Saanich Food Roundtable November 20th 11am

Saanich Food Roundtable November 20, 2012 11:00am - 1:00pm District of Saanich, in the Annex 770 Vernon Ave Victoria, BC   Come to learn and share about emerging issues and actions in Saanich related to the Food System including: District of Saanich planner Jane Evans will update on planning and food related initiatives Sustainability Office Communities in Harvest vegetable growing contest set for 2013 Community Kitchens Network Coordinator, Diane Andiel Panama Flats, Gorge Community Gardens, Commonwealth Community Gardens, Food Scrap Recycling Program… Update on the Regional Food Policy, and the efforts to support land access for farmers in motion. This meeting is a roundtable format for networking and sharing information, please bring updates and any materials you would like to distribute.   RSVP to admin@communitycouncil.ca     Linda Geggie lgeggie@telus.net c-250-896-7004 Coordinator, Capital Region Foodand Agriculture Initiatives (CR-FAIR)

Earth to Table food program

Stephen with Dwane MacIsaac at Moss
Street Market 

Last night Stephen finished the Earth to Table food program for youth organized by Leadership Victoria and held at the Burnside Gorge Community Centre.   It ran for six weeks for an hour and half on Fridays from 5 to 6:30 pm.  Officially Stephen was too young to take part, the ages were 12-16 and Stephen will not be 12 till the end of July, but he is keen on cooking and he got the last slot.

Stephen loves to cook and especially loved the baking aspect.  He is constantly amazed at how easy most things are to make and wonders why most adults can not make them.

The program was offered for free and one of those things that sometimes happens when something is free occurred -  people do not value it.   Of the eight youth that signed up, only Stephen came to most of the sessions.  Two other youth came to most of them as well, but they were not signed up for it and were recruited on the spot in the BGCC..   Effectively seven of the youth that were signed up for the amazing course did not take part in it.

The first night the youth learned about growing food and where food comes from in the world.  They did some plantings at the Burnside Gorge Community Centre.   The BGCC has some interesting herd gardens going on and some veggie garden boxes as well.

The second week was a trip to the Quadra Burnside where they learned about various Asian veggies and then had a food scavenger hunt in the store.   They were also fed from the Chinese food restaurant part of the store.

The third week they made sushi at the BGCC.  Stephen could not remember which sush restaurant the cehf was from.

On the long weekend we always go to Western Half Yearly Meeting of the Quakers in Sorrento, so Stephen missed the pizza making evening.

The fifth week was baking and they made cupcakes at the BGCC.  They also planted some herbs at the BGCC.  Stephen actually managed to make it home with some cupcakes for others in the family to try.  Baking is Stephen's thing.

Stephen and his gifts

Friday night they went to Cook Culture and he did not get home till 7:30 though he came home bearing an armful of gifts.   Dwane MacIssac of Passioneat Foods, and current president of the ICC, organized the night teaching the youth how to make pulled pork tacos and touring through a proper commercial kitchen.    The Island Chef's Collaborative supplied gifts for the youth that took part.  Stephen came home with high quality kitchen cooking utensils that 9 out of 10 home kitchens are not likely to have.   He got about $150 in gifts and a one month transit pass.

Stephen was impressed with Dwane and pointed out several times Friday night that he would be at the Moss Street Market and offered him a free pizza if he showed up.   I took Stephen and Max to the Moss Street Market, the first time I had been in there in six or seven years, the last time I was there I was running a friend's stall on a week she could not go.

Stephen got there and ordered his pizza from Dwane.   He also gave Dwane a 250 ml jar of his low sugar blueberry jam and told him in a meek voice, which is odd for Stephen, that he sold jam.  Stephen's jam is very good and sells very well - he uses my recipes.

Stephen watching Dwane's mobile oven

Stephen got his pizza and oddly enough did not offer to share it with me.

Earth to Table is something that I very much believe in.   I think it is very important for people to understand where their food comes from and what it takes to make it.   The boys have seen us have chickens, make pasta, make kefir, can all manner of stuff, make pulled pork that is better than what you can normally get in this town and more.   They have lived Earth to Table.

