November Newsletter - Gratitude
Dear friends,
As many of us slow down this week to celebrate and honor time with family, friends, and food, we at the NWI Food Council thought there would be no better time to reboot our newsletter! As we collectively brace against the early cold and snow this year, our team is grateful for the time it provides to slow down and reflect on our journey- and our future. Traditionally, the close of harvest season and the shortening of daylight hours has provided space for gathering and connecting around a fire or, more recently, the kitchen or family room. As we share some of what we have to be grateful for, we hope you will do the same in the coming days!
We know we’ve been quiet over the last couple of years, and we are committed to doing better about telling you all of the amazing things we are working on- as an organization, but also through the daily work of our stellar volunteer board. We know that you’ve missed our events; pausing events over the last two years has given us space to grow and lean into our role as network weavers, cultivating connections and building programs that we hope will serve our community into the future. We are so grateful for all of you, the local foods champions, who have supported us in this period of transition. We also hope that in the coming years, we will have the opportunity to reboot a reimagined FED and Farmhop to continue facilitating the community connections that we know are the bedrock of lasting change.
Relationships and community connections have always been the foundation of our work. From that fateful local food summit in 2015, when nearly 100 community members and local food advocates came together and decided our region needed a food council, to the present day where we are working to design holistic and equitable programming that leverages the strengths of all of our friends and partners, we know that we are only as strong as our partners! We are grateful for all of you that help drive and support our programming on so many levels, and for the many partners who believed in us early on. We are grateful to have learned from and with all of you, and we look forward to co-creating a food system that works for everyone in our communities!
I tell my kiddos often that we can go so much further if we go there together. This harvest season, I am thankful to be on this journey with all of you, the local foods champions, in Northwest Indiana!
With Gratitude,
Virginia Pleasant
Vice President
NWI Food Council
Region Roots Local Farm & Food Hub
Hello NWI!
I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Anna Martinez, some of you may know me because of my Kombucha business or Cafe. I have made some changes in my life and this has led me to my newest venture, working with the NWI Food Council to help build a robust local food chain system! One of the ways we hope to accomplish this is through Region Roots Local Food Hub. Our hub focuses on bringing together local farmers, restaurants, retail and in the not so far future, schools and institutions!
I hope we can stay connected through our monthly newsletter. I plan to share my experiences as I get to visit our region. If you have any questions or see me around town, please introduce yourself. I love to learn about our local people and businesses. We certainly do have more than corn in Indiana!
Click here to learn more about Region Roots Local Farm and Food Hub!
And remember this season and, every other, to shop local!
Anna Martinez
Farmer to Chef Coordinator
NWI Food Council
Giving Thanks
This November, we are especially thankful for our region’s farmers! Though it’s getting colder and we are starting to spend more time inside, it’s still possible to eat lots of locally grown foods! Meats, eggs, lettuces and greens, herbs, and apples are all great seasonal options. We think that root vegetables are the true stars of the season though. Root vegetables come packed with vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and, most importantly, flavor! One of our favorite ways to eat them is roasted- it really lets them shine. And as an added bonus, roasted root veggies make a great base for breakfast hash in the morning- you can’t beat a recipe two-for-one!
Roasted Root Vegetables
Preheat oven to 425
Roughly chop 3lbs of root vegetables into about one inch pieces (Use a mix of sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, beets, or whatever your favorites are)
Spread veggies on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil
Add salt and pepper to taste
Bake for about 30 minutes
Add 2 Tbsp of fresh chopped herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano, it’s up to you!)
Toss Root Veggies with the herbs and roast for another 10-15 minutes
BONUS! If you have leftover roasted root veggies the next day, heat them in a cast iron skillet and top with an egg cooked how you like for an easy and filling breakfast.
Did you know that Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday by President Lincoln in 1863? Sarah Josepha Hale began advocating for a national day of gratitude as early as 1827. However, harvest celebrations were common in many cultures long before that. Today, many Americans observe the holiday as a celebration of food and family, and as a practice in gratitude. But, most of us have also learned the “first” Thanksgiving myth that obscures many important details. Thanksgiving has a complicated history- and for some indigenous communities it is observed as a day of mourning. You can read more about Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives on Thanksgiving and food sovereignty in this article by Lakota Chef Sean Sherman and this article written by Brett Anderson.
Looking for some new sides to introduce to your Turkey Day celebration? We love this collection of Regional Thanksgiving Recipes from all 50 states. Or, if you’re new to cooking, check out this collection of Easy Recipes for a Thanksgiving Beginner!
Looking for alternatives to the hustle and bustle of stores on Black Friday?
