Posts Tagged Santa Monica

Good Food Festival & Conference Returns to Los Angeles Nov. 2-4, 2012 to Support the Good Food Movement

Events Include Urban Barn Raising with Will Allen at John Muir High School, Sustainable Food Panels at LACMA and Farm-to-Fork Localicious Celebration at Annenberg Community Beach House 

SANTA MONICA –  Oct 9, 2012  The Good Food Festival & Conference (GFFC) returns to Los Angeles for the second year Nov. 2-4, 2012. Produced by FamilyFarmed.org in cooperation with the Santa Monica Farmers Markets, the conference focuses on regional and national issues that are integral to building local and sustainable food systems and educating people about the Good Food Movement.

The GFFC begins with an “Urban Barn Raising” with Farmer, Founder and CEO of Growing Power, Inc. and Author of “The Good Food Revolution,” Will Allen, on Friday, November 2 at John Muir High School, continues with The Good Food Conference, a day of informative panel discussions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) featuring speakers such as Will Allen (The Good Food Revolution), Laura Avery (Santa Monica Farmers Markets), Andrew Kimbrell (Center for Food Safety) and Evan Kleiman (Good Food/KCRW) on Saturday, November 3 and culminates on Sunday, November 4 with Localicious, an evening of food and wine tasting on the beach with 30 chefs and 30 farmers at the Annenberg Community Beach House. Programming for GFFC will focus on issues that matter to Californians, such as community building, safe, healthy and economically viable food jobs and the California GMO labeling measure, Proposition 37.

“We received such an overwhelming response from the farmers and community last year, FamilyFarmed.org is pleased to bring our efforts to Los Angeles again this year,” said Jim Slama, president and founder of FamilyFarmed.org.  “We have an exciting lineup of speakers, events and chefs and hope to raise awareness for the movement.”

On Friday, November 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., MacArthur Genius and Will Allen will host an “Urban Barn Raising” at John Muir High School in Pasadena. Members of the community, high school students and Allen’s team will construct a season-extending hoop house that will foster year-round education on food, agriculture and nutrition. The day’s activities will include workshops, farm fresh cuisine and one-on-one conversations with Allen and other influencers in the industry.

On Saturday, November 3, from Noon – 6 p.m., LACMA will co-host a series of panel discussions on building organic and sustainable food systems. Topics include: Building Community with Good Food, Good Food=Good Jobs, Is GMO Labeling Coming to California?

Confirmed speakers include: Andrew Kimbrell (Center for Food Safety), Arran Stephens (CEO Nature’s Path), Evan Kleiman (KCRW-FM/Good Food), Kelly Meyer (Teaching Garden), Laura Avery (Santa Monica Farmers Markets), Michael O’Gorman (Farmer-Veteran Coalition), Paula Daniels, Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Los Angeles specializing in Food and Water Policy and Will Allen (Growing Power, Inc.).

Beginning at 10:30 a.m. and throughout the afternoon on Saturday complimentary tours of works of art related to food and dining in LACMA’s collection will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis (Trade and the Changing Palette of the Dutch and The European Table Transformed, Dining Out in 19th Century France and The Age of Elegance).  Admission to LACMA will be free of charge to GFFC ticket holders on November 3.

Localicious will serve as the culmination of the Good Food Festival & Conference on Sun., Nov. 4, 2012 from 6-9 p.m. at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica. Guests will savor the freshest and best of the season with signature dishes prepared by Los Angeles’s leading culinary talents, paired with farmers from the Santa Monica Farmers Markets including: Coleman Organics, See Canyon Fruit Ranch, Fat Uncle Farms, Peacock Family Farms, Shiitake Happens, Weiser Family Farms, Harry’s Berries, Carpenter Family Farms, Schaner Family Farms, Phillip Green, Gloria’s, Flora Bella Farms, Windrose Farms, Rutiz Family Farms, Life’s A Choke Farms, Pudwill Farm, McGrath Family Farms, Jimenez Family Farms, and Tutti Frutti Farms.  Confirmed chefs include: Alex Moreno of Border Grill, Akasha Richmond of Akasha, Nyesha Arrington of Wilshire Restaurant, John-Carlos Kuramoto of Michael’s Santa Monica, Laurent Elmerich of Church and State, Jeremy Strubel of Rustic Canyon, Christina Olufson of Lucques/AOC/Tavern, Tin Vuong of Abigaile Restaurant, Benny Boehm of AMMO, Ray Garcia of FIG, Sassan Rostamian of Sauce on Hampton, Roxana Jullapat of Cook’s County, Brandon Boudet of Dominick’s/Tom Bergins, Gianfranco Minuz of Locanda del Lago, Paul Shoemaker of Savory, Bradley Miller of Inn of the Seventh Ray, Matt Dickson of FEED, Vardan Abgaryan of Public Kitchen, Sal Marino of Il Grano, Matt Biancanello of Roosevelt/Library Bar, Rich Mead of SAGE, Rian Brandenburg of Tender Greens, Mark Cannon and Elliott Rubin of The Curious Palate, Stefano DeLorenzo of La Botte, Collin Crannell of The Lobster and Joe Miller of Joe’s/Bar Pinxto.

