Grid Magazine June 2012 [#038]

OTTO’S MINI 305 W. Lincoln Highway Exton, PA 19341 (855) 646-4194

OTTOSMINI.COM *35 Hwy/27 City for MINI Cooper S Roadster with manual transmission. Preliminary estimate, subject to change. Actual mileage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle operation. © 2012 MINI, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The MINI name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.

2

g ri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2 0 12

YOU’VE READ THE MAGAZINE, NOW SEE THE SHOW! FEATURING

Ann Karlen

Executive Director of Fair Food

Thursday

PLUS

Stephanie Reitano Owner of Capogiro’s Gelato

Leah Troiano

FREE

G E L AT O SA MP LE S

on how to make your own skincare products

MUSICAL GUEST

Trinity Memorial Church 22nd and Spruce Sts. DOORS OPEN AT

TICKETS

SHOW STARTS AT 8:00 P.M.

Order online at

7:00 p.m.

Ross Bellenoit Folk/pop singer/ songwriter

DRINKS PROVIDED BY

May 31

CO-SPONSORED BY

$5.00

bit.ly/gridalive53112

HOSTED BY

Nic Esposito Urban Farmer and Novelist

SUSTAINABLE

19103

Alex Mulcahy Grid Publisher

T H E CI T Y OF PH IL A D E L P HIA

MAYOR’S OFFICE OF

SUSTAINABILITY

g rid ph illy.c o m j une 2012 / is s ue 38

08 Design Green Way: Sustainable housing project breaks ground near Temple train station | Head of the Class: Philly high school wins major green building award 10 Green Living Save Your Skin: A nontoxic recipe for homemade deodorant | Recycling Challenge: Sneakers 12 Community Dye, Dye My Darling: Natural dyes garden coming to West Philadelphia | Down in the Basement: Urban agriculture sinks to new depths with aquaponics 14 Energy Electric Wizards: SEPTA saves money, energy with innovative braking technology 16 Food Mobile Plan: West Philly Fresh Food Hub takes to the streets | Cheese of the Month: Maysiola | On Tap: Nocturnum | The Feed: Delaware Valley College community garden, New Market, Forest & Main Brewing Company | Make Your Bread: Flatbread as a canvas for seasonal ingredients | Barn in the ‘Burbs: Flourtown farmers add goats to their garden | Head in the Krauts: Q&A with fermentation expert Sandor Katz

36 Urban Naturalist Seize the Carp: Invasive carp take over Philadelphia waterways 37 Guest Column Fields of Dreams: Biofuels prove lacking as a viable energy source

Open Shop Co-working “gyms” provide tools and space for beginners and experts alike to develop and practice hands-on skills p h oto by c h r isto p h er lea m a n

4

g ri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2 0 12

38 Shoots & Ladders Mood Indigo: Blueberries, an easy and edible way to fill your container garden 42 Events Garden work days, art festivals, the kickoff of Philly Beer Week and lots more events to celebrate the warm weather!

46 Dispatch A mission to experience the best in local gelato

cov e r p hoto by g e ne smi rnov

BarberGale designing sustainable brands

brand profile: local food with a mission soltane breads and spreads brand development / graphic design logo / packaging / print collateral signage and storefront coffee and wood fired baked goods tasting Soltane Breads and Spreads is a unique bakery in downtown Phoenixville, PA, specializing in artisan breads made with organically-grown grains, baked to crusty perfection; and staffed with a dedicated crew of bakers and baristas from Camphill Soltane, a non-profit organization based in Glenmoore, PA. Camphill Soltane’s mission is to give individuals with special needs the opportunities to uncover their talents and grow their capacities so they can take their place in the world as meaningful and valued contributors.

BarberGale is privileged to support a brand that speaks to the heart of what is possible at a place like Camphill Soltane.

The Living Principles

610.705.3606 barbergale.com bcorporation.net/barbergale barbergale.prosite.com

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

5

Star Struck a while back, I was a rock journalist, a dream job for a music junkie. Not only did the position allow me to listen to music before its release date, but I also got to meet and interview musicians whom I really respected. An extra bonus was the opportunity to hang around while bands were doing sound checks before shows, or other behind-the-scenes things. It felt less like a job and more like I had won a contest.

Part of the rock journalist behavioral code is to act nonchalant in the presence of people who you think are awesome. If you are a fawning fan, you instantly lose credibility.

I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that now, because I don’t think I could mask my deep admiration for the work done by the four people on our cover.

Every day, I enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of their labor.

Mornings begin with butter, eggs and seasonal fruit; last night’s dinner ingredients included Shellbark Farm’s Chevre, Subarashii Kudamono Asian Pear Spread, and some onions—all from the Fair Food Farmstand, which is conveniently located walking distance from the Grid office. My attachment to the Farmstand is so great that when the lease expired on my less than ideal office space, I couldn’t move. It would be impossible to replicate that kind of access.

When you visit the Farmstand and see the variety of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, yogurts, frozen meats, and the jars and cans of locally produced foods, it’s hard to believe it hasn’t always been there. Or that just a few years ago it was no more than a folding table and a few freezers.

Perhaps you feel that same sense of wonder when you visit your farmers market, or when you choose from the dozens of Philadelphia restaurants that source food locally. The local food scene is very real, and it is growing (unintended pun) by the day.

6

gri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2 0 12

publisher

The journey our food makes from the farm to the table—whether it stops at a farmstand, a restaurant or an institution’s cafeteria—was made possible by the bridges these pioneers built.

Alex Mulcahy 215.625.9850 ext. 102 alex@gridphilly.com managing editor

Liz Pacheco liz.pacheco@gridphilly.com art director

Jamie Leary jamie@gridphilly.com designer

Melissa McFeeters melissa@gridphilly.com distribution

Claire Connelly 215.625.9850 ext. 100 claire@gridphilly.com copy editor

Andrew Bonazelli production artist

Lucas Hardison writers

Tenaya Darlington Dana Henry Alaina Mabaso Marisa McClellan Jerry Silberman Missy Steinberg Char Vandermeer Samantha Wittchen Jenn Rezeli photographers

Our fantastic four: Judy Wicks, legendary founder of the White Dog Cafe; Bob Pierson, passionate advocate for the farmer; Ann Karlen, mastermind of Fair Food’s explosive growth; and Duane Perry, champion of fresh food access to all neighborhoods.

These people are rock stars, and to have them all together for a photo shoot—in my office, no less—was a thrill for me. Next time I see them I’ll be sure to ask a question I usually resisted in my music journalism days: Can I have your autograph?

Christopher Leaman Neal Santos Gene Smirnov Albert Yee illustrator

Julie Laquer interns

Jesse Kerns Kimberley Richards Marisa Steinberg ad sales

Alicia McClung 215.625.9850 ext. 114 alicia@gridphilly.com bookkeeper

Alicia McClung published by

Red Flag Media 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850 alex j. mulcahy, Publisher alex@gridphilly.com

g r i d p h i l ly . c o m

p hoto by g e ne smi rnov

Proudly “serving-up” healthy local food since 2001 Dedicated to bringing healthy local food to the marketplace and promoting a humane, sustainable agriculture system for the Delaware Valley Region.

PROGRAMS & SERVICES

Fair Food Farmstand Fair Food Membership Farmer and Buyer Consultation Farm to Institution

CONSUMER CAMPAIGNS Buy Fresh Buy Local Fair Food’s Heritage Breeds

PUBLICATIONS

Philadelphia Local Food Guide “At the Farmstand” Newsletter

EVENTS

The Brewer’s Plate Farm Tours Philly Farm & Food Fest

fairfoodphilly.org | info@fairfoodphilly.org | 215.386.5211

VISIT US AT THE FARMSTAND: MONDAY-SATURDAY 8AM-6PM | SUNDAY 9AM-5PM

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

7

design

Green Way

S

Ambitious, mixed-use housing project breaks ground near Temple

teps away from the Temple University Train Station is another example of how green building can be affordable.

Paseo Verde, or “green way,” is a new, sustainable mixed-use rental housing development spearheaded by the Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) and Jonathan Rose Companies. APM has already built eco-friendly, single-family homes in the neighborhood—their 13 Sheriden Street Houses are slated for LEED Gold certification. This projPaseo Verde ect, intended for low- and moderate-income Location 9th and Berks families, will have 120 rental units with an Developers Asociación energy efficient design, including green roofs, de Puertorriqueños en Marcha and Jonathan solar panels, and the use of recycled and reRose Companies newable materials. The ground floor will host Cost $48 million retail and community space, with the entire Features building working toward LEED for Home • 120 units of mixed and Neighborhood Development certificaincome rental housing tions. The location near the train station is • 30,000 square-feet retail, office and critical to the project, providing residents with commercial space easy access to an important transit hub. The • Projected LEED for project broke ground in April and is slated for Home and Neighborhood Development completion in Spring 2013. —Liz Pacheco certifications

8

gr idp h illy.co m

ju ne 20 12

Head of the Class Congratulations to the School District of Philadelphia and SMP Architects As if the LEED Platinum certification and state-of-the-art design weren’t enough to be proud of, the Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts has a new accolade to add to their list. The American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment recently voted the school one of the top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and green design. The Top Ten Green Projects program is an annual national award and the highest recognition of sustainable design excellence.

S M P photos by bar ry ha lki n

12th STREET CATERING

Catering Sustainable Weddings and Special Events P: 215.386.8595



www.12thstreetcatering.com

photography  Alison Conklin Photography  www.alisonconklin.com

Build your private paradise.

Without leaving a footprint.

“Trips to the market bring local, fresh food to our home every week.”

—lee barrett and brittany taylor, washington square west, market shoppers since 2005 12th & arch ~ mon–sat 8-6 sun 9–5 ~ 215-922-2317 ~ readingterminalmarket.org

Park for $4

at 12th & Filbert garage with $10 purchase and validation from any merchant. Limit 2 hours.

