Category Archives: Sustainable Food

Mayor Biskupski launches a new mobile farmers market in Glendale and Poplar Grove neighborhoods

VIDEO :[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jemBO0NnXXc&w=560&h=315]

PRESS:

Mayor Jackie Biskupski will officially launch a new program on Monday, June 27, to help some west side communities access more affordable and healthy food. The kick-off event and press conference begins at 10 a.m. at the Sorenson Unity Center. The Mayor and community partners will describe the new “Urban Greens Market,” then open the market for immediate business.

The Urban Greens Market is a creative concept to bring farm-fresh food to Glendale and Poplar Grove—neighborhoods classified as “food deserts” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Both Salt Lake City and the USDA found these areas lack grocery stores, have some of the lowest vehicle ownership rates in the country, and are home to an abundance of fast food outlets and convenience stores—all factors leading to the “food desert” designation.

To tackle this problem, in October 2015, the City’s Sustainability Department partnered with local non-profits Green Urban Lunch Box, Real Food Rising, a program of Utah Community Action and Utahns Against Hunger to win a USDA grant to create the Urban Greens Market.

“Ensuring that all Salt Lake City residents have access to healthy and affordable food is a major priority for my administration,” Mayor Biskupski said. “This can be a real challenge for our Glendale and Poplar Grove communities, which are situated in the largest food desert in Salt Lake City. The Urban Greens Market will make affordable, local produce more accessible to our residents in these neighborhoods.”

From now through November 14, the market will rotate through several locations every week in Glendale and Poplar Grove, providing locally grown and harvested produce. Each location will accept food stamp benefits and Double Up Food Bucks — a nutrition incentive program run by Utahns Against Hunger. The Double Up Food Bucks program will match food stamp benefits spent at the Urban Greens Market, up to $10 per market day, for fresh Utah-grown produce.

“We’re thrilled that Urban Greens Market is participating in the Double Up program this season. Double Up Food Bucks is a win-win-win for everyone. The program helps low-income families take home more fruits and vegetables, supports Utah farmers with new customers and more income, and strengthens the local economy by keeping food dollars circulating in the community,” said Brian Emerson, with Utahns Against Hunger.

The Market also provides practical job-training skills by employing teens from the Utah Community Action’s youth development program.

“If you visit an Urban Greens Market farm stand this summer, you may have a chance to meet one of our youth who are gaining skills in job readiness, communication, positive relationships, and healthy living as part of the Real Food Rising team,” said Haley Eckels, with Utah Community Action.

The produce is grown locally by farmers working with Green Urban Lunch Box (GULB) and Real Food Rising. Providing another venue for farmers to sell their produce is an important feature of the Urban Greens Market, which supports GULB’s incubator farm program.

“As we work to increase the number of farmers in the Salt Lake area,” said Shawn Peterson of Green Urban Lunch Box, “It’s very important to also increase the number of customers buying their produce. We hope this gets people hooked on delicious farm fresh food, creating more demand for new urban farmers, and, ultimately, driving up consumption of local food.”

The Urban Greens Market will be hosted by Sorenson Unity Center, Glendale-Mountain View Community Learning Center, Hartland Partnership Center, Neighborhood House, and Sherwood Park from now until November 14.

For more information on the program’s locations and hours please visit:

www.SLCgreen.com/urbangreens

Or register for text alerts by texting MARKET to 51555.

New “Mobile Farmers Market” to Open June 17

Salt Lake City is launching a new initiative, dubbed the “Urban Greens Market,” to bring healthy, affordable food to the Glendale and Poplar Grove neighborhoods.

After winning a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant in October 2015, SLCgreen partnered with local non-profits Green Urban Lunch Box, Real Food Rising, a program of Utah Community Action and Utahns Against Hunger to implement this creative approach to providing farmers-market-fresh food to the Glendale and Poplar Grove communities.

These areas, in particular, need better access to healthy food. In fact, the USDA classified the Glendale/Poplar Grove neighborhoods as “food deserts” because of low supermarket access and some of the lowest vehicle ownership rates in the city.

That’s where the Urban Greens Market comes in.

Over the course of the summer and fall, it will make the rounds with fresh produce for sale, grown and harvested locally by farmers working with Green Urban Lunch Box and Real Food Rising.

Beginning Friday, June 17, the City’s Urban Greens Market program officially kicks off, with the first market located at Sherwood Park (1400 W 400 South 84104).

