Danielle Gould and our friends over at Food + Tech Connect are hosting a Farm Bill Hack on Saturday in New York City.  From the website: There is a lot of talk about the Farm Bill these days in part  because it was due to be revisited over the course of 2012, and then because cuts from it were entangled in the the Super Committee mess (which now officially failed). Yet we also hear about the Farm Bill because, we are told, it affects what Americans eat more than any other piece of legislation.  But how exactly? What is in it and why should Americans care? Thus far, there is little in the way of visually interesting and informative media about the Farm Bill. Which is why we are co-hosting the Farm Bill Hackathon on December 3, 2011 with Gojee. To read the whole post about the hackathon, including the time, location, and mission, click here.  Grown

Ever wonder about the best gifts to get the urban gardener in your life?  I’ve been extremely delighted when relatives pick up on my love of urban gardening and surprise me with the perfect gift (see here), though I understand the stress of trying to find something that’s both personal and won’t overtake a small city gardener’s limited space.  Just in time for the holiday season, I’ve compiled my list of favorite gifts for the urban gardener in your life. For the hardcore urban gardener The Worm Factory 360: I can honestly say that one of my favorite birthday gifts is the Worm Factory 360, which I got from my in-laws for my birthday a few years ago.  This is not a gift for the novice urban gardener.  It requires a few key conditions:  enough space in the recipient’s living quarters to keep the worm bin (a garage, large closet, or

Thanks to data published by the USDA, mashed up with US Census Bureau data about population, it’s possible to see where the farmer’s markets are distributed around the US. So which states take the lead?  California, unsurprisingly, comes out on top with 605, followed by New York with 468 (see visualization 1).  It becomes even more interesting when you mash up the farmer’s market data with population data to find density of farmer’s markets.  Vermont comes out in the lead with 13.4 per 100K residents, which is quite a density (see visualization 2)!  As you can see in the third chart, Vermont is far and away the leader in farmer’s market density. How does your state stack up?  Click below to find your state.

There’s been much talk about food access – much of this involves bringing food to the people, like the produce trucks in Baltimore, or locating new food stores in communities that don’t have them, like in Philadelphia.  Among the many things I have come to admire during my short stay in Helsinki is the access to fresh food – often located right around transit. For example, when getting off the train at the main station, residents can buy berries from a portable market set up at the end of the platform.  It’s a combination of both approaches – both locating the food near the people, and doing so in a flexible, portable way.  Always good to see easy access to produce!

Sun-dried, oven-dried or dehydrated tomatoes; the concept and the result is basically the same: flavor-packed tomatoes that can be preserved and used in salads, as a snack, reconstituted into sauces for pasta, or baked in breads for added flavor. This season, I have already dried several batches of tomatoes using an oven, and I believe that it is the easiest and simplest technique to dry tomatoes. Dried tomatoes: all you need is an oven and a day.

I learned through the COMFOOD listserv that Andy Fisher has left his post as Executive Director of the Community Food Security Coalition.  As I read through his words, I was reminded of how far the food movement has come over the past 20 years, much like the environmental movement matured during the 1960s.  Has the food systems movement peaked?  If so, what is the next “movement?”?  I might argue that it’s the movement toward smarter cities, open government, and community participation that handles an entire system of issues, including food, but then again I have a particular bias!  Nevertheless, I was struck by Andy’s words, and asked for his permission to share them with GitC readers.  I also hope to have an interview with Andy, picking his brain on the connection between urban planning and food, in the not too distant future. Earlier this summer, after seventeen years, I left

If you haven’t yet, point your browser over to Food + Tech Connect, a great website by Danielle Gould that covers the intersection of food and information technology.  It’s right up my alley, and I’m sure would be of interest to many of the readers here. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with Food + Tech Connect, check out their one-year anniversary party, taking place in Brooklyn on September 21.  It looks like it’s going to be a great time! From Food + Tech Connect: In honor of our one-year anniversary, Food+Tech Connect is bringing together 75 of the most talented food and tech innovators- stuffing them with great food- and asking: How could you use information and technology to hack the food system? The interactive cocktail party will be held at Brooklyn Grange on September 21, 2011 and will feature some of our favorite underground chefs and food tech thought leaders, including: Amanda Hesser & Merill Stubbs, Food52