Author: The Farm Team

Dear Farm Friends:

The start of the new calendar year is treating Alemany Farm right. The garlic and strawberries are coming on strong, our winter cabbages have been delicious, and we’re pretty far along with our winter fruit tree mulching and pruning. After those days of cold, clear weather, the arrival of some new rain has the gardens and orchards sparkling.

We hope you can join us at the Farm this Saturday, January 26 for a special tree planting. We are working in partnership with Friends of the Urban Forest to replace some older trees that we are removing. We’ll be planting a range of pears, plums, prunes and apples that we have selected especially for our coastal California climate.

So please come out to the Farm this Saturday at Noon and help us to give these trees a new home!

And please mark your calendar for two upcoming workdays to rebuild the Alemany Greenhouse. On Saturday, February 2 and Saturday February 9 we will be refurbishing the greenhouse on Housing Authority property. These special workdays will start a little earlier than usual — at 11 AM — so we can complete all of the necessary tasks.

On February 2 we will be removing old and damaged plastic, putting new plastic walls in place, and stretching new clear plastic sheeting across the top of the hoop structure. We will also be building and installing frames for vents and one door.

On February 9 we mostly will be building work benches and propagation tables for the greenhouse interior.

Volunteers with any kinds of skills are encouraged to join us. We are especially eager for help from any volunteers who have experience with carpentry and construction.

We hope to see you at the Farm for the Jan 26 tree planting and the Feb 2 & Feb 9 greenhouse rebuild.

Thanks, as always, for your work to make SF more food secure.

The Farm Team

As we approach the Winter Solstice during this cold and rainy season, all of us at Friends of Alemany Farm are taking a step back to review our many accomplishments from 2012 and to look forward to our aspirations for 2013.

Thanks to your help, there is much to mark this year as a success.

• We grew more than 10,000 pounds (five tons!) of organic fruits and vegetables and, in the process, boosted San Francisco’s food security. Much of that produce went to residents in Alemany Dwellings during our free Wednesday U-Picks and to St. Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen. The rest went of the food went to …

• Our incredible network of volunteers. This year we logged more than 5,000 hours of volunteer time at Alemany Farm. Thanks to your continued energy, we are growing an incredible urban farm oasis in the middle of the city. At each of these volunteer-powered community workdays we …

• Increased people’s farming and gardening knowledge. This year we hosted nearly 50 field trips at the Farm. Visitors included elementary school kids, high school classes, college courses, corporate groups, and faith-based organizations. These one-day field trips, along with our year-long course in ecological horticulture, give people some of the skills and inspiration they need to grow their own garden.

To help us continue our work, please make a tax-deductible donation to Friends of Alemany Farm today through our fiscal sponsor, the SF Parks Alliance.

Click Here to Donate!

Looking to 2013, we are especially excited to announce that we will finally repair the derelict greenhouse. In January and February we will be working with Housing Authority staff and residents of Alemany Dwellings to refurbish the greenhouse. This will mark an important step forward in the farm’s week-to-week sustainability, as we will finally be able to grow our own plant starts from seed on-site. The greenhouse should also deepen the opportunities for learning and skills-sharing at the Farm.

Of course, this will take some money — funds for lumber, new plastic, nuts, bolts, screws, nails, tools, watering system, potting soil, and other miscellaneous items.

If everyone on this email list gave just $5 to this endeavor, we would be able to cover the materials costs for the greenhouse today, with funds left over for our other annual operating costs.

So please visit our Online Donations Page and make your end-of-year donation to Friends of Alemany Farm, via our fiscal sponsor, the SF Parks Alliance.

As always, we thank you for all of your work to make San Francisco more food secure. We look forward to getting our hands dirty with you once again in 2013!

The Farm Team

PS: Please note these HOLIDAY CLOSURES. The Farm will NOT be open for regularly scheduled workdays on Monday, December 24 and Saturday, December 29.

Dear Farm Friends:

We’re writing today with a special election message encouraging you to vote YES on two measures that advance the mission of Alemany Farm: Proposition 37 and SF’s Prop B.

