Growing the Local Food Movement in Greater Richmond
Welcome to Real Local RVA’s blog! Here you will find entries from the Executive Director, Leadership Board and guest bloggers. This blog will focus on farms, farmer’s markets, restaurants, groceries, food vendors and producers. We will work to keep you informed on all the local food events and news in our community.
If you have any questions, comments or possible topics please email us . We would love to hear from you!
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We ate ice cream before lunch. Yes it was delicious, and no we don’t regret it! We were honored to have Steve Rosser from Gelati Celesti share his wisdom with us at our July meeting. Steve purchased the single store company in 2010 and since that time has expanded the company from an employee base of 9 to over 120 full and part time employees. Gelati Celesti currently has 6 retail stores; 5 in Richmond and a recently opened store in Virginia Beach. Each store sells anywhere from about 500 to 800 servings of ice cream a day in the summer! Wow! Additionally, the company operates a food truck often seen at local festivals and events and sells to many of Richmond’s best restaurants.
Sponsored by Riddle Design Co.
For the second year in a row we hosted a Women in Food Panel moderated by Robey Martin, a food, spirits and culture writer for CBS 6 and host of the podcast “Eat It Virginia.” For those of you who missed it, we welcomed Shola Walker, Owner of Mahogany Sweets, Sally Schwitters, President and CEO of Tricycle Urban Ag, Kate Lee, VP of Operations and Quality at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, and Kelli Lemon, a Social Entrepreneur, Radio Personality and Owner of Urban Hang Suite. The women discussed the ups and downs of working in local food/drink, what it’s like to be a woman in Richmond’s food and beverage scene, and how they take time for themselves on a daily basis to take a break from their busy schedules. We partnered with Rebelle Con to extend our celebration of women in food with a second panel event on Thursday evening, June 6th at ZZQ, completing a full week of women in food and beverage. [Read more…] about Real Local RVA’s June 2019 Meeting
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Our meeting this month was a great one on so many fronts. Ellen Polishuk from Plant to Profit took us through a current state of affairs in the farming world, provided practical advice for our farmers in the crowd, and spoke on a level that our non-farmers in the audience could relate to. As an organization supporting the needs of very different sectors of the local food movement, we strongly believe in the value of learning the struggles and realities each business faces so we can support them as much as possible. At the heart of the local food movement are the farmers, and supporting them is one of the most valuable ways to grow a local food system.
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The Green New Deal has been a buzz in the national media lately due to the efforts of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Congresswoman from New York. But did you know Virginia is creating its own version of the Green New Deal that hopes to build a strong local economy from the “bottom up?”
The VA Green New Deal will attempt to tackle some of our biggest problems including:
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What is community? Wikipedia defines it as “A small or large social unit (a group of living things) that has something in common, such as norms, religion, values, or identity. Communities often share a sense of place that is situated in a given geographical area or in virtual space through communication platforms. Durable relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of community. People tend to define those social ties as important to their identity, practice, and roles in social institutions (such as family, home, work, government, society, or humanity at-large).” We believe the key to growing the local food movement in Richmond is building connections within our community.
Our March meeting was an experiment. With the help of our friend Chris Bennett at the Spark Mill, we planned a whole meeting focused around communication, listening and growing a network. The conversations were flowing, the communication channels were open and the room was buzzing. We think it was a successful experiment and our only regret is that we didn’t have more time! [Read more…] about Real Local RVA’s March 2019 Meeting
Community Supported Agriculture creates a rewarding relationship between the growers and consumers of food. When participating in a CSA program, individuals invest in the farm at the start of the growing season and in exchange receive a share of the farm’s harvest each week throughout the season.
Getting food from a CSA is different from going to a farmers market or using a grocery delivery service. As a CSA member, you make a seasonal commitment to a small farmer in your area, and the produce is either delivered to your door or you pick it up at a local distribution center. CSA members take pleasure in knowing where and how their food is grown, and typically have an open line of communication with their farmer.
[Read more…] about It’s National CSA Day – Celebrate Community Supported Agriculture!
