Workshops

Conference Workshops (scroll down to see our workshops for kids!)

Session 1: 10:45-12:00

Preserving the Seasons with Home Canning
Do you want to eat local peaches in December? Give tasty, home made gifts as presents? Come learn the techniques of hot water bath canning! Join Michaela Hayes, owner of Crock & Jar, a Just Food trainer, and chef as she teaches you the basic principles of home canning. Through hands on experience, you will learn how to preserve your own harvest, your CSA share, or the delicious bounty of the farmer's market to capture the seasons, make mouth-watering gifts, and eat locally all year long.
Presenter: Michaela Hayes

An Overview of Racism in the Food System
Why is it that the food projects we create often replicate the racial segregation we see in society at large? What is structural racism and how does it impact our work? This workshop not only reveals the problem, but explores solutions we all can be a part of creating.
Presenters: Karen Washington and Lorrie Clevenger

Fruit Production in the Northeast
Have you ever wondered why the apple you picked up at your CSA or farmers market is not certified organic? Or why the trees in 2010 fruited so early and how much control do farmers have of this? While CSA members learn about vegetable production on a weekly basis, we often do not have the same opportunity to learn about how our fruit is grown. Come to this workshop to learn about the unique challenges of growing fruit in the northeast. You will have the opportunity to meet, learn from and ask questions of a Northeast fruit grower.
Presenter: Elizabeth Ryan, Breezy Hill Orchard

Vegetables for Breakfast, Lunch AND Dinner?!?!
So now that you have access to the best local and organic produce abailable, let's make the most delicious and nourishing meals ever! Join Just Food Community Chef Madea Allen-Gueye as she shares her favorite strategies for not getting bored with your share, how to effectively combine and pair produce to maximize flavor and nutrition and ideas for endless meal and snack options.
Presenter: Madea Allen-Gueye

Bringing Fair Trade Home
What would fair trade mean for farmers and farm workers in NY? A sustainable food system means environmental stewardship as well as fair compensation and just conditions for family farmers and all who work in agriculture. How can we move toward an equitable, diverse and just food system? Learn what is happening around the country and join a discussion of how to get domestic fair trade going in our region.
Presenter: Elizabeth Henderson, Peacework Organic Farm

Eat Local this Winter
"What do you eat in winter?" is a question locavore Leda Meredith hears often. She will share her tips for eating a varied and healthy local foods diet even when the next harvest season is weeks or months away.
Presenter: Leda Meredith

Hosting Successful CSA Events
Organizing a successful, well-attended event for your CSA can be a challenge, as anyone who has ever tried to schedule a farm trip or a potluck dinner can tell you. What elements make an event more attractive and how do you make sure your members show up? Come to this workshop to hear a panel of season CSA event planners share the strategies that have worked for them-- as well as those that haven't.
Presenter: Vanessa Hagerbaumer

CSAs and Co-ops: The More the Merrier?
Are co-ops in competition with CSAs? What are the synergies between the two? How can we maximize the success of both? What’s best for the farmer? In Queens, organizers from several CSAs started the Queens Harvest Food Co-op. Whereas in Brooklyn, organizers from the Bushwick and Bay Ridge Co-ops started CSAs to satisfy the demand for local, fresh vegetables until their co-ops opened. Every co-op seems to have a different origin and a different structure. Let’s explore the possibilities.
Presenters: Tonice Sgrignoli, David Marangio, Joe Holtz, Mara Belzer, and Cheryl Rogowski

Food Security and Farmland: What’s the Connection?
Concern about food security and access to local food has never been higher. Yet, the State of New York continues to lose a farm to development every 3 ½ days. Over the last 25 years, the state has lost almost half a million acres of farmland to subdivisions, strip malls and scattered development. Join us to talk about ways that New Yorkers are taking action to protect farmland from development, help a new generation of farmers secure access to land and spur local governments to “plan for food and agriculture”.
Presenters: David Haight and Jennifer Small

Crops and Cultures: Preservation of Heirloom Varieties
The loss of heirloom crop varieties means not only a loss of ecological biodiversity, but also the destruction of cultures and farming systems worldwide. Fortunately, efforts are being made around the globe to help preserve this heritage. Adam Forbes spent over a year studying the cultural and ecological importance of seed diversity in India, Ethiopia, Thailand, Canada, Peru, and Greece. He will relate the global lessions he learned to farming work in the eastern United States.
Presenter: Adam Forbes

Urban Food Production
Panelists will discuss the development of urban agriculture in NYC and address the most relevant questions that urban farmers are facing. This workshop will tackle the role of urban agriculture in food access and food justice and look at ways to strengthen urban agriculture businesses. It will also address how urban agriculture may be able to support rural development.
Presenters: Aley Kent, John Ameroso, Anastasia Cole, Kristen Schafenacker

Challenges and Opportunities of Local Food Processing
Are you a farmer interested in selling added-value products? Are you a local foodie looking to start your own business? Join Jim Hyland of Winter Sun Farms and Kristen Greer of Shaker Mountain Canning Co. for a discussion about challenges and opportunities of local food processing.
Presenters: Kristen Greer, Jim Hyland

