growinglocalshasta@gmail.com

Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Greenhorns & The Story of Bottled Water...









































Growing Local Coalition is very excited to be partnering with Whole Earth and Watershed Festival to premier The Greenhorns documentary along with The Story of Bottled Water on...
Friday, June 24th, 7pm, at the First United Methodist Church, 1825 East St., Redding, CA. This event is FREE and open to the public!

Reddings 2011 Green Film Series Begins! 

The Greenhorns will kick off the opening of the 2011 Redding Green Film Series. Films and documentaries will focus on a wide variety of sustainability topics. Be entertained, be inspired, and be green!

The Greenhorns documentary film, completed after almost 3 years in production, explores the lives of America's young farming community - it's spirit, practices and needs. It is the filmmaker's hope that by broadcasting the stories and voices of these young farmers, we can build the case for those considering a career in agriculture - to embolden them, to entice them. and to recruit them into farming. The Greenhorns is a message calling for positive agricultural reform toward a more local, sustainable food system.

The Story of Bottled Water, a short animated film, will be shown to tell the story of why Americans buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when they can get it almost free from a tap. The Story of Bottled Water was released on World Water Day, an annual UN-sponsored day of action to support access to clean, safe water for the world's people. Globally, more than 1 billion have little choice but to use potentially harmful sources of water.

Come early to take your seat! A guest speaker will introduce the Greenhorns film and a forum for discussion centered on the topics raised in both of these important projects will follow. Concessions, including popcorn, treats and Greenhorns merchandise will be for sale. Please bring your reusable water bottle!

The Green Film Series is presented by Whole Earth and Watershed Festival which is held each year with the goal of encouraging community members with a variety of perspectives to engage in positive and constructive dialogue for moving our region toward a sustainable future.

Check out the website and trailer for The Economics of Happiness, another of the films we are hoping to premier this Summer...
http://www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/

Please email us at growinglocalshasta@gmail.com or
reddinggreenfilmseries@gmail.com for more information.

North Valley Food Co-op Update...



Thank you all for attending Growing Local Coalition's first general meeting held last Thursday at the Gaia Hotel in Anderson. Our next general meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 24, 2011, so please save the date…time and place are still TBD…and now for the co-op update!
Growing Local Coalition was approached by Bridgette Brick-Wells, now the former president of the North Valley Food Co-op executive board, to assist with transferring the co-op leadership from the executive board to a new board of directors. The executive board members have each resigned. The co-op has its legal paperwork in place and about 60 members.

The core group of volunteers working with Growing Local right now feel that helping to make this transition is a straight-forward and immediate way we can give support to the effort to get a co-op opened in Redding. The co-op members and the community need the chance to explore this idea and see if they can get the momentum going again. We will also continue to explore in what ways it makes sense for the Coalition to help the co-op and in what ways the co-op could further the Coalition's mission. For example, if the members choose to make it their focus, a cooperative has the potential to foster both more local food production and more consumption of local food – primarily through creating needed flexibility for producers and facilitating programs that grow a food-literate consumer base.

Growing Local has spoken with the people at the Food Co-op Initiative about the status of the North Valley Co-op and what the next best steps are. FCI is a non-profit support group that helps communities open co-ops. Based on their recommendations, a member meeting needs to be planned next. Realistically, an official member meeting that will allow us to properly vote in a new Board will not occur until July. We are thinking that it would be good to have a meet and greet event sooner – like in early May – so co-op members and interested community members can get to know each other and start the conversation about a vision for the co-op.

So far, we have four or five people interested in helping to plan the member meeting. Two of Growing Local’s partners, Healthy Shasta and EWD, are sending four Growing Local Coalition members to a co-op training and conference offered through the California Center for Cooperative Development in the Bay Area in early April. If you would like to help plan the member meeting, please contact the Coalition at growinglocalshasta@gmail.com.


Sunday, March 20, 2011

Hope To See You There!

Growing Local's 
first General Meeting 
 Thursday, March 24, 5:30-7:00 pm  
at the Gaia Shasta Hotel in Anderson, 
Himalaya A Bldg.
4125 Riverside Palce
Anderson, CA 96007
Agenda
click here for a printable version of the agenda
The wonderful folks at Gaia are not only graciously hosting our meeting, they are providing dishes, coffee/tea service and clean-up for us. We are delighted that Gaia is a tremendous supporter of Growing Local! You can RSVP at growinglocalshasta@gmail.com, or (530) 229-9312
5:30 pm--Free Local, Seasonal Dinner Menu
☞vegetarian Posole
☞cornbread with butter & honey
☞salad of seasonal greens, radishes, salad turnips, toasted walnuts & dried apricots 
☞citrus vinaigrette or bleu cheese dressing
5:45 pm--Program--Dine and Dish
Welcome and Growing Local coalition update
Go Local! Forum follow-up
Scenes from the forum
Proceedings 
--fun break--
6:30 pm--What's Happening
North Valley Food Co-op update
Blogspot & communications
Partner projects 
Upcoming Events & announcements 
6:50 pm--Dessert 
Shortbread sheet cookies with homemade plum preserves 
Holly Day will be playing in the Woodside Grill through-out the dinner hour until around 9pm, if you feel like a little wine, or a little more schmoozing!

in the meantime you can…

Check out this great article in the March 2011 Issue of 
North State Parent Magazine 
by Growing Local Member & Urban Gardener 

If you would like to make suggestions or be included please email us at... growinglocalshasta@gmail.com