On Sunday, Bull City came alive in only the unique way Durham, NC can – with community and heart. Despite a bit of rain in the morning, Fullsteam opened its doors to us, Sol Food Mobile Farm, and Real Good Food. Fullsteam is a local brewery that has become a community mainstay – a true community gathering place that is not your typical brewery (dogs and children welcome).

The three of us put together goodies for raffle ticket winners for those who donated – including mason jars, packets of seeds, bumper stickers and more! (If you want a Zomppa magnet or bumper sticker or set of postcards, let us know!).

While Sol Food parked the bus outside getting ready for visitors, Real Good Food prepped the tables for the food swap. Meanwhile, ZomppaPatty, ZomppaKat, and ZomppaKatherine, all of whom flew from all over the world to join, got the Zompping for Food and Planet workshop ready – featuring Italy!

Adults and children alike loved Sol Food Mobile Farm (hard not to!), and the incredible team shared about their upcoming national tour. They also shared with the community knowledge about running a bus on waste-oil, container gardening, and of course, their amazing rooftop garden (this is a photo of the roof…no joke!).

Meanwhile, Real Good Food got things going with a community swap. Folks brought their goodies and the different items were laid out. Folks then noted whether the food was organic, local, gluten-free, or vegan/vegetarian. Then folks walked around and bartered their goodies.

The list of food traded was impressive, including:

Lemon balm jelly with backyard honey
Chocolate Chip Quinoa cookies
Tomato Avocado Black Bean Salad
Strawberry Mini-cakes
Chewy Chocolate cookies
Homemade Dill Pickles
Triple Coconut cupcakes with dark chocolate chunks
Sourdough Starter
2 different Kombucha Scobys (starter)
Homegrown Arugula Pesto
Chocolate Peanutbutter-Graham Squares
Hazelnut Granola
Fresh Mozzarella and veggie Fusili pasta salad
Handpicked Strawberry Jam

I bartered my Avocado-Tomato-Corn-Black Bean salad for some real goodies, including Berenbaum’s amazing cookies, some ridiculously awesome chocolate peanut butter bars, and a jar of this incredible honey.

ZomppaKat led a few dynamic workshops on Italy – and the kids (and parents) were enthralled and fully engaged making their pasta jewelry, singing opera, and analyzing the Mona Lisa.

Of course, the kids also were fully engaging learning knife skills and making bruschetta. They could not get enough – who knew these little ones would appreciate a healthy, easy-to-make meal!

But the day was not just about us three. After all, it is a community.

We were fortunate and honored again to have the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle with us. They shared with folks about their various programs that aim to reduce hunger in North Carolina, from food recovery, to culinary training programs, to community gardens.

They had fresh produce, recovered of course, and encouraged folks to try black bean, vegetarian, lettuce wraps. We even saw a bunch of kids eager to try the vegetables!

We were also treated to learning more about how Triangle Raw Foods prepares 100 pounds of zucchini, and how This & That Jam packs so much flavor in those jars. Ari Berenbaum’s amazing homemade goods (his crusts and pastry shells are ridiculously beautiful) were available for everyone to taste and buy – paying what they felt was the right amount.

Folks seem to have a great time, with parents and children excited about our curriculum and wanting to see it at their children’s schools, folks of all ages thrilled at seeing the bus in action, and community members curious about when the next food swap would happen.

Additionally, we had the support of many local NC bloggers and friends spreading the word, including Carpe Durham, Durham Socialite, the indelible Jonathan Bloom of Wasted Food, Dirty Durham, Durham Foodie, and Green Eats Blog.

Having all these groups and organizations who care about local food and community, and connecting it with the global truly makes it clear that indeed, it takes a village.

Thank you.

You can check out more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.