California’s Proposition 37 will require that processed foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) carry a label informing consumers of those ingredients. There are a variety of reasons to be hesitant about genetically modified crops. Ecologists worry that the spread of GM crops is reducing biodiversity, cutting down on the habitat of species like the monarch butterfly, and failing in its central promises to boost food production and cut down on the amount of chemicals we use in our agriculture system. Many farmers fear the consequences of having our seeds, and therefore our food supply, controlled by a handful of corporations.

But regardless of your views on GM technology, almost everyone agrees that we have the right to know what’s in the food we eat. For that reason alone, Friends of Alemany Farm urges you to vote YES on Proposition 37.

To learn more, visit: http://www.carighttoknow.org/

If you are a San Francisco voter, we also urge you to vote YES on Proposition B.

The San Francisco Clean and Safe Neighborhood Park Bond will provide badly needed resources to the SF Recreation and Park Department. In the past, Friends of Alemany Farm has expressed some frustrations with RPD management, and we share many of our friends’ and allies’ concerns about some of the department’s priorities. But in the final analysis we feel that SF RPD can only benefit from increased resources.

The bond is focused on improving playgrounds, pools, playfields, trails, tree planting, ADA improvements, nature restoration, environmental remediation and park development along the waterfront. Prop. B also includes $12 million for the Community Opportunity Fund (COF). COF grants may be applied for by community groups doing programs and activities on Rec & Park land. Friends of Alemany Farm and other grassroots groups doing urban agriculture projects could benefit greatly from this funding.

So please vote YES on Proposition B. http://yesforparks.com/about-us/

And if you have any doubt that your individual vote matters, check out this video over at The Nation, produced by one of the Alemany Farm co-managers:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/171006/what-if-you-had-no-voice

And when you’re done voting, come on out to the Farm and get your hands dirty at one of our upcoming community workdays:
Saturday, Nov 10
Monday, Nov 12
Sunday, Nov 17
Monday, Nov 18

Thanks, as always, for all of your work to make SF more food secure,

The Farm Team

Dear Farm Friends:

Right on time. Today’s rains have the Bay feeling very autumnal, and at Alemany Farm we’re on schedule with all of our fall and winter plantings. The cabbages, cauliflower, chard and kales are all in the ground, and today we’re picking up our garlic seed. The farm is about to turn from gold to green.

Perfect for our 8th Annual Alemany Farm Harvest Festival THIS Saturday, Oct 27.

The festivities will start around 11 AM with garlic planting and other garden and orchard tasks.

Games for kids, T-shirt stenciling, and music will start shortly thereafter. We’re especially looking forward to hearing the sounds from local Bernal Heights band, The Knuckleknockers.

The BBQ will be in full swing by mid-afternoon. We’ll have a pig on the spit roast, Louisiana-style BBQ, veggie burgers, and a farro salad made from the wheat we grew ourselves this summer! It’s a potluck, so please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

The rains are expected to continue through Wednesday, but the forecast is calling for clear skies on Saturday, so this is a party you won’t want to miss.

Thanks, as always, for all of you work to make SF more food secure.

Dear Farm Friends:

The days are getting noticeably shorter, we’re harvesting the last of our tomatoes and zucchinis, and our trees are loaded with apples and quince. This can only mean one thing: Fall … the season for our annual Alemany Farm Harvest Festival.

We hope you and your family can join us Saturday, October 27 from 11 AM to 5 PM for our 8th Annual Harvest Festival.

As usual, we’ll have plenty of games and activities for folks of all ages, including:
Face-painting
Bike-powered hayrides
Farm tours
Garlic planting
and various garden + orchard tasks.

We’ve got a couple of great musical acts joining us this year! The Knuckle Knockers will kick off a set around 1 PM. At 3 PM, Ghost Town Gospel will begin playing.

And as always we’ll have plenty of great food including a spit-roasted pig, Louisiana style BBQ, vegetarian options, and pies from Mission Pie! … Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

We hope to see you at this celebration of food, farming, and community.

In the meantime, please don’t forget these upcoming Farm workdays:
Saturday, October 13
Monday, October 15
Sunday, October 21
Monday, October 22
Saturday, October 27 — HARVEST FESTIVAL.

Thanks, as ever, for your work to make SF more food secure.

The Farm Team

Dear Farm Friends:

Friends of Alemany Farm is thrilled to be the beneficiary of the opening night party for Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema, a great group that highlights the work of local filmmakers.

