Urban gardening and local food presentations this fall

Two presentations by Lisa Heldke, Department of Philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College, are scheduled for this fall. Learn more below and save the date! Space is limited for both events. Please RSVP to j r h o d e s 4 [ a t ] i n d y . r r . c o m

Monday 28 September 2009
3:00 PM-4:15 PM
IUPUI, Campus Center (CE) 309420 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202

Cultivating Cosmic Patriotism by Cultivating Cosmos: Urban Gardening and the Creation of Community (pdf)

This essay considers urban gardening as an important contemporary setting in which to cultivate what Jane Addams calls "cosmic patriotism," an alternative to the patriotism of the tribe, and a form of patriotism characterized by a commitment to multiculturalism, humanitarianism, and internationalism. Community gardens, "guerilla gardens," and other collective, urban agricultural ventures offer the very sorts of urban settings Addams argued were crucial for the nurturance of such patriotism: a pleasurable, or recreational setting in which city residents could share their knowledge and culture with each other in a spirit of play and openness. Heldke will discuss these issues in an informal afternoon session.

Monday 28 September 2009
Reception: 6:00 PM
Lecture: 6:30 PM-8:00 PM
Lilly Auditorium (on lower level of IUPUI University Library)
755 W Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46202
(Parking is available at the North Street Garage, 819 W. North St. Bring your ticket to the event for a free validation stamp)

Staying Home For Dinner: Ruminations on Local Foods in a Cosmopolitan Society (pdf)

Reflecting on the decision to eat locally produced food suggests that ethical decisions cannot be cast as individual choices between two clear alternatives. When we seek morally unambiguous choices, we focus our ethical energies in the wrong place. The moral focus of our ethical decision-making should fall on building communities because the importance of any choice we make lies in the relationships that give our choices context. Food is an especially rich intersection of relations and so provides many opportunities to reflect, connect, and imagine more democratic communities. Recognizing these opportunities leads us to see ourselves not as food consumers but as food citizens who seek to enact and transform our relations through not only our purchasing and eating choices but also through our collective work in organizations that promote healthy, just, fair, safe, and delicious food systems for all people.

School's out but the seeds are in: Local school children plant an edible schoolyard

Mollie Eley wears many hats. For those of us who left middle school years ago, Mollie is the friendly and knowledgeable owner of Goose the Market near downtown Indy. But to a special group of kids who just left middle school a week ago (for summer break), Mrs. Eley is the counselor and teacher who encouraged them to play in the dirt.

Mollie and her school, Sand Creek Intermediate in Fishers, were awarded a grant from the Hamilton Southeastern School Foundation to start an edible schoolyard earlier this spring. The kids planted tomatoes, kale, carrots, sunflowers, pumpkins, squash, lettuce, herbs, corn, and peas before school let out. They'll return this fall to harvest the produce and use it in hands-on cooking lessons with local chefs. As the garden grows next year--just like the student-farmers' expertise--the kids plan to sell produce from future harvests at a local farmers market booth.

The support that Mollie and her students have received from their community, the school principal, and parents is integral to the garden's success. The school's janitor, Jesse Myers, learned of Mollie's project and volunteered to share his gardening expertise with the kids. Jesse started the kids' seeds in the greenhouse on his impressive private garden and taught the students and adults about turning over the soil, using compost, and choosing seeds.

The kids working on this project face more challenges than most gardeners. Students in Mollie's Functional Academic Program (or FAP) focus on academics and activities designed to help them function and contribute to the world around them, regardless of the mild mental disabilities they handle every day. Nurturing a living thing and watching it grow are golden life lesson, but these kids will also learn to cook with "good, clean, and fair" food as well as interacting with customers, filling orders, and making change at their farmers market booth. It's an edible school yard that feeds the body and the mind.

Local Producers in the News

To market, to market...that's the tune lots of us in central Indiana are singing now that summer has arrived and more than a dozen farmers markets are in full bloom around Indianapolis. Why just today the 38th & Meridian Farmers Market began its season of Thursday afternoon offerings. Stop by from 4-6:30pm at the north side of the church next to the children's playground for Indiana raised or produced vegetables, meat, cheese, honey, baked goods, potted plants, canned goods, and more.

All these market stands might be the reason lots of local producers have been in the news lately. Seldom Seen Farm was highlighted in the Indy Star's latest Taste Section.

Balanced Harvest was featured on the blog Going Local.

And the Hoosier Gardener blog noted that Goose the Market got its hands in the dirt with new herb and vegetable beds.

(Photos courtesy of Indy Star, Going Local, and Goose the Market.)

Father's Day Hoedown and Throwdown

Fried chicken, farm animals, and live bluegrass...
what more could your pops ask for?

Celebrate Father's Day with Slow Food Indy at Skillington Farms

The Hoedown

Fresh fried chicken

Live bands

Pitch-in picnic

Farm tour

The Throwdown

Your best side dish--Bring it!

Judges: local food experts

Prizes: meat, bacon, coupons

Here’s the Story

Bring the whole family for a fried chicken picnic and live music at Skillington Farms in Lebanon, Indiana, on Sunday, June 21st at 3pm.

Chris Eley of Goose the Market will be on site, frying chicken fresh from Skillington Farms. Each family should bring a dish to share for the pitch-in picnic to accompany the fried chicken. (Bring your own reusable dining ware, too!)

Enter your dish in the Side Dish Throwdown. A panel of local food experts will judge the entries for originality, use of local ingredients, and, of course, flavor. Three winners will receive a meat sampler from Skillington Farms, Bacon of the Month Club membership from Goose the Market, or a Green Savings Indy coupon book.

Tickets: purchase by June 19th!

Children 12 and younger: FREE
Adults: $14/Slow Food Members $20/non-members

• Tickets are required and only available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/69715
• Tickets include farm tour, live music, and fried chicken.
• Remember to bring a side dish to share!

What to bring

• A side dish to share
• Picnic blanket and/or chairs
• Sunscreen and bug spray
• Comfortable shoes for the farm tour and your dancing shoes
• BYOB
• Your own reusable dining ware (plates, cups, utensils, etc.) to reduce waste

Live Local Bands

• The Perennials 4pm
• Woodstove Flapjacks 5pm

Chickens danced and plates were filled: A great day at Seven Springs Farm

Slow Food Indy thanks all the guests and our generous hosts--Luella and David Porter--for a wonderful day at Seven Springs Farm.



About 60 guests filled their plates from the potluck buffet of seasonal ingredients before finding a spot in the sun or the shade. Just a few of the locally and sustainably produced treats included asparagus, swiss chard, arugula, strawberries, lamb's quarters, rhubarb, two-year-old dry cured ham, last summer's peach and apple wine, meatballs, noodles, and more.


Luella and David led a tour of their biodynamic farm where they plant by the moon, move chickens and their houses to fresh pasture each day, and care for their grass fed dairy and beef cattle.

Folks who took picture at the event are more than welcome to share by adding to Slow Food Indy's flickr group.

Mark your calenders now for Slow Food Indy's next event, the June 21st Father's Day Hoedown and Throwdown at Skillington Farms near Lebanon, Indiana.