On Wednesday July 2nd, 2008, Progressive Wayne County sponsored a 100-Mile Radius Potluck in Richmond. You can view highlights from the event in this YouTube video:

If you're interested in being a part of future potlucks and similar events, stay tuned to this website and consider signing up for our e-mail newsletter.

Join us for the Uptown BBQ Cook-Off, 11-10:30 PM PM Friday and 11 AM to 5 PM Saturday in the Uptown Richmond area. Live music, vendors, and a kid zone on Saturday. For more information, call 765-962-8151.

Main Street Richmond-Wayne County, Inc. is proud to announce the 13th Annual UPTOWN Picnic. This year's picnic will be held on Tuesday , July 1, 2008 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., in the 800 block of East Main Street. The UPTOWN Picnic is a celebration of the spirit of Local business in our community. This is an excellent networking opportunity-last year we had over 600 in attendance!  continue reading »

Eating locally is as good for our ecosystems as it is for our bodies! If you'd like to practice eating locally and hang out with groovy folks, come to a 100 mile radius potluck on Wednesday, July 2 at 6pm in Clear Creek Park in Richmond (on W Main next to the municipal pool).

What is a 100 mile radius potluck? All the food you bring should have been grown/raised/created within 100 miles of your home. This doesn't mean that Twinkies from Fort Wayne are fair game, since the sugar probably came from Brazil, and the Polysorbate 20 isn't native to ANY ecosystem. So...any guesses on how many salads we'll get?  continue reading »

Ben Hastil, a student at Earlham College, has created a directory of local food options in Richmond, Indiana [860KB PDF]. The directory lists businesses, organizations, farms, and people in the region that provide different kinds of food resources. Example categories include baked goods, dairy products, meats, vegetables, places with general farm activities, and so on.

Locally grown food is certainly critical to creating a strong, self-reliant community, as we've discussed before, and this is just one more great resource available to those interested in eating more locally. You can find other resources related to food and agriculture here at PWC as well.

Why a local food directory? In the introduction to his directory, Ben writes:  continue reading »

This spring and summer, Earth Charter Indiana and Indy Sustainable Food Alliance are challenging 100 families to derive more than 50% of their diet from locally-grown foods, that is, foods produced within 100 miles of their home. Tips, resources, recipes, links, and more will be provided to help you achieve this challenge. More importantly, we hope that you will share your challenges and successes with each other through online discussions.

Read more about this challenge at Sustainable Indiana 2016, and then consider signing the pledge to eat local in June, July and August 2008.

The 13th Annual Uptown Picnic is on June 3, 2008 at 11:00 am to 1:30 pm. It is a celebration of the spirit of small businesses in our community, an opportunity for employers to show appreciation for their employees, an excellent netowrking opportunity and a great community event! The lunch consists of one grilled(hamburger, veggie burger, or hotdog), one cold side, a bag of chips, a freshly baked cookie and a coke/bottle of water. Tickets are $3.00 each in advance or $4.00 each the day of the event. This event is open to the entire community! If you have any questions or would like to get tickets please call Beth Fields or Aimee Oldham at 962-8151 or visit us at the Uptown Innovation Center 814 East Main Street, Richmond.

Abundant Acres Farm in Williamsburg works to "provide your family quality natural products grown only on site free of chemicals, hormones or antibiotics." For 2008, Abundant Acres is offering a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, with a variety of packages that offer vegetables, eggs, meats, soap, and more.
They also offer:

* Seasonal produce, chemical free
* All natural brown eggs
* Free range chicken
* Goat Milk Soap  continue reading »

Saturday, March 29th, beginning at 9 a.m. - Inventory and Work Day at the co-op. Come for one to three hours and help us count and weigh the store merchandise for our quarterly inventory report. Also, it'd be great to get some important spring cleaning done during this time! Come help us give the co-op (both indoor and outdoor) some loving care!

The Clear Creek Food Cooperative is at 701 National Road West, on the campus of Earlham College near the Wellness Center. For more information, call 765-983-1547.

In today's Palladium-Item, correspondent Pam Tharp writes about how a backyard vegetable garden can save you money and help you eat more healthy food:

Locally grown food is becoming increasingly important to many people. Contamination in the food chain is one concern. The other is the cost of shipping food across the country and the amount of oil required to do so. Urban agriculture cuts shipping and fuel use.

You can read the full article.