City Fresh Forums, with stew and cider!

The New Agrarian Center is a group that connects the rural

countryside of Ohio to the urban centers of Cleveland through the connection of food. Their goal is to spread the knowledge and skills to create a more sustainable and stronger regional food system in Northeast Ohio by promoting the idea of broad health. "Healthy land, healthy communities, healthy individuals, and a healthy economy."

I know I had mentioned City Fresh before as they were involved in Burning River Fest and really impressed my girlfriend and me with their urban classroom projects where they borrowed unused commercial land and turned them into teaching gardens which then sold their goods to local restaurants and in a market to raise money to sustain the program.

A statistic pulled from their webpage points that Cuyahoga County spends close to $7 billion annually on food but that most of that money leaves the region instead of purchasing goods locally. The New Agrarian Center, City Fresh and the George Jones Farm hope to rectify this by creating programs

based on these core principles:

-Connecting the needs of urban and rural communities in Northeast Ohio
-Promoting food security for our communities through reliable access to local foods
-Restoring the critical ecosystem services needed for a secure food system and healthy watersheds
-Using food and the production of food as a gathering point for community, including connections between youth and elders
-Fostering collaborative partnerships with business, government, and civic organizations
-Strengthening the agrarian economy through local provision of food, energy, and materials

Collectively these three groups focus on separate but interconnected areas. City Fresh concentrates on food access for inner-city businesses and residents, George Jones Farm concentrates on youth education and training on a community supported farm and the Agrarian Learning Network sponsors learning workshops and public events to build local food skill building and awareness.

Recently City Fresh has released the following upcoming events.

October 19th, Forum on Local Foods and Urban Ecology

November 2nd, Forum on Community Development and Local Food Economies

November 16th, Forum on Nutrition, Mental Health, and Local Food Systems

All forums will be held at the Urban Community School (4909 West Lorain Street) from 6:00-8:00pm. Starting at 6pm, there will be a stew featuring local ingredients, local apple cider, and bread. Short films on local foods in Northeast Ohio by LESS Productions will also be playing. Forums begin at 6:30 and go until 8:00pm.

This should be a great opportunity to network and learn about some local food events and programs if you are looking for a place to purchase local food, learn about urban gardening or volunteer in your community.