“Ensuring that all Salt Lake City residents have access to healthy and affordable food is a major priority for my administration,” says Mayor Jackie Biskupski “This can be a real challenge for our Glendale and Poplar Grove communities that are situated in the largest food desert in Salt Lake City. The Urban Greens Market will make affordable, local produce accessible to our residents in these low access neighborhoods.”

The Urban Greens Market begins on June 17 and runs until November 14 and will be hosted by Sorenson Unity Center, Glendale-Mountain View Community Learning Center, Hartland Partnership Center, Neighborhood House, and Sherwood Park.

Thanks also to the Poplar Grove Community Council, Comunidades Unidas, and Community Health Centers for supporting our grant application to make this program happen!

For more information on the Urban Green Market’s locations and hours visit www.SLCgreen.com/urbangreens or sign up for text alerts by texting MARKET to 51555.

Please share widely!

Fruit Tree? Don’t Let It Go to Waste!

Across Salt Lake City, SLC FruitShare is building a network of neighborhood fruit trees. Instead of going to waste, FruitShare harvests the city’s residential fruit trees. Harvested fruit is donated to local food assistance programs, so our community can benefit from local, fresh and free produce. We’ve pulled together these helpful tips to ensure you have a healthy and productive year with your fruit tree.

Thinning Fruit

Fruit thinning channels more of a tree’s attention to the fruit that remains. Thinning lessens weight on branches and helps manage pests and diseases that prefer fruit bunched close together. Thin crop when developing fruits are about an inch in diameter.

Larger healthier fruit comes from coaxing the tree to put more energy into less fruit.

To avoid damaging branches, twist fruit off gently rather than pulling. Thin:

apples to 6 to 8 inches apart;
apricots to 2 to 3 inches;
peaches and nectarines to 6 to 10 inches;
Japanese plums to 4 to 6 inches.
Cherries, pears and other kinds of plums usually do not need thinning.

U.C. Davis online guide to thinning fruit trees.

Organic Fruit Production

Organic practices benefit the environment by reducing pollution and conserving water and soil quality. Pesticides are not only harmful to pollinators, they contribute to a range of health issues for us too. Babies are especially vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects in their first 1000 days of development. Luckily, there are some great ways to organically care for your trees, and eliminate pests. You can help support a healthy and sustainable community by using compost rather than chemical fertilizer, and adopting organic pest management rather than pesticides.

Organic Pest Management

Tip #1: Thin apples to prevent fruit from touching. This prevents larvae from boring into adjacent fruit.

Tip #2: Band corrugated cardboard around the tree trunks when larvae begin crawling down trunks. Check the banded cardboard weekly for hiding larvae and pupae then crush and destroy these inhabitants.

Tip #3: Mix molasses and water using a 1:10 ratio in a wide-mouth container. Suspend this homemade trap in the tree to catch adult moths.

Tip #4: Protect your fruit trees from insects with a homemade organic pesticide. Vegetable or canola oil works by suffocating small insects, insect larvae and eggs, preventing infestation. One cup of is mixed in one gallon of water. For additional repellent power, add one tablespoon of cinnamon oil, and ¼ cup of liquid dish detergent. Cinnamon oil will keep insects at bay and the detergent works as an emulsifying agent to bind together the oils and liquids in the homemade pesticide.

Fruit Tree Care

Fruit trees require a balance of water, food, sun and ventilation to grow healthy fruit and build resistance against diseases.

The following practices will help prevent diseases and pests;

basic maintenance
proper pruning and thinning
cleaning up debris around trees

Need help with your fruit tree? Register your tree or volunteer for events.

Salt Lake City contracts with Green Urban Lunch Box to run the SLC FruitShare program.Real Food Rising is a supporting nonprofit partners.

Become a FruitShare Neighborhood Hub Leader!

Salt Lake City is proud to partner with Green Urban Lunch Box (GULB) to provide the SLC FruitShare program, which aims to feed the community while reducing food waste and utilizing neglected resources.

Each season, as fruit is ready to be harvested at the homes of registered fruit tree owners, groups of volunteers are organized to go out and harvest. The harvested yield is distributed between the homeowners, volunteers, and local food banks and other community agencies.

GULB is currently seeking Neighborhood Hub Leaders for the FruitShare Program, to help maintain efficiency and effectiveness as the organization continues to incorporate more trees and more volunteers.