Indiana State Parks invite you to #optoutside with free state park admission on Nov. 25!
Support Local artisans, stores, and farms on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26! (Check for events in your local community)
If you’re looking to stay in, check out Shop Indiana Grown for food and other products from Indiana farms, food businesses, and artisans!
Finally, November is all about gratitude and we are grateful for all of you, who support the important work we do! Please consider including us in your contributions this Giving Tuesday and throughout the Giving Season. All contributions are tax deductible and, this year, Giving Tuesday contributions will help seed a Local Food Fund!
2022 in a Nutshell
We have so much to be thankful for this November! 2022 has been a busy year for the Food Council, with lots of great programs and projects in the works. Here are some of the highlights we’re most excited about.
Region Roots Local Farm and Food Hub, run as a nonprofit program of the NWI Food Council, celebrated its one year anniversary in May!
We received our first USDA grant, a Regional Food Systems Partnership Grant, about a year ago! Our project, Partners IN Food: Centering Collaboration, Resilience, and Equity for the Indiana Food System, is a 3 year grant with many partners around Indiana, including Indiana University, the Indiana Department of Health, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, and several limited resource organizations around the state. We are thrilled to be leading efforts to expand the Indiana Value Chain Network and expand opportunities for farmers in our region and beyond. This grant also allows us to help support the formation of Indiana’s first statewide food and farming organization, Partners in Food and Farming! You’ll be hearing a lot more about this grant over the next couple of years, but you can learn more now on our website. We are honored to be leading this effort to create equitable and transformative change for Indiana’s food system!
We’ve received two grants from the Indiana Department of Health this year. A Rural Food Access Grant is supporting farm to school efforts in our rural counties. A SNAP-Ed grant enables us to build on the work that was started with the Lake County Eats Local Program. Through this grant, we will be able to provide technical assistance through all seven of the counties we serve, to get more farmers markets and farms SNAP and WIC ready.
None of this would be possible without our dedicated volunteer board members. If you’ve been following us for a while, you know that we talk often about how all of our programs and projects are led by volunteers. We are so excited to welcome our largest cohort of volunteer board members to date! Earlier this month, we welcomed seven new board members to our growing team and we hope you’ll continue to follow along and get to know them in the coming months. In the meantime, please join us in welcoming our new cohort:
Alicia Pelligrino, Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Cheryl Dornberg, Mrs. Dornberg’s Culinary Experience
Dr. Linda Royster, Retired and Community Gardener
Nicole Weaver, Regional Health Systems
Oliver Bhamani, Society of St Andrew and Student at Notre Dame
Porchea McGuire, Shiloh DIvine Farms
Major Rebecca Simmons, Salvation Army of Michigan City
We are also excited to announce that for the first time in the Food Council’s history we have employees that will greatly expand our capacity to continue building the food system we believe future generations deserve. Please give our new staff a big welcome!
Anna Martinez – Some of you might recognize Anna from her cafe and kombucha business. We are humbled that Anna chose to start the next chapter of her life with us as our Local Farmer to Chef Coordinator for the Region Roots Local Farm and Food Hub. Anna is a tireless advocate for farmers, food businesses, and our local community.
Becca Tuholski – Becca has been a long time supporter of local food systems, with experience at Purdue Extension, an agriculture teacher, and running a vegetable farm with her husband. We are so grateful that Becca has chosen to continue her local foods journey as our Local Food Access Coordinator. Becca will be leading our work to improve access to locally grown and raised food for the most vulnerable in our community.
Megan Moran – Megan will be with us for the school year as our marketing intern as a part of IU’s Kelly Institute for Social Impact (KISI) internship program. She is a sophomore in the Kelley School of Business, majoring in marketing and sustainable business; she is also passionate about ensuring everyone has access to healthy food. Megan is already proving herself to be an invaluable member of the team and has been leading our Giving Tuesday Campaign!
Grant Opportunities
Check out opportunities for funding food systems programs:
USDA Farm to School Grants – Due January 6, the Farm to School Grant Program supports farm to school programming in implementation or “turn key” proposals. Available turnkey projects include edible gardens, agricultural education, or action planning.
SARE Farmer Rancher Grant – Due December 1, the Farmer Rancher Grant supports farmer led on-farm research, demonstration, and education projects.
Indiana Department of Education Equipment Grant – Due November 30, the Equipment Grant supports purchases of up to three pieces of equipment for eligible schools.
Climate and Equity Policy Project Grants for BIPOC-led Ag Groups and Groups of BIPOC Farmers - Due Nov 23 at midnight, funding is designed to help BIPOC groups engage in policy work for the first time or in new or expanded ways.