(Visit our Facebook page album for all the pictures from the event)

The Food Shuttle also hosts mobile markets every month in various communities around the Research Triangle region in the state. We joined them in their May mobile market held at a church located in East Durham, where the congregation is predominantly Latino. At each mobile market, one of the Food Shuttle’s incredible volunteers does a cooking demo with the produce available during that week. Then food is distributed to the community members, and the contents of the box vary, depending on that week’s availability. Fresh fruit and vegetables are always available – a distinction from that of many other food recovery organizations that tend to focus on canned and baked goods.

Given the Food Shuttle’s focus on empowering individuals with the awareness and excitement for healthy eating, we joined them this month, bringing the Sol Food Mobile Farm and conducting a unit from the Zompping for Food & Planet curriculum. It was super fun to see the kids get excited as the big red school bus pulled up.

We kept the country a “mystery” until we opened the bus doors…and the country was…Italy!

ZomppaKat had come all the way to NC from Ireland to teach the workshop. Given her Italian roots and Spanish fluency, she was the perfect teacher for this workshop. Chatting with the moms and dads there, Kat got all the kids super excited about figuring out where Italy is located, learning some Italian words, appreciating a bit of opera, and recognizing pasta shapes. The kids put their creative brains on making pasta jewelry and their culinary skills to the test making bruschetta, exploring where tomatoes and basil come from.

Kids and their parents also board the Sol Food Mobile Farm, where Reid showed them all the plants at the back of the bus. The kids came out proudly carrying their tomato plants that they had just planted themselves.

Of course, they also got to peek on the rooftop where succulent greens cover the top of the bus – we can’t forget to water the roof!

It was a wonderful morning, and everyone seemed to have fun. Thank you to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle for letting us join in your incredible efforts to ensure that everyone has access to healthy food and nutrition.

(Visit our Facebook page album for more pictures from the event)

What is Epoisses? 

Epoisses has two meanings: it is the name of a French town, as well as a type of cheese from the region where we live: Burgundy.  In fact, the cheese comes from, and is therefore named after, the town of Epoisses.

It is a soft, washed rind (meaning that it is periodically rinsed) cheese made with whole cow’s milk.  The cheese is known for its orange color, soft texture, and very strong aroma.

How is it made?

Like many other cheeses, Epoisses originated as a way to preserve milk before it spoiled.  This initial process of cheese making has two basic ingredients: milk (cow, goat, sheet, buffalo…) and rennet.  Rennet is an enzyme that causes milk separate into liquid and solid forms…

For the rest of the article and to learn from these young students how it is eaten and how to make Quiche à l’Epoisses with proper piecrust, please join the Global Potluck here. But first, a bit of poetry about the quiche written and performed by the students:

Quiche à l’Epoisses
By: Students in Semur-en-Auxois, France

Quiche
Unique
Incroyablement
Croustillante
Horriblement
Excellente

Avec

L‘extraotdinaire
Epoisses
Pour la classe
Onctueux
Incomparable
Superbe
Savoureux
Et
Super!

Full article here.

Do you usually water the top of your car? Sol Food does!

In Goes the Bedrooms & Up Goes the Green Roof
Through the month of March, we watched as Sol Food Mobile Farm crew converted the back or their bus into a fully functional greenhouse and tour attraction. Now, in the last three weeks alone, the bus is not only outfitted with happy vegetable seedlings indoors, but it also has a new kitchen area, bedroom quarters and a living green roof!  The green roof has been the most recent addition and was donated by the wonderful folks at Xero Flor on E. Geer Street in Durham, NC.  We are so grateful to have another attraction to offer on board this sustainable bus classroom!

 

 

The Sol Food crew is also in the process of arranging a bus visit to the Growing Power farm in Milwaukee, WI.  Will Allen, the founder of Growing Power LLC, came and spoke at Duke University earlier this spring and some of the crew was able to attend.  The lecture was part of the Local Food Symposium event hosted by UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University to engage students and community members in the local food movement here in the North Carolina Piedmont area. For anyone interested in adding innovative systems to your local garden, such as aquaculture or hoop house composting, Growing Power provides a wonderful example for all of us to follow.  The Sol Food bus hopes to meet Will Allen during their national tour in late July and gather new ideas to bring back to the Durham area!