This Wednesday, August 29, Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema is hosting a party at Roccapulco Supper Club (3140 Mission Street) to preview the upcoming film season, hear live music and meet our neighbors and Alemany Farm volunteers. An additional treat is the appetizer menu including Alemany Farm produce prepared by Tony Ferrari and Jonathan Sutton of Hlliside Supper Club, the pop-up restaurant and soon to become a brick and mortar establishment at the site of Caffe Cozzolino.

Doors open at 7pm. Minimum $10 donation gets you a $5 drink ticket and a chance to sample the fare. Get there early, because these tasty treats are going to go fast: Macerated Gooseberries, Ricotta Cheese, Crostini; Summer Corn and Padron Salsa, Cilantro; Watermelon, Lime, Smoked Chili; Local Bass Brandade, Lemon Cucumber, Parsley; Chicken Liver Mousse, Grape Gelee, Cracker; Chocolate Cake, Strawberry, Lavender Meringue.

To learn more about Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema, visit http://www.bhoutdoorcine.org/

ICYMI, the San Francisco Bay Guardian ran a big story this week about the state of the urban farming movement in the City. You can find it here: http://www.sfbg.com/2012/08/21/farmville-real

The article has a nice mention of our work at the Farm:

“Of the city’s three largest farms, only Alemany Farm seems secure in its future. The farm is on Recreation and Parks Department land, and has been working with the department since 2005 to create a somewhat autonomous governance structure.

Community gardens on Rec-Park land are subject to a 60-page rulebook, and according to Antonio Roman-Alcalá, Alemany Farm’s operations were restricted by the rules.

Last week, the group’s plan to be reclassified as a farm instead of a garden was approved, eliminating some of the rules and creating an advisory council of community stakeholders that will exert decision making power over the farm, although Rec-Park still has ultimate authority.”

Finally, please mark your calendar for these upcoming workdays:

Monday, August 27
Sunday, September 2
Monday, September 3
Saturday, September 8

Looking forward to seeing you in the garden soon.

Thanks, as always, for your efforts to make SF more food secure.

The Farm Team

Dear Farm Friends:

Summertime … and the livin’ is easy at Alemany Farm. The garden and orchard are in full swing and we’re enjoying bountiful harvests of green beans, beets, potatoes, plums, strawberries, basil, broccoli, squash, cucumbers, lettuces, and our year-round collards, chard, and kale.

To get a taste, please come join us at one of our upcoming community workdays!
Saturday, June 28, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, June 30, 1 PM to 5 PM
Sunday, August 5, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, August 6, 1 PM to 5 PM
Saturday, August 11, Noon to 5 PM

We also want to share the exciting news with you that the SF Board of Supervisors approved the urban agriculture ordinances we were backing!! Thanks to all of you who called or emailed your supervisors to support this important legislation. Here’s a news story about the legislation’s passage:
http://grist.org/urban-agriculture/new-san-francisco-legislation-will-jump-start-urban-farming/

… Speaking of media attention for the Farm, we are humbled and flattered to have been profiled by SF writer Rebecca Solnit in the current issue of ORION magazine. You can read the story here: http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6918/
But if you want to see the cool overhead photo of Alemany Farm that accompanies the article, you’ll have to buy a hard copy at a bookstore or newsstand.

One of the farm’s co-managers, Jason Mark, will be discussing some of the themes in Solnit’s article next week — Wednesday, Aug 1– at the cool 18 Reasons space in the Mission. A vegetarian dinner with produce from Alemany Farm will be served. You can buy tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/252678

Two more announcements:
• Our pals at Garden for the Environment are now taking applications for their fall gardening and composting course. Several Alemany Farm co-managers are alums of the class, and it’s a great way to learn the basics. Info available here: http://gardenfortheenvironment.org/pages/gcetp.html
• Also, the American Community Gardening Association will be hosting its annual conference in San Francisco next month. This will be a great opportunity to connect with gardeners from throughout the US. To learn more and register, visit http://communitygarden.org/learn/training/annual-conference/index.php

That’s all for now.

Thanks, as always, for all your work to make SF more food secure.

The Farm Team

Dear Farm Friends:

We want to give you an important update on the new San Francisco urban agriculture legislation we told you about a few weeks ago.

