2012 Chili Cook-Off draws more than 5000 people

Read about the 2012 Chili Fest:
Cornell Daily Sun
Ithaca Journal
Chili Fest Slideshow at the Ithaca Journal

Event: Get Your GreenBack Launch Party

Get Your GreenBack Tompkins is a community-based campaign to inspire all 42,000 households and every business in Tompkins County to take at least one step to save energy and money in the areas of Food, Building Heating and Lighting, Transportation, and Waste.

Get Your GreenBack Launch Party

Wed. 2/29 from 5:30-6:30PM
The Kitchen Theater

417 W. State/W. MLK, Jr. St., Ithaca, NY

-Over $2,000 worth of PRIZES: (enter online: www.getyourgreenbacktompkins.org - or - at our Chili-Fest Booth on Sat. 2/18)
with 4 GRAND PRIZES reserved for attendees only - (6:20 drawing, must be present to win!) -

·       2 months' Free NYSEG electric-bill payments!

·    2 months' Free TCAT bus pass & Ithaca Carshare membership!

·    Free compost bin and a composting tutorial for your household!

·       Local CSA membership for 2 months!

-FREE Food
-Be inspired by 3 Award-winning community-building networks
-Set a "Guinness World Book" Record: Largest number of people recycling at once!

Take a Step for energy savings and LEAP into saving dollars during 2012!
Spread the word, visit http://getyourgreenbacktompkins.org/home and JOIN the movement to build a thriving, just, and sustainable local economy!

Get Your GreenBack Tompkins is a community-based campaign to inspire all 42,000 households and every business in Tompkins County to take meaningful steps to save energy and money in the areas of Food, Building Heat & Lighting, Transportation, and Waste. Including you! Join the 100’s of others who have already taken steps to Get Their GreenBack! 

MANY THANKS to our 70+ Campaign Partners and Funders: http://getyourgreenbacktompkins.org/coalition

See you on the 29th! -- Step out to the LAUNCH PARTY to save some GreenBack!
Visit www.getyourgreenbacktompkins.org for a list of other upcoming events.
Contact: Sarah Reistetter-Akiri, sr85cu@gmail.com or Mike Koplinka-Loehr, 592-7650, mak11@cornell.edu.

Event: Cheese and Wine Tasting

Finger Lakes Cheese and Wine Tasting Event
Thursday, February 23, 4:00-7:00pm
at Finger Lakes Wine Center, 237 South Cayuga Street, Ithaca (across from the Holiday Inn)

Enjoy a chance to sample some local Finger Lakes Cheese and Wine at the Finger Lakes Wine Center.  Wine and cheese pairing along with samples and sales.  Featured cheese makers include: 

• Jerry Dell Farm - from Freeville, new Tompkins County Cheese makers, making cheese from their organic dairy milk, cheddar style
• Snow Farm Creamery - Caroline, making an Italian style provolone...they call snovolone
• Kenton's Cheese Company, Trumansburg, making Bianco, a creamy mild brie style cheese..unique in the Finger Lakes!
• Muranda Cheese Company - from Waterloo, they offer a range of cheddars 
• Lively Run Goat Dairy - feta, creamy herbed goat cheese, blue cheese
• Keeley's Cheese Company - irish style washed rind semi-soft cheese

For more information about the cheeses and cheese makers, visit http://flcheesetrail.com/About_our_Members.html
The Finger Lakes Wine Center is located on Cayuga Street in Ithaca, in the lower level of the parking garage behind the Library.  

Event: The Great Chili Cook-off of 2012

February 18th, 2012 11:30am - 4pm
(Thundersnow/ Rain Date is February 19th)

The 14th Annual Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-off will feature chili prepared by approximately 30 restaurants as they compete for the titles of Best Meat/Overall Chili, Best Vegetarian, and People's Choice Chili. In addition to Chili, there are other Chili related food items. The Chili Cook-off will feature a farmers market with vendors and local wineries, breweries, and farmer's sampling their goods. All activities will take place on the Commons and surrounding streets.
There will be other events occurring throughout the day of the cook-off including:

• Live Bands (2:00 Inside Silky Jones)
• Hot Pepper Show Down (2:30pm at the Bernie Milton Pavilion)
• Chili 'Stache Competition (3pm at Bernie Milton Pavilion) 
• Festive Photo Booth (All day)
• Street Performers
• Chili Idol Karaoke ( All day)
• DJ

What if you could only eat food from your pantry for a month?