Our work in the West End neighborhood was especially fun as we got to work with a group of Cooking Matters for Kids graduates. Ranging in age from ten to thirteen, these students brought a ton of energy and excitement to the West End garden at 705 Kent Street (sponsored by our friends at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle). During their workshop students tasted herbs from the garden, toured the Sol Food bus and made their own homemade ranch dressing. With a fresh harvest available, this delicious sauce was whipped up by the kids using yogurt, seasoning and garden herbs and enjoyed by all!

The workshop held at E.K. Powe Elementary School was also a great success! We worked with the after-school program of students from kindergarten through fifth grade, and spent two wonderful hours digging around in their garden. Seeds and sprouts were moved from the Sol Food bus greenhouse into their school garden and planted with great care by the students. The children also got the chance to plant new seedlings on the mobile greenhouse, learn about the waste vegetable oil system, and sit in the driver’s seat!

Currently the bus crew is working on starting an urban farm at Durham School of the Arts for middle and high school students. At a student interest meeting last week, 42 DSA students arrived to learn more about the garden and the permaculture techniques planned for the small school farm. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming month for raised garden beds going in around the campus.

Like cheese in France, “barbecue” in the Southeastern US is specific to certain regions.  Many South Carolinians prefer mustard-based sauces, Alabamians are known for their “white” mayonnaise varieties, Texans opt for smoked beef brisket, and Louisianans add a spicy sauce.  Barbecue preferences can even divide states; North Carolina, for example, is traditionally split between a sweet tomato base (western style) variety and a tangy hot vinegar sauce (eastern style).  And sauces are just the beginning…the “proper” barbecue meat (not to mention the actual spelling of the word) is another ball game!

So, why is barbecue so important to this part of the world?  According to North Carolina Travels, Spanish colonists first introduced pigs to the Southeastern US in the 1500s.  These animals adapted very well to the region, and became a low-maintenance and convenient food source for settlers.  Traditionally, the slaughtering of these hogs has been an important cultural practice that brings local communities together in celebration of successful harvests.  Barbecue, as the culinary delicacy that we know today, evolved from these gatherings (for more info, see “The History of Barbecue in the South“) and remains a central source of regional identity for many Southerners.

To continue the story and see and listen to what students in Bakersville have to say about BBQ as well as TWELVE classic family recipes from Bakersville, NC, just click here (you will NOT regret it):

• Beer Can Chicken
• BBQ sauce recipe
• Pork Bar-B-Que
• BBQ Chicken
• BBQ Ribs
• Peanut Butter Chutney Barbecue
• Chuck Roast Barbecue
• Four other versions of Barbecue Sauce!

Barbecue ribs and sauces at 12 Bones Smokehouse in Asheville, NC; credit: http://mybbqblog.com/?p=54

For a quick taste of Barbecue Memories in these wonderful students’ own voices:

“That night we had cut-up pork chops on a bun and catfish…”

Source: Jordan Crossingham, Senior Photographer of Growing A Greener World TV

This past week the shelving also went into place and seed trays now cover every surface area on the back portion of the bus.  On March 9th, those mini garden beds were carefully planted by the biology students at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Among the many seeds that were sewn, sprouts are already coming up for the tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, cucumbers and basil.

Source: Jordan Crossingham, Senior Photographer of Growing A Greener World TV

Source: Jordan Crossingham, Senior Photographer of Growing A Greener World TV

The Sol Food Mobile Farm team hopes to see you around town and is starting to offer personalized tours of their sustainable bus.  The vehicle is in peck condition after receiving a much needed tune-up at the shop this past week.  You can see the Sol Food bus on Saturday mornings at the Durham Farmers Market or in Asheville, NC on April 14th for the Mountain Science Expo at the North Carolina Arboretum.  Sol Food will also be presenting around town in early May so stay tuned for more updates on your favorite, local farm bus!

