Alison F's Blog (13)

"Meet the Members" highlights an IthaCan member to find out what they're up to, what they've learned from putting food by and what future plans they have for preserving food at home.  We'll be featuring a new member about every month.

IthaCan caught up with member IthacaNancy to find out what she's been up to recently. 

IthaCan: Are you…

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The front page article in today's Ithaca Journal features Farmer Ground Flour, a mill in Trumansburg that grinds local grains. Towards the end of the article, IthaCan's founder, Katie Quinn-Jacobs is quoted, saying how important local processors are to our local foodshed.

Last week, a few members of IthaCan toured Farmer Ground Flour, a mill in Trumansburg that specializes in grinding grains grown by Caygua Pure Organics.



The grain arrives at the mill in "tote bags" that hold 35 cubic feet. In batches of 300 pounds, grain goes into the hopper and is ground between two circular vertical stones before being sifted. Greg Mol, the man behind the flour,… Continue

Happy New Year, everyone!



Just wanted to let you all know that there are tons of food events coming up in the Ithaca area in 2010, including several soon-to-be announced IthaCan events. We'll let you know as soon as the details are ironed out.



For now, I've posted all the food-related events I could find on my blog: www.ithacasfoodweb.com. If you know any any that I missed,… Continue

Hi folks,



A lot of people have asked me how to find out about farms in our area. Luckily, Cornell Cooperative Extension has done all the legwork and put that information into a handy guide.



I will attach a PDF file of the guide here.

2009-10 Local Foods Guide.pdf



You can also get the PDF from this… Continue

I just saw this free resource from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and wanted to share it.



If you don't have a "how to" preserve book, this is a simple set of… Continue

Greetings!



I'm writing to announce the launch of my new(ish) blog, Ithaca's Food Web, which can be found at www.ithacasfoodweb.com. The blog focuses on local news about local food in and around Ithaca, Tompkins County, and the greater online community.



I created this blog because I've read a lot in the national media about the rise of local food, and… Continue

Food continues to make headlines!



This Atlantic article in particular struck me. It's not directly about food preservation -- it's a conversation with the new FEMA director about preparedness. Given the connection between food storage and preparedness in a time of crisis, I thought I'd mention it. Here's a quote from the article:

“We need to change behavior in this country,” [Craig Fugate, head of FEMA]… Continue

Here's a link to an interview with Lauren Devine, a representative from the makers of Ball Jars:

http://www.foodchannel.com/stories/774-who-says-home-canning-is-for-grannies-





Here are some highlights from the Q&A:



*"Our overall sales are up about 28% over last year for all our products—that includes glass jars, plastic products, and food products such… Continue

Cornell Cooperative Extension is spreading the word about Late Blight, a disease that kills both tomatoes and potatoes. According to CCE, the disease has never been found so early or so widespread in the northeast. Once the disease takes hold, spores can travel by wind from place to place, infecting plants in home gardens and commercial operations.



Tom Zitter, Cornell professor, told me that he found infected plants Lowes (which were originally grown in Alabama), and subsequently got… Continue

A NYS bill intended to provide start-up and expansion funding for not-for-profit sponsors of small-scale food processing facilities was approved by the NYS Assembly on March 9 and by the Senate on June 3. It will now be sent to the Governor for his approval.



According to a description, bill A04166:

"Establishes a kitchen incubator/shared-use kitchen facility program within the urban development… Continue

Recently, canning has made the news -- both nationally and locally. Isn't it interesting how the recent economic turmoil has made people consider "going back to the basics"?



Here are a few of the articles from the past month or so. Have you seen others?



Preserving Time in a Bottle (or Jar)



Canning… Continue

Given the recent economic turmoil, it's not surprising that people are reconsidering what they consider their "safety net." For many people, a 401K does not exactly offer the sense of security that it once did.



This Associated Press article about "suburban survivalists" reports that more people are stocking up on food, emergency supplies, and other necessities. When the article was first… Continue