Roof Decks • Kitchens Bathrooms • Basements 610.457.4480 matchremodeling.com Serving Philadelphia and its Environment

j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

9

Green living

Save Your Skin

The sweet (and safe) smell of homemade skincare products by leah r. troiano

E

ach day, we’re exposed to countless chemicals—in the food we eat, the clothes we wear, even the technology we use. As a cancer support educator, my goal is to help clients prevent cancer or cancer recurrence. One way to do this is lowering toxicity by avoiding potentially hazardous chemicals in everyday products. Skincare products are some of the biggest toxic offenders. Many cosmetics and personal care items contain hundreds of cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting and allergy-inducing substances. Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing recipes for some homemade skincare and

household products that use ingredients found at your local supermarket or health food store.

The recipes are easy and the results much more satisfying than most anything you’d buy at the drugstore.

Leah R. Troiano, a certified cancer support educator, works with people who have cancer or would like to prevent cancer. Lowering toxicity is just one of many ways to get your body in cancer-fighting shape. For more information, visit CancerHealthandWellness.com or e-mail Leah@ CancerHealthandWellness.com .

How to

make Your own deodorant The typical deodorant or antiperspirant contains aluminum and parabens, additives linked with breast cancer development. This recipe will make a creamy lotion that spreads easily. If you prefer a drier deodorant, add more baking soda and corn starch in equal amounts until you reach desired consistency.

→→ Place all ingredients into a two-quart heavy glass or stainless steel bowl. Blend well with the back of a spoon. →→ Place your product into a wide-mouthed jar with a lid. A well-cleaned, recycled glass jar works well. →→ Test your jar by using the “two finger” technique: If two fingers can touch the bottom of the jar with ease, it’s a good jar. →→ Let the deodorant sit overnight, and then use first thing after showering by scooping out a small amount with your fingers and apply to your underarms.

First time using deodorant in a tub?

Using creamy deodorant in a tub may take a little getting used to. Just sweep two fingers over the top of the deodorant, pulling about a nickel-sized amount onto your fingers. Then apply under your arms, where you would normally apply stick deodorant. The creamy texture applies easily and ensures full coverage.

You will need

¼ cup arrowroot or baking soda

10

gr idp h illy.co m

¼ cup arrowroot or corn starch

ju ne 20 12

6 Tbsp coconut oil (in solid oil form)

1 tsp of Sweet Almond oil, olive oil or Vitamin E (liquid oil)

20 to 30 drops essential oils, any combination that smells good

5 to 7 drops tea tree oil, added for its antibacterial and antifungal properties

by samantha wittchen

Sneakers takes approximately fact It 5,000 pairs of sneakers

to create an elementary school playground surface.

The average lifespan for sneakers is 500 miles. For most people, that means replacing their sneakers every six months to a year, which results in somewhere between 300 and 600 million pairs of sneakers destined for the landfill annually. But don’t chuck your Chucks yet, because they can be recycled into playground surfaces, running tracks, basketball courts, carpet underlayment and, yes, even new sneakers.

problem

Rittenhouse Sports (1717 Chestnut St., 215.569.9957) accepts used sneakers and shoes, and donates footwear in decent condition to homeless shelters. The remainder are recycled. Philadelphia Runner also accepts sneakers at their Center City location (1601 Sansom St., 215.972.8333). They only ask that you don’t tie the laces together when donating your wornout kicks. The Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program is available at most Nike and Converse Factory Stores, including the ones at the Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast Philadelphia A look inside and the Philadelphia Premium the sneaker Outlets in Pottstown, Pa.  donation

solution

bins at Rittenhouse Sports.

j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

11

community

Dye, Dye, My Darling Safe, natural dyes grown in West Philadelphia garden by missy steinberg

Down in the basement

W

h e n k e l l i ca l dw e l l heard members of local design and dye house BlueRedYellow speak last summer about the dangers of synthetic dyes, she decided to take action. “It’s all about being aware that your clothing can be just as toxic as the air you breathe,” says Caldwell, a project manager for the National Association of Sustainable Fashion Designers (SFD).

Dyes once commonly used in the American textile industry, such as Benzidine-based dyes, have been found to be carcinogenic, and manufacturers are common offenders in polluting waterways with dye wastewater. But plants like Japanese indigo, madder and marigold can make vibrant natural dyes that pose little risk to the environment or to people wearing the clothes.

With support from SFD, Caldwell began organizing the cleanup of a vacant lot in the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia for a community dye garden. Soon, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Occupy Vacant Lots, environmental science students from University of Pennsylvania and enthusiastic neighbors joined the project

A drug bust leads to an ag boom by liz pacheco

Caldwell called Dyed Green Tomatoes.

Since then, Caldwell has held garden cleanup days and hopes to have plots planted by late May. In addition to other organizations, West Philadelphia Community Center has contributed significantly, holding children’s workshops to paint rain barrels for the garden and purchasing plots to use in a natural dye class held with BlueRedYellow in the fall. “My contribution [to the environmental movement] is introducing a community to a more environmentally friendly way of wearing clothes,” says Caldwell. “It’s all about getting the knowledge.”

Anyone interested in growing natural dyes can purchase a plot for a small price. For more information on Dyed Green Tomatoes, visit philly.changeby.us , and click on “join a project.”

12

gr idp h i lly.co m

m ay 20 12

You’ve heard of rooftop agriculture, but what about basement farming? The Partnership CDC, a 17-year-old community development organization, is raising peppers, collard greens, tomatoes and tilapia, all in the basement and first floor of their building on 60th Street. By using an aquaponics system, where fish are raised and produce grown in a symbiotic system, the Partnership is expecting to harvest about 7,500 pounds of vegetables and a ton of fish, annually.

The aquaponics system, which was built from equipment seized in an October 2011 drug bust, is part of the Partnership’s Urban Food Lab and the second phase in their redevelopment plan for the 60th Street neighborhood. “We needed to bring something [to 60th Street] that was going to address a lot of things,” says Steve Williams, the Partnership’s executive director. “Having an urban farm on a larger scale, especially an aquaponics farm, will create jobs [and] would bring foot traffic to the corridor, which would enhance the possibility of doing commerce for the other businesses.”

For more information on the Partnership CDC, visit partnershipcdc.wordpress.com

ThePorchAt30th.com

www.universitycity.org

FRESH, LOCAL FOOD SEASONAL CUSTOM MENUS SUSTAINABLE EVENTS 215.435.0331 | www.birchtreecatering.com

j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

13

Energy

Electric Wizards SEPTA generates revenue through cutting-edge technology by samantha wittchen

“I

nnovation” might not be the first word Philadelphians associate with SEPTA—two tokens sold in a plastic bag that says “Go Green” seems, um, not innovative— but that reputation deserves to change. SEPTA is piloting a cutting-edge regenerative braking project that saves energy and money, and positions Philadelphia as a global leader in public transportation sustainability.

This change couldn’t come at a better time.

In August, Philadelphia will host the 2012 American Public Transportation Association’s “Sustainability and Public Transportation Workshop.”

As hundreds of the industry’s leading sustainability and environmental policy professionals descend on the city, SEPTA will showcase its progress on the Wayside Energy Storage System, a regenerative braking and energy storage system implemented at one of SEPTA’s electrical substations on the MarketFrankford Line.

The project began in 2010 when SEPTA announced a partnership with local power technology firm Viridity Energy. Backed by funding from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and the federal government, the pilot is set to reduce electrical usage at the substation

by 10 percent. The project will conclude by the end of 2012.

Regenerative braking itself isn’t new. New York, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles all currently employ this technology, and SEPTA uses it to power the lights and air conditioning on trains. What makes SEPTA’s pilot system innovative is its use of a large battery to store the electricity generated by braking trains. Viridity will monitor the battery using their software to determine whether it’s more cost-effective for SEPTA to use the energy for powering trains or to sell the energy back to the grid.

Here’s how regenerative braking works on SEPTA trains: Instead of using brake pads to create friction to slow the train, the braking mechanism puts the electric motor in reverse, turning it into an electric generator. The generator can then provide electricity to a variety of applications, like lights, air conditioning, other trains and storage devices (batteries). Any excess electricity that can’t be stored is sent to a resistor bank on top of

There are more than two dozen substations where this technology could be replicated, which would fundamentally change the way SEPTA manages power for its subways and trolleys.

Trickle down effect There’s a new renewable energy source in town and it’s coming from a surprising place: our sewage. In April, NovaThermal Energy, a Philadelphia-based company, installed a wastewater geothermal system at the Philadelphia Water Department’s Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant. This is the first facility in the country to have a system of this kind.

14

gridp h illy.co m

ju ne 20 12

the train car and converted to heat. In the SEPTA pilot project, electricity stored in the battery can then flow to the grid.

The technology’s scalability is what makes it so important and potentially transformative.

There are more than two dozen substations where this technology could be replicated, explains Andy Gillespie, SEPTA’s chief engineer for power, which would fundamentally change the way SEPTA manages power for its subways and trolleys.

The project may also save SEPTA a good chunk of change. Between reducing electricity costs and revenue generated by selling electricity, they’re expecting a net annual benefit of $300,000. The savings will provide the capital to fund future projects at other substations, creating a positive loop of savings. The demonstration phase began on March 1, and the transit industry is closely watching this project to see if it can be a model for other transit systems throughout the country. The workshop in August will be a great opportunity to further the project (by attracting more federal transit dollars) and demonstrate Philadelphia’s growth as an innovative sustainability leader.

Now, if we could just talk to them about those tokens. 

Just like traditional geothermal technology, heat is transferred directly from the source (in this case, the sewage channel, not deep water wells) to heat the building.

While wastewater may not be as glamorous as solar or wind, it’s a valuable energy source; the system is expected to provide heat for approximately 50 percent of the current cost, which amounts to $18,100 savings annually. —Liz Pacheco

dedicated to green beauty and well being since 2002 & boutique

biodynamic skincare

spiritual renewal

expert massage

call 215.545.3344 learn more at

eviama.com 262. S. 16th St Philadelphia PA 19102

Harness The Earth’s Energy! we have all of mom’s perennial favorites!

Roses • Azeleas • Hydrangeas • Clematis • Herbs • Perennials • Annuals • Containers • Tools & More!

Reduce Heating & Cooling Bills 50% A Name You Can Trust...

A Technology You Can Afford

Mike McGrath Workshop– Growing Tasty Tomatoes: May 19th

Host of WHYY’s You Bet Your Garden reveals his tricks & tips for growing the best tasting ‘maters!