Island Parent has a piece about the program in the June 2012 edition.

Pic from Island Parent
Stephen is in brown

Stephen loved every minute of the course and would take part in it again ASAP.   It has also inspired him to cook more.  He has already made crepes twice with two different recipes - one a from the Joy of Cooking and the other from a cook book on French cooking techniques, the one in the Joy is much better.  He has also made a lemon/chocolate marble cake loaf.   He loved being able to use "his" tools.

SunRype 3.78 litre pure apple juice

Fairway Market has been running a case lot sale and as part of it has been offering a very good deal on the 3.78 litre pure apple juice from SunRype.  I was happy to see the size because we go through more than litre of juice a dinner without any problem.   The price for the juice is roughly the same per litre, which is nice to see.


I had not really paid enough attention till we started to talk about how nice it was to have a larger juice container.   It was then that I thought about it, this is a 3.78 litre container, that is a mini-gallon from the US.   Why is SunRype using these heavier and smaller containers when I know there is a very cost effective source of 4 litre containers in Canada.   Why a US sized container?

SunRype was created in 1946 by the Fruit Growers Association as a way to make use of the apples that could not be sold - juice apples do not need to look good.   Like most people in BC, I grew up with the blue label 2 quart juice tins and then in 1979 the 1 litre tetra-pak.   Apple juice has meant SunRype to me for as far back as I can remember.

For 50 years it was an Okanagan based grower owned cooperative based out of Kelowna.   In 1996 it became a publicly traded company.   It is not quite majority owned by Jim Pattison now.  The company is still based in Kelowna but is has plants elsewhere now.

In recent years the company expanded across Canada and 2008 has been in the US, I think that was through the acquisition of Washington based companies like Naumes Concentrates in 2011 and Yakama Juice in 2010.

Now back to the juice being in a US container, I looked at the back of the container and you can see in bold letters at the bottom - Product of USA.  Seriously?   Even SunRype now gets their juice from the US? Even then it is strange they use US container sizes, SunRype does not sell any juice in the US.

The London Chef

I had waited with anticipation the opening of The London Chef, at 953 Fort Street. The concept of this space is of a foodie's haven of cooking classes and food parties. Despite my curiosity I didn't get into the shop until late in the summer as I just wasn't in that part of town often. Since I began teaching infant massage next door at the Mothering Touch (975 Fort) though I have weekly opportunities to be in the shop.

My first visit was actually my job interview for the teaching gig when I was surprised to discover that a small cafe and retail area was attached to the shop, something I hadn't known. This cafe is where I will start. Selling coffee, pastries and lunches the cafe is an expanded breezeway really but it is filled with things to intrigue every foodie.

On the retail front the fridge is stuffed with house made sausage from Stage restaurant and there are frozen stocks and sauces too. The shelves to the left of the sales counter are filled with cookbooks from some of the most prominent chef's of today (Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck caught my eye especially). There are also vinegars, reductions and flavoured salts (coffee?!?!?) to tempt you too.

In terms of the actual cafe items I have tried a selection. The coffee and espresso is definitely up to standard and the soup I had one day was delicious. Some of the baked goods though haven't been so overwhelming. I have had one of the savory open tarts (leek and goat cheese) and though tasty enough the puff pastry was quite pale and, as a result, lacked the crisp flakiness I prefer. Same can be said of the "breadsticks", which are actually puff pastry sticks with a small sprinkling of cheese and caraway seeds (Bernard was pretty pleased with the caraway) but that didn't compensate for the slightly limp pastry. I have tried some of the sweet pastries to and the same applies. Nothing bad, but I am still waiting to be dazzled.

The bulk of the space is set up in a squared "u" of work stations with a larger teaching station in the open side of the "u". There is also a large (like sit 30 large) beautiful wooden table to the side for dining. There is selection of cooking classes taught here and you can book private cook and eat events in the evenings.

