Availability for August 19

This week’s newsletter comes from Branson, Missouri. We’re there visiting my family, trying to get one last road trip in before Vivian’s school starts back up. If we time things right, we’ll be rolling back into town just in time for “open house” in her 1st grade classroom.

Having a school-aged child changed a lot of things, as you’d expect, but one thing I didn’t think about was how it would effect my garden. I work in town during the day, so evenings and weekends are my gardening times. Now, there’s always a choice: take care of the weeds or fit in one more trip to the museum (or wherever) before the summer’s over. You don’t even need to see the jungle my garden’s become to guess which option won out most very time.

That’s ok, though, because we have so many growers here at Athens Locally Grown who have been more diligent than I. There are nearly 900 products listed, which is fantastic for mid-August. Right about now, the heat really takes its toll on most everything growing, and the flowers on the plants just refuse to set fruit. Some years, there’s not much of anything other than okra available until things cool off again the first week of September. The last couple years have been better, between the weather cooperating a bit and our growers compensating with variety as best they can. I don’t know what this year will bring, but if you see a lull in a week or two, don’t’ despair. It’ll only be temporary.

One news item before I open market (again I let the time zones trip me up, and I don’t have a full newsletter with recipes and pictures ready to go):

Three celebrated Atlanta chefs will visit Athens to lead a panel discussion on the “Chefs Move to Schools” initiative. Chefs Virginia Willis, Mary Moore, and Amy Ponzoli will lead a panel discussion of the “Chefs Move to Schools” initiative. The three Atlanta chefs recently traveled to the White House for the launch of “Let’s Move!”—First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood obesity. The panel discussion will occur at 7 PM between showings of the movie “What’s On Your Plate” at Cine on Monday, August 23, 2010. This event is sponsored by Athens-Clarke County Green Schools, Ecofocus, and Athens Slow Food. Light bites will be provided by the National. Admission is a $5 suggested donation to the ACC’s Green Schools program to support school gardens. “Chefs move to schools” calls on chefs and food professionals to get involved in adopting a school to help educate kids about food origins, growing techniques, harvesting, nutrition, and preparing and enjoying healthy meals. The chefs partner with teachers, school nutritionists, food service workers, parents, community leaders, school administrators, and food manufacturers to meet dietary guidelines and budgets and revolutionize school food service. “What’s On Your Plate” was filmed over the course of a year and follows two 11-year-old multi-racial city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah take a close look at food systems in New York City and its surrounding areas. With the camera as their companion, the girls talk to food activists, farmers, new friends, storekeepers, their families, the viewer and each other, in their quest to understand what’s on all of our plates. This film will also be shown in Athens schools during the Ecofocus film festival and will then become a part of the ACC Green School’s library and will be available, along with the companion curriculum, for teacher use. The film will be shown once at 5 p.m. and again at 8 p.m.

Thanks again for all your support of all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!