What is your personal food policy? 08/12/2010
We all have one - even if we've never thought of it that way. Think of everything you ate yesterday, and everything you expect to eat today- where did the ingredients originate? What do you eat? Not only likes and dislikes- but what cultural, religious or ethical issues shape your diet? What about food allergies or sensitivities? What do you eat when you are too tired or too busy to cook? How much a part of your daily diet is fast food, take-out, pizza or deli food, or convenience foods in cans, boxes or frozen? What are your comfort foods? Are you feeding kids? Seniors? Other family members? How often do you entertain? Who else do you feed on a regular bases- your children's friends? Tea with your neighbor? How do you acquire your food? Do you buy all your food from supermarkets? From farmers markets? From farm stands? How do you get the food to your home? What if your car broke down, or you were unable to buy gas? What if the transport trucks couldn't get through and the store shelves were empty? Do you produce any of your food? Do you grow a garden? Hunt or fish? Do you know/use any of the edible wild plants in the Valley? How often do you cook from scratch? Do you make bread, soup, grow sprouts? Do you make jam, can or freeze in season?, If the power went out, what would you eat? What if the can opener broke? What if the microwave broke? What if the freezer defrosted? Water your fruit trees! 08/09/2010
How to pick a cherry 07/27/2010
Fruit Tree Program Kickoff 07/14/2010
Please join us on Sat. JULY 24TH, 2010 from 1 – 3 pm at the Lush Valley Hub, [1126 Piercy Ave. in Courtenay] for the official start of this year’s Fruit Tree Program. There will be free refreshments, music and door prises. Learn about the program, meet tree owners, pickers, returning and new volunteers. The New Horizons Project Launches June 5! 05/28/2010
Generating a Cookbook to Preserve the Wisdom of Elders for Future Generations LUSH VALLEY FOOD ACTION SOCIETY Those involved will not only determine the content of the cook book, but also help cook and test the recipes in LUSH's commercial kitchen. Youth with a passion for food will partner with the elders for the testing, and will be tapped for the computer savvy resources they can bring to the project. The end result will be the production of a cook book and a Power Point presentation to share with the community. Projected completion date for this is fall 2010. A meeting for all those interested in this project will be held on Saturday, June 5th 1 pm at the LUSH Valley Hub at 1126B Piercy Avenue in Courtenay. Please contact Bunny Shannon at bunny5779@aol.com or 250-335-2003 to RSVP and for further information. For those interested in all aspects of food security, local foods, local agriculture and the like, please join LUSH Valley Food Action Society at its Annual General Meeting and Pot Luck on Thursday, May 13th from 6- 8 pm. The featured guest presenter will be Jean DuGal, Courtenay resident, columnist for the Word, and founder of LUSH Valley. Jean, a frugal living maven known for her dry wit, will entertain us with a Food Trivia contest, testing our local food smarts. There will be prizes for correct answers! The pot luck portion will begin promptly at 6 pm. Everyone attending is asked to provide a dish featuring local foods. Please bring a card with the ingredients listed; a prize will be given to the most creative dish using local ingredients! Beverages will be provided. The business of the AGM will take place at 6:30 pm, followed by dessert and the trivia contest. LUSH Valley welcomes those who wish to volunteer, especially those who wish to invest their time and skills to serve on the board of directors, thereby helping us to shape the future of food security in the Comox Valley. For further information on board opportunities, please contact Bunny Shannon at 250.335.2003 or bunny5779@aol.com LUSH (“Let Us Share the Harvest”) Valley has been working to achieve greater food security in the Comox Valley since 1999. Currently LUSH Valley’s home provides a commercial kitchen, an information Hub for North Island as designated by the Vancouver Island Health Authority, and a variety of educational workshops and programs. Our motto is “Less about charity, more about self-reliance.” LUSH Valley is located at 1126 Piercy Avenue in Courtenay. Please RSVP to jegrt@telus.net or phone board member Judy Goldschmidt at 250.337.8033. April 19th, 2010 At the LUSH Hub In collaboration with Comox Valley Literacy Now, LUSH Valley brought in the formidable Vivian Cruise to secure some FoodSafe certifications. Vivian Cruise, Chef Instructor, FoodSafe Instructor and Cookbook Author Vivian attained her "Red Seal" - chef's papers in 1984 and has been involved in cooking since she was 5 years old, but professionally since 1977. Vivian worked at various restaurants in the Lower Mainland such as the Lazy Gourmet, Kettle of Fish, and Hy's Mansion and was Sous Chef at the SFU faculty club before spending 4 years teaching cooking and baking at 2 Vancouver Secondary Schools. Since moving to the Comox Valley in 1989, she was the chef for CYMC in the early 90's for 5 years, worked at Anderton Nursery, had her own catering business, worked at the Sid Williams Theatre, developed a cookbook and taught cooking for the towboating industry and teaches cooking and FoodSafe Level One (Basic) whenever and where ever it is needed for various organizations and colleges. Her new direction in life is to promote food security, support local farmers and food safety at all levels. When Viv was a child if they didn't kill it or grow it they didn't eat it. Viv's favourite bumper sticker is: NO Farms, NO Food. Summary of the FoodSafe course: FoodSafe Level 1 is a somewhat comprehensive look at why we should be food safe at work(and at home), microbiology and how pathogens(disease causing microorganisms) are spread, the proper receiving, storage, handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods, which foods are potentially hazardous, the effects of time and temperature on microbial growth, cleaning dishes and equipment and Hand Washing. Part of the course also deals with work safety, injuries at work and how to prevent them. Vivian teaches the course using a workbook, lecture, 6 movies, 112 slides and class discussions. The exam will be marked before the students leave the classroom. Certificates will be issued within 3 weeks of successful completion of the exam. Viv's favourite FoodSafe rule: Wash your hands! VOTE FOR LUSH VALLEY! 04/19/2010
 HELP SHARE THE HARVEST! Vote for LUSH Valley in the First Credit Union & Insurance 10K-giveaway and help us promote food security, food literacy and community partnerships through our Hub. Just click on the image in this post and complete the form. It's that simple. LUSH Valley - 2010 Wish List 04/16/2010
Last summer, when LUSH Valley Food Action Society opened our new commercial kitchen, we put out a call for canning jars to help us preserve some of the annual harvest and “Put a Lid on Hunger.” Thanks to the generosity of Comox Valley residents, we were overwhelmed with the response. We now have enough canning jars to keep us busy in our new commercial kitchen for several harvests! Although we have our fill of canning jars, the organization still has many other items on the “Wish List.” These items are needed to help reduce the costs of administration, for use in the new kitchen or for tending some of the garden plots. Any donation of new or gently used items – however large or small – is greatly appreciated. Can you share your good fortune so that LUSH can share the Valley’s bountiful harvest? For more information call 250.331.0152 or contact us. Items may be dropped off Monday – Thursday from 10: 00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at The Hub. For the Office & Warehouse
View the event on Terri's website at: | LUSH VALLEY
Food Security exists when all people, at all times, have dignified access to nutritious, safe, personally acceptable and culturally appropriate foods, produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just.  ArchivesAugust 2010 CategoriesAll |
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