Marty, a local resident, has decided to do just that, and she's keeping a blog so we can follow the experience. Here's what she says about the challenge:

"Last September, when our household was participating in NOFA-NY's Locavore Challenge, I kept thinking how different the challenge would look if we did it in the dead of winter. We talked about repeating the challenge in March, for comparison, but after thinking it over we decided on a slightly different challenge. Instead of restricting ourselves to local foods, we're going to do a Preparedness Challenge, and eat only food that we already have in stock.

Basic rules:       

- No stocking up in advance        

- No grocery runs in March        

- Use water and energy as usual

To give others the benefit of our experience, I'll be keeping a blog for the month:        

http://preparednesschallenge2012.blogspot.com/"

Event Updates from the Ovid Library

Check out these events from the Ovid Library:

Apple Tree Pruning – Saturday, March 10^th 10am-1pm – Learn to start and train new trees and how to rejuvenate older apple trees.  This class held at Daring Drake Farm, 3046 County Road, Ovid.  Contact the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library to register:ovidlib@rochester.rr.com

Tree Grafting – Saturday, March 24^th 10am-noon at the Ovid Library.  Learn the history, lore, and mechanics of tree grafting with John Reynolds at Daring Drake Farm.  Students will have hands-on practice doing a tongue and whip graft and leave class with two fruit trees to plant.  Fee: $3/person.  Register at the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library.  ovidlib@rochester.rr.com

Shiitake Mushroom Workshop – Saturday, April 28^th 10am-1pm at the Ovid Library.  This workshop will cover the basics of growing Shiitake Mushrooms on hardwood logs.  This will be a hands-on workshop with instructor Steve Sierigk where we will drill-and-fill provided logs with Shiitake mycelium so each participant can take home a log.  Sponsored by the Delavan Foundation.  Fee: $15/person.  Register at the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library.  ovidlib@rochester.rr.com

Library Plant Sale – Saturday, May 12^th 9am – The Ford Memorial Library in Ovid will hold their annual plant sale fund raiser with plants donated from local farms and gardeners.  Enjoy a selection of unusual herbs, flowers, heirloom vegetables, fruit trees and plants. 

Shannon O’Connor, Director

Edith B. Ford Memorial Library, Ovid

ovidlib@rochester.rr.com

607.869.3031

www.ovidlibrary.org

Farmer Ground Flour Granted Funds by USDA Rural Development to Expand Market

Press release from Krys Cail:

Farmer Ground Flour Granted Funds by USDA Rural Development to Expand Market

Trumansburg, New York

  

Farmer Ground Flour, a farmer-owned, farmer-operated grain mill producing flour from locally-grown grains, announces that it has successfully competed for USDA Rural Development funds to expand its marketing. Farmer Ground Flour was awarded $75,000 by the federal agency under the Value-added Producers grant program. These funds will be matched by $50,000 in working capital contributed to the project by Farmer Ground Flour, and a $25,000 personal loan made to the project by local residents Jon Bosak and Bethany Schroeder. Mr. Bosak and Ms. Schroeder are enthusiastic about participating in reviving local grain growing and milling in Tompkins County, and agreed to have the interest on the loan paid to them in flour and grain on a monthly basis. The two-year, $150,000 marketing expansion project will focus on expanding wholesale sales to bakers and institutions, and retail sales at stores and farmers markets.

Farmer Ground Flour is located in Trumansburg, NY, in a former Agway facility where, years ago, animal feeds were milled. The mill is co-owned by the miller/farmer, Greg Mol, and the farmers who grow most of the grain, Thor Oechsner and Erick Smith. Farmer Ground Flour started grinding local organic grains in 2008. The company is committed to organic agriculture, and to the development of a truly sustainable agricultural economy. The marketing expansion project will help spur the revival of wheat growing in New York State, which was once a major producer of wheat and other grain flours.  With a renewed interest in sourcing food from local and regional growers, rather than from further afield, the market for locally-grown grain products is established and growing. This project will help to connect grain farmers to local and regional markets, through an expanding milling and marketing value chain.