iu eats together

Sustainable Cooking Show and more...

An update from Alex Smith of Students for Sustainable Food:

Plenty of exciting things are going on in the sustainable food community.
Here are a few of them:


SFSF News:

We will be filming a teaser for the IU cooking show this Thursday evening,
as well as this coming Saturday morning at the farmers' market.  Please join
us!  This Thursday's filming will take place at 831 W. 6th street
(map<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=831+W+6th+St,+Bloomington,+IN+47404&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.396866,79.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=39.1686,-86.542654&spn=0.008218,0.019312&z=16&iwloc=addr>),
beginning at 8:30pm. Email or call me at (812)327-5773 for how to meet up on
Saturday.  We're planning to do an episode about winter squash, including
interviews with farmers and people on the street, as well as tasty recipes!


We plan to begin tabeling for the Local Growers Guild on campus.  We will
distribute information about local food options in the community, and
recruit new members for the LGG.  Optimally, it would be good to get started
this week!  Please let us know when you will be available to help.

With fall coming, we plan to move our meetings indoors.  From now on, we
will be meeting in Ballantine 011 every Sunday at 2:00.

Community News:

We just learned that the University has agreed to provide land for a new
garden, as well as funding for a garden intern position.  This is
encouraging news, and shows that IU can be willing to make progress towards
food sustainability.  We need to make sure they keep it up!

The Local Grower's Guild is holding its annual membership drive beginning
this week.  The LGG (link <http://www.localgrowers.org/>) is a great
organization dedicated to supporting local farmers and connecting them with
vendors and the Bloomington community.  You are all invited to the volunteer
training at 8:00 tonight at the Caldwell Eco-Center.  There will be food,
information, and chances to get involved!

SPROUTS Garden is Being Relocated

Yes, it is true. 8th and Fess will no longer be home to the on-campus community garden. SPROUTS has been gardening the land for the past few years with the permission of the university, but with the caveat that if IU ever needed that plot the garden would have to go.

Hillel is scheduled to put a much needed new facility on that plot, so SPROUTS is looking for a new home. An update from Benji Fraser, who is spearheading the move:

MAJOR UPDATE #1:
Foster Living Learning Center has been approved as a possible new
location for SPROUTS. We would be expected to work with dorm residents,
which sounds pretty good in terms of labor ;> John Galuska is the
principal faculty member there, so I have CC'ed him on this.

MAJOR UPDATE #2:
Hilltop Garden Center has also opened its doors to us. No such
residential requirement, but Tulip Tree and Eiganmann (two of IU's
biggest residence dorms; both hotbeds of international AND THEREFORE
ETHNICALLY DIVERSE students) is just a short walk away. Why would I
emphasize ethnicity? Because, IU has a process whereby student groups
like SPROUTS can get up to $500 for a single event, with no limit to
the number of events. DIVERSITY GRANTS, Cha-ching!

ALSO:

Possible service learning projects:

1-Weeding is always a valuable experience.

2-The area where the squash were could be gathered up, and by that I
mean it could be de-vegetated (to the compost with you!) and then
covered with some manure/straw for easy relocation.

3-We could tap their brains for more possible locations to garden on
campus, and thru the brain-tapping we could possibly find out some new
strategy for getting our way into a place we like.

4-We could identify perennials with them and then transplant them into
pots for easy relocation. The greenhouse staff would lend us some
plastic pots for this. Then we need to find a place to keep them (other
than the greenhouse as they spray their plants for pests).

5-We could dismantle the compost bins (leaving the piles for easy
relocation) and stack up the wood into my truck or other vehicle.

6-We could bag up all those raggedy containers/trays, for easy relocation.

7-What else? You got a brain and we need it just about now ;>

Anyone interested in helping with the move should email Benji at bfrasier (at ) indiana.edu

IU Seeking Community Garden Interns

For anyone into (legal and, in this case, institutionally encouraged) guerilla gardening, growing your own food, and beautifying the Indiana University campus by bringing some color to dorm gardens, Alex Smith from at Students for Sustainable Foods has news of a fantastic opportunity/

Indiana University is hoping to hire two community garden interns, who would be helping to establish new student-worked gardens at Foster and possibly the McCalla building. Anyone who might want to be a garden intern should get in touch with Isabel Estevez (iestevez5@gmail.com) or Ben

Schultz (schultzb@indiana.edu).

I imagine that these gardens will look and operate much like the SPROUTS garden close to Collins and the Mathers Museum. If you haven't seen it yet, it is located at the corner of 8th and Fess. Workdays for SPROUTS have been Saturday mornings between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., and they are always looking for people willing to get their hands dirty and help in the business of growing veggies, herbs, and flowers.

Welcome to IU Eats Together

iu eats together will be a space where university (and community) groups working for the cause of good, clean, fair, and local foods can post news of efforts, events, and initiatives for their cause(s). I hope that a common forum can unite individuals and help them work - and dine! - together in support of the Bloomington food community. Email me news of any upcoming events or initiatives at iueats (at) gmail.com. - Sarah