At the end of June, I
posted on the need for cottage industry laws to allow people to supplement their income with the sale of homemade, properly labeled food products. Well,
according to River Country Journal, state Rep. John Proos has introduced legislation "to allow vendors at roadside stands and farmer’s markets to produce goods in their own…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on August 13, 2009 at 11:30am —
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The
Eat Well Food Tour is back in local mode for now, as Rob and I are in Michigan catching up on things after two intense weeks on the road. We're in the process of getting Michigan and Ontario dates on the
calendar and will post new events as soon as they're confirmed. In the meantime, enjoy the delights of the summer harvest. It's blueberry season here!
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on July 8, 2009 at 12:13pm —
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When I lived in Chicago for a couple of years while going to school at
North Park University, the array of restaurant options, especially in a very diverse neighborhood, could be overwhelming. A student's small budget and a desire to get to know the area around the school better provided welcome limitations.
These days, when we visit the city, it's nice to have friends who can make recommendations. Thanks to Grant, Nate and Liza, we ended up at…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on July 8, 2009 at 12:07pm —
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On Sunday, June 28, we did a workshop at
Many Peoples Church in Rogers Park, a neighborhood on the far north side of Chicago. The church grew out of the community networking and development work of Pastor John Hoekwater, though he would credit any number of other local people for their integral participation. The church is next door to
The Common Cup, a coffee shop owned and run by the John and Ruth Hoe…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on July 8, 2009 at 11:36am —
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Our friends Matt and Elizabeth from Shickley, Nebraska said that if we were going through Omaha on our way to Chicago, we should really consider stopping at
Big Mama's Kitchen. Matt gave us a business card he'd been keeping in his wallet for just such a recommendation. And we're glad Elizabeth gave us very specific instructions for finding the restaurant once we arrived at the Turning Point Campus on the north side of the city. Formerly a school for…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 29, 2009 at 5:17pm —
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Rob and I owe a large portion of the credit for inspiring the
Eat Well Food Tour to Matt and Elizabeth Troyer-Miller. Friends whom Rob met during his time at Goshen College, Matt and Elizabeth joined three others last summer in traveling around the region for the Central Plains Mennonite Conference. The mission of
their tour, through conversation and worship, was to reinvigorate cong…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 29, 2009 at 2:22pm —
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For several years now, Rob and I have been involved with the
Three Rivers Sustainable Food Group (or just the Food Group for short). Our friend Karla started the project as part of her doctoral work in spirituality and sustainability and it's continued as a point of connection for sharing meals, local food resources and advocacy concerns.
One of the group's advocacy projects over the past couple of years has been encouraging legislation for a cottage i…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 29, 2009 at 12:51pm —
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With a population of 360, Shickley is one of many tiny towns dotting the Nebraska prairie. As Rob and I were driving in on Wednesday evening, we could see a storm approaching for over an hour across the vastness of the plains. We arrived at the home of our friends Matt and Elizabeth just after dark as they were about to walk the dog. Only two blocks from downtown, their house is at what would be considered the northeast edge of town.
The next morning, we walked to visit Elizabeth at the small g…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 26, 2009 at 6:44pm —
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As often happens with tours of this sort, we packed our schedule extremely full--too full, perhaps. So when a particular stop didn't work out during the second week of our big Midwest leg, it was actually quite a relief to sit down in a coffee shop for a few hours and catch up on blog posts.
When Rob and I attended Dordt College in 1997-1999, there wasn't really a great coffee shop in town. There was one that was okay, and there was a better one across the cornfields in Orange City, but we desi…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 26, 2009 at 6:42pm —
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One of the things that’s accompanied us these 1,300 miles so far is a crate of food-related resources, including two
cookbooks created by the Mennonite Central Committee. One is
Extending the Table, featuring recipes from around the world and stories to connect cooks to other cultures in meaningful ways. Another that we have with us is
Simply in Season, which organizes recipes according to vegetables that are in s…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 26, 2009 at 6:30pm —
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In the course of planning the first leg of the
Eat Well Food Tour,
Dan Perkins suggested I get in touch with the Kattenbergs at
Seed Time & Harvest, a certified organic CSA and market garden in Hull, Iowa. While Dan was at Dordt College, he had worked at the farm, one of the many students who have participa…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 24, 2009 at 4:00pm —
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After a long drive from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to Sioux Center, Iowa, we were refreshed in body and spirit by a good visit with John and Janna Wesselius at
Cornucopia Farm, a new-ish CSA and market garden in the middle of big ag country.
