SAT-SUN, Sept 18-19 Teach Out to Yakima!

Teach-Out! Engaging our Local Food Cycle
AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT AND WORK FOR A LOCAL COMMUNITY FARM
Coordinated by the Food Justice Project of the Community Alliance for Global Justice

Fifth Event of 2010! RicOrganics and Alvarez Farm – Overnight to Yakima Valley, WA

Saturday, September 18th 12pm- Sunday, the 19th 9am- 1pm.

Overnight optional: If you can’t commit to both dates, feel free to join us Saturday and then head home after dinner, or meet up at Alvarez Farms Sunday morning at 9am.   If you will be spending the night you will need camping equipment (tents and/or sleeping bags etc.)  Our host for the evening, Jerry Beardsley, can accommodate up to 6 people on the floor of his house so if you don’t have a tent we can try to make arrangements for you to sleep in the house.

RicOrganics is a USDA certified Organic growers Cooperative located in the lower Yakama Valley.  The Cooperative consists of eight members and distributes its produce at farmers markets and directly to customers through CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) memberships. The members of RicOrganics believe that healthy food make a healthy community by connecting farmers and families together. The Cooperative also believes that everyone has the right to know where their food comes from, and enjoy food free from harmful chemicals and pesticides.  During our time at RicOrganics cooperative we will learn about water issues and the problems that CAFOs present to farmers in Eastern Washington.

Alvarez Farms, a 120 acre organic farm located in Mabton, WA is owned by Don Hilario Alvarez and his family. Originally from the coastal region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, Hilario Alvarez immigrated in the early 1970s, first to southern California, and then to eastern Washington. After many years of hard work, determination, and his ability to learn from experience, Don Hilario and his family now own one of the largest organic vegetable farms in Eastern Washington.  A focus of this Teach-Out will be to learn about the challenges and opportunities facing migrant farmworkers, in preperation for our Food Sovereignty delegation to Oaxaca, Mexico, taking place in September 2011!

Schedule for Saturday the 18th:
9am: Participants leaving from Seattle will meet at the CAGJ office to coordinate carpooling.

12pm:  Arrive at RicOrganics where we will have a brief orientation followed by volunteer work.

4pm:  Teach Out participants are invited to have dinner at RicOrganics with cooperative and CSA members.  Those that choose to stay overnight will camp out on the farm.

Schedule for Sunday the 19th:

7:30 am:  Overnight participants will meet for breakfast at a location TBA

9am:  Meet at Alvarez Farms where we will have a brief orientation and help harvest crops.

1pm:  We will reflect on our experience at Alvarez Farms, have lunch and head back to Seattle.

Background: CAGJ’s Food Justice Project invites our members and others to learn about and build connections with key players in the local food region through monthly visits to farms, community kitchens, and community gardens! The site visits include hands-on work that is needed by or is appropriate to the sites, opportunities to debrief and reflect at the end of the site visit, and calls to action! Each visit allows for carpool options and many feature a bike route guided by a CAGJ member. Through these visits, CAGJ hopes to facilitate a place for the voices of our local food producers to be heard and their knowledge and skills to be recognized and celebrated.

**Please note, space is limited, so RSVP’s are required. To sign up, fill out the online form here. If you have any questions, please email Karyn at [email protected]. We will send you directions and instructions on carpooling details upon receiving your RSVP, as well as information about what to wear and bring. All activities will be appropriate for children and we can work out disability accommodations if needed.

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