Fight Drought with Compost, University of California, Riverside Expert Says

May 5, 2015 | AJ Hughes

It’s no secret that Southern California is suffering from prolonged drought, and according to a University of California, Riverside (UCR) professor and conservation specialist, compost can be used as a potent drought-fighting tool.

“Compost is a good source of organic matter, helps retain nutrients and helps conserve water,” says David Crohn. “Adding compost to sandy soil helps it to hold more water, which makes water management easier.” Read More

GrowRIVERSIDE Homegrown Riverside Recipe Contest

May 5, 2015 | seedstock

The “Homegrown Riverside Recipe Contest” is entering its inaugural year. The contest seeks to highlight the abundance of local food in Riverside and inspire new recipes and ways of cooking throughout our greater Riverside community. The “Homegrown Riverside Recipe Contest” aims to connect chefs, food entrepreneurs, cottage food providers and home cooks. Contest winners will be announced at the GrowRIVERSIDE Conference. The 1st place winner will have their recipe featured for distribution at Community Day on June 13. Applications will be received according to the contest instructions and rules from now until the end of May!

Contest Rules and Details:

Home cooks are encouraged to submit a recipe that features at least one (1) local item of produce purchased at a farmer’s market or farm stand in Riverside or San Bernardino Counties. Read More

‘Dinner in the Grove’ to Highlight Importance of Local Food and Farmers to Riverside Unified School District

May 1, 2015 | seedstock

Farm-to-school guru and Riverside Unified School District director of Nutrition Services Rodney Taylor oversees the daily food needs of 43,000 students, but on May 16, Taylor and his culinary team will prepare and serve food to 60 guests at the 2nd Dinner in the Grove, which benefits GrowRIVERSIDE.

This event, set at Fox Farm in Riverside, will support the upcoming GrowRIVERSIDE conference, slated for June 11-13 in Riverside, California. Additionally, the dinner will celebrate the RUSD Nutrition Team’s accomplishments and continuing efforts in feeding healthy, local food to students in the district, as well as Riverside County’s rich citrus and agricultural heritage.

RUSD Nutrition Services won’t merely prepare the food—Taylor and others on his staff will speak on the importance of local food and farmers to the district. Host farmer Scott Berndt of Fox Farm and Lana Hapeman of Hapeman Ranch will also speak about the importance of preserving urban farmland in Riverside and elsewhere. Read More

Commercial Kitchen Incubator Grows Small Food Startups in Southern California

April 29, 2015 | seedstock

Starting a small food business isn’t easy; high start-up costs and strict regulations can prevent even the savviest of small food entrepreneurs from realizing their dream. If you live in California’s Coachella Valley, however, starting a small food business has gotten a bit easier thanks to ShareKitchen, a commercial kitchen incubator in Cathedral City.

Angela Janus started ShareKitchen in 2012 after years of watching her friends in the food business struggle to get good ideas off the ground. Janus, who had 25 years of experience in the hospitality and food industry, recognized that there were many barriers to starting a small food business, some of which were too hard for small food entrepreneurs to overcome on their own. Read More

Open to Community, GrowRIVERSIDE Gathering on Thursday, May 7 to Focus on Value-added Food Business

April 23, 2015 | seedstock

On the heels of the success of the first GrowRIVERSIDE Community Gathering comes the second in the series of gatherings, which will take place on Thursday, May 7 at Stewarts Boathouse at Fairmount Park from 6:00pm – 8:30pm and focus on the development of value-added local food businesses. Register here for the free event: http://growriversidegathering.eventbrite.com

The event will feature a panel discussion with local Riverside value-added food business owners and presentations by Angela Janus, Founder of ShareKitchen, on how the company’s incubator program works to help value-added local food businesses grow and thrive in Riverside, and Nick Melquiades of the Riverside Food Co-op, who will discuss how the group works with the community and provides new market access for local farmers.

There will also be an open forum discussion in which attending community members will have the floor to discuss any local food initiatives that they are working on and how others in the community can get involved.

Read More

USDA Under Secretary, former CA Agriculture Director to Address GrowRIVERSIDE Conference in June

April 21, 2015 | seedstock

Riverside, CA April 21 – Edward Avalos, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, and Arthur “A.G.” Kawamura, former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, have been added as featured speakers for the 2nd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE Conference: The Future of Local Food, conference organizers announced today.

The inclusion of these nationally known experts intensifies an already strong line-up of sustainable urban agriculture experts, city planners, farmers and others slated to speak at the June 11-13 event. Presented by Seedstock in partnership with the City of Riverside, the conference fosters the growth of a sustainable local food and agriculture system that directly benefits Riverside as well as provides blueprints that communities across the country can utilize, officials said. Avalos and Kawamura join Mark Winne, a nationally recognized expert in community food policy and systems, as conference featured speakers. Read More

Q&A: City Councilmember Andy Melendrez on the Importance of Sustainable Food and Agriculture to Riverside, CA

April 16, 2015 | AJ Hughes

Riverside City Councilmember Andy Melendrez is a supporter of local foods, and is enthusiastic about educating Riverside residents on the importance of local and sustainable food and agriculture.

In an effort to provide more education to the public about the importance of sustainable agriculture in Riverside and the surrounding communities, Melendrez started a lecture series on healthy sustainable living.

Seedstock caught up with Melendrez to ask him his thoughts about food and agriculture in Riverside, his hopes for the GrowRIVERSIDE conference, and more.

Seedstock: Why did you decide to launch a lecture series? How is that going, and what are your future plans for these lectures? Read More

Riverside Food Systems Alliance Aims for Formal Adoption of Local Food & Ag Policy

April 15, 2015 | AJ Hughes

When consultant Richard Conlin attended the inaugural GrowRIVERSIDE conference in 2014, he talked to people about the many ideas involving Riverside’s Greenbelt that never materialized. Conlin, who has a history of helping members of a community and stakeholders hammer out policies, offered to help make some of these ideas a reality. They accepted his proposal, which resulted in the Riverside Food Systems Alliance (RFSA).

The RFSA started meeting last September, and on April 16, it will present its action plan to the Riverside City Council for formal adoption. Read More