What's new in 2009?

While we aren't running any official challenges lately, 100 Mile Manitoba members are still actively eating local!

Here is a summary of things that some of our members are doing.

Various members continue to give presentations on the 100 Mile Diet to various groups.

While the 100 Mile Food Guide hasn't been updated in a while, more entries continue to be collected and updates will be done when members have time!

More workshops will be conducted in 2009 on canning and making a solar food dryer. We are also looking into other possibilities like building your own cold frames, breadmaking, and baking with honey. If you have any ideas for workshops you would like to see, add them to the comments here.

If you want to be on the 100 Mile Manitoba mailing list or want to be more involved in the group, contact us at 100milemanitoba@gmail.com.

Upcoming

Day 80??
Wow! Four fifths done the challenge!
It's been a little quiet on the diet lately, perhaps we've all become used to our local eating habits!
While the official 100 Mile Manitoba challenge is coming to and end, we have more plans in the works.

100 Mile Manitoba Windup
Join us on December 9 at 5pm for a celebratory potluck at St. Mary's United Church, 613 St. Mary's Rd.
Bring your dish, the recipe for it, and your stories!

More details available soon on:

• 100 Mile Manitoba (diy) t-shirts

• 100 Mile Manitoba buttons

• a survey to assess our experiences

What's New - October 30

Fall Supper
Gordon-King Memorial United Church, 127 Cobourg Ave,
Is holding their Fall supper fund raiser
On November 4th at 5pm
Tickets are $10.00/person, children 5 and under $ 5.00
All the food is 100 mile and there is a 100 mile desert option.
Please call 667-8781 for tickets, numbers are limited. Please let us know that you are a 100 miler.
Peace,
Gary Clark

Fair Breakfast Fare
Are you wishing for some 100 mile bananas and chocolate??
Come on out to the Fair Breakfast Fare at the Conservatory, Assiniboine Park. November 9 from 9;30AM-11:30 AM. Find out more about fair trade foods, sample 100 mile muffins and fair trade coffee and locally grown tropical foods, tour the Palm House's edible plants area and more! Displays on fair-trade and local food
November 9th 9:30-11:30 AM. Cost by donation
Co-sponsored by Manitoba Food Charter, 100 Mile Manitoba, Fair Trade Manitoba and 10,000 Villages. For more information, please contact Bonnie at 986-7051.

100 Mile Yams
Organic Planet Worker Co-op has just received 60 lbs of local organic yams, grown near Portage la Prairie. They'll sell for $3.85/K. And a reminder, we still have lots of local potatoes, beets, carrots & garlic!
Organic Planet Worker Co-op - 877 Westminster Avenue - www.organicplanet.coop
phone (204) 772-8771 | fax (204) 772-8852

Wind Up Event
With Sunday December 9 not that far off, we thought it would be great to celebrate the completion of the 100 days of the 100 Mile Manitoba's 2007 challenge. We need some folks willing to help plan something for that weekend. Please contact Paul at 943-0822 in Winnipeg or paul@mbfoodcharter.ca if you are interested in helping out.


Food News

www.foodnews.ca

Editor's Note: On October 19, the World Bank released its Annual Development Report for 2008. For the first time in a quarter century, the report focuses on agriculture. The complete report can viewed here. The Misereor and Heinrich Boll Foundations have just released a very thorough and systematic response to the Bank's report entitled "Response from a Slow Trade Sound Farming Perspective". The critique highlights the relative neglect that agriculture has received in development circles for the past generation and highlights weaknesses and omissions of the report including but not limited to: the lack of historical perspective; lack of an overall vision for rural economies; overwhelming focus of monetary aspects of agriculture at the expense of social and environmental; promoting while ignoring obvious limits of industrial agriculture; lack of discussion on political power at the global level and roles of TNCs; and the fact that the Doha round is not addressing the needs of many countries.

The authors of this response make important recommendations for the future of agriculture. Among these are the suggestions that a major multilateral organization such as the FAO or UNCTAD establish a public databank on the size and scope of large agribusiness firms and that policies should aim to regionalize production chains favouring rural economies.