CSA for Everyone- Resources to Make Your CSA More Accessible
Making CSA affordable takes money, and today more foundations, funders, and partner organizations than ever before are finding ways to support CSA accessibility. Come hear from representatives of Brooklyn Community Foundation (formerly Independence Community Foundation), Citizens Committee for New York City, Wholesome Wave Foundation and Just Food to learn about small grants and resources that can help make you CSA more affordable and accessible for low-income families in your community.
Presenters: Jacquie Berger, Wilfredo Florentino, Cristina Sandolo

The Present and Future of Local Grains
Our modern food system has turned grains like wheat, corn, barley and rye into ubiquitous commodities lacking in character and flavor. Much of the infrastructure of a local grain economy has vanished, along with the knowledge and skill of how to grow, mill and bake with fresh grains on a small scale. Yet, a few local growers and millers are starting to bring regional grains back to the local market place, where bakers and home cooks are discovering delightful aspects of fresh grains, such as flavor and “liveliness”.
Presenters: June Russell, Don Lewis

Healthier School Food: Exciting innovations in NYC and across the nation
Panelists will discuss successes, challenges and promising developments in school food improvements, from the national level to what’s happening here in NYC. Topics will include procurement changes to get more healthful and regional foods into school cafeterias, connections with regional producers and processors, exciting federal and local policy changes and great programs to help parents and others get informed and engaged in the process. And we’ll leave plenty of time for Q&A.
Presenters: Kathy Lawrence, Christina Grace, Kristen Mancinelli, Stephen O'Brian

Compost for CSA
Where does your CSA waste go when you are done with it? We all know that CSA is a great way to connect directly to your food. Is there a way to complete the food cycle and bring your CSA food waste back to the soil as nutrients to feed next seasons crops? Panelists will discuss current efforts and possibilities for you and your CSA.
Presenters: Adam Gordon, Vandra Thorburn, Christina Giorgio

Session 2: 1:45-3:00

Yes, You Can. . . Can
With Just Food Trainer, Molly Culver, learn techniques to preserve your own backyard harvest or CSA surpluses all year long! Use mason jars, a hot water bath and delicious seasonal vegetables and fruits to make irresistible foods you can eat in the colder months, or that you can give as tasty and beautiful gifts. Come to this workshop to learn the basic principles of canning, and to get some hands-on experience before trying it out on your own!
Presenter: Molly Culver

Beautiful Brochures: Creating clear and effective marketing materials for your CSA
Have you ever tried to fit all the information about your CSA in a tri-fold brochure, only to find that there just isn't enough room, and then wondered: what really needs to be on here, anyways? In this session, we'll look at examples of excellent CSA marketing materials, and share a set of tools and techniques that you can use to make sure your brochures are readable, useful, beautiful and effective. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of their CSAs marketing materials to this session for constructive feedback. Even in our digital world, paper flyers and brochures can still play an important role in spreading the word about your CSA. Come learn how to design like a pro!
Presenter: Anna Hanau

Fracking and the Foodshed- Why It's Your Backyard, Too
New York City has done a lot of work to protect our watershed from hydraulic fracturing or fracking. We also need to focus on how this
form of natural gas extraction can also affect our foodshed, our farmland, and regional farmers’ livelihoods. Come to this workshop to
learn what fracking is, why we should be concerned about this issue, and what you can do to prevent farms from being affected.
Presenters: Chris and Bob Applegate

Winter Shares- What do you want to see? A Discussion with CSA Members and Farmers
Winter Shares have grown and become a part of the CSA experience. Some farms do their own winter share with roots crops and greens, Winter Sun Farms partners with a collection of farms and offers frozen vegetables, berries and fresh greens in their winter share. Root crops, frozen vegetables, frozen berries and fruit, pickles, tomato sauce, salsa? What is a CSA members perfect winter share? What is a farmers perfect winter share? Come join the discussion as we explore delicious ways to keep eating local all season long!
Presenters: Jim Hyland; Ted Blomgren, Windflower Farm; Chris Cashen, The Farm at Miller's Crossing

Caring for Your Share
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by your CSA share? Tired of seeing half of your share go to the compost pile? Not sure what to do when you're approaching your third week of cucumbers or beets? Just Food Community Chef Madea Allen-Gueye offers tips and strategies on how to best enjoy your CSA bounty. You will learn which vegetables are best eaten immediately, vegetable storage techniques, and food preservation strategies (including freezing, pickling, fermentation, and canning).
Presenter: Madea Allen-Gueye

Building Your Own Community Kitchen
The Kitchen Table, a Community Supported Kitchen in East Harlem, offers members healthy, tasty, home-style dinners and the social benefits of group meals at a convenient community location for a low-budget price. This workshop will address the goals of the Community Supported Kitchens and compare and contrast this model to other similar projects around the country. We will discuss how we built our CSK and help create a roadmap for participants to develop new CSKs within their own neighborhoods.
Presenters: Terry Rodriguez, Ramona Perez, and Mayra Humpheries

