The Market Is Open

Welcome to another week of cyber-foraging; the ALFN market is open!

News & Updates

1. Next weekend is Labor Day weekend, but ALFN will be open for pick-up on Saturday and Monday as usual.

2. You may notice there is a smell of freshly roasted coffee wafting through ALFN’s market. We have a new participant to join our list of growers and producers. Mylo Coffee, located in Hillcrest on Kavanaugh, is roasting for ALFN members. You can now order a batch of coffee, and it will be freshly roasted for Saturday pick-up. To check out what roasts and beans will be available, check out their page on ALFN’s market. Let the brewing begin!

3. One of our members, Rebecca Davis, is starting a documentary on the concept of bartering in collaboration with Aileron Media and East Creek Studios. The documentary will be used to help fund and promote a new Bartering Fair in Little Rock. Much like the “30 Days” TV series by Morgan Spurlock, the documentary will follow a life of bartering for goods and services. The idea is to open up a conversation about how bartering develops community economic exchange that isn’t built on money, but relationships. If you are interested in getting involved, email Rebecca at: mrsmagiclee@gmail.com.

Food Sovereignty #2: Cooperatives at Work

From our previous discussion on food sovereignty, I suggested our national food system is similar to medieval royalty. Corporations retain a kind of sovereignty over the public as a legal right. However, we are seeking to establish a kind of sovereignty that is collective. Decisions on what we eat, its origin, and who produces it are made from the bottom up in cooperative systems of democracy. You might find it interesting that cooperatives, such as Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative, are an ancient system of self-direction. Collectives are organizational structures that involve group decision-making AND group sharing. This kind of sharing is basic to human civilization. One person cannot afford 30 acres to begin farming, so five families start a cooperative to purchase the land with agreements over production and profits. On the micro-scale, families are basic collectives. The labor and service of a family is shared; the family cooperative economy culminates in daily rituals of sharing: meals. When we give chores to our kids, we are teaching the basics of this cooperative economy; an economy that is based on sharing life.

Cooperatives have greater social and economic power through the act of sharing. Many economists would argue we are in a stage called late-capitalism where battles between local interest and corporate interest are constant. For example, there are multiple battles over farm labor, fair wages, and GMO production in Mexico right now. These battles are originating from the U.S. food system and spilling into Mexico. (See the recent problem over wages and Driscoll on the West Coast)A collective called Demanda Colectiva AC that is composed of lawyers, chefs and producers fighting Monsanto in the Mexican courts. Without the formed collective power and ownership of many local participants, there would be no battle.

ALFN is a quasi-collective. All of us pay membership dues to collectively draw producers and eaters into a tighter relationship. However, there is still so much more we can do. Self-directed food collectives begins with individual ownership through communal sharing. A food system based upon sharing, ownership and cooperation is system based on food sovereignty. Let’s take back our ownership in local food.

Cheers,

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager

Weblog Entry

Hey folks, remember to make your orders before noon tomorrow when I close the market and get all the orders to our growers!

I know there are a few backyard chicken enthusiasts here, so I thought I would share an experiment I’m conducting. I have a “few” hens in my backyard: Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, and Black Austrolorps. We’ve been eating their eggs for quite some time now, but I’ve always wanted to improve our feed situation. After a bit of research, I’ve decided to try fermenting their feed. Although it is best begun early, the benefits are attractive enough for me to give it a whirl. There is scientific research that suggests lacto-fermentation of feed makes protein more available, increase weight, thickens shells, increases egg weight, and provides more robust immune protection in the gut. Further, food waste is reduced. Shoot, I’m gonna try it. Don’t worry, this kind of fermentation won’t produce drunk chickens. If you are interested in a more in-depth read, check out this post from a chicken enthusiast. If you aren’t compelled to read more, listen to this chicken enthusiast…he will make you smile! I love this song…

Brrkak,

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager

The Market Is Open

I hope everyone survived the first week back into the school rhythm. Fresh starts and fresh foods, every Sunday marks a new week with new produce. The market is open!

News

There is a nice piece in “Farm & Food” highlighting the work of Grass Roots Farmer’s Cooperative. The article interviews Mitchell Latture one of the founding members of Grass Roots and owner of Freckle Face Farm. It is a great promotion of Grass Roots and the work they are doing. Many of you have tasted the fruits of their labor whether it is their drumsticks, sausages or bacons. ALFN greatly benefits from having Grass Roots on our market website. Check out the article and share it with a friend.

We are in the middle of apple and peach season for certain varieties that many of our growers produce. I ran across a recipe for peach gazpacho that sounds fun. Consider trying a cold peach soup to help finish off the end of summer! Speaking of recipes, I would love for anyone to share lunch box ideas using market ingredients. Send ’em my way, and I will share them in our mid-week reminder.

Make sure you get a volunteer spot for a Saturday market. You can sign up for dates here.

Sincerely,

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager

Market Reminder

Good news…it isn’t Wednesday yet! You still have time to make those last minute orders in ALFN’s market.