The ordinance, sponsored by Supervisor David Chiu, easily cleared the Land Use Committee of the SF Board of Supervisors. But when it went before the full board last week, it was held up over concerns about how the law (which would provide additional resources to City agencies that oversee community gardening and other agriculture programs) might affect the City budget.

Friends of Alemany Farm believes this ordinance is essential for making San Francisco a global leader in urban agriculture policy, and we urge you to do whatever you can to support it.

Below is list of all the members of the Board of Supervisors. Please CONTACT YOUR SUPERVISOR TODAY to express your enthusiasm for this ordinance! Also below is a template letter prepared by the SF Urban Agriculture Alliance in case you need some guidance on what to write.

… In other Alemany Farm related news, it’s high summer at the farm and we are once again sharing the bounty with residents of the adjacent Alemany Public Housing Complex through our weekly U-Pick program. The U-Pick occurs every Wednesday from 4 pm to 6 pm. We always need extra hands to manage the U-Pick, so if you have extra time to volunteer at the garden, please consider helping us with this food security program. If you think you can make a commitment to coming to the farm on Wednesday afternoons, please email jasondovemark@gmail.com.

And please mark your calendars for these upcoming workdays:
Sunday, July 1, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, July 2, 1 PM to 5 PM
Saturday, July 7, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, July 9, 1 PM to 5 PM
Sunday, July 15, Noon to 5 PM

Thanks, as always, for your work to make SF more food secure.

The Farm Team

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About sending a letter to Board of Supervisors in support of funding the urban agriculture legislation.

Letters should be sent by email to all the Supervisors. We also encourage you to copy the mayor and the SFUAA in your correspondence.

Please send your letters so they arrive by Thursday, June 28 since they expect to have much of the budget figured out by then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contact information for the Board of Supervisors:

(For easy copy-and-paste: John.Avalos@sfgov.org, David.Campos@sfgov.org, David.Chiu@sfgov.org, Carmen.Chu@sfgov.org, Malia.Cohen@sfgov.org, Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org, Mark.Farrell@sfgov.org, Jane.Kim@sfgov.org, Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org, Christina.Olague@sfgov.org, Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org )

Supervisor John Avalos: John.Avalos@sfgov.org
Supervisor David Campos: David.Campos@sfgov.org
Supervisor David Chiu: David.Chiu@sfgov.org
Supervisor Carmen Chu: Carmen.Chu@sfgov.org
Supervisor Malia Cohen: Malia.Cohen@sfgov.org
Supervisor Sean Elsbernd: Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org
Supervisor Mark Farrell: Mark.Farrell@sfgov.org
Supervisor Jane Kim: Jane.Kim@sfgov.org
Supervisor Eric Mar: Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org
Supervisor Christina Olague: Christina.Olague@sfgov.org
Supervisor Scott Wiener: Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org

Please also cc or send copies of your letter to:

Mayor Ed Lee: mayoredwinlee@sfgov.org
The San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance: info@sfuaa.org

SAMPLE LETTER

[Community Group Letterhead, if applicable]

[Date]

Dear Supervisors:

[**I/we/name of group urge(s)**] you to provide budget funds for the new urban agriculture program detailed in Ordinance 120404 (co-sponsored by Supervisors Chiu, Avalos, Olague, Mar, and Cohen) to ensure that the program has the staff and money to begin reaching the goals laid out in the legislation.

[** a sentence or two about why you support urban agriculture in the city **]

Specifically, please include in the budget:

a) Funding to cover salary and benefits for at least one full-time staff person to coordinate the new program

b) An additional $100,000 for program implementation including: providing material resources to new and existing sites, technical assistance to urban agriculture organizations, support for gleaning and distribution, and other expenses necessary to achieve the goals of the program.

[**I/We**] feel strongly that any funding provided in the upcoming city budget for the program should be reserved for disbursement to the non-profit or agency identified in the strategic plan and evaluation that is required by the urban agriculture ordinance to be presented to the Board by the end of 2012. A small portion of the funding could also be used to support the City Administrator’s work developing the evaluation and strategic plan between now and the end of 2012.