Community Garden Days: May 18th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th & 27th Register your community garden now with Greensgrow. We will donate 10% of your purchases to your community garden!

For details go to greensgrow.org/events

30% Tax CrediT

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! Monday–Friday • 9am–6pm Saturday • 9am–5pm Sunday • 10am–4pm

W W W. G R E E N S G R O W. O R G

CITY NURSERY

EldredgeGeothermal.com • 610.430.1602 j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

15

food

Mobile

Plan

With help from Greensgrow, a fresh market hits the road by liz pacheco

T

o increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables in Philadelphia neighborhoods, a farmers market is often the ideal solution. But for parts of West Philadelphia, the model proved inefficient. “[It] didn’t really work for us,” says Ryan Kuck, a former farmer at Greensgrow Farms and project manager for the West Philly Fresh Food Hub. “[We had] to spend a lot of our energy, a lot of promotion, for a small amount of sales, and we could only carry a small amount of products.”

So, Kuck began to think about a mobile option. Back in 2006, Kuck had helped organize Preston’s Paradise, an all-volunteer community food project in West Philadelphia. The organization manages community gardens as well as a pushcart produce market. The idea for the West

Philly Fresh Food Hub built upon that push-cart model as well as a pilot mobile market program Greensgrow had launched the year before in Camden, N.J. With support from Greensgrow and Preston’s Paradise, the Hub opened at the end of April. The renovated bread truck carries organic and conventional produce along with some packaged goods, including milk, flour and eggs.

Kucks hopes the packaged goods will attract shoppers in need of cooking staples, who once there, will be encouraged to buy fresh produce as well. Unlike the pushcart and mobile market in Camden, which were frequently on the move, the Hub will operate more like a regular corner store, staying parked for long periods of time. Greensgrow will subsidize the truck’s operations for three years in the hopes that the Hub will evolve into a self-sustaining business.

Hours and Locations April 25-December 2012 37th & Lancaster Ave. Wed.-Fri. 12-6 p.m.

Sat. 12-3 p.m.

40th & Lancaster Ave., Sat. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Mantua Free Library, 34th and Haverford Ave. Wed. 6-7 p.m.

Sara Allen Senior Homes 4035 Parrish St. Thurs. 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

West Philadelphia Senior Community Center 41st and Poplar Sts. Fri. 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

West Philly Fresh Food Hub, facebook.com/wpfoodhub

The new West Philly Fresh Food Hub, parked and ready for business.

16

gr idp h illy.co m

ju ne 2012

photos by n ea l sa ntos

You buy your food locally, but what about energy?

cheese of the month

Maysiola This spring, Pete Demchur of Shellbark Hollow Farm debuted a new cheese he calls Maysiola—a moon pie of pasteurized goat’s milk named after Masie, one of his favorite Nubian goats, and with nods to robiola, an Italian cheese. Maysiola has a grassy scent and custardy innards, and if you’re a Brie head, you’ll enjoy this bloomy-rinded character. It’s more robust than a Brie, but not as tangy as a typical robiola.

Demchur makes Maysiola at his home in Chester County, where he maintains a herd of about 70 Nubian goats and produces a variety of goat’s milk products, from kefir to his wildly popular Shellbark Extra Sharp—a chevre that comes on strong, but in the best possible way. He also bears the distinction of being one of the area’s first goat cheese makers. Fifteen years ago, he started producing small batches of chevre as a hobby, and today he sells to farmers markets around the region, including Chestnut Hill, Bryn Mawr, Phoenixville and East Goshen.

Robiolas pair well with all things summer: berries, effervescent beverages and particularly hard cider. “I

SWITCH TO

CLEAN LOCAL

like to eat Maysiola with Asian pear,” says Donna Demchur Levitsky, who collaborated with her brother Pete to create this cheese. “You can also drizzle it with olive oil and add black pepper.” Try this combination on a grilled baguette, and you’ve got a quick patio supper.

—Tenaya Darlington, madamefromageblog.com Maysiola is sold in 1.5-pound square blocks and in 5-ounce disks. Look for it at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market and on the menu at the Farmers’ Cabinet (1113 Walnut St.). Shellbark Hollow Farm, 942 Cornwallis Dr., West Chester, shellbarkhollow.com , 610.431.0786

ENERGY NOW

The Energy Co-op offers

100% RENEWABLE ENERGY generated right here in Pennsylvania

on tap

Nocturnum

the night brings respite from the assaults of the day, and we celManayunk Brewing Co., Philadelphia Pa. ebrate with glass tulips Belgian Strong Dark Ale / 9.8% ABV of cloudy dark amber ale brewed on the banks of the Schuylkill in nearby Manayunk. Nocturnum boasts a malty, fruity flavor of plum/fig/blackberry with a spicy Belgian bite.

While there’s only the slightest alcohol warmth in the tasting, it does tip the scales at a robust 9.8% ABV. Available only on draft, this brew is best enjoyed in the comfort of a dimly lit café, while the happy hour crowd drifts away. —Lucas Hardison

215 413 2122 Call today, with your energy bill in hand, or visit us at TheEnergy.Coop, and join the clean energy movement.

More at manayunkbrewery.com

the feed Delaware Valley College is helping to fight hunger with a new community garden. The one-acre space, planted in collaboration with the Hunger Nutrition Coalition of Bucks County, will grow crops to be donated to area food pantries.

700 E. Butler Ave., Doylestown, delval.edu

Headhouse Square is paying homage to its historical roots as a thriving public marketplace in a new way. The New Market, open on spring and summer Fridays, will feature locally made food, goods and services. Expect favorites like Capogiro, Bennett Compost, Farm to City and more.

Begins May 11.

2nd St. between Pine and Lombard Sts., newmarketphiladelphia.com

The brewpub scene welcomes Forest & Main Brewing Company.

Opened in early April, the Ambler brewpub offers homemade beers and seasonal food, all within the comfort of a refurbished 19th century home.

61 N. Main St., Ambler, forestandmain.com

j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

17

food

Make Your Bread

Homemade flatbread, the perfect canvas for seasonal meals by marisa mcclellan

F

or years, yeast was a mystery to me.

Though I grew up in a household that made its own granola each week, and canned jams and applesauce every summer, we relied exclusively on store-bought breads, bagels and pizzas.

Not until I lived on my own did I start teaching myself more about yeast and the miraculous things it can do.

If you’ve never attempted a recipe with yeast at home, this flatbread dough is a really easy way to get started. Once mastered, you’ll find yourself stirring it together a couple of times a week and heaping any combination of seasonal tidbits on top. Best of all, you can freeze portions and pull

Basic Flatbread Dough 1

cups hot water (approximately 180°F) 2 envelopes active dry yeast 2 tsp honey 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cups whole wheat pastry flour 1 Tbsp fine grain sea salt 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more to oil the bowl

18

gridp h illy.co m

ju ne 2012

them out on busy nights for quick dinners.

For toppings, simply turn to your local farmers market for inspiration. Spring is in full swing and summer is just around the corner.

I like pairing caramelized onions with goat cheese, springy peas with curly garlic scapes and, for dessert, strawberry jam and mascarpone. Add a salad of baby lettuces and dinner is served. marisa mcclellan is a food writer, canning teacher and dedicated farmers market shopper who lives in Center City. Find more of her food (all cooked in her 80-square-foot kitchen) at her blog, foodinjars.com .

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine hot water, yeast and honey. Let sit for five minutes, until the yeast gets foamy.

Add flours, salt and olive oil. Fix mixer with the dough hook and mix for three to four minutes, until the dough forms a smooth ball (can also be mixed by hand). Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the dough and smooth over top.

Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free spot for an hour.

Once dough has doubled in size, divide into three equal-sized pieces. Pour a small drizzle of olive oil on a cookie sheet and rub around to coat. Stretch the dough out on the greased cookie sheet. Top using one of the following recipes.

Spring pea and garlic scape pesto with parmesan and arugula 1

cup peas (frozen are fine if you can’t find fresh) cup blanched almonds slivers 2 garlic scapes, cut into pieces 4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, divided 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp grated lemon zest cup olive oil plus more for drizzling Basic Flatbread Dough 2 handfuls baby arugula

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine the peas, almonds, garlic scapes, two tablespoons parmesan cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest in a blender.

Pulse a few times to combine. Then, with the motor running on low, stream the oil and blend until it’s achieved a smooth, uniform consistency.

Spread prepared flatbread dough with the pesto. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over top.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and scatter arugula over top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few shavings of parmesan cheese (optional).

Fresh & Local Fair Caramelized onions with rosemary and goat cheese Strawberry jam flatbread with mascarpone cup strawberry jam* tsp grated lemon zest tsp freshly ground black pepper Basic Flatbread Dough 2 ounces mascarpone 1

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spread prepared flatbread dough with strawberry jam. Evenly sprinkle lemon zest and black pepper over top.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until crust puffs and turns brown. When finished, remove from oven and dollop mascarpone over top. *For a strawberry jam recipe, visit foodinjars.com

Saturday, May 19, 12 to 4 pm Weavers Way Chestnut Hill 8424 Germantown Avenue

1 Tbsp butter 1 large onion, sliced 1 Tbsp chopped rosemary 1 Tbsp granulated sugar tsp salt tsp freshly ground pepper 2 ounces fresh goat cheese Basic Flatbread Dough

Melt butter in a skillet over mediumhigh heat. Once melted, add onions, rosemary, sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions have reduced in volume by more than half and are deeply brown and caramelized.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spread prepared flatbread dough with the caramelized onions. Dollop the goat cheese over the onions.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cheese bubbles and the edges of the crust turn golden brown.

Celebrate the Growing Season with Our Local Farmers and Vendors!

Food Sampling • Live Music Meet the Farmers

Saturday, June 2, 12 to 4 pm Weavers Way Pet Store 608 Carpenter Lane

A Celebration of Pets and the People Who Love Them Natural Pet Treats, Demos & Samples Veterinarians, Trainers & Rescues Silly Pet Tricks • Pet Parade

www.weaversway.coop j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

19

food

agriculture

Barn in the ‘burbs A Flourtown farm gets its goats by dana henry

L

aurie Jenkins, owner of Shady Apple Goats Farms, dreams of having many goats and growing her own hay for rotational grazing. While her backyard dairy farm, nestled behind a busy suburban street in Flourtown, may not offer the expansive landscape Jenkins desires, it does provide a resource uncommon to most agriculture operations: neighbors.

