Staunton Green 2020

Have you rocked the vote yet and supported Staunton/Augusta Farmers Market in the American Farmland Trust national competition? With 30 acres of farmland being lost in Virginia every day, supporting our local farmers is now more important than ever. In the 10 county Shenandoah Valley region consumers spend $1.2 billion buying food each year, but only $4.3 million of food is sold by farmers directly to consumers. We have the buying power to re-shape the local economy. Learn more here.

Vote today for the Staunton/Augusta Farmers Market and eat local every day.

In addition to the Staunton/Augusta Farmer’s Market kicking off this Saturday… (4/3/10)

A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program through Nu-Beginning Farm is available for subscribers to pick up at George Bowers Grocery.

If you are unfamiliar with CSAs, they work similarly to a farmer’s market. Farm food is divided into subscriber “shares” and each box is picked up from a central location.

Unlike the pay-as-you-go Farmer’s Market experience, the farmer is funded up front to cover costs at the beginning of the season. You, as the consumer, pay once and enjoy your share of the harvest all summer.

More details here.

Disclosure: I am one of two owners of George Bowers Grocery.

Do you want to learn about the community gardening efforts here in Staunton?

Join others with the same interest for a free event at Booker T. Washington this Wednesday, (3/3/2010), from 5-7pm.

Guest speakers will include:

• Amber Vallotton – Master Gardener
• Lisa Klein – Community Improvement
• Ophie Kier – Men’s Association
• Stephanie Diehl – Nutritionist

The Crawford Brothers Quartet will play, and they will be serving Italian Style Dinner. Contact Seed for more info: 540-886-3336.

Kudos to the Stonewall Jackson Hotel! The hotel recently debuted its rooftop garden in our historic downtown. The hotel minimizes stormwater runoff while also saving nearly 20 gallons of water a day from this project. Added bonus? The garden provides locally-grown food for guests! Click here to download a pdf providing more information.

Says an article from NBC Channel 29:

“The initiative is designed to be a low-cost, high quality alternative to trucking in produce from out of town.

Hamilton says he plans to have much of what he’s growing go from the garden to the dinner table quickly, “Super fresh, it won’t get any fresher–as a matter of fact in some instances it will be just minutes before, between the time the product is picked and actually served.”

The rooftop garden uses water from the hotel’s air conditioning unit to care for the vegetables.”

Show your appreciation for Stonewall Jackson Hotel’s green roof efforts by recommending the hotel to visiting friends and family.