The Neighborhood Hub Leaders will fulfill the vital role of recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in their neighborhood. Each leader will be primarily responsible for organizing and overseeing fruit tree thinning and harvesting events within their specified hub, ensuring that all of the registered fruit trees in that region are harvested in a timely manner. While this position requires independent initiative, the leaders will receive supervision and support from Green Urban Lunch Box.

For a position description and application, visit the GULB website at or email pickfruit@gulb.org.

Sustainable Living Solutions and Inspiration, Winter Market at Rio Grande

March is Sustainable Living Solutions and Inspiration month at the Winter Market. Meet with Utah business owners and organizations who inspire environmentally friendly living solutions. A handful of local agencies, including SLCgreen, will be in attendance at the Winter Market on March 12 and March 26 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm to discuss what services are available to you and how you can reduce your ecological footprint.

Did you know that electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing waste stream in the United States? Valuable precious metals can be salvaged from recycling e-waste and toxic chemicals are prevented from entering the landfill and ground water. Good news — Recycle Solutions will be onsite at the March Winter Markets collecting electronic waste from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm! Below is a list of acceptable goods.

Please note CTR TVs (tube TVs) or refrigerators will NOT be accepted at this collection event.

Accepted Items:
Batteries
Cameras
Cell Phones
Communications Equipment
Computers Fax/Copy Machines Ink/Toner Cartridges
Keyboards & Accessories
Laptops
Office Machines Monitors
Network Devices
Hand Held Devices
Printers & Scanners
Returned or Unwanted Products
Servers Stereos and Audio Equipment
Telephones
Televisions (No CRT TVs)
VCR’s & DVD Players
Washers & Dryers
Paper
Plastic

For more information visit the SLC Downtown Farmers Market website or Facebook page.

Climate, Food and Conflict

Climate, Food & Conflict: How is Climate Change Creating Disruptions Across the Globe?

Thursday, March 3, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
Salt Lake City Main Library Auditorium – 210 East 400 South
Free, Public Event!

Join us on Thursday, March 3 for an exciting film screening and panel discussion with Dr. Tariq Banuri and Dr. Christine Clay to hear their insights on agriculture, climate change and disruption in the Middle East.

We’ll start the evening with a 60-minute screening of Episode 7 of the Emmy-award winning series Years of Living Dangerously. Episode 7, titled Revolt, Rebuild, Renew, features Jessica Alba, Thomas Friedman, and Chris Hayes and focuses on three stories that provide insight into the economic costs and opportunities of global warming.

The film screening will be followed by a 30-minute panel with our local experts.

Speaker Bios
Professor Tariq Banuri, Department of Economics, University of Utah, is an expert on sustainable development policy and institutional design. Before joining the University of Utah, he had served as the Director, UN Division for Sustainable Development, and earlier as the Director of Future Studies, Stockholm Environment Institute, and Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad. He has been instrumental in the design of a number of institutions and networks on sustainable development, and has provided policy advice to the Government of Pakistan as well as several international institutions.

He has served on national as well as international forums for policy and research, including as Coordinating Lead Author on the Nobel Prize winning Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change (AGECC), member of the United Nations’ Committee on Development Policy (CDP), member of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council, member of the board of governors of Pakistan’s central bank, member/secretary of the Presidential Committee on Higher Education, and Chair of IUCN’s Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP).

Christy Clay has been a member of the faculty at Westminster College since 2007. She teaches a variety of courses in the Environmental Studies and Biology departments, and serves as chair of the Environmental Studies Program. She also has an active undergraduate research program investigating the environmental and ecological constraints of urban agriculture and food production. In her free time, Christy can be found working in her own garden, trail running or mountain biking, and obsessing about the current state of our food and agriculture system. Christy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from Colorado College and a PhD in Biology from University of Utah.

Annual Urban and Small Farms Conference Feb. 17-18

Registration is now open for the 4th Annual Urban and Small Farms Conference. The conference will take place February 17th and 18th at the Viridian Center (8030 S 1825 W, West Jordan).

Below is a general conference overview.
• Day 1, February 17th – Utah Berry Growers, Backyard Chickens and Aquaponics, Vegetable production, a beginning farmers workshop, and a workshop targeted toward refugee farmers.
• Day 2, February 18th – GAP workshop, tree fruit basics, USDA programs, Irrigation track, alternative production, Food Safety Modernization Act updates, and Food Hub discussion.

Early registration is $30 per day or $50 for both days. Lunch and breaks will be provided both days.

For more information and to register, visit www.diverseag.org. Please help to spread the word, and share with anyone that may be interested.

Green Holiday Ideas

Here are some tips for a more sustainable holiday season.