News - Oct 18

Deconstructing Dinner
Hello 100 Mile Manitoba,
Passing along a heads-up about a recent radio broadcast of Deconstructing
Dinner titled "The Eat Local Challenge". We have linked to your web site
from the page for the show.
Perhaps your web visitors and 100-Mile dieters would be interested in it.
The show has been archived at www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/101107.htm
In good food,
Jon Steinman
Deconstructing Dinner
Kootenay Co-op Radio CJLY
Nelson, BC, Canada
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner
250-352-6597

Fair Trade Fare
Interested in learning more about Fair Trade and Local food? Come to the Fair Trade Fair at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory November 9th from 9:30-11:30 am
Learn where your favorite foods like bananas, chocolate, coffee, and spices come from and purchase fair trade products
• Displays on fair-trade and local food
• 100 mile muffins and fair-trade coffee
• Edible plant tours in the Palm House
• Plant edible herbs to take home
• 100 milers eat local tropical foods
November 9th 9:30-11:30 Assiniboine Park Conservatory
Call: 986-7051 for More Information Cost: By Donation
Sponsored by: Manitoba Food Charter, 100 Mile Manitoba, and Fair Trade Manitoba

The Farmers Market Association of Manitoba
"Mapping the Future" planning session at:
Canad Inns – Portage la Prairie
Ambassador B Meeting Room (downstairs, sorry no wheelchair access) on
November 10th, 2007 at 10:15am
To share in the process which will help shape the future direction of the Association.
This day will be one of interactive activities meant to stimulate discussion. Julie Price Henderson will be our facilitator for the day.
For more information or to confirm your attendance, please e-mail fmmb@shaw.ca or phone 239-7170 (Sheri) 444-3280 (Pat)

Set to Simmer
Hi 100 milers,
I have some friends who have recently started a cooking/food show on
CKUW called "Set to Simmer" (Mondays at 12:00) and they've asked me to
be on the show talking about my experience doing the 100-mile diet. I will be on the October 19 show..CKUW is at 95.9 on your radio.
cheers,
Katie Haig-Anderson

News - Oct 10

100 Mile Manitoba after December 9
At the general meeting held on October 1, participants discussed the possibilities of continuing 100 Mile Manitoba into the future. There was general agreement that this would be positive. Ideas for the future included bulk buying, continued connection with producers, helping to formulate policy on local food, and a challenge again next year. An opportunity for funding support was presented by Manitoba Food Charter staff. The Charter has received a 3 year grant from Heifer International to support a local food project in which the Charter will partner with 12 community groups or organizations throughout the Province. With the partnership comes some staff support and funds to assist with the carrying out of activities determined by the partnering group through its planning process. 100 Mile participants present at the meeting agreed to the development of this partnership if there was support for the idea from other 100 Mile participants.
So, your comments are welcome...is this something that you would like to see go forward? Do you have any reservations about it?
We hope to hear from you. Reply , or phone to 775-1724 in Winnipeg.

SNAC's 100 Mile Potluck
If you want to eat some great local food and hear some good music in beautiful St. Norbert, check out our 100 Mile Potluck Supper on Sat., Oct. 13, 5 p.m. Bring something to share that's made from local ingredients. The Magnificent Sevens will play and they are a bluegrass band with stand-up bass, mandolin, banjo, guitar and wonderful vocalists that sound like the Be Good Tanyas. it's FREE! for more information, contact Fiona. For directions to SNAC ( St. Norbert Arts Centre), check the website.

Volunteers Needed
We are looking for 4 volunteers to staff the 100 mile display at the Manitoba Food and Wine Show on Sunday October 14 from 11-4:30. (two people on each 21/2 hour shift) See http://www.manitobafoodandwineshow.com
If you are able to do this please contact 100milemanitoba@gmail.com , or phone 775-1724.

Home-made Yogurt Submitted by David Dawson
1. In a bowl microwave 1 litre of milk until almost boiling. (1%, 2% or full cream milk is OK. Skim makes a poor yogurt)
2. Cover and allow to cool – eg by setting the bowl in cold water.
3. When cool (less than 40 deg C/ blood temp) add ½ cup skimmed milk powder and stir to dissolve. Note that Medallion brand skim milk powder is produced locally.
4. Stir in ½ cup yogurt starter and place in a warm place overnight or about 12 hours.
For a starter you can use any commercial plain yogurt which contains 'active culture'. I have used Presidents Choice Organics plain Yogurt (ex Superstore) which is delicious. For your next batch of yogurt, you can use the last ½ cup of your previous batch as your starter, though it seems you can only do this a few times before the quality deteriorates, and you have to go back to the commercial product. You can also get dehydrated yogurt starter from health food stores.
5. After the 12 hours and cooling in the fridge, it seems a good thing to give the yogurt a stir as it is likely to separate.