Tuesday at noon is the event I have been most intrigued by. Called "lunch and learn" and running from noon to one this event allows you to come in and get a lunch that you get to watch being made. The menu shifts and focuses sometimes on a culture (i.e. Arabian) or a food (ie. the hamburger). There are munchies for you when you arrive and you then get an interactive demo by the chef and his assistant that culminates in the delivery of your main course (usually around twenty or quarter to one to give you some time for eating). I haven't actually attended but I am often in the cafe during the classes and the atmosphere seems fun and friendly. Judging by the papers the audience are generally clutching I am guessing you get recipes too. At a cost of $25 it is an expensive lunch - but a pretty good deal for an hour long cooking class/entertainment.

The minefield of 'ethical' food decisions

We have many choices we can make when it comes to buying our food

• Organic
• Fair Trade
• Local
• Small Scale Producer
• Dolphin Friendly
• Sustainable Seafood
• Food Security
• Co-operative
• Low carbon footprint

and there are more.

All of them represent choices, but they also represent marketing.   None of these labels would be needed if there was no premium in the market for it.

Some of the labels are actual certifications.   The process of certification does not make the food any better, it simple is a short hand way for the public to have faith in what they are buying.   The process to become certified organic means you have to keep a set of records of what you have done to the crops and the land.   It also means an inspection by the certification agency and fee that has to be paid to them.

The need for certification comes about because we are disconnected from where our food comes from.   If buy from people I know, such as my beans from Bob and beef from Phil, there is no need for the certification needed because I know who they are and how they grow their crops.   Having lived in a small rural town, I can tell you that you learn with more detail than you want to know what people are doing to grow their crops.

For certification to work, we have to trust the certification process.   Here is where I run into a problem, I have a reasonably good idea about differing organic certifications and how low most of them are globally and how very lax the inspection standards are for most certifying bodies.   Other then unprocessed organic produce certified in BC, I take all the others with a grain of salt.   I will not pay a premium for the others.

The vary names and labels have become ways for people to not have to worry about the ethics of their decision making when buying food.   People feel good by certified organic processed food.   At the end of the day, a potato chip is not a healthy food choice whether it is organic or not.   I know that my enjoyment of chips has caused my weight gain, if they were organic it would not have made me any lighter.

I do buy local when there is good local produce available for a reasonable price.   I am not paying $3 a pound for wilted local carrots.   Is it crucial to my decision making no?   Will I go out of my way to buy it?  To some extent.   I will go to Glanford Greenhouses or by Vantrieght produce at Root Cellar, but I tend not to go to the local farmer's markets.  The quality and price of the produce at the farmer's markets in the CRD tends to not meet my criteria.

The best I can do is to have an idea where my food comes from and do my best to avoid buying processed foods.   I also attempt to process foods myself.  I do this in part to understand what goes into making peanut butter or ground beef.   I also do it so that I control what is going into it.   I also do it so that the boys understand what it takes to put a meal on the table.

There are many people that buy various upscale 'ethical' brands and feel good about it, but in my mind it is an abdication of being aware of your food and a way to feel superior to others out there.  

Meeting of the Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers Tuesday June 7th

This is a group that has an interest in growing significant amounts of food in backyards.   I have been meeting to get to a meeting for sometime, but my life is constantly busy and I can not really add another commitment.

Here are the details I received in an email
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 4:29 PM
Subject: [GTUF] Next GTUF Meeting 7th June 7-9 PM
To: Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers

You’re invited to the next GTUF monthly “Growing Food” meeting

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Tuesday, 7th June, 2011

Location: Saanich Neighbourhood Place (SNP) in Pearkes Recreation Centre.

Turn left upon entering Pearkes and walk to the end of the hall; SNP is on the right.

Facilitators: Gord Hutchings & Laurie Jones

Agenda:

1. (Re)introduce ourselves to each other (a quick go round the circle).
2. Focus: “Growing Mushrooms” with Gary Hegel. Gary has picked edible and medicinal mushrooms, as well as been growing mushrooms for about three years. His demonstration will show how we too can grow mushrooms in our own backyards and will include mushroom kits, logs, and pins to sell.
3. Break (at about 8:00 pm) – eat; borrow a library book; buy a sign; chat. This is also a perfect time to talk to Tom about opening your garden for a tour over the summer months!
4. Open discussions about: (a) winter garden planning; and (b) what's happening and what to do in the garden at this time of year, about any seeds being saved at this time, about insects or any other organisms plaguing crops, etc.

