It's a food festival Saturday in Valdosta!
Before, after, or during stocking up on local food at
Valdosta Farm Days at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse,
you can mosey up Patterson Street to Drexel Park for lunch, music, fun, and
education at Earth Day!
Drive, bike, or even walk; it's only a little more than a mile.
| What: |
Come celebrate the Earth with us, and learn about growing your own food!! |
| When: | 10AM-3PM Saturday 21 April 2012 |
| Where: | Drexel Park, across Patterson St from VSU, E. Brookwood Drive, Valdosta, GA |
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Appended is the text of the announcement.
-jsq
Continue reading "Earth Day and Valdosta Farm Days Saturday 21 April 2012" »

Mara Register from the Mayor's office of the City of Valdosta
came to the Lowndes County Commission to speak about
Valdosta Downtown Farm Days, May through September.
One of the wonderful things about this event is it
highlighted our beautiful historic courthouse.
It highlighted our local growers and producers,
and our historic downtown.
But also went further to help promote healthy eating in our community.
...bringing people together to the downtown area to take advantage of the
products that were produced here locally.
The sense of conviviality was just wonderful,
bringing the community together.
It's very exciting actually to see several of our vendors here this evening.
Ashley Paulk, on his very best behavior that day, recognized
his neighbors the Quartermans
Continue reading "Farm Day Recognition —Mara Register @ LCC 27 Sep 2011" »
People ask me: what does it take to run for mayor of Valdosta?
A few qualifications, a few skills, and a vision would sure help.
Well, you have to qualify.
That costs
$750 down at the Board of Elections.
According to
the City of Valdosta's website, there are a few other requirements:
Qualification Mayor.
To be eligible for election or appointment
and service as Mayor, a person must be a minimum of 21 years of
age, be a resident of the City of Valdosta for one year prior ro
the date of qualifying, and a registered and qualified voter of the
City of Valdosta at the time of qualifying.
Then you have to campaign and win.
Some people will doubtless spend a lot of money running for mayor.
However, some recent elections to Lowndes County Commission and
Valdosta Board of Education indicate
Continue reading "What it takes to run for Mayor of Valdosta" »
People said they'd come back, but I sold out in an hour
and had to tell them you need to come at 9!
Downtown Valdosta Farm Days is a success.
I don't have any pictures of me or my potatoes, though; sorry.
But here you can see
me digging the same potatoes.
Lots of vendors of food-related items, such as
Continue reading "I sold 40 pounds of potatoes in an hour! —Gretchen Quarterman" »
Local food is more than healthier, it's even more than tasty.
It's also local economy and local community.
In the U.K., small local shops are being replaced by big-box supermarkets.
A widespread argument for this conversion is that consumers get
more choice.
Peter Wilby wrote in the Guardian 3 May 2011 about
why that's not good enough:
Even the "good for consumers" defence of the big stores requires
scrutiny. Supermarkets may offer mangoes and kiwi fruit as a blessed
relief to generations who recall the surly greengrocer grunting "no
demand for it" when asked for anything out of the ordinary. But the
option to buy locally grown produce is increasingly closed off; many
varieties of English fruit disappeared long ago. Supermarkets stock food
not for its taste, but for its longevity and appearance. Conventional
economists count numbers, assuming that a huge increase in toilet roll
colours represents an unqualified gain to the consumer. They neglect
more subtle dimensions of choice.
The central issue, however, is whether "what the consumer wants" should
close down the argument. What people want as consumers may not be what
they want as householders, community members, producers, employees or
entrepreneurs. The loss of small shops drains a locality's economic and
social capital. Money spent in independent retail outlets tends to stay
in the community, providing work for local lawyers and accountants,
plumbers and decorators, window cleaners and builders.
He then cites
U.S. research that shows local stores promote the local economy.
Are we just consumers?
Maybe we do other things than just buy stuff?
Especially, do we do other things together?
Continue reading "Local foods, local economy, local community" »
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