Source: Jordan Crossingham, Senior Photographer of Growing A Greener World TV

To support efforts such as this, please visit here – and get Patty’s dessert! For more information, please see the FAQ page and Zomppabus for more information and how you can help the crew hit the road.

Starting in June 2012, we will be travelling around the country for 6 months stopping in major cities to host free workshops on community gardening and expositions on sustainability. The trip will be completed in a converted 57 passenger International Bluebird School Bus that is currently being retrofitted to carry solar panels, a mobile green-house, a living green roof and an engine that runs on waste vegetable oil.

This is a list of major cities that we plan on visiting during our trip. *Parentheses indicate the range of time when we could be in these cities, NOT the length of the workshop.

Leave Durham on June 20, 2012 (June 30 at the latest)

1. Baltimore, MD (May 20-June 10)

2. Philadelphia, PA (June 23-June 30)

3. Detroit, MI (July 10-20)

4. Chicago, IL (July 20-31)

5. Oakland, CA (September 1-10)

6. Los Angeles, CA (September 5-15)

7. Denver, CO (August or October- depending on route)

8. New Orleans, LA (November 1-20)

9. Biloxi, MS (November 10-30)

10. Mobile, AL (November 30-December 10)

If you are in any of these areas and are interested in our workshops, email us at solfoodmobilefarm@gmail.com!

To support efforts such as this, please visit here – and get Patty’s dessert! For more information, please see the FAQ page and Zomppabus for more information and how you can help the crew hit the road.

Over the past four months the Sol Food Mobile Farm team has been hard at work repairing the bus, building a mobile greenhouse, painting, fundraising and developing curriculum. Since their trip down from New Hampshire in October, the bus has been stationed on a farm outside of downtown Durham. As funds have started coming in and the community has grown in support, the Sol Food Mobile Farm dream is becoming a reality.

The first project for the crew upon return to the Durham area was to clean and gut the interior of the bus. A “welcome home” party was thrown in celebration of the bus’ new face lift and to mark the beginning of the Sol Food Mobile Farm program. Family and friends gathered to tour the bus, network with the crew and hear the famous story of the trip down from New Hampshire. Since the “Meet and Greet” in November the bus has stayed safely off the roads to receive some much needed engine repair. This week, the oil is being changed by the crew (seven gallons of new oil to be exact) and the plexi-glass greenhouse roof is being installed on the back half of the bus. In addition to a new logo:

the bus also received a new paint job in January. The faded green coat left over from Dartmouth was covered up with a crisp, barn red and bright white trim. The logo will be added to sides this week along with funky painted vegetables on the hood!

Upcoming projects include work on curriculum, fundraising and installing the various sustainable systems on the bus. The crew has decided to include a small wood burning stove, a composting station with worms and waste water collection tanks for their solar shower. This month the greenhouse will be completed with a water-proof floor, a plumbing system and spring seedlings. The bus will also undergo electrical repairs in March to hookup the “peel and stick solar panels” on the the roof. A living greenroof will be installed next to the panels so that seedums can begin taking root before the trip’s launch in June.

Beyond physical bus work, the crew has been meeting three times a week to develop curriculum and design fundraising goals. The team recently launched a online, crowd fundraising site at IndieGoGo.com where you can view their new promotional video and materials there through the end of April. Ellen Duda has also been working hard on their new website at SolFoodMobileFarm.org. There you can view crew bios, get a sneak peek at the bus and view their cross-country route! Of course, throughout all of this the crew has still found time to visit with one another on the farm, volunteer at gardens and nutrition classes around town through the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and harvest some winter crops of their own. They are looking forward to warmer weather and lots of sunshine when they can begin their spring vegetable garden on the bus!

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