Introducing Kara Harrison - summer guest blogger!

This is the first of a series of blog posts by Kara Harrison, a dietetics student from Michigan State University who will be working with us at the BHLC for the rest of the summer.

My name is Kara and I’ll be helping to keep the Kalamazoo Valley Healthy Living Blog up to date for the next few weeks. I’ll be writing about what’s going on around Kalamazoo, the Food Innovation Center, and more! But, before I get into all of that exciting stuff, I want to tell you a little about myself.

I attend Michigan State University and will be graduating this coming May with a Bachelor’s of Science in Dietetics with plans to become a registered dietitian. While at school, I am an intern at Spartan Performance where we take a holistic approach to training young athletes. As an intern, I teach everything from the basics of an athletic stance, sprint mechanics, strength training, mental skills, and nutrition at our clinic. I also go out to local schools and club sports teams to perform training sessions and give large group nutrition talks.

When I’m home for the summer, I work at the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo in Portage; this summer is my sixth one working as a camp counselor at the Y. During my time at summer camp, I created a nutrition education activity for the campers. I called it “Fresh Food Friday” because every Friday I would bring in some type of fun, healthy snack that the kids and I could make together while learning a little bit about the nutrition aspects of the foods. The campers and my boss loved it so much that I began doing the activity at least three times per week! So, now it’s called Fresh Food Fun.

Being from the area (I went to Mattawan schools for all thirteen years), I am very excited to be working alongside the Food Innovation Center! The visions it’s working towards and projects that it will be taking on will be beneficial for the whole community. Something that we can all take part in and improve upon is sustainability! Learning more about sustainability and its practices is one reason why I’m looking forward to spending time at the Food Innovation Center this summer.

I will be keeping everyone updated on local farmer’s market finds and Food Innovation Center news. Until next time – thanks for reading!

Good Food Kalamazoo!!!!

On June 7, almost 50 professionals, activists, and advocates for good local food in Southwest Michigan gathered at KVCC's Anna Whitten Hall for the awkwardly-named but very exciting "Good Food Kalamazoo Re-Kickoff Meeting".  Here are the meeting overview slides.

We started with a brief overview of the Michigan Good Food Charter, as a guide for our work.

Then, we heard a presentation from economist Ken Meter: Finding Food in Southwest Michigan. Meter's analysis of economic, health, and environmental data gave us a clear picture of how our local food system is doing, and where we need to work for growth and change. Read Ken Meter's Finding Food in Southwest Michigan study to learn more!

Megan Phillips Goldenberg and Vicki Zilke of New Growth Associates shared the results of a supply-and-demand analysis that will help to guide the development of KVCC's Food Innovation Center Food Hub.

Then, the meeting attendees worked together to create a conceptual map of our food system. This is a visual representation of how Kalamazoo's businesses and organizations work together, and what services might be missing. Check it out:

(Translations of the organization abbreviations coming soon...)

The next Good Food Kalamazoo meeting will be on September 27 at 2:30pm, location TBD in downtown Kalamazoo! Mark your calendars and plan to join us!