The GFFC is produced by FamilyFarmed.org in cooperation with the Santa Monica Farmers Markets, support from the City of Santa Monica and the City of Pasadena and sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, The California Endowment, LACMA, Whole Foods and Nature’s Path. Proceeds benefit FamilyFarmed.org. For more information, visit http://goodfoodfestivals.com/LA. Tickets and additional information can be found at http://2012goodfoodla.eventbrite.com/.

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About FamilyFarmed.org

FamilyFarmed.org’s mission is to expand the production, marketing and distribution of locally grown and responsibly produced food in order to enhance the social, economic and environmental health of our communities. FamilyFarmed.org is nationally recognized for “growing the market” for local and sustainable food and works with many of the country’s largest buyers of local and sustainably grown food. The Good Food Festival and Conference was created to link some of the best local farmers and family-owned producers of food and farm products with the public, trade buyers and leaders in the field to foster relationships that facilitate the growth of local food systems.

About Santa Monica Farmers Markets

The Santa Monica Farmers Markets are committed to promoting healthy eating and sustainable agriculture in California by providing fresh agricultural products direct from small farms to urban customers, thereby building community and preserving California farmland. It has since grown to be one of America’s leading farmers market programs with four weekly markets. An estimated 900,000 shoppers visit the markets each year. For More Information, please visit www.smgov.net/portals/farmersmarket

CALENDAR LISTINGS/ SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

To Purchase Tickets:

http://2012goodfoodla.eventbrite.com/

 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 210  a.m. – 5 p.m.

Urban Barn Raising, Muir High School- FREE

1905 Lincoln Avenue, Pasadena, Calif., 91103

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 10:30 a.m. -6 p.m. 

Good Food Conference, LACMA – $45, $35 for students, seniors and LACMA members

5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, Calif., 90036        

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4 – 6 p.m. -9 p.m.

Localicious- $125 Annenberg Community Beach House

595 Pacific Coast Highway,Santa Monica,Calif.,90405

 

PRESS CONTACTS       

Kim Koury                            Susan Haymer

Kim@spinprgroup.com      susan.ecomediagals@gmail.com

310.497.6324                      323.252.5554

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FOOD FORWARD SPREADS ITS FRUITY LOVE WITH NEW FARMERS MARKET RECOVERY PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES – In August and September, 2012 Food Forward, Southern California’s largest harvesting-­‐for-­‐the hungry non-­‐profit, will launch its brand new Farmers Market Recovery Program, at three of the LA-­‐ area’s largest and most robust outdoor markets in Santa Monica, Hollywood and Studio City.

Building on Food Forward’s “100% to the hungry” motto, volunteer “Glean Teams” culled from each of the surrounding communities will gather unsold high-­‐grade produce directly from farmers at the close of each market, and donate it to agencies within 5-­‐7 miles of each market.

Laura Avery, Santa Monica Farmers Market Supervisor says, “The farmers who come to the Santa Monica Farmers Market are pleased to share their fresh picked produce with Food Forward through this exciting and efficient new partnership. We are especially pleased that Step Up on Second, serving homeless and mentally ill individuals living in Santa Monica, who might not otherwise have access to California’s abundant and nutritious fruits and vegetables, will be the recipient of the bounty we have to share.”

With initial funding from The Rosenthal Family Foundation, The Plum Foundation and Jason & Lauren Morphew, Food Forward hopes to scale this pilot program from three markets in year one, to nine markets in year two, and will grow the program from there.

Meg Glasser, Managing Director of Food Forward says, “We are thrilled to be able to work with farmers markets in the same way that we work with local property owners— gleaning excess produce to donate to Los Angeles’ hungry. We also are excited to bring food enthusiast, Mary Baldwin on as the Program Manager and we welcome her to the small but ever-­‐growing Food Forward team.”