 And:

• Feel free to bring seeds, seedlings or plants that you'd like to give away (and, if appropriate, little bags of some kind for recipients to use for seeds). Please remember to take home with you any items others don't want.
• If you're willing to do so, please come a few minutes earlier to help us set up the space and stay a few minutes after to return the room to its original state and to clean up.
• We invite anyone to contribute a snack item for us to eat during our break -- preferably a “finger food”. If your item requires it, please also bring napkins or cups. As per SNP policy, food and drink is to be consumed only at the tables.
• We'll also ask for a donation to SNP to cover our use of SNP space.
• Notes will be taken during the meeting by Brenda (or, if necessary, by someone who has agreed to take notes in her place).
• If you’re think you might buy one of the new GTUF signs for display in your garden / on your home, please bring a few dollars with you – either this time or another time.
• Feel free to borrow a book and/or to donate or lend a book to the GTUF library.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

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Just another small scale farm

I came across Green Girl Gardens when I was doing some reading about the current Peninsula Coop election process.  One of the "girls", Jeanette Sheehy, is running for a position on the board.


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They are one of the many new set of young small scale farmers/gardeners that have come of the food security movement and trying their hand at raising food.   I wish them well and will try out some of their produce if I get a chance, but I suspect they will not last more than a couple of years.

Farming is hard work and produces low returns.   From the late 60s to the early 80s there was a strong back the land movement in BC and in general most of those nouveau farmers did not last.   As one of them told me once "Yeah, I tried growing wheat by hand and doing all the harvesting with a sickle and then threshing it, but in the end my life is simpler not doing that."   The people in their 20s to early 30s coming out of the food security movement are unlikely to last long.  

You can buy their produce at their road side stall at 1133 Mount Newton Cross Road, the Sidney Summer Market, Moss Street Market and the Centennial Square Market.  Having sold at a farmer's market in the past, the volume of production they need to sustain being at three markets is fairly large.  I have no idea how much land they are working and what their scale of production is.

This came over my email today from Gabe with the Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers.   I like the idea and should do something more along these lines myself.   Growing my own food and giving some of it away is just good for everyone.

Gabe raises some good programs I should be doing more to help with.

Hello everyone, 

Spurred on by, amongst other things, Margot and Rainey’s success with Haultain Commons (see the video at at bottom of the page) – and Rhona McAdam’s thoughts about planting strawberries in front of her house for people to pick while waiting for a bus – I’ve been thinking lately about growing food for people other than ourselves.
In a nutshell, this email is an invitation to all of us to consider growing some / a bit more food this season (and in the future) for use by others in the wider community.
Here are a few ways I’ve thought of that we might do this (and, if you have other ideas, please share them with the rest of us):

• Grow to Give: Donate some food from our back (front, side) yards to an organization such as Saanich Neighbourhood Place, Victoria Native Friendship Centre, or The Mustard Seed food bank 

• Plant a Row - Grow a Row: Work with the Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre as part of their Grow A Row program (http://www.compost.bc.ca/newsandevents/PARAR%20Website%20Blurb%20and%20FAQs%20Revised%202010.pdf).

• CUSP – Community Use Street-side Production: Grow some food along the curb, or on the boulevard, in front of our homes, with an invitation to passersby to help themselves to ripe produce. This is, incidentally, another way to promote discussion about local food and food security with people passing by our homes.

• Participate in the LifeCycles Fruit Tree Project 

• Work with Victoria Transition Food Group on their Capital Nut Project

• We might also decide to emulate the Haultain Commons model and grow food for public consumption in collaboration with our close neighbours.
  

To be clear, what I’m suggesting above is not (at this point, anyway) an organized GTUF activity – it’s just a seed that’s being planted. That being said, if you want to talk with me about sharing the bounty, I’d be happy to do so by email (belle.leon1@gmail.com) or by phone at 250-382-1328).

May this be a good season for growing and sharing, Gabe

I do not watch the local news, so I missed this

This is a short piece about where Ryan Vantreight is taking the family farm.