“I love neighbors,” she says. “Lots of neighbors support us, even if it just means buying a dozen eggs every week.”

Jenkins, a midwife turned school nurse, operates the farm with her partner, Lisa McCurdy, a carpenter who builds and maintains the farm’s infrastructure. The two have Nigerian Dwarf goats and a LaMancha goat, raise chickens, keep bees and grow vegetables. Their backyard barn has a kitchen where Jenkins makes signature cheeses from her goats’ milk as well as milk purchased from nearby sheep and cow farms. She also teaches cheese-making workshops in the space, and the pair makes honey, soaps and birdhouses on the premises. With such a busy schedule, Jenkins and McCurdy are thankful for the neighborhood support. During birthing season, a neighbor who works from home checks on baby goats and assists with nursing. And of the 35 members in the farm’s cheese Community Supported Agriculture program, the majority is neighbors.

Like many urban farms, Shady Apple Goats began as a vegetable patch. Jenkins adored her

20

gr idp h i lly.co m

ju ne 20 12

grandmother’s rural North Carolina farm, which she often visited as a child, but she never envisioned herself as a farmer. As the couple began to grow more and more vegetables, however, their yard in Mount Airy proved too small. In 2006, they moved across the city boundary to Flourtown. “I was just thinking about growing more tomato plants,” Jenkins admits. “We moved here thinking we could finally do what we wanted to do, have a big garden without being isolated or so far away from work.”

Inevitably, Jenkins started thinking about milk. After years coaching mothers about the benefits of breast milk, she was increasingly upset by the “flashpasteurized dead white liquid” Americans call milk. She hated thinking about how dairy animals were treated and the dairy industry’s growing political influence. They had been buying local milk, but Jenkins wanted to do more. Cows, clearly, were out of the question and full-sized goats, with their physi-

cal strength and stubborn temperaments, would be a handful.

So she settled on the Nigerian Dwarf goat, typically an exotic pet, which despite their stature—the goats are less than two feet tall—can produce up to eight pounds of milk per day. “For me this was really about milk,” says Jenkins.

“The little goats are the perfect urban dairy animal. You don’t need ­— ­laurie jenkins a lot of land, maybe half an acre.”

After two successful breeding seasons, the goats and their babies have become something of a neighborhood fixture.

The farm gets regular visits from kids, families, and curious adults walking by. Many are surprised at how productive a suburban backyard can become. But discovery is what makes the location so invaluable. “The other day three groups of people happened to stop by,” Jenkins says. “I like that people can see [the farm]. You don’t have to drive an hour outside the city. If you want a small farm, it can be done.” 

I love neighbors.

Lots of neighbors support us, even if it just means buying a dozen eggs every week.”

photos by a lbert yee

j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

21

food

Head in the krauts

Food activist promotes fermentation, new book by dana henry

A

lmost 10 years ago, Sandor Katz, the self-proclaimed fermentation fetishist, wrote and published the ‘zine-turned-book, Wild Fermentation, a DIY bible for making food with healthful bacteria. After a second book and years of touring, educating and meddling with microbes, Katz is back with his third and most comprehensive text on fermentation. The Art of Fermentation further documents his fascination, offering guidance for sour tonic beverages, meat, fish, nuts and countless other foods as well as practices for agriculture, art and energy production.

Sandorkraut, as Katz has been lovingly nicknamed, has been fermenting for more than 18 years and spreading his passion for bacteria-enhanced foods almost as long. Your can hear from the kraut king himself on June 5, when he speaks at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Grid: What does fermentation mean to food activism?

Sandor Katz: When people are

Katz is known for all kinds of fermentation, including beverages like beer and fruit wines (right).

really excited and full of hope that change can happen, they get bubbly. They want to share ideas. As a metaphor, fermentation is how social change happens. In a literal sense, for people who find social change in reviving the local food system, fermentation just fits right in. Whether for preservation or health, a big piece of reclaiming our food, and the processes, is fermentation. It’s one of the major ways that people around the world process their food.

By some estimates as much as one third of all foods are processed via fermentation.

upcoming event june 5, 7:30 p.m.

Sandor Katz

Free Library of Philadelphia (1901 Vine St.) For more information, visit freelibrary.org

Grid: Any advice for beginners?

SK: Fermenting vegetables, making foods like

Grid: What motivates your workshops, talks and education?

SK: There’s a huge amount of fear in our culture.

So many people fear that if they ferment something without a degree in microbiology and a microscope, they might get the wrong bacteria. Re-

claiming fermentation is empowering ourselves with ancient wisdom for how to use food in safe and effective ways.

sauerkraut and kimchee is an ideal gateway.

It’s simple and safe. But whatever ferments that you’re curious about, know that it’s possible to make; it’s just a matter of figuring out how. If you want to make an African sorghum beer, you can do it. If you want to make a Spanish-style salami, you can do it. There’s no ferment that’s not possible for someone with an interest in learning. 

Compost center opens in University City Organic waste in University City can now stay local thanks to the opening of The Dirt Factory, a neighborhood composting center. With help from a local property owner and the University of Pennsylvania’s donation of two Earth Tub composting systems, residents will have a place to bring their organic waste and, in a short period

22

gridp h illy.co m

ju ne 20 12

of time, access to a supply of finished compost.

The center will also operate as the drop-off site for the Pedal Co-op’s composting service.

The Dirt Factory, 4308 Market St., Grand Opening: June 20, 4 to 6 p.m., For more information, visit universitycity.org .

Think all maple syrup comes from Vermont?

Don’t be a sap!

Buy Pennsylvania Maple Syrup

Reading Terminal Market 215-592-9772 We have proudly sold maple syrup from the Emerick family in Hyndsman, PA Since 1990 Learn more about The Emerick family at

pageneralstore.com j un e 20 12

g r i dphi lly.com

23

open shop Co-working “gyms” provide tools and space for beginners and experts alike by liz pacheco photos by

christopher leaman

24

g ri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2012

T

o describe the warehouse for the future Philadelphia Sculpture Gym as rough would be an understatement. As of March, the 7,500-square-foot, brick-walled space was dark and dingy. There was a long, beat-up wooden table left from the previous owners, and piles of cleared wood and metal were gathered on the concrete floor. ¶ But Darla Jackson and Justin Grant, founders of the Sculpture Gym, weren’t discouraged by the space; they were inspired. They gleefully give a tour of the warehouse, pointing out the areas designated for woodworking, metalworking, moldmaking and casting, as well as the future locations for the gallery space and members lounge.

NextFab Studio

“Some of the spaces we looked at, oh my god, needed everything,” says Jackson. “And this space, it needs a lot, but…” she trails off, “…well this has a roof already,” finishes Grant. The married couple signed a lease for the warehouse in October and scheduled their first event, a Charter Member Exhibition Opening, for May 19. In the meantime, they’re hard at work, transforming the space into a haven for sculpture professionals, amateurs and everyone in between.

The Sculpture Gym is the latest in a new entrepreneurial business trend happening in Philadelphia. These “gyms,” or co-working spaces, are providing the space, tools and often the materials for developing hobbies and honing hands-on skills in a community setting.

In University City, NextFab Studio, a high-tech workshop, describes itself as a “gym for innovators.” Opened in January 2010, the space has been so successful that founder Evan Malone has decided to open a second, flagship location in South Philadelphia this summer.

In Manayunk, Michael Vogel, an architecture student turned businessman, launched Philadelphia Woodworks in March, offering the antithesis to the dusty, solitary spaces often associated with wood workshops.

Membership is based on the same model at all three places. Individuals purchase a membership and, just like at a fitness gym, gain access to equipment, working space, professional guidance, classes and community spaces.

Unsurprisingly, these businesses have become popular gathering places as bastions of creativity, learning and community collaboration.

NextFab Studio Located inside the University City Science Center, NextFab Studio is geared toward the high-tech hobbyist. The 4,400-square-foot space is filled with 3D printers, computer-controlled machines, electronic workstations, hand tools and countless other technologies. For anyone looking to build a prototype, use a laser cutter or make unique art, this is the place to be.

The idea for NextFab started with Malone’s Ph.D. research at Cornell University on the 3D printing of complete functional devices. “Meaning not just printing a plastic doodad, but actually printing batteries, circuits, living tissues, food and all sorts of things, more useful objects, straight out of a single 3D printer that’s printing a variety of materials,” he explains. Malone’s research lead him to develop Fab@Home—a project that took his lab technology and made a simple, less expensive version for people at home. At the same time Fab Labs, nonprofit labs providing access to tools and technological training for modern inventing, were gaining popularity. Inspired, Malone decided to open his own version of a Fab Lab. The most important difference between a Fab Lab and NextFab Studio is that Malone’s business is for-profit.

“The thought was let’s pay for this mission of providing access to technology and helping people get into turning their ideas into products and starting businesses around them,” says Malone. “And pay for it by offering services.”

These services are in the form of contract work done by the staff. This contract work varies in scope and size—the most memorable project being a simulated lumberjack logroll

nextfabstudio.com 3711 Market Street 215.921.3649 -----------------

NextFab 2

Coming Summer 2012

2025 Washington Ave. ----------------The “gym for innovators” offers a range of tools, including 3D printers, metalworking machines, laser cutters and other tools for the high-tech hobbyist.

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

25

The people that are in here are from all ends of the spectrum. We have men, women, young, old, middle [aged], experienced, no experience, all kinds of people in here.

—e mily du ncan

Philadelphia Woodworks

philadelphia woodworks.com 4901 Umbria St. 267.331.5880 ----------------All the benefits of your grandfather’s wood shop plus high ceilings, lots of natural light and a welcoming woodworking community.

26

gri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2012

competition for Dos Equis beer.

Membership, though, has remained an important part of NextFab’s mission. Currently, the studio has approximately 160 members.

While the location in University City attracts some students, Itsuki Ogihara, the community development specialist, says “the actual members consist of professionals who have a day job, doing it weekdays, and come in after hours or on the weekends— tinkerers, hobbyist-types, engineers, [and] a lot of artists.”