In addition to collecting unsold produce from farmers, Food Forward’s Glean Team will also be accepting customer and local homeowners’ fresh produce donations during the last two hours of each market (excluding Santa Monica). Gleaning will occur at Santa Monica (Wednesday from 11:30–2); Studio City (Sundays from 11:30-­2); and Hollywood (Sundays from 11:30­‐2). They will make their first collections beginning in mid-­‐August and by the end of September they expect to have all three market recovery sites up and running.

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Food Forward’s vision is to reconnect our community with the abundance of food already present in our everyday lives, while creating change around the issues of urban hunger, food waste and food justice. For information on the program, joining the Glean Team, or donating produce please check our blog at
http://foodforward.org/blog/ Email: fmrecovery@foodforward.org, or call 818-­‐530-­‐4125.

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Electric Car Drivers to Stage Country’s Largest Plug-in Parade on First National Plug In Day

20 Cities Coast-to-Coast Stage Activities for Largest Grassroots EV Event in History

WHAT: Some 200 EV drivers will take to the streets for the country’s largest-ever plug-in parade to champion the benefits of EVs. Parade in Santa Monica, CA is the flagship event of the first National Plug In Day, taking place in more than 20 cities across the country where EV owners and interested citizens will participate in other parades, “tailpipe-free” tailgate parties, lectures, a ceremonial plugging-in and other grassroots events. For a complete list of national Plug In Day cities and event details, visit: http://www.pluginamerica.org/pluginday

New and legacy plug-in vehicles by GM, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota, SMART, Ford, Tesla, Coda and others will be driven in the flagship parade through downtown Santa Monica. Director Chris Paine, whose film, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” will hit theatres across the country on October 21st, is among confirmed speakers at the press conference preceding the parade. For parade details, visit http://www.pluginamerica.org/pluginday/los-angeles

QUOTE: “Only a few years ago, major automakers were literally crushing electric cars. Today, virtually every auto company in the world is selling or developing a plug-in car, and consumers are snapping up each and every one, stimulating our economy while helping the environment. You’ll see hundreds of these vehicles in National Plug In Day activities. And remember: EVs are powered by domestic electricity, so every cent we spend to run them stays in America,” says Plug In America co-founder and Sierra Club member Paul Scott.

WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011: 9:30 a.m. press conference; 10 a.m. parade

WHERE:
·       Press Conference: Santa Monica City Hall, 1685 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90401.
·       Parade: Starting from Main Street and Pico Boulevard, two blocks from Santa Monica City Hall press conference.

PHOTO OPP: 200 PLUG-IN VEHICLES STREAMING DOWN ONE OF SANTA MONICA’S MAIN THOROUGHFARES. B-ROLL WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE.

WHO: Plug In America is organizing the flagship National Plug In Day parade in Santa Monica. Plug In America, the Sierra Club and the Electric Auto Association are national organizers, teaming up with other local groups across the country to organize events.

Local sponsors: Title Sponsor of the National Plug In Day Flagship Event: Chevy Volt; Nissan Leaf, Recargo, Leviton, Collaborative Project Consulting.

About Plug In America: Plug In America is leading the nation’s plug-in vehicle movement. The nonprofit organization works to accelerate the shift to plug-in vehicles powered by clean, affordable, domestic electricity to reduce our nation’s dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment. We drive electric. You can, too. www.pluginamerica.org.

About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization with 1.4 million members and supporters and chapters in all 50 states.  The Sierra Club’s national electric vehicles campaign advocates for a switch to EVs as one important way to reduce emissions and cut our addiction to oil. www.sierraclub.org/ev.

About the Electric Auto Association: The Electric Auto Association, formed in 1967, is a nonprofit educational organization with 75 chapters worldwide that promotes the advancement and widespread adoption of electric vehicles. www.electricauto.org.
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Sustainable Works 2011 Fundraiser – Spreading Sustainablility – October 6th 6pm-11pm

Join Sustainable Works for their annual fundraiser:

Spreading Sustainability

Thursday October 6th

6pm-11pm

Santa Monica Lexus Showroom
1501 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA

Beer and Wine Bar
Eco- fabulous Silent Auction and Drawing
Organic, local cuisine
Eco Star Award Winners

Sponsors include: CBS5, Co-Opportunity Natural Foods, Santa Monica Daily Press, Sheraton Delfina-Santa Monica, HBO

Stop by the Green Festival table and say hi to our Los Angeles Marketing Director, Daniela Meltzer, and find out how you can score Green Festival Tickets from nonprofit ally, Sustainable Works!

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