Butchering my own meat

Yesterday we bought some meat at the Real Canadian Wholesale Club in Esquimalt.   This is where I normally buy large pieces of meat. (on my computer the picture is not sideways, I have no idea why it turned when I posted it here)

I bought one whole tenderloin for $13.21/kg for a total of $49.22 and two outside rounds, one 6 kilos and the other 7 kilos and costing a total of $62.16 at $4.77/kg.   This is a total of just under 37 pounds of meat for $111.38.

I cut this up myself - the tenderloin cutting I learned from Good Eats, the outside rounds I just sort of faked.

When I was done, I had about seven pounds of scraps, fat, connective issue and such which I ground up and made into dog food for Louie.  This left me with 30 pounds of meat for us to eat and here is what I ended up with:

• 1.5 lb tenderloin roast
• 1 pound tenderloin scraps
• 5 pounds of fillet steaks
• 7 pounds of stewing beef 
• 3 roasts of 2.5 pounds each 
• 7 pounds of marinating steaks 

By my estimates this is a $240 to $280 value to us for a cost of $111.38.  In the hour it took for me deal with, I added close to $150 value to the meat.  

The ground stuff went into the dog food for Louie.  With 8 pounds of potatoes, several pounds of onions, four cups of dry rice, I made the equivalent of 30 cans of dog food.

An early morning visit to Fol Epi

I dropped by Fol Epi early Saturday morning with my son that is interested in being a baker.   I was mainly interested in taking some pictures, but also in giving my son a chance to see them at work.

Cliff runs an amazing operation.   He mills his own wheat, some of which will be grown on Vancouver Island this year.   Sounds like he will get about 15-20 tonnes and will be making flour available for sale to the public.

He told us that they start work at 3:00 am, Stephen did not think that was too early to start, so I may have a baker in my family in the future   Stephen is interested in high end baking, not run of the mill baking.   He wants to own the bakery.

I am amazed at the quality of his danishes, light beyond belief and not covered in a sweet syrup.  The bread it wonderful as well.   Watching him making it was interesting.

He bakes with a wood fire oven.   The look and feel of the oven is not like the typical commercial ovens in use elsewhere.  He has two small silos outside his shop for grain storage.

I highly recommend going in and checking out how they work.   You can look through the windows and watch.

Anne Cirrillo's Tomato Sauce is available

My friend and neighbour is making her great pasta sauce again. It is made is small batches and worth checking out. Her is the email note she sent me (and others)

_______________________________________________

Hello Everyone and Happy Spring!

I'm making a batch of sauce and kneading bread and pizza doughs!

Let me know if you'd like to order. I will be delivering early next week.

Cirillo's Italian Cuisine
My grandparents, Joseph and Elgesera Cirillo emigrated from Calabria, Italy with their five children to Ontario, Canada in the late 1950's. Together they opened Cirillo's Italian Restaurant’. My grandmother became famous for her traditional Italian cuisine, especially her tomato sauce. It is my honour to continue the family tradition of making delicious Italian foods.

Tomato Sauce - Tomato sauce comes canned in glass jars
· 1 Litre $12
· 1/2 Litre $7

Herbed Italian Bread Dough - Make fresh Italian Bread with your pasta dinner!
$3 per loaf (Bread dough comes frozen, shaped in a loaf and ready to thaw and bake)

Pizza Dough - Pizza dough and side baggie of sauce come frozen

· Small dough $3 (makes one - 13 X 13 inch medium pizza)

· Large dough $5 (makes one very large pizza)



Love and Blessings,

Anne

250-507-5197

Program for low income people on the Westshore to garden

There is a program out on the Westshore called Gardening Neighbours. The program pairs experienced veggie gardeners with people that want to learn. There was a good article in the Goldstream Gazette about it.

The application deadline has been shifted to April 23rd, it originally was April 12th. More details are available at the Westshore Harvest website.

By Amy Dove - Goldstream News Gazette

Project connects green thumbs with ‘brown thumbs’

Terrie Barnhard’s backyard is a testament to resourceful gardening.

Her compost bins are reconstructed pallets sourced from local hardware stores. Shelves near the work bench came from a wooden crate used to transport a fridge. Inside, this year’s beans and eggplants are sprouting in milk cartons.