Green Party of Manitoba Fall Dinner: A Celebration of Local Organic Food
The dinner will take place on Friday, October 12th, from 6-10 p.m. at theFREIGHT HOUSE LEISURE CENTRE, 200 Isabel St. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, children under 12 half-price. We will be serving a simple but delicious menu of locally-sourced organic food planned, including heartyfall soups, homemade bread and desserts, and many extras.
There will also be door prizes and a Silent Auction. Last year's dinner was a lot of fun and we are anticipating this years event will be even better. If you want tickets, or can helpout in any other way, please reply to James Beddome or call me direct at 204-880-4921.

Biofuels: Solution or Problem?
Are biofuels a solution to declining oil reserves and growing energy needs?
Does the production process consume more energy than the fuels generate?
Is global food security threatened?
These are but a few of the questions that will be addressed by the panelists.
There will be ample time for questions from the audience.

Wednesday October 17, 2007
7:00-9:00 P.M.
Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall
The University of Winnipeg
515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg
free!

Moderator: Reg Sherren, CBC National Reporter
Panelists:
•John Morriss, Associate Publisher and Editorial Director, Farm Business
Communications
•Dr. David Levin, Associate Professor, Department of Biosystems Engineering,
University of Manitoba
•Shaun Loney, Director of Energy Policy, Government of Manitoba
•Ken Sigurdson, Farmer and Researcher on Ethanol for National Farmers' Union

What's New - Sept 10

Media Outreach
Will and I get phone calls daily from media interested in speaking with 100 mile dieters. The coverage has been fantastic! We have connected media across Manitoba to many of you; a big thanks to all of you who have been interviewed - we really appreciate it! We would love to broaden the diversity of people being interviewed still more. So if you are willing to be interviewed about your experiences during the next 100 days please let us know asap (jenniferdegroot@yahoo.ca). Prior media experience is not required but if you do have some do mention that. Also, if we don't know you, please let us know something about yourself. Finally, if you can speak any other languages (particularly French) also let us know.
Thanks again!
Jennifer

Update on lentils and a bit about beans
I have been inundated with lentil orders. Great! Since many of you have asked the same questions I will answer them all together. The lentils are not organic. I had a good conversation with the farmer, Ron Knight, about the whole organic industry. As an organic farmer myself I have many questions about the value of organic certification as does he. We both agreed that a relationship of trust with the farmer is the most important guarantee of a trustworthy product. This can only occur when we buy local and directly from farmers; no label can guarantee that, not even organic, which has turned into more of a brand name than a guarantee of good farming practices. Ron said that he sprayed the lentils for weeds about 3 weeks after seeding. They were sprayed again just prior to harvest though not with an insecticide or pesticide, just something to kill the plant, otherwise they'd just keep growing and be impossible to harvest. He was proud to report that his lentils are beautiful and taste great. The cost is 26 cents/lb.

Some of you mentioned Roy Legumex as another source of lentils and beans as well as Eidse Farms and Brueggeman. Eidse buys from Legumex and the majority of Bruegemann's products come from elsewhere (not Manitoba, more likely Saskatchewan). Legumex is the big bean & lentil distributor in Manitoba. Several of us have left messages for Legumex trying to find out where they get their product from but our calls have not been returned so far (this is their busiest time of year). I'm told that most of their product comes from Manitoba and Saskatchewan (I tell you, Saskatchewan is starting to sound like the garden of Eden).

Several of us have made a bulk order of beans from Stowe farms near Carman (listed on the 100 mile site). Their beans (pinto, kidney, black, red Mexican, navy?) come in 100 lb bags and are also not organic. My partner Will had a fascinating discussion with them about free trade, the food production industry and bean growing. Perhaps someone else has energy to organize a bulk order of local beans.

The lentils will probably arrive the weekend of Sept 15th (with Ron's son who goes to university in the city). I will arrange for them to be at a central pick-up area near downtown Winnipeg and will have a "lentil open house" one evening when you can all come by and get them. Until then if you have more orders do let me know, the sooner the better.

Thanks for your enthusiasm.
Jennifer

Green Party Fall Dinner
Hello 100 Milers,
My name is James Beddome, and I am council member at large with the Green Party of Manitoba. On Friday October 12th, 2007 at the Freighthouse we will be having our third annual Green Party Fall Dinner. The Dinner is a fundraising event, where we try to showcase local organic food.We would like to encourage some other community oriented groups that are encouraging local food production to come set-up displays at are fall dinner.
When preparing the menu we try to accommodate as many food choices as possible. There should be a vegan, local organic meat, and 100 mile option available.
Last years menu was primarily local (although a few of the ingredients (salt, cinnamon) may have came from outside of a 100 mile radius of Winnipeg--salt or cinnamon for instance). We will also disclose if any particular dish has a spice or ingredient that is from outside of the 100 mile radius. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information, please contact me.