As further enticement, Los Tacos will be there this Saturday with tamales!! Also, in the spirit of the first week of school, send me any recipe ideas for boxed lunches any of you use with ingredients purchased from ALFN’s market. Recipes can be suited for the office or the playground! I’ll post them next week for folks to use…ahem, and I’m shamelessly looking for good ideas for my kids:)

Make sure you get a volunteer spot for a Saturday market. You can sign up for dates here

In the meantime, pray, dance, meditate, or sing for rain!

Rest well,

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager

The Market Is Open

The ides of August have given way to the second half of another month, fresh bouquets of No. #2 pencils and the promise of fall rains. Welcome to August the 16th and an open ALFN "market"http://littlerock.locallygrown.net/market.

Food Sovereignty 101

the right of people to determine their own food and agriculture policies;
the democratization of food and agriculture. (from the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance)

Sovereignty in politics is rooted in monarchy…the ruling of one. When a king claims royal sovereignty, he claims a certain kind of power and authority over others—a claim over land and over populations of people. Royal sovereignty not only identified borders with other sovereign states, but also wielded control over food production and distribution. Indeed, royal sovereignty claimed rights over life by requiring loyalty to crown in the call to war. Over the past few hundred years, monarchical power has given way to democratic power in the western world. Yet, some would argue the democracy of today has merely subdivided royal sovereignty not into geographical boundaries, but production systems. It might be insightful to consider the similarities between ancient royal families and corporate families within the various production systems of global capitalism. Yes, I use to teach American Government & Economics in High School, and no, I will not bore you with a thorough investigation into the various taxonomies of democracy from anarchism to representative to pluralist models.

However, I would like to differentiate this idea of royal sovereignty from collective sovereignty. Royal sovereignty is power over populations; it is a kind of radical individuality linked with wealth and power. Collective sovereignty is communally-derived independence. It represents the result of many voices standing together. Collective sovereignty serves as the answer to an equation that attempts to maintain transparency, equity and justice in local decision making. In the case of food sovereignty, the elements of the equation require local food producers and local food consumers to divide, multiply, subtract and add supply and demand into food production system that feeds a local population. As you may note, local food consumers is a somewhat technical way of talking about all human beings who live…here. Consequently, local food systems cannot be sovereign until all consumers come to the table. Food is a requirement to life, and like the air, if food is denied to the “consumer” results in what society typically calls murder. In a world where everything is commoditized it is easy to forget that access to food shouldn’t be given only to those with greenbacks in their pockets. For this reason, collective sovereignty limits the machinations of supply and demand to include the voices of all socioeconomic participants…those with great capital and those with little capital.

As ALFN’s core values state, we want to see a thriving local food economy that empowers all participants to build a thriving local food economy that protects the producer and consumer by also protecting wild ecosystem where these participants dwell. Regardless of wealth or status, equal access to a food system that protects the land requires collective sovereignty. I encourage all of you to participate in this effort not simply through your purchasing power, but through your feedback and involvement in this system. Let us be thorough in commitment to developing a local economy that puts the power among local stakeholders.

Reminders

1. I’m still needing any recycled paper you may have with one blank side. I like using recycled paper as much as possible for our invoices.

2. You can still sign up for volunteer positions for the early or late shift from now until December. Follow this link to sign up. We have three open spots for next week.

Kyle Holton

Program & Market Manager

Market Reminder

There are some beautiful apples in the market this week…remember to make your order by tomorrow at noon. I will close the market when my sundial is a grasshopper’s toe-width off the mark:)

Stay cool,

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager

Market Is Open Part II

Hey Folks,

I was slow to enable ordering on the market. I just checked and everything is open and ready now. Sorry for the false start.

Kyle

The Market Is Open

Good Morning,

The market is open, and we are ready for a new week.

1. This week we have a new grower joining ALFN. Mac Family Farm is a small diversified homestead in southwestern Pulaski County. They plan to provide various produce and products from their farm, and this week they are showcasing their skin snack products. Check out their page on the website and the products up for this week including lotions, deodorant, diaper creams and salves.

2. Also, one of our members shared a recipe this week for eggplant and mushrooms. It looks simple and delicious…a wonderful combination!

Eggplant and Mushroom Hash

• 1 medium fairytale eggplant, diced
• 4-5 med-large baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add eggplant and mushrooms. Cook until just beginning to brown, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Add salt, pepper to taste, another drizzle of olive oil, and fresh spinach. Cook for another minute or so until spinach is just wilted.

3. This will be the last week of summer for our kids as LRSD starts back on the 17th. In countless homes across the city, a new rhythm will grind into movement. Late nights and late starts will give way to structure, schedule and vigilance. The languid philosophy of summer will morph into the up-start posture of fall productivity, mental harvest and etiquette. Here is a poem for those who must reconcile a persistent summer weather with the machinations of society.

Bed in Summer

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Peace

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager

The Edible South by Marcie Ferris

It appears my image didn’t come through on the last weblog reminder. If you are interested in attending a lunch lecture tomorrow by Marcie Ferris, the author of The Edible South, then check out this link.

Cheers

Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager

ALFN Market Reminder

Remember to make your orders final by tomorrow at noon. If you are ordering from Arkansas Natural Produce, you need to finalize those orders by tonight.

Also, check out what is happening tomorrow with our wonderful public library!