Gifts Use recycled wrapping paper! Get creative and make your own with old maps, newspaper, photographs, or paper bags. Here are some more fun ideas!

Give experiences instead of material items. Think a visit to a museum, garden, or aviary, or a ski pass, a yoga or cooking class, a gift certificate to a spa or a ticket to a ballet or sporting event. Or consider donating to an organization on behalf of someone. Make gifts or buy gifts made of recycled materials. If you are going to buy gifts, support local businesses including our e2 businesses which are both local and green!

Food Make sustainable food choices like buying from local growers. Stock up on holiday staples at this weekend’s Winter Market Saturday from 10:00am-2:00pm at the Rio Grande Train Depot.

Incorporate vegan dishes into your holiday traditions. Be creative with leftovers and reduce food waste. Also, use reusable tableware and be sure to recycle glass and cans.

Decorations Here are some fun decorating ideas: String popcorn and cranberries together to make festive decor. Make paper chains with recycled newspapers or magazines and homemade ornaments out of recycled holiday cards. Cut bows from shrubs and trees in your yard and make a homemade wreath. After the holidays, if you have a tree, please put it in the brown compost can.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

SLCgreen Releases 2015 State of Sustainability Report

For the first time ever, Salt Lake City Green has released a State of Sustainability Report. 2015: State of Sustainability in Salt Lake City is an overview of Salt Lake City’s hardworking Sustainability Division, which began in 2008.

The Sustainability Division (otherwise known as Salt Lake City Green, or SLCgreen) aims to preserve and improve our built and natural environments and provide people with information on sustainability issues affecting Salt Lake City. The Division of Sustainability develops goals and strategies to protect our natural resources, reduce pollution, slow climate change, and establish a path toward greater resiliency and vitality for all aspects of our community.

2015: State of Sustainability in Salt Lake City covers the core areas of the division, from air quality, climate change, energy and food to curbside recycling, garbage, compost and glass.

We’re excited to give you a look at what we’ve accomplished to date, and what we’re proud to be working on!

Explore the State of Sustainability. Download the report (PDF).

Feedback? Email us at SLCgreen@slcgov.com.

We’re excited for another fantastic year — see you in 2016!

Salt Lake City Announces Awardee, Location of the New Culinary Incubator Kitchen Project

Salt Lake City is pleased to announce that Square Kitchen has been awarded a competitive $350,000 grant to develop a culinary incubator kitchen in the Poplar Grove neighborhood. The new Square Kitchen will provide accessible and affordable commercial kitchen space to budding food entrepreneurs, in addition to regulatory, marketing and business resources.

“There is high demand for local and organic food options in Salt Lake City,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “Square Kitchen will help to build and diversify our local food economy by removing the barriers that are preventing new companies from starting in the food sector – specifically the lack of commercial kitchen space and accessible business resources.”

Earlier this year, Mayor Becker and the Salt Lake City Council approved $600,000 to support the development of a Culinary Incubator Kitchen in Salt Lake City. $350,000 was available through a competitive grant process, while the additional $250,000 was made available through a loan. Proposals were submitted last summer to create and operate a culinary incubator kitchen.

The selection of Square Kitchen is another important step forward for a project that began over two years ago. In 2013, Salt Lake City’s Food Policy Task Force, in partnership with the Sustainability Division, worked with Carbaugh & Associates to conduct the Culinary Incubator Kitchen Feasibility Study (PDF). This study identified a strong demand for an incubator kitchen, while outlining the key components needed to create a successful project for the Salt Lake City community.

Square Kitchen, LLC was established in March 2015 by Analia Valdemoros, MCMP and Tham Soekotjo with the mission of building a culinary kitchen incubator facility accessible to all community members. Together, Valdemoros and Soekotjo have over 16 years of diverse experience as urban planners, entrepreneurs and local food business owners.

“Square Kitchen is thrilled to work with Salt Lake City in providing new and experienced food entrepreneurs with an affordable state-of-the art kitchen facility, sizable storage space, training opportunities to grow their food business, and most importantly, a gathering place to cultivate and increase food diversity in our city,” said Valdemoros and Soekotjo.

Square Kitchen is finalizing site plans and will break ground on the new facility in early spring 2016. The new kitchen plans to open its doors for business in July 2016.

For more information and to follow the progress of the Culinary Incubator Project, please visit www.SLCgreen.com.

slcGreen Blog

Updates and musings from the Salt Lake City Sustainability Department