Even on weekday afternoons, the place is busy. Bob Sponsler, an operating room nurse at Jefferson University Hospital, is working on one of his 75 unfinished projects.

He found NextFab after his ambitions became too much for his at-home 3D printer. Sponsler invented a system for organizing surgical instruments on a tray, and instead of sending out to have prototypes made found he could create them himself at NextFab. “This place is just awesome,” says Sponsler. “There was a day I was across the table from somebody who was doing something with neuro research… The person on the other side of me was a sculptor, an engineer on the other side.

They were all in discussion with me about something I was working on, [offering] perspectives from random directions…that I might not necessarily be an expert in.”

As Sponsler explains his work, Malone is across the table having a meeting. The computers next to the table are being used, and staff and members filter in and out.

The space, which also doubles as a classroom, is obviously being stretched to its limits. Although 4,400 square feet is a significant amount of space, increasing membership and contract work means NextFab needs to expand. The 21,000-square-foot space in South Philadelphia set to open this summer will meet that need. The space will have, among other features, 24/7 private studios, classrooms, a chemistry lab, cafe and exhibition space. The current location in University City will continue to operate as well.

Philadelphia Woodworks “This is not your grandfather’s workspace,” says business manager Emily Duncan, as she gives a tour of Philadelphia Woodworks. At 8,000 square feet with 17-foot-high ceilings, it’s an impressive space. The building feels open and airy.

Large windows on three sides of the workshop allow natural light to fill the room. Above the 5,600-square-foot shop sits a mezzanine with lockers, a small library and additional storage space. There’s a kitchen, art and furniture gallery, and even a lumberyard. Much of the wood furniture, benches and tables in the members lounge and workshop were made by staff. “Everything that’s here, other than the brick walls or the slab floor, we built by hand,” says Vogel.

Vogel’s affinity for building started at a young age.

“Growing up I loved building stuff, I loved tinkering. I always wanted to be an architect,” he says. “I went to college for architecture and getting into the woodshop was the most fun thing for all of undergrad…I loved what I was building and I actually cared more about the wooden models of what I was doing than the actual projects themselves.” Realizing he wasn’t ready to be an architect, Vogel chose a different path: finance. But during the next 10 years, Vogel found himself wanting to get back in the woodshop.

“I always knew woodworking would be for me that fun escape, if there were a place that existed that I could do it,” he says. Eventually, Vogel decided to take matters into his own hands. He printed postcards advertising the idea for Philadelphia Woodworks and started distributing them in public places. The mailing list quickly grew to a few hundred. Encouraged by the support and the success of other member-driven woodworking shops already established around the country, Vogel quit his job, found the space in Manayunk, and started putting together staff and membership.

Although the space has only been open a couple months, membership has grown rapidly. “The people that are in here are from all ends of the spectrum,” says Duncan. “We have

men, women, young, old, middle [aged], experienced, no experience, all kinds of people in here.” Again, collaboration has been vital. Duncan talks about a knowledgeable member who, when helped by the shop manager, produced a corner cabinet that exceeded anything he’d done before.

She also talks about a woman who had never been in a shop before, and is learning about the techniques and tools to make a birdhouse.

“The shop is about woodworking, but more importantly about the experience here,” says Duncan. “So you can create anything, but as long as you have a good time doing it then you’re a lot more proud of your project and you’re excited about the next one.”

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Just like NextFab and Philadelphia Woodworks, the Sculpture Gym is intended for all skill levels. Although Jackson and Grant both hold art degrees (from Moore College of Art and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, respectively) they stress that their space isn’t intended solely for artists.

“We want…everybody [to] have access to this stuff,” says Jackson. “So not just the sculptors, not just artists, crafts people, [but] people who just want to try it out and see if they even like it.” And with a gym membership format, people can try welding, woodworking or ceramic work, with little time or money invested.

For Jackson and Grant, the idea for a “gym” came from their basic needs as artists. “It starts with us being sculptors that accumulate mass quantities of everything,” says Jackson. “So we have lots of tools that we just keep buying over the years.” Some tools are used everyday, some once a month and some even less. When they moved into a row house with their young daughter, they quickly realized that without regular studio space making art was going to be a challenge. “We had the table saw in the kitchen for a year,” says Grant. “I’m doing plasterwork in our second floor bathtub,” says Jackson.

While both sculptors have had studio space in the past, whether through school, work or a commission, they knew they needed a more permanent home. “Justin and I were talking about opening a space where people could use our things,” says Jackson. They didn’t think much about the idea until Jackson was encouraged to apply for a Knight Arts Challenge grant in 2011. Going up against some major arts organizations in Philadelphia, Jackson was happily surprised when she received a $20,000 grant toward the project. From there, they launched a Kickstarter campaign and began working on the warehouse in Fishtown.

In the time before the space opens, Jackson and Grant have built a dedicated member and volunteer community, hosting regular potlucks and work days. They already have a number of charter members, whose work will be displayed at the show on May 19. The community aspect is really important to Jackson and Grant. As artists, they often find their work can be solitary and although they have each other, an outside perspective is often welcome.

“There’s nothing like a den of activity to get you inspired without being competitive,” says Grant.

g like a den of ing hin noth e’s not Therre’s The d. ired. inspire ityy to get you insp activ activit —ju sti n gra nt

A new community While no one is quite satisfied with the “gym” terminology, it’s become the most concise way to describe how these spaces function.

“You have trainers, you have equipment that’s too much to have in your own house, but you want it,” says Malone.

“Because it’s the best equipment and lets you do things you couldn’t do otherwise, you’re time-sharing it in a facility.”

But there’s a larger focus on teaching, learning and sharing than at any fitness gym. “I think community here is more important than the machines,” says Vogel. All the founders agree that their spaces are truly member-dependent. Although the gyms are based on the passions of one or two individuals, the members are critical contributors to how the spaces will develop.

“We want [the Sculpture Gym] to be as open-ended as possible,” says Grant. “[If ] people are like, oh I could do an ice carving thing, then yes, absolutely, because I don’t know how to do ice-carving.”

“And that’s [what] we’re excited about,” says Jackson, “the stuff that we don’t know that we’re going to get to learn because of the people coming in the space.” 

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym

philadelphia sculpturegym.com 1834 E. Frankford Ave. philadelphiasculpture gym@gmail.com ----------------Slated for opening in the mid-May, the gym will have areas for woodworking, metalworking, moldmaking and casting, plus a gallery for displaying member work.

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

27

¿Quien es tu granjero familiar?

Chi é il contadino della tua famiglia?

Avez-vous votre fermier de famille?

Who is your family’s farmer?

Meet your farmers at our farmers’ markets.

TM

Go to our website to find where and when.

www.farmtocity.org

ENVIRONMENTALLY

FRIENDLY BEFORE IT WAS TRENDY!

the eco conscious choice for tree and land management 610-235-6691 prestree.com

pruning & removals organic plant healthcare cabling & bracing natural lands restoration integrated pest management big & historic tree specialists planting & more!

S U S TA I N A B L E BUILDING & REMODELING

CALL 215.510.0647 OR EMAIL INFO@THESTOCKGROUP.NET WWW.THESTOCKGROUP.NET

28

gri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2012

Amazing Acres Goat Dairy Gr Ch B B id ee l a Ma se oo By ga of m zin th er e- eM A p on ril th 20 12

Artisan Goat Cheese Crafted in Chester County

Shellbark hollow Farm West Chester, PA

Fine Goat Milk Products 184 grove Road • Elverson, PA 19520 610-913-7002

cheese@AmazingAcresGoatDairy.com

AmazingAcresGoatDairy.com

Chèvre  Yogurt  Raw Milk Raw Milk Aged Cheese Kefir  Specialty Cheeses

www.shellbarkhollow.com

7 0 1 S 4 th St, P hila d elp hia , PA 1914 7 P hone: (215) 238-1888

Hours:

Philadelphia Gardens, Inc. GREEN + SUSTAINABLE GARDEN INSTALLATION, DESIGN, HARDSCAPING TONI ANN FLANIGAN

Tuesday-Saturday 5 pm - 2 am Sunday Brunch 11 am - 5 pm Closed Monday Guest Tasting Dinners Every Third Wednesday of the Month

PHILADELPHIAGARDENS.COM 215.951.9193

so u t hwa rkre st a u ra nt .c o m

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

29

pril 1, 2012, 10:45 a.m. The line outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center was growing. Parents with strollers, young professionals, older couples, eco-conscious hippies and families in Phillies shirts were all patiently waiting for 11 a.m. Apparently the 1,100 pre-sold tickets were no fluke. The Philly Farm & Food Fest was attracting a crowd.

Inside, the 110 exhibitors were putting the final touches on their displays. Urban Apiaries opened jars of their Philadelphia-raised honey, Birchrun Hills Farm prepped pieces of their coveted Chester County cow’s milk cheese, and area favorite Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative set up an expansive local products tableau—haystacks included. Little Baby’s Ice Cream even brought in their freezer-toting tricycle to scoop homemade flavors like Earl Grey Sriracha and Cardamom Caramel.

The Philly Farm & Food Fest, a collaboration between Fair Food and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, saw nearly 3,000 people that afternoon. While attracting a few thousand attendees to a local food event may not seem remarkable nowadays, consider the food scene in Philadelphia 25 years ago. Eating locally meant a cheesesteak, not farm fresh vegetables. “Farm to table” wasn’t part of the restaurant vocabulary. And there weren’t regular (if any) farmers markets in the city. So, what’s changed?

Why do Philadelphians support—and even expect—regular access to local foods?

For Judy Wicks, founder of the White Dog Cafe and Fair Food, the local food movement’s beginning was almost accidental. “[At the White Dog] I wanted the idea to be to serve what’s fresh and local,” she says. “But, it wasn’t because there was a trend or because I was trying to start a trend; I simply wanted to have what I had enjoyed myself.”

The White Dog opened in 1983, and has since been a cornerstone of the local food movement in Philadelphia. But Wicks isn’t alone in her efforts. Duane Perry, founder of the Food Trust; Bob Pierson, founder of Farm

Judy Wicks opens the White Dog Cafe in West Philadelphia.

