As the weeks in Spring Quarter are winding down it feels like my projects have only just begun – it is becoming quite clear that I don’t have the heart to leave any of these projects unfinished just because school is ending… I have become seriously invested in them not only in my responsibilities, but in my genuine interest and passion for the cause.

Local Food. My newest crusade.

With that being said, I will update you, as I always do, on the multiple projects I am working on.

Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/digital-marketing-online-marketing-1527799/

South Sound Food Systems Networking: Local Food Campaign Marketing Meeting

At this point, the local food-related educational messages to be disseminated into the community have been finalized, and now the Marketing team is moving forward in gathering information from various SSFSN stakeholders in order to create our marketing material, of which include:

Bus Butt Example. Retrieved from http://freecheckinginformation.com/marketing-samples/safe-credit-union-bus-advertisement/

• social media
• news articles
• Newsletters
• Stickers
• bus butt
• postcards

What might these “postcards” be, you ask? Essentially they include message/image/logo on the front, and supplemental/detailed information on the back. Meant to be informative, but aesthetically appealing (maybe you’ll put it on your fridge) and not too dense. Some example of postcard content we have brainstormed for messages include:

1. Message 5: Food brings communities together
   1. Images: farmers market, sitting around table eating, breaking bread, farmer selling to restaurants, “Our Table,” map of Thurston Co./South Sound, food bank service, family gardens, political yin yang, bountiful byways, Seattle farmers market, Taylor Shellfish Bar
   2. Messages: miles food travel, everybody eats: unifier, bridging urban and rural, farm to table, # of food bank volunteers and # of farms donate to food bank
2. Message 6: Nourishing our community is hard work – thank a farmworker today!
   1. Images: farmworkers, Helsing Junction Farm, working the field/crouching/shleping/lifting, fisherman, dirty hands, ranchers
   2. Messages: time it takes to get food from seed to mouth, hours a day farmworkers are working peak season, lack of revenue in winter, migrant workers in our community, career unpredictability
3. Message 7: Where does your food come from?
   1. Images: Helsing Junction Farm, Farm Map, (Field, River, Field, Sound: different recognizable landscapes in South Sound), Restaurants that source food locally: Chelsea Oyster Bar, Our Table, etc.
   2. Messages: less than 2% of food consumed comes from local, what are the markets our farmers are selling in, places you can get local food e.i. Co-ops, markets, CSAs, direct, ask where your food comes from.

Oh yeah, and as if I’m not already doing enough, I agreed to be a part of the Social Media Team for this project moving forward.

OFM Restaurant Produce Research

This week I also did a lot of research regarding local wholesale prices for vegetables in order to get an idea about what prices our local farmers would have to sell their produce to local restaurants at in order to compete. Below is the Cash & Carry breakdown of commonly used produce and their costs.

Cash & Carry:

Item                                                                                                 Price Info

Onions By darwin Bell from San Francisco, USA (open onion) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons	Boiler: 3 lbs $1.25, case of 16 units $19.00 Jumbo Yellow: 50 lbs $8.98 (special sale) Jumbo Red: 25 lbs $8.65 Sweet: 10 lbs $4.58, case of 5 units $21.79 White: 10 lbs $5.83, case of 5 units $27.69
Potatoes By 16:9clue [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons	Red: 15 lbs $4.98, case of 4 units $19.92 Russet: 15 lbs $2.50, case of 4 units $10.00 Yukon G: 15 lbs $4.98, case of 4 units $19.92
Carrots By Kander (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons	Cut/Peeled Sticks: 5 lbs $6.58, case of 4 units $26.32 Organic: 5 lbs $2.96, case of 10 units $28.12 Jumbo: 25 lbs $9.00 Peeled Mini: 5 lbs $3.89, case of 6 units $20.88
Peppers Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/orange-bell-pepper-near-yellow-bell-pepper-109014/	Green Bell: 25 lbs $16.63 Orange Bell: 11 lbs $23.67 Red Bell: 25 lbs $25.31 Yellow Bell: 11 lbs $18.60 Jalepeno: 10 lbs $9.50
Greens Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrencefarmersmarket/2529145266	Romaine: 5 CT $2.99, case of 7 units $20.93 Iceberg: 24 CT $13.41 Kale: 2.5 lbs $4.62, case of 4 units $18.48 Organic Spinach: 2 lbs $7.66, case of 6 units $45.96 Organic Spring Mix: 2 lbs $7.63, case of 6 units $45.78
Broccoli Retrieved from http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Food-Natural-Organic-Broccoli-Plant-Green-494754	Florets: 3 lbs $5.98, case of 6 units $35.88 Crowns: 20 lbs $39.25
Parsley By No machine-readable author provided. Ranveig assumed (based on copyright claims). [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons	Bunched: 6 CT $3.17, case of 5 units $15.85 By Pound: 1 lb $3.39, case of 4 units $13.56
Cilantro Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/dasqfamily/2648343226	Bunched: 6 CT $3.22, case of 5 units $16.10 By Pound: 1 lb $3.78, case of 4 units $15.12
Apples Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/healthy-fruits-health-apples-4148/	Fuji: 5 lbs $4.36, case of 8 units $34.88 Gala: 5 lbs $4.03, case of 8 units $32.24 Granny Smith: 5 lbs $4.85, case of 8 units $38.80 Pink Lady: 5 lbs $3.22, case of 8 units $25.76

Next week I will be able to post a (nearly) completed version of the full resolution we will be taking to a member of the Olympia City Council. Until then!