After several years in southern Ontario, the Wesselius family moved to Sioux Center, where Janna grew up, in order to embrace better job opportunities and natural beauty. They lived in town at first, but…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 24, 2009 at 3:32pm —
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The relatively new Creation Tenders group at
Covenant Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center, Iowa, has been doing some wonderful work for creation care, from collecting electronics for recycling (inspiring a new city-wide program?) to developing a
Creation Care Day Camp curriculum for kids. Covenant also has a table at church during the growing season where people can share excess produce from t…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 24, 2009 at 3:28pm —
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Yesterday, we had the opportunity to talk with Bruce Dooyema of Center Fresh Egg Farm in Sioux Center, Iowa. With 5.5 million laying hens, Center Fresh is #14 on the
United Egg Producers' rankings of just under 300 members--quite a different style of operation than the heritage breeds in chicken tractors that we've been seeing elsewhere on the tour. It was good to sit down face-to-face with someone who often gets ironically dehumanized by folks in various…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 24, 2009 at 3:26pm —
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Rob and I met John during our first year working at Calvin College. He was one of the sophomore students in our cultural discerner group, studying the interrelatedness of theology, philosophy and popular culture. Since then, he's become a good friend and we've enjoyed many late night conversations about every corner of life.
We've watched with interest as he graduated this year with a degree in philosophy and took up an internship on
Kinnikinnick Farm…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 24, 2009 at 3:23pm —
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I spent more hours than I should have looking for a new travel coffee mug when the one I'd had…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 23, 2009 at 5:55pm —
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At a service station in Wisconsin today, I was intrigued by a logo and slogan proclaiming, "SQUAWKERS(R): WHERE THE CHICKEN ALWAYS COMES FIRST.(R)"
"Could it really be?" I thought. "A brand that's trying to bring ethically raised meat into the mainstream?" Not so much, at least from what I can discern over at the
Squawkers (R) web site. Turns out what's meant by "chicken" is not the animal, nor even the meat, but it must be new corporate slang for: MONEY!…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 22, 2009 at 5:15pm —
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Over the weekend in Sheboygan, we stayed with our friends Chris and Amy Nonhof, along with their children Alex, Sam and Chloe. We had a wonderful time visiting with them and exploring what their region of Wisconsin has to offer in the way of locally produced food. The Nonhofs are members of
Oostburg Christian Reformed Church in a small hamlet just south of Sheboygan.
One of the things Oostburg CRC has organized to help address hunger issues in their are…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 22, 2009 at 4:57pm —
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On Saturday afternoon, Rob and I wandered around the Sheboygan farmer's market with a video camera, interviewing several folks about how their values influence their food choices. People were at the market for a variety of reasons; physical health, animal ethics, community, environmental justice and flavor all made the collective list. Some had been shopping farmer's markets for years, while others were just starting out. One woman we talked to had just read Barbara Kingsolver's
Animal, Veget…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 22, 2009 at 4:53pm —
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A murmur rippled through the crowd perched on the tractor-drawn wagon. "That's Joe Leibham. In the red shirt. He's a state senator." As the wagon rounded the corner on the way from the parking field to the farm, Senator Leibham waved. Suddenly, I had a much better understanding of how the annual Dairy Breakfast functions in Wisconsin.
When we scheduled our stop in Sheboygan for the Eat Well Food Tour, we didn't realize we'd be there over Father's Day weekend. We also didn't realize we'd be in S…
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Added by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma on June 22, 2009 at 4:44pm —
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I spent more hours than I should have looking for a new travel coffee mug when the one I'd had… Continue