“It’s all fun. It’s just live and learn,” Barnhard says. “I’m still in awe of all of it. This is all new.”

None of it would have happened without the guidance from the Gardening Neighbours program, she says. The Langford resident was one of 15 people paired with a garden mentor and walked through the 2009 growing season. The free program, through Capital Families Association, helps people plan, plant and harvest a garden. Supplies from seeds to trowels are included.

A larger grant from The Victoria Foundation has doubled the spaces this year, allowing for 30 individuals or families. The focus is on helping those with limited income or living in subsidized housing and senior’s complexes, says co-ordinator Cindy MacDonald. Experience is not required and gardens can be tailored to fit in backyards or on patios.

“The tricky part is how to grow what and where, and that’s what we offer people,” she says. “There is no better food than your own. It’s good for so many reasons and it’s not that hard.”

The program builds a network of support, with last year’s group starting a newsletter to share tips and news. They were able to draw inspiration from what other people were doing too, Barnhard says.

“When we went to other gardens, you kind of take note of what people use,” she adds. She now has packages of seeds, some of which will be a surprise when they grow, from different people.

“I have never seen red sunflowers,” she says, glancing down at her pots. “Let’s hope I haven’t killed them yet! You don’t see the humor in it until you are actually doing it.”

The program is expanding this year to include a “fee-for- service” program. Gardeners who don’t meet the criteria for Gardening Neighbours, but could use a little help, can receive a personal garden plan, seeds and three mentor visits for $200. Two workshops are also open to the public May 8 and June 26 for $10 each.

For more information or to get an application for Gardening Neighbours, e-mail Capital Families Association WestShore Harvest co-ordintor Jennifer Girard at harvest@capfamilies.org or go to www.westshoreharvest.ca. Applications are due April 12.

Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers

At the Food Matter forum last week I met Gabe Epstein of the Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers. The group is very much the sort of thing I am very interested in, sharing of information about growing food and talking about issues related to food production.

Our Objective

We seek to promote and maximize food production and community food security in as wide a variety of settings in our community as possible, in as sustainable a manner as possible.

As such, we:

• Share information about food production and food security;
• Encourage and support each other in the practice of producing food; and
• Learn and share skills that promote personal and collective resilience

I can get behind that.

For myself the sharing of knowledge is the most important part. I lived in Lillooet for close to 10 years and that is where I did the majority of my gardening. Coming to the coast means dealing with a completely different climate and completely different pests. My first year here I lost all of tomatoes and carrots.

This summer will be my seventh one here in Victoria, but the first and the one 2007 were both lost causes because I could not really do much gardening. 2006 and 2009 were a lost causes for personal reasons. This means I am really only in my third year of gardening here and I have a lot to learn.

I have stuff in the ground already and I hope to get a lot more done this coming weekend.

The next meeting the the Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers is on April 18th.

Buying Vancouver Island Flour

I blogged about this in November but want to remind people that Eat Magazine had a series on growing grain on Vancouver Island. I applaud the people trying to do it, but I think they are economically foolhardy.

For Good Measure in Cadboro Bay has Vancouver Island flour for sale. Metchosin flour is $3.30 a kilo. This is milled at True Grain in Cowichan Bay. While this is all nice to be supporting local food production, the price is insane. This is three to four times what we pay for flour. We could not afford to bake if we were buying this flour.

We buy white, whole wheat, and durum flour in 10 kg sacks and go through it moderately quickly. We also buy cake and pastry flour though only about 3-5 kg at a time. We bake bread, biscuits, and make pasta. We go through a lot of flour.

There is another option out there for getting Island grain. Island Grains is a grain CSA. A CSA is community supported agriculture, you pay up front for a share of the harvest. You gain if things go well and you share the pain if things go bad. It is an innovative way to finance small market gardeners.

You can sign up for 2010 and should do so quickly if you are interested as there are only limited shares available. The fee is $195 and the estimate is that this will yield about 18 to 19 kilos. This implies a price per kilo of over $10 a kilo...... The crop will grown at Makaria Farm in Duncan.