SNAC 100 Mile Pot luck and music evening
St. Norbert Art Centre ( SNAC) will be hosting a 100 Mile Pot Luck on Saturday October 13 from 5PM on.. The evening will include entertainment,and a chance to spend time at a lovely spot on the outskirts of Winnipeg. If you would like to help out with the planning, or want to RSVP, please contact Fiona at 269-9272 or by email.

Eating out
Hey there.. we're just writing to let you know that we at Mondragon are going to do our utmost to do a 100 mile daily special every Saturday.
We are also attempting to have at least one menu item every day be 100mile. True to our commitment we have now a 100 mile veggie burger featuring local tomato roasted ketchup and a whole wheat 100 mile bun. Eating outjust got easier!! Our goal is to have this item available consistently , while we are developing other local options for your palette. Happy bio-regionalism!
Thanks,
Morgan/Mondragon Collective

Local Chickens
Hi all 100 milers and other locavores I thought I should send this out to you guys and gals to let you know that I still have a few delicious, pasture raised Manitoba chickens available. They are 2.50/lb, bagged, frozen and provincially inspected. They range in weight from 4 to 10 lbs. You can still order these birds. Its first come first served and I am running out fast (also already taking order for next summer's production) My cell 9974105, give me a call anytime between 7am and 9pm to get your hands on some chickens.

What is Local Food
Harvest Moon Festival will be featuring a panel discussion on "what is local food " on Saturday September 22 at 12:30 PM.The panel will feature a rural producer, Harvest Moon Society member,100 Mile participant and a Manitoba Food Charter staff person
To find out more about the Festival, click here.

Here are two comments from rural folks about what local means for them, and the limitations of strictly 100 mile guidelines.
"I do believe the intent of the 100 mile diet is admirable, but it really could hurt my production interests because I live more than 100 miles from Winnipeg. I hope this movement can develop another concept that will capture the vision of building direct producer to--consumer linkages that does not discriminate against rural people who happen to live more than 100 miles from an urban centre". Les-a small farmer
"Partly because of our involvement, our urban 100 miler friends are rethinking their borders. The organisers have contacted us about sourcing Boissevain grown beans, herbs and alfalfa seed. Increasingly they're saying they'll buy food from anywhere in Manitoba - that the 100 mile tag is only that, a tag to get us determining our food buying circle and to get the media's attention. What we're really talking about is intentional diets - not letting the supermarkets determine what we eat and from whom we buy." David- a sustainability advocate and 100 mile participant.

Upcoming event of interest!

Greetings 100 Mile-ers!
Next saturday, May the 12th, Project Peacemakers is holding their annual Eco-Friendly dinner fundraiser. It is a vegetarian meal (working towards more local though they may have to start holding it in the fall -- but one step at a time). I mention this event because our very own Dan Wiens will be speaking on Food Security: Global to Local and 100 Mile Manitoba will be making an appearance in a display and on everybody's placemats. The cost is $10 (12 and under $5) and their will be some music entertainment as well. The feasting begins at 6:00pm but you need to call ahead to reserve your ticket (so food preparers can plan ahead). To do this call me, Mya, at 775-8178 or email at info@projectpeacemakers.org THANKS!

NEWS UPDATE

Hi 100 Milers.

A few updates:

We have now reached 68 pledges!! Thanks to everyone who got their pledges in recently

Our next general meeting will be held on Thursday March 15 at 7PM at 264 Home Street, just south of Portage Avenue. Everyone is welcome!. The food sourcing group will be meeting at 6PM at the same location.

Help needed

Food sourcing is looking for a few more folks to become involved. If you are interested, but aren't able to attend the March 15 meeting,let them know by e mail at 100milesourcing@gmail.com.

The communications group is looking for people to help with developing a display and working on a brochure. Contact Jennifer at 772-7280 if interested or e mail 100milemanitoba@gmail.com

We would like to form an education group to plan workshops in food preserving, food storage etc. If you are interested in helping out with this .please e mail 100milemanitoba@gmail.com or phone Paul at 775-1724.

Paul Chorney for 100 Mile Manitoba

New 100 Mile Manitoba Website

New 100 Mile Manitoba Website is up! Please check it out and help out with the content! This will now be a News Site and sharing blog.

www.100milemanitoba.org