[**I/we**] hope that you will join Supervisor David Chiu in supporting a budget that ensures that the new urban agriculture program has adequate funding.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Title, if applicable]

CC: Mayor Ed Lee

Dear Farm Friends:

Each year Alemany Farm produces several thousand pounds of fruits and vegetables as healthy and free nutrition for San Francisco residents. We host dozens of field trips for classes ranging from kindergarteners to college students and manage instructional workdays for individuals as well as nonprofit, corporate and faith-based groups. We also sponsor horticultural workshops and community celebrations. As the City’s “urban food park,” Alemany Farm is a unique place for recreation, education, and community-building.

We are proud of the work that we are able to accomplish. But we regret we can’t do more.

For the last three years our all-volunteer Farm has been operating under a Recreation and Park Department-mandated moratorium. That means no new programs, no fundraising, maintenance only. Plans for expanded food production, grants for education programs, work programs for low-income youth, etc. have all had to stand idle as we wait for the City to develop a new management plan for the Farm.

During this time we have been engaged in a multi-stakeholder process to develop that management plan. We’re optimistic about the outcome, and are happy to report that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Right now, we need your help to ensure that Alemany Farm can meet its full potential!

On Tuesday, June 19, there will be a Community Meeting to review the final draft plan for the Farm. The meeting will take place at the St. Mary’s Recreation Center (Murray and Justin Drive, right at the top of the Farm), from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.

Please come to the meeting and lend your voice in support of the Farm! You can review the DRAFT management plan here: http://sfrecpark.org/documents/DRAFTAlemanyFarmMgmtPlan_June5.pdf

In the coming months we will be going in front of the SF Recreation and Park Commission for final approval of the plan. We’ll keep you posted about the dates of that meeting, which will be a crucial chance to support more urban food production.

… In the meantime, we invite you to come out to the Farm for a special bee-themed workday. On Sunday, June 17, we will be focused on doing some repair and routine maintenance around our bee hive platforms. Karen Peteros of SF Bee-Cause will share samples of honey produced by hives in different locations throughout San Francisco. We will also have a fresh farm salad with dressings made from Alemany Farm honey. Come on out and taste the sweetness!

And don’t forget these other upcoming Alemany Farm workdays:
Monday, June 18, 1 PM to 5 PM
Saturday, June 23, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, June 25, 1 PM to 5 PM
Sunday, July 1, Noon to 5 PM

Thanks, as always, for your work to make SF more food secure.

The Farm Team

Dear Farm Friends:

We’re writing today to ask for your help to pass an important piece of local legislation that will give a big boost to the urban farming and gardening movement in San Francisco.

It has been many decades since City Hall has taken a serious look at the community garden/urban agriculture movement in San Francisco.

Now, Supervisor David Chiu (supported by a SPUR report and the San Francisco Urban Ag Alliance) is presenting legislation to the Board of Supervisors that could have a tremendous impact on community garden resources, governance, oversight, and the ability to create new gardens.

The program proposed in the legislation will coordinate efforts among agencies on specific, measurable targets with timelines; increase accountability by placing responsibility for coordination and reaching the goals with a specific person and agency; and begin a strategic planning process and evaluation that will help make better use of existing city resources that support city gardeners and farmers.

This reform of the City’s community gardens program has been a long time coming. It will need the support of our community to succeed.

To learn more about the legislation, and to find ways that you can take action to support it, please visit: www.sfuaa.org/urban-ag-legislation-2012

The Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Economic Development Committee will consider the legislation Monday, June 11. This is the first step for the ordinance before it is considered by the whole board.

Please join urban ag enthusiasts at the hearing on June 4, 1:00 pm at City Hall, Room 263.

If you can’t make it, please send a letter of support to these Supervisors who sit on the committee:

Supervisor Malia Cohen: Malia.Cohen@sfgov.org
Supervisor Eric Mar: Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org
Supervisor Scott Wiener: Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org

Please also cc or send copies of your letter to:
Committee Clerk: Alisa.Miller@sfgov.org
Supervisor David Chiu (who introduced the legislation) : david.chiu@sfgov.org
Mayor Ed Lee: mayoredwinlee@sfgov.org
Your own supervisor (if you or your organization operates within a specific supervisor’s district). Find your supervisor at this website.
The San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance: info@sfuaa.org
And please mark your calendars for these upcoming Alemany Farm Community Workdays:

Sunday, June 3
Monday, June 4
Saturday, June 9
Monday, June 11
Sunday, June 17
Monday, June 18