Makaria Farm also operates a fruit and veg CSA for $465 for the season - 18 weeks or a full box every other week for $232.50.

Growing Wheat on Vancouver Island

Eat Magazine has an interesting article in this month's issue about growing wheat on Vancouver Island. Actually they will be covering this over this and the next two issues. I experimented with growing wheat in 2008 and did not find it particularly useful project.

There is something romantic about being able to buy bread that has been made from locally grown wheat. You can buy local wheat at For Good Measure Bulk Food in Cadboro Bay for a price of $3.30 to $4.40 a kilo - a lot more than the less than $10 I pay for 10 kg. It is not only expensive, growing it locally is not a good use of the land.

You can buy bread made with local wheat at Fol Epi, True Grain in Cowichan Bay, The Roost and Wildfire bakery.

The problem with wheat is that does not produce a lot per acre, one should expect to harvest about 2.5 tonnes per acre. This is not unreasonable in areas where the land can not be readily used for other crops - such as on the prairies. On Vancouver Island this does not make sense.

An acre on the Saanich peninsula could produce the following:

• 20 tonnes of tomatoes
• 12 tonnes of strawberries
• 20 tonnes of apples
• 3 tonnes of grapes
• 25 tonnes of carrots

Growing wheat on this land makes no sense for best use of the land, the farmer's business or food security. We have land here that con do so much more.

In the distant past wheat was grown here because we did not have the transportation infrastructure to move the wheat around as easily as today. To move back to growing wheat means moving backwards in how we use the land.

Wheat stores well and transports well, you can move it in bulk by train. Tomatoes, apples, berries and other fresh crops do not travel nearly as well and require trucks. Each kilo of wheat that is grown here displaces the potential of close to eight kilos of produce. Each train car load of wheat we grow here means we need about 20 semi trailer loads of produce to be trucked here from elsewhere. This means local wheat has an interesting impact of CO2 emissions through the loss of local land for other local production.

The Root Cellar Green Grocer

I have been buying more and more of my fruit and vegatables from the Root Cellar at 1286 Mackenzie Ave. Their prices are good, their quality is high and the selection is broad. I have dropped almost all my fruit and veg shopping from the grocery stores and given it to them. If you have not gone and shopped there, please try it out.

Family market bucks trend

Loyal fresh food customers keep cash registers ringing

By Carla Wilson, Times Colonist
February 12, 2009 4:02 AM

In these days of economic uncertainty, the one-year-old Root Cellar Village Green Grocer is bucking the trend by tallying steady sales growth as loyal customers keep business booming.

"It's a little bit ridiculous," says Daisy Leslie-Orser, who owns the business with husband Adam Orser and friend "Uncle" Phil Lefreniere. "It just snowballed."

The trio has been taken aback by the success of their business, at the corner of Blenkinsop Road and McKenzie Avenue. In fact, it's been nominated in the new business category in this year's Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce's business awards.

Healthy sales have led to plans for a 1,000-square-foot building extension and more tents outdoors this spring, Orser said yesterday.

The grocery store focuses first on local produce, gradually moving farther away geographically to buy what's needed.

Since the Root Cellar opened last February, sales have climbed four times beyond what was expected, he said. Early projections of a maximum of 10 staff were soon ditched as employee numbers climbed to 42 in the busy summer and are now at about 35.

Three tills weren't enough to cope with the number of customers, so two more were added.

The Root Cellar has created a space for itself in the highly competitive grocery market, where margins are tight and pennies count. Greater Victoria shoppers already have high expectations because other grocery businesses also focus on good service, local products and community involvement.

Customers are interested in cooking and eating healthier, said Lefreniere. "People will never stop eating."

Today's economic troubles may have even helped the business because shoppers are making meals from scratch and seeking competitive prices, Leslie-Orser said.

Some suppliers aren't even farmers but are backyard gardeners who enjoy growing produce. One man brings in "beautiful" white turnips, all perfectly washed with their greens on, Leslie-Orser said. "They are art-photography quality." Also, customer requests lead to custom orders.

