The 2005 Farm Fresh Atlas includes over 100 farms, farmers’ markets and food-related businesses that all pledge to protect our land and water resources, treat animals with care and respect, and provide safe working conditions for their employees.  

Beginning April 23rd, the Dane County Farmers’ Market will have the Atlas available on Saturdays at their information booth at the top of State Street.  The atlas will also be available at other farmers’ markets, public libraries, food co-ops, restaurants, coffee shops, and other area businesses.  And look for the on-line version of the atlas coming soon at www.reapfoodgroup.org.

"Buying food from locally-owned farms and businesses is a triple play:  First, you get high quality, fresh, healthy food to eat, second, your food dollar stays in southern Wisconsin and helps our rural economy and third, buying food from farms using sustainable agricultural practices protects our lakes, streams and wildlife.  The Farm Fresh Atlas makes it easy to do the right thing for so many good reasons!"

Kathleen Falk
Dane County Executive 

Cover Art by Mark Harmon

The Farm Fresh Atlas is a collaborative project of:

REAP Food Group, 

Dane County Farmers’ Market, 

 UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems 

and  Friends of the Dane County Farmers’ Market. 

REAP’s First Annual “Pie  Palooza” – June 25th

Save the date.  You won't want to miss REAP's first annual Pie Palooza.

  PIE PALOOZA 2005

Pies of every imaginable type - both sweet and savory will be the fare of this fundraiser lunch to support REAP's programs. 

In addition to a scrumptious lunch including delicious pies prepared by your favorite local chefs, the "Pie  Palooza" will include pie crust demonstrations, kids’ pie activities, pie folklore, trivia and even pie music. 

Pies will include fresh local ingredients showcasing the bounty of early summer in Wisconsin.  A great way to enjoy a fabulous lunch and support REAP at the same time.  Tickets will go on sale in May for this limited seating event.  

We hope you’ll join the “pie pandemonium” on June 25 and help our community reap the rewards of smart food choices and a sustainable food system.  More information coming soon.

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We are honored that Joan Dye Gussow, professor emerita of Nutrition Education from Columbia University will be joining us as our key-note speaker.  Dr. Gussow has taught, written, and lectured extensively about nutrition and the benefits of supporting strong regional food systems.  Her book, "This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader," chronicles her personal quest to live fully from food she grew herself in her suburban home on the Hudson River.

Photo by Brent Nicastro

Joining this year's Festival as our guest chef will be our very good friend and chef extraordinaire, Odessa Piper.   In her 28 years as owner and chef of L'Etoile Restaurant, Odessa's commitment to sustainable agriculture and a healthful food system has been unwavering.  After 28 years at L'Etoile, Odessa is moving on to the next phase of her career as a writer, speaker and consultant.   We will forever be grateful to Odessa for the nurturing and support she's given the Food For Thought Festival from its very beginnings.  And we look forward to celebrating with her as she transitions to the "post-L'Etoile" phase of her life.

[Click Here] for more information about Food for Thought Festival 2005.

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Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch and Willy Street Co-op 
Join Forces to Bring Local Produce to Schools

The Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch Project is excited help celebrate the opening of Willy Street Co-op's new Off-Site Kitchen. 

We're pleased, of course,  for the co-op's opportunities to expand their operations, but mostly we're excited because of a new partnership we have made with the off-site kitchen to help supply Madison schools with local farm products. 

Since the beginning of our conversations, with the Madison Metropolitan School District, about including more fresh local produce in their lunch offerings, the issue of "processing" has been a major stumbling block.  Who would wash, peel, chop, shred or mash all those wonderful veggies we hoped to bring to our kids at school? The Madison school food service prepares meals for 15,000 students/day.  They just do not have the time, labor, or capacity to take on all that prep.  Similar constraints are true in other large food services-- hospitals, nursing homes, correctional facilities, etc.  If we're ever going to make progress at a regional food system that can include these large institutional buyers, we need to find solutions to the "processing" piece.

Enter Willy Street and the new off-site kitchen.  The amazing, wonderful, brilliant, beautiful people at Willy Street not only are excellent at running a cooperative grocery store, they are also committed to serving the community and supporting farmers in many other ways.  When approached about the possibility to act as pilot processor for connecting farmers to institutional buyers, they said, "count us in."  By this spring, the first few menu items for the Madison schools will be processed through the Willy Street off-site kitchen.  

Willy Street Co-op's New Off-Site Kitchen

Through the summer and into next fall we're hopeful to have good systems and regular purchases flowing through Willy Street to our schools, hospitals, cafeterias and beyond.

Join us in celebrating the opening the off-site kitchen on April 8th from 6-8 pm at 1882 E.  Main Street!

Thinking Spring Seasonal Recipe

Espinaca con Garbanzos (Spinach with Chickpeas)
by Terese Allen

3/4 pound spinach leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
a 1/4-inch thick slice of French bread
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 cup chick peas
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh)
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh)
1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (preferably from toasted, freshly ground cumin seeds)
red pepper flakes to taste

Cook spinach in microwave or on stove in a little water until wilted. Drain and chop finely.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet. Saute the bread and garlic until golden. Transfer mixture to a bowl, add salt and vinegar, and mash it all into a paste.

Heat remaining oil in the skillet. Add chick peas, paprika, bread mixture, thyme, oregano, rosemary and cumin. Stir in spinach. Then stir in pepper flakes to taste. Cook a few minutes, adding a little water if mixture gets too dry. Let sit 10 minutes off the flame to blend the flavors, then serve warm or at room temperature. This will serve 3-4 for tapas, but you can easily double or triple it for more.

Adapted from Delicioso: The Regional Cooking of Spain by Penelope Casas (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996)