1983

The White Dog begins to source produce from local farms like Branch Creek Farm in Perkasie, Pa., and Green Meadow Farm in Gap, Pa.

1986

to City; and Ann Karlen, executive director of Fair Food, have all made significant contributions to building the local food community.

While their individual efforts were influential, it’s their collaborative work that has made Philadelphia’s food movement so vibrant.

Creating a truly local restaurant At her home in Fitler Square on a warm April morning, Judy Wicks explains her evolution as a local food leader.

“I grew up in a small town and my parents had a huge vegetable garden,” she recalls. “So, in the summertime, the three kids would go up and pick the vegetables, and we would eat from the garden all summer long. Then my mother and grandmother would can and jar for the winter… We also went to the farmers market all the time too… So, I kind of grew up with that kind of background.”

After 12 years at the French restaurant La Terrasse in University City, during which Wicks spent time as a waitress, general manager and, finally, business partner, she decided it was time to open her own restaurant. She moved her family to a Victorian brownstone in West Philadelphia and opened a take-out muffin store below. The menu of muffins evolved into soup and sandwiches, and eventually, a 200seat restaurant known as the White Dog Cafe.

Wicks, who is not a chef, credits the inclusion of local, sustainable food sources on the menu to the restaurant’s first chef Aliza Green. While Green worked at the White Dog for just a year, she brought with her connections to local farmers and a desire to implement the new, California-style cuisine chefs like Alice Waters were using. “I hired Aliza

Duane Perry starts The Food Trust, a nonprofit with a mission to provide fresh, local food to city neighborhoods.

because I wanted someone that knew how to buy from farmers,” says Wicks.

By 1986, the White Dog was sourcing produce from Mark and Judy Dornstreich’s Branch Creek Farm in Perkasie, Pa., and Glenn Brendle’s Green Meadow Farm in Gap, Pa. “[Brendle] was the first one to bundle orders where he would go around to other farms and pick up food,” says Wicks. “So, he was the first distributor, as well as a farmer.”

Soon after the White Dog started using local produce, Wicks learned about the inhumane treatment of animals that’s rampant in the meat industry. “My love of animals is really my driver,” she says, explaining how she pulled conventional meat products from her menu and began to explore this side of local eating.

By then, Green left to have her second child and sous chef Kevin Klause (now of FARMiCiA) had stepped into the executive position.

Again, explains Wicks, it was the chef who headed the White Dog’s transition into sustainable food. “Kevin really did all that work,” she says. “I mean, he was the one that really researched where can we get the pork, where

The Food Trust launches its first farmers market in southwest Philadelphia’s Tasker Homes housing development.

1992

1993

Bob Pierson opens the region’s first modern farmers market on South and Passyunk.

The Food Trust opens the Clark Park Farmers Market on 43rd and Baltimore using a new, farmer-driven market model.

1996

can we get the beef, and finding new farms and orchestrating all that.”

During the 1980s and ’90s, the White Dog became a springboard for many educational and sustainable food initiatives. The restaurant brought in regular speakers and hosted events like farm and community garden tours, a weekly Farmers Sunday Supper and the annual Dance of the Ripe Tomatoes—a street party celebration of sustainable and humane farming.

But for Wicks, it still wasn’t enough. “My big turning point was realizing that it wasn’t enough to have one restaurant doing all this stuff,” she says. “It wasn’t just about the White Dog. What we had to do was focus on the [food] system… and how could we build that system.”

Connecting restaurants & farmers Typically, restaurants consider each other competition, not potential collaborators. Despite this, Wicks believed cooperation among restaurants was the key to building both a sustainable business and local eating community. She started the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, the national parent organization for Philadelphia’s Sustainable Business Network, and in 2000 launched Fair Food—an organization that provides free consulting to chefs about using local foods.

“I asked Kevin to just turn over the list of all our farmers,” says Wicks. “This might seem like common sense, but it’s really unheard of in business to give a list of your suppliers to your competitors.”

Already committed to various projects, Wicks hired Ann Karlen to lead Fair Food.

Karlen was an ideal candidate; she had experience in starting a nonprofit (the artist collective Vox Populi) and interest in the food movement. And unlike many already involved in these issues, she didn’t have a farm or restaurant to run.

“In the beginning of my job, I sounded a lot like a door-to-door salesman,” says Karlen. “It was literally about going door-to-door, kitch-

Judy Wicks starts Fair Food and hires Ann Karlen as the executive director. Bob Pierson starts Farm to City.

1998

Farm to City launches their Winter Harvest program, providing local foods and goods during the winter months.

2000

2001

en door to kitchen door saying, ‘Will you talk to me about buying from these local farms?’”

As Karlen began putting a system in place for farmers and chefs to do business together, the food movement was gaining steam on a national level. Food lovers were starting to recognize the benefits of local food, and restaurants were realizing the value these local products had. “[Restaurants] were the audience willing to pay a little bit of extra money for that product,” says Karlen. “They were also super excited about what farmers were growing in their fields and the animals that they were raising. It was really an exciting time.”

While Fair Food’s initial goal was to work exclusively with restaurants, the organization soon found a niche in the retail world. After failing to convince Reading Terminal Market vendors to sell local meat, Fair Food launched their own folding table farmstand. “It was a freezer in the back with animal products,” says Karlen. “And it was a table with literature. The produce we put on the table was really more so we would attract people.”

Fair Food didn’t expect consumers to be interested in the produce, but the demand proved high. Soon, the table was open multiple days a week. Eventually they received a small, permanent stand and in 2009, moved to their current location on the west side of the market. Today, the farmstand does close to $1 million in sales annually, selling local meats and produce along with milk, eggs, cheese, honey, flour, breads and much more.

Reintroducing the farmers market By the 1950s and 1960s in Philadelphia, opportunities to buy food from nearby farmers were largely limited to Amish farmstands in the suburbs. “Those always existed, but they didn’t really grow. They were just scattered markets that stuck around, but weren’t contributing to any movement,” says Duane Perry, a former manager of Reading Terminal Market and founder of the Food Trust. By the 1980s and early ’90s, these markets had

Fair Food hosts the first Brewer’s Plate fundraiser, celebrating local beer, restaurants, farmers and artisans in a tasting event.

2002

The Food Trust is named the regional director for the mid-Atlantic chapter of the Farm to School Network.

2004

Farm to City helps launch Common Market, a distribution company that connects area farmers with the region’s wholesale markets.

“dwindled to just a few,” and farmers markets within the city were virtually nonexistent.

During his time at the Reading Terminal, Perry recognized how many neighborhoods lacked access to quality fresh foods. “Through talking to lots of people in the area, as well as in the market,” he says, “we became convinced that one of the things that we could do would be to create more opportunities for food retailing to grow and flourish in some of the Center City neighborhoods.”

Perry launched the Food Trust in 1992 with a vision for accessible, inner-city farmers markets. The first one opened in 1993 in southwest Philadelphia’s Tasker Homes housing development. “Our very first markets were basically one-day-a-week kind of affairs we actually bought food for,” he says, “and brought it and sold it at the markets.” While the response from customers was positive, the market model was problematic.

Around the same time, in 1996, Bob Pierson, a former biochemist turned regional planner, launched one of the region’s first modern farmers markets on South and Passyunk. Pierson,

Mayor Nutter announces his Greenworks Philadelphia plans, which includes the goal of putting 75 percent of Philadelphia’s population within a 10-minute walking distance of fresh food.

2007

2008

Fair Food moves to their new location on the west side of the Reading Terminal Market. Judy Wicks sells the White Dog, but retains control over the trademark.

2009

Philly Farm & Food Fest, an event that connects local producers, buyers and eaters, draws a crowd of nearly 3,000 people.

2012

who had taken an interest in local food work after volunteering for his food-buying club in Wisconsin, had moved back to Philadelphia with hopes of creating better sales avenues for local farmers. When a director of community markets position opened at the Food Trust, Pierson applied. In the interview, he pitched a farmer-driven market model. Pierson was hired and he helped establish seven more markets using the new model. “[These markets] were very, very well-received,” says Perry. “Not only because of their food, but I think that many of the farmers we were working with really had a very strong sense of social responsibility, community spirit and community involvement. They very much wanted to work in communities where folks really need and appreciated their food.”

While Pierson eventually left the Food Trust to found Farm to City in 2000, the Food Trust has continued their farmers market initiative. Now, in its twentieth year, the nonprofit supports nearly 30 farmers markets in the city, including the expansive Headhouse Farmers Market in Old City and Clark Park Farmers Market in West Philadelphia.

In addition to the markets, the Food Trust has also become known for its education initiatives and extensive programming on healthy eating and food access for schools and communities. Their School Market Program provides a hands-on nutrition and entrepreneurial curriculum where students create, own and operate their own food market. And their Healthy Corner Store Initiative is bringing healthy foods into the city’s corner stores to educate about healthy snacking. Their programs have gained national attention as well.

34

gr i dph i l ly.com

ju ne 2012

In 2007, the Food Trust was named the lead agency for the mid-Atlantic region’s Farm to School Network, and has since expanded the program to reach 25 Philadelphia schools.

Feeding the consumer frenzy During his time at the Food Trust, Pierson had recognized another underdeveloped element of the food movement: the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. In a CSA, consumers pay farmers at the start of the growing season then receive regular shares of the harvest, typically on a weekly or biweekly schedule. Pierson had set up a CSA in the early 1990s at his workplace, but the program only lasted one year—the farmer decided to return to teaching school. In the years following, Pierson continued to connect CSAs to city customers. “The Trust, that wasn’t on their agenda, I was just doing it,” he says. “But I realized there’s a market for this stuff. So, I left the Food Trust and started Farm to City.”

Initially, Farm to City focused on starting farmers markets and connecting consumers with CSA programs. Halfway through the first farmers market season, Pierson was asked what would happen in the wintertime—customers wanted access to local food year-round.

So, the Winter Harvest program was born. The buying club allows area residents to order local food during the winter and spring months.

“I think first-year sales were $15,000, and our peak year was a couple years ago at $300,000,” says Pierson. “[We had a] 50 percent increase on average for about eight years.” Today, the program hosts about 45 suppliers with 500 different items on the list.

Products include typical local foods, like vegetables and fruits, plus more nontraditional CSA items, like soap, coffee and canned goods.