Shopper Judy Dziedziuch of Saanich said as a native of the Okanagan, she trusts the Okanagan family that bought the business. "Okanagan people know their fruits and vegetables," she said, adding she likes the Root Cellar's prices and quality. "They also sell a lot of local produce."

Leslie-Orser believes the owners' past experience made the difference between success and failure. The three had worked together for a group of market stores in the Okanagan, and Orser had opened several stores.

Lefreniere is the acting store manager and typically works seven days a week, said Leslie-Orser, who does administrative work. Orser's role includes going to Vancouver overnight every week to order produce from warehouses, as well as expansion planning and working with chefs and restaurants to promote their products.

Leslie-Orser and Orser are also parents of boys Tai, 10, Raine, four, and Diem, 18 months. The boys' mother laughs when she says work gets done with crossed eyes and octopus arms. "I work from home a lot. We're busy."

Staff morale gets a boost on Friday nights, when a gym is rented for games, and with activities such as summer barbecues. The management team has access to profit-sharing. The Root Cellar also supports community organizations and schools.

Owners, staff and customers are "sort of a family tribe," Leslie-Orser said -- customers even arrived at Christmas with goodies made from Root Cellar products.

When Leslie-Orser is busy, an employee hoists little Diem on her hip. Since the first day, Tai has helped out. He likes to sweep, collect carts and carry bags to cars.

"People like that," his dad said.
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Island Grains - Grow your own bread

I tried to grow my own wheat and make bread, the biggest hassle was the threshing and winnowing of the wheat. I also could not grind the wheat well either.

Island Grains is a project to allow people to grow grains, harvest them, process it and make bread. I think this is great hands on project. This is the sort of hands experience I think is good for all people to take part in from time to time.

The Tyee had an article about their project.

I think I may plant some more wheat this year, say along the sidewalk and put up a sign telling people it is wheat. Wonder what will happen.....

Organic Produce

A friend asked me why I do not buy organic produce and products. For me it comes down to several things, cost, benefit and labeling.

I like my produce to be of a good quality for a reasonable price. I am not willing to pay more for a product that is of lower quality. Wilted organic lettuce is not good eats. Paying more for less is simply wrong to me.

I am also not convinced of the benefit of organic produce. Do I feel better for eating it? No. Do any studies show a benefit over the longer term? No. Does it make the world a better place? No. Does it make farming more productive and food more affordable? No. Does it create a paperwork nightmare for the farmer? Yes.

Finally, the labeling of organic does not convince me the products are what I think they should be. Organic standards are different all over the world and in the case of the USDA, they are much lower than I think really makes a difference. Processed foods with organic on the label can mean almost anything. I do not have the time to review the standards from every country around the world to make sure that what I am buying is really what I consider organic.

Some of the things included as a given in most organic standards are no GMO foods and no irradiation. In both cases I do not see the reasoning as both of the technologies are designed to reduce the chemical dependency of agriculture and have no impact on the consumer.

Cook 'N Pan Polish Deli

This deli is located at 1725 Cook street between Pandora and North Park. There was a time from the mid 1950s to the early 1980s that our cities had an abundance of European delis. As all of us Europeans have lost our connections to the old world, the delis have died out. I remember as a child going with with my mother to German delis in Vancouver along Fraser Street or Victoria but there are very few of them left any longer.

In the last generation we have seen a new set of delis open, Asian ones, Indian ones, Middle Eastern ones and others. I like these places but I miss the familiar look and smell of the European ones. Cook 'N Pan is a Polish deli of a type I remember.

I come in and can immediately smell the cured meats and see the familiar goods for sale. They have a great selection of deli meats that look like they make them, this is not the sort of stuff you can buy anywhere else. They are the only source of decent locally made perogies I know of in this city. They carry a nice selection of European chocolates, jams and more deli items. They have the chocolates you can hang on your Christmas tree, an important tradition for me.

A lot of non-ethnic delis only seem to want to cater to a very high end clientele. They carry good products, but the prices are so high that I feel guilty eating the food. Cook 'N Pan is not like this, they make everything affordable and reasonable.

You can buy lunch here as well and I have done so a number of times over the years. I always get the same thing, a plate of the perogies.