Rooftop Gardening Innovations
Two experienced home rooftop gardeners will share their techniques and experiences. Using different methods and systems, Jeff Heehs and Zach Pickens both have had success growing food on rooftops in New York City. Learn how they did it and how you can too!
Presenters: Jeff Heehs and Zach Pickens

Young Farmers of the Valley
The Hudson Valley is the valley of the Hudson River. It is a foodshed for NYC with a focus on dairy, orchard fruit, soft fruit, equine, market gardening + CSAs. Increasingly, the hudson valley is bubbling with a young farmer energy. Older farmers are nurturing newer farmers, the market demand is strong, land is hyper-expensive to buy but quite easy to lease. This session explores the situation of our valley for young+ beginning farmer, the professional trajectory of some of its players, the prospects for more entrepreneurship, local gossip and a vision for much much more to come. Get upstate people!
Presenters: Severine van Tscharner Fleming, Lindsey Lusher Shute

Dairy in New York State - The Broad Picture
New York, the third largest dairy producing state in the country with 2.5 million acres in dairy, has seen milk prices steadily dropping and
dairy farms closing. The milk economy is governed by a complex set of federal contracts and programs which currently are not working well
for farmers. Come learn from John Bunting, Delaware County dairy farmer and author of John Bunting's Dairy Journal, some of the basic
forces driving the dairy industry. Learn about some of the current challenges that our dairy farmers are facing to sustain their
livelihoods and what as urban consumers can do to help shape policy to support these farmers.
Presenters: John Bunting

Farmland, Food, and Politics: What You Need to Know
Government policies and public dollars can have an enormous impact on our farm and food system. The State of New York and the federal government can provide leadership and funding for communities to protect farmland so that it is available to grow food for future generations, increase the availability of local fruits, vegetables and milk, and create farm and food jobs. Join us to learn how to participate in making our politics advance our food priorities.
Presenters: David Haight, Jennifer Small

NYC Food Policy: Find Out What's Cooking
FoodWorks, PlaNYC, FoodNYC...what do these initiatives do and how could they support bringing healthy, local food to all of New York City? This workshop will provide a forum to learn more about these initiatives and what you can do to advocate for just and sustainable local food policy. You don't need to be a policy wonk to come to this workshop!
Presenter: Nadia Johnson

Know Your Farmer!
There are 30,000 CSA members in NYC, but how many know who their farmer is? Fostering connections between CSA members and farmers can be challenging. The CSA core group and farmers both have to make a special effort to ensure that CSA members have the opportunity to get to know their farmer. This workshop will feature three panelists, a farmer and two core group leaders, who will present tips on the most effective strategies for connecting with the farm. We’ll talk about farm trips, newsletters, and “Meet Your Farmer” events and we’ll brainstorm new ideas to strengthen member-farmer connections.
Presenters: Maryellen Driscoll, Cara Wolensky, and Carey King

Does One Size Fit All?
This workshop will examine different variations of the CSA model. What model works for some neighborhoods might not be suited for others. Hear what innovative ways communities and farmers are coming together to bring fresh produce to local residents.
Presenters: Karen Washington, Melissa Danielle, Dennis Derryck

CSA 101
Thinking of starting a CSA, but not sure where to begin? Interested in CSA, but want to learn more before joining one? Come hear from two experienced CSA organizers about the basics of how CSA works here in New York City, and how Just Food can help you connect with a farmer to bring CSA to your community.
Presenters: Sonya Gropman, Kimberly Ferstler

Hungry Filmmakers
Hungry Filmmakers is a not-for-profit event hosted by Anthology Film Archives and Jimmy’s No. 43 and curated by food writer Cathy Erway and filmmaker Shelley Rogers.
Film Clips
What's On Your Plate?
Soul Food Junkies
Lunch Line
The Farmer and the Horse
Vanishing of the Bees
Sara Grady's film
What's Organic About Organic?
The Bering Sea: Ecosystem in Crisis

Workshops For Kids

Session 1: 10:45-12:00

Kids In the Kitchen
Kids love helping in the kitchen and research shows that children who help prepare a dish are more likely to eat that dish—and not just baked goods! Together with food educator Stacey Ornstein children will chop, grate and roll their way through a simple no-cook vegetable dish they can be proud of. Great skills for kids to learn or CSAers looking to incorporate kids’ programming into their seasons.
Two sessions- Morning workshop ages 4-7
Presenter: Stacey Ornstein

Session 2:12:45-3:00

Camp Just Food!
Amy and John Chartier of Frost Valley Farm Camp will bring Farm Camp games and songs! Come move around and get some energy out. For children 6 years old and up.
Presenters: Amy and John Chartier

Kids In the Kitchen
Kids love helping in the kitchen and research shows that children who help prepare a dish are more likely to eat that dish—and not just baked goods! Together with food educator Stacey Ornstein children will chop, grate and roll their way through a simple no-cook vegetable dish they can be proud of. Great skills for kids to learn or CSAers looking to incorporate kids’ programming into their seasons.
Two sessions- Afternoon workshop ages 8-12.
Presenter: Stacey Ornstein

Please check back periodically for updates, additions and the exact schedule. Workshops are subject to change.