In addition to Winter Harvest, Farm to City operates 16 farmers markets and provides online support for buying clubs and CSAs. Through the Farm to City affiliate program, any local food-buying club or CSA can use the website and administrative tools to promote its own programming.

In 2008, Farm to City also helped launch Common Market, which connects local farmers with the wholesale marketplace. Initially, founders Tatiana Garcias-Granados and her

husband, Haile Johnston, had wanted to start a farmers market in Strawberry Mansion, but found there was a greater need to bring affordable, local foods to area institutions, like hospitals, schools and universities. Today, Common Market works with more than 100 local farms and 170 institutions, including Jefferson University Hospital, Mariposa Food Co-op and the William Penn Charter School.

Expanding the reach While Pierson, Perry, Karlen and Wicks and their respective organizations are different, the goal for each is the same: to bring local, fresh food to Philadelphians.

When Wicks opened the White Dog in 1983, the food movement was in its infancy. “The cheese, oh my God, has changed so much,” she says, laughing. “The farmers and cheese makers are really learning how to make good cheese. Ten years ago, the local cheese was not very good. Now you can do a whole cheese plate with just local.”

Even though Wicks sold the White Dog in 2009, she retains control over its trademark, and won’t license the name without a contract stipulating that local, sustainable and humane food sources are used. And, as the first sustainable restaurant in Philadelphia, it proved a fertile breeding ground for likeminded entrepreneurs. Founders of Philadelphia food establishments Metropolitan Bakery, John and Kira’s Chocolates, the Night Kitchen, Bistro 7 and Picnic all spent time working at the White Dog. Beyond the restaurant scene, the regular farmers markets, local food events, and growth in urban gardens and farms all point to a future of an expanded local food economy.

Mayor Nutter’s 2008 Greenworks Philadelphia has joined the cause, aiming to put 75 percent of Philadelphia’s population within a 10-minute walking distance of fresh food.

“I often say that we have so much to be proud of—Fair Food and all the other awesome groups in Philadelphia and around the country—for creating a kick-ass niche market for family farmers,” says Karlen. “And we’ve really done that through farmers markets and CSAs. The responsibility we have now is to take it beyond just the niche market.” 

fa rm e rs m arket p hotos by R. Ke n n e dy for GPTMC

A SPECIAL EXHIBIT 200 YEARS IN THE MAKING

We’ve been Greening on the Railroad.

THE ACADEMY AT 200 THE NATURE of DISCOVERY

Now One SEPTA Station is Among the Nation’s Greenest.

“Show-stopping treasures on public display – many for the first time” - Associated Press

C

M

1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia | 215-299-1000 | ansp.org

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

SEPTA rebuilt its Fox-Chase Station to be eco-friendly by design, and people-friendly on purpose. It earned the nation’s first LEED Silver Certification for a train station. This recognizes leadership in energy and environmental design. It is an unprecedented accomplishment and an honor for SEPTA.

go green go 215-580-7800

j un e 20 12

septa.org

gr i dph i l ly.co m

35

urban naturalist

by bernard brown

Seize the Carp

Local aquatic ecosystems threatened by wall-to-wall carp eating by bernard brown

O

ne nice thing about snorkeling in Philadelphia rivers is that you generally don’t have to think about sharks (the occasional, adventurous bull shark notwithstanding).

But carp scare me, or at least startle me. More than once I have been nearly shocked out of my flippers by carp (which average the size of my leg) emerging from deep murky holes and lumbering past in the water. From land, I have studied the surface of more than one fetid Philadelphia pond for evidence of turtles and found my eyes drawn to something huge, rooting around in the shallows. Not a turtle…what the hell? A carp?

Unfortunately for hungry fishers, carp find their food by rooting around in the mud, thereby stirring up and ingesting long-settled pollutants.

The carp we find everywhere, from the Schuylkill River to the Centennial Pond in Fairmount Park West, are Cyprinus carpio and native to Central Asia. They were domesticated thousands of years ago and spread through Europe by the ancient Romans. In the late 1800s, they were stocked in U.S. waterways for food. Don’t see carp on a lot on menus? They’re often ground and seasoned into the Passover delicacy gefilte fish. Joseph Perillo, aquatic biologist supervisor for the Philadelphia Water Department, notes that aside from traditional dumplings, carp end up smoked. Whether smoked or gefilte, you probably don’t want to eat the ones in Philadelphia.

Usually the “do not eat” advisories apply to fish near the top of the food chain. Flathead catfish, for example, another pesky out-of-place fish in Philadelphia, eat other fish and thus accumulate certain toxic metals and chemicals in their flesh. Carp, however, are omnivores and eat closer to the bottom of the food chain. Unfortunately for hungry fishers, carp find their food by rooting around in the mud, thereby stirring up and ingesting long-settled pollutants.

This rooting around is what makes them a pest. When they disturb the floor of the river, it increases the water’s turbidity, or cloudiness, and that can prevent sunlight from reaching the aquatic plants that other fish rely upon for food. “We really try to hang onto that habitat,” says Perillo.

The weedy shallows carp destroy provide a great place for other fish to lay their eggs and for their babies to hide as they grow. And in flowing water, carp can raise enough silt in shallow, rocky riffles to cover eggs of other fish.

Outside of Pennsylvania other carp species (namely the Asian carp) are swarming up the Mississippi River system and wreaking havoc in the Great Lakes. Besides their destructive habits, these carp are most famous for leaping high out of the water. This is all fun and games until someone is hurt—a speeding boater plus a 40-pound airborne fish equals trouble.

The carp we have in Philadelphia can breed their way out of almost any jam. I thought Perillo was exaggerating when he said they can lay “millions of eggs,” but sure enough, females can lay a few hundred thousand eggs at a time and can spawn multiple times in a season. Factor in their ability to live in just about every body of water—they can even gulp air when oxygen levels are low—and they’re almost impossible to eliminate.

Despite their destructive characteristics, there doesn’t seem to be any concerted effort to get rid of our resident carp. They were initially stocked as game/food fish, and the state Fish and Boat Commission still regards them as such and not as a pest. But passive acceptance can’t work for all invasive fish in Philadelphia. The Asian snakehead fish, voracious predators that can live on land long enough to wriggle from pond to pond, are now firmly established in the mid-Atlantic. They’ve taken over the “lakes” in FDR Park and apparently made it up the tidal portion of the Schuylkill and are hanging out below the Fairmount Dam. Compared with snakehead, carp are nothing to fear, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a problem that needs to be addressed. bernard brown is an amateur field herper, bureaucrat and founder of the PB&J Campaign (pbjcampaign.org ), a movement focused on the benefits of eating lower on the food chain. Read about his forays into the natural world at phillyherping. blogspot.com .

36

gridph il ly.co m

ju ne 2012

guest column

by jerry silberman

Save money.

Increase comfort.

Fields of Dreams It’s tempting to believe in the dangerous illusion of biomass energy

Y

ou may have read articles—perhaps even in Grid—touting biofuels as a viable source to meet our energy needs. However, the science of biofuels points to one conclusion: They just don’t work.

The key concept is energy return on investment. Agrifuels—fuels derived from monocrops like corn or sugar—barely produce more energy than it takes to develop them. It takes at least three-quarters of a gallon of oil to produce a gallon of corn ethanol, reports the nonprofit Post Carbon Institute in their Energy Bulletin. This margin of energy is far too small to enable us to substitute agrifuels for nonrenewable fossil fuels.

Without Congressional subsidies, largely going to corporate giants such as ADM and ConAgra to support their profits by boosting the price of corn, ethanol as fuel falls on its face. The petroleum needed to produce ethanol precludes independence from imported oil.

The geologic processes that created fossil fuels used untold amounts of energy to create fuels 100 times more energy-dense than corn, or the plants from which they were transformed. Clearly, we are not using that naturally created stored energy efficiently when we use fossil fuels to create biofuels. All biomass energy conversion schemes that have been implemented have net energy figures similar to corn.

The petroleum energy necessary to produce agrifuels means the argument about reducing greenhouse gases is also untrue. When you consider the greenhouse gases from the fossil fuels used to produce the ethanol, for example, and the additional greenhouse gases from burning the ethanol, the sum is greater than simply burning the oil in the first place.

Even more important, in my view, is the de-

struction of natural forest or prairie ecosystems in order to plant crops which are then turned into machine fuel. Land under agriculture produces far less oxygen than natural ecosystems, a concept extensively discussed in Wes Jackson’s book Consulting the Genius of the Place.

Brazilian rainforests, a major source of free oxygen, are being destroyed to plant sugar plantations for conversion to automobile fuel. The removal of more complex ecosystems from the land is troubling, as is the complete interruption of the cycle of renewal, which makes agriculture sustainable. Crops raised for biofuel deplete soils even faster, and require more chemical and fertilizer inputs—also derived from using petroleum and natural gas—than ever, further worsening their greenhouse gas profile.

The argument that biofuels support the domestic economy is also superficially appealing, but false. As noted, imported oil is essential to produce “biofuels.” Corn, soy and sugar are grown in huge, mechanized, joband land-destroying industrial monocultures.

How many more jobs would be created by sustainable and climate-stabilizing family farms, with a wide variety of crops and animals, and the real possibility of sequestering some carbon in a restored soil?

For a good general introduction to the science of biofuels, visit energybulletin.net .

When you consider the greenhouse gases from the fossil fuels used to produce the ethanol, for example, and the additional greenhouse gases from burning the ethanol, the sum is greater than simply burning the oil in the first place.

jerry silberman is a union organizer who has always been an advocate of a sustainable steady state economy. He can be reached at 215.219.5158.

Add value to your home.

Improve Your Community.

“I could live with a drafty house if I had to. But I heard about EnergyWorks through a sustainable living magazine I write for called GRID, and I knew it was just too good a deal to pass up. At 0.99% it would practically be a free loan, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

I am very satisfied.”

- Samantha, Homeowner, West Powelton

Over 1,000 homeowners are benefitting from EnergyWorks!

www.energyworksnow.com 215.609.1052 j un e 20 12

g r i dp hi l ly.com

37

shoots

ladders

Mood Indigo I

by char vandermeer

Growing blueberries is easy as pie by char vandermeer

once took great pleasure in planning my flowering container garden. My imagination brimmed with bright annuals as I sketched plans and gathered supplies. I spent countless hours paging through seed catalogs, agonizing over varieties and colors, flowering times, watering requirements, height, greenery, grasses, vines and heaven knows what else. Although I’m still a sucker for a clump of bright cosmos, these days I’m all about eating what I grow.

And if I only have to plant it once, even better.

Blueberries are a logical choice and an ideal replacement in containers that formerly housed serena angelonia, dwarf snapdragons and trailing lobelia. They have shallow root systems and can live happily in 18-inch containers for the first two or three years. After that, assuming all goes well, they can be transplanted into 24-inch pots. Unless you have plenty of room and plan on potting enough plants to encourage cross-pollination, you’ll want to look for smaller, self-pollinating varieties like the dwarf Top Hat or smallish Sunshine Blue. Ask your supplier for plants that are two years old—the plants will be young enough for easy transplanting, but old enough that you might even see a few berries in your first year. Once your bushes reach maturity (three to five years old), you can expect a five to 10-pound berry yield per plant. And fret not, procrastinators; if you miss the late spring planting window, most nurseries will allow you to order now for fall planting.

Soil is where things get a little tricky. Blueberries require fairly acidic soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.0, so look for a potting soil that’s formulated for acid-loving plants like azaleas or rhododendrons. Concoct a potting mixture of three parts high-acid soil, one part coco peat and one part fine pine bark. (The coco peat helps oxygenate the soil, while the pine bark provides nutrients and encourages adequate drainage.) Dump most of the mixture into the pot, leaving four inches or so below the rim. Gently remove the plant

38

gr idph i l ly.co m

ju ne 20 12

from its shipping container and loosen the roots. Place the blueberry plant on the soil and carefully shovel the remaining soil mixture around the root ball until soil is level with the top of the pot and roots of the plant. Take care not to bury the plant deeper than it was in the original shipping container. Water thoroughly and top with additional soil, if necessary. In three years or so, consider replanting in new soil.

Your new blues will need to be watered regularly. During the summer heat, plan on watering daily, but beware: consistently saturated soil will quickly lead to root rot. Mulch the plants with pine bark to keep the soil cool and moist, and fertilize with Holly-tone (or another acid-rich fertilizer) in the fall and spring. In mid-summer, when your plants begin fruiting, you may need to drape them in bird netting to keep the birds away, and when winter rolls around, add a fresh layer of mulch and wrap the plants in burlap to protect them from the coldest days Philly dishes out. char vandermeer tends a container garden on her South Philly roof deck; she chronicles the triumphs and travails at plantsondeck.com

Although I’m still a sucker for a clump of bright cosmos, these days I’m all about eating what I grow.

PHILADELPHIA UNIVERSITY harvestlocalfoods.com

shop online for home delivery

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN ONLINE GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES A COLLABORATIVE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY LEARNING EXPERIENCE “The principle of sustainability is reshaping the way we think about the world, encouraging us to improve the way we design, build and live in the 21st century” — Rob Fleming, Program Director

Become proficient in Green Building Materials, Energy Efficiency, Construction Systems and Sustainable Design

Don’t throw it all away!

The average person throws away 1600 pounds of garbage each year. The average Bennett Compost customer throws away less than half that (and gets finished compost for their garden each spring!) Our weekly pick-up of food scraps and other compostable material helps you reduce your impact. Simply place our bucket outside your home or apartment, and we’ll take care of the rest.

BENNETT CO M P O ST

$

15

/ month!

for residential customers

Business owners: call 215.520.2406 for a customized quote

www.bennettcompost.com | 215.520.2406

VISIT

www.PhilaU.edu/greengrid j un e 20 12

g r i dp hi l ly.com

39

Small Farm. Big Vision.

A sustainably managed grassfed beef and flower farm in the Poconos.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

• •

• farm stand • florist •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

the pre-Finished Hardwood specialist since 1985

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Environmentally-Friendly Wood Floors, Naturally

• special events • guest cottage

Buy from a local Philly homeowner and SAVE!

(800) 363-6881

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Honesdale, PA | 570-647-9476 | foxhillfarmexperience.com

Materials

installation

repairs

®

Coffee Roasters

Healthy Land – Beautiful Landscapes • Habitat Gardens • Stormwater Management • Organic Turf Care • Wildflower Meadows Commercial & Residential

design, instaLLation and maintenance

www.green-weaver.com • 610-358-8900

HIC# PA013168

Leaf & Feather

Garden Design

wildlife & people friendly gardens for small spaces www.leafandfeathergd.com 610-235-6065 lowery@leafandfeathergd.com

Eco-Friendly

Betsy Spivak Insurance Services

Cleaning Company

Individual & Small Group Health Insurance Life Insurance • Disability Income Insurance • Voluntary Benefits Specializing in the Locally Owned Business, Individuals, Families & the Self-Employed Email: Betsy@BetsySpivakInsurance.com Direct: 267-318-7081

40

gr idph i l ly.co m

ju ne 20 12

We clean with eco friendly products that we make by hand using only natural non-toxic ingredients (plant and mineral derivatives) and essential oils.

Your Link to Greener Living www.myholistichome.com

215 • 421 • 4050

PLUS Products are provided FREE of charge to clients who retain our cleaning services! Also, we sell our exclusive ecological products direct to you.

Hundreds of Organic & Heirloom Vegetable Plants, Annuals, Perennials & More

Morel Hunt fundraiser for MS — April 28 + we are vending at PhillyFarmFest.org spottedhillfarm.com

Shop Our Farm Market & Garden Center

Open 7 Days ~ 610. 566.1680 81 S. Pennel Rd. Media, PA www.WolffsAppleHouse.com

Potting Soil

• Local • Peat-free • Retains moisture • 100% Organic

OrganicMechanicSoil.com Find our soils at:

THU 10-7 | Fri 10-6 | SaT 10-6 | SUn 10-6 | Mon 10-6

j un e 20 12

g r i dp hi l ly.com

41

May

A workshop and walk, including tips and tricks to identify birds. Binoculars will be available to borrow.

12

→→ Sat., May 12, 10-11:30 a.m., free, Pennypack En-

may

Build Your Own Terrarium

Build your own terrarium and learn to care for these enclosed gardens that mimic the natural process between plants and the atmosphere. Cost includes terrarium materials.

11

→→ Fri., May 11, 6:45-8:45 p.m., $50, City Planter, 814 N. 4th St. To register, visit cityplanter.com/ storefront/events

May 12

PSU Master Gardeners: Fruiting Trees Event

vironmental Center, 8600A Verree Rd. For more information, call 215.685.0470

May

Farm, 1165 Yellow Springs Rd., Chester Springs. For more information, visit yellowspringsfarm.com/events

May 15

Walking Tour: Gazebos Along the Schuylkill River: Hidden Treasures of Fairmount Park

→→ Sat., May 12, 9:30-11 a.m., $10, Fairmount

→→ Tues., May 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m., free, Philadelphia

Museum of Art, West Entrance, 26th Street Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. To register, e-mail friends@ philaparks.org or call 215.879.8159

fruiting-trees

Volunteer Workday in the Gardens

May 15

Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability for Philadelphia, will discuss the implementation of Greenworks, the city’s comprehensive sustainability plan.

→→ Sat., May 12, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free,

→→ Tues., May 15, 6-8 p.m., free, Valley Green Inn,

2240 N. Palethorp St. To register, visit volunteerworkday.eventbrite.com

door, The Restaurant School, 4100 Walnut St. To register, visit brownpapertickets.com/event/241363

May 17

Urban Sustainability Forum: The Next Generation of Manufacturing in Philadelphia

Urban sustainability requires a strong economy and manufacturing is a crucial component of Philadelphia’s economy. Can Philadelphia’s sustainability movement support policies and initiatives to strengthen urban manufacturing? →→ Thurs., May 17, 6-8:30 p.m., $5, Academy of Natural

Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. To register, visit urbanmanufacturing-eorg.eventbrite.com

May

Back to the Future Movie Night

Celebrate the opening week of Norris Square Neighborhood Project’s gardens with a showing of Back to the Future. BYOB.

17

→→ Thurs., May 17, 6:30 - 9 p.m., $3-$10, 2240 N. Palethorp St. To register, visit backtothefuturemovienight-eorg.eventbrite.com

Valley Talks: Sustainability in Philadelphia

Become a steward of Norris Square Neighborhood Project’s gardens by helping with planting and other general garden maintenance. Lunch will be provided.

12

→→ Wed., May 16, 7-9 p.m., $20 in advance/$25 at the

Enjoy a native plants sale, artisanal cheese and a special Mother’s Day bird walk with Vincent Smith. →→ Sun., May 13, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free, Yellow Springs

The Art of Making Chocolate from Bean to Bar

Tegan Hagy, owner of LoveBar Chocolate, will lead this seminar on the process of turning cacao beans into chocolate bars. Followed by a scotch and LoveBar tasting. Must be 21 or older.

13

Join architect, historian and planner Bob Thomas for a walking tour of Philadelphia gazebos followed by an optional dinner and discussion.

May

16

Yellow Springs Farm Open Farm Day

Brian Olszak, orchard projects member and master gardener, will introduce the basics of cultivating and maintaining fruiting trees within the space constraints of urban landscapes.

Park Horticultural Center, N. Horticultural and Montgomery Dr. For more information, visit extension.psu.edu/philadelphia/events/

May

Beginner Birding Workshop

Valley Green Rd. at Wissahickon. To register, visit fow.org/news-events/sustainability-philadelphia

May

Participate in a cleanup of Mifflin Square followed by a kids craft activity to create personality flags.

17

→→ Thurs., May 17, 4:30-6:30 p.m., free, Mifflin Square,

May 12

Show Your Park Personality

6th and Wolf Sts. For more information, call 215.988.1611

Art Star Craft Bazaar Shop the spring Art Star Craft Bazaar for handmade goods from more than 140 local and national artists. →→ Sat., May 12, 11

a.m.-6 p.m., free, The Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, 201 S. Columbus Blvd. For more information, visit artstarcraftbazaar.com

42

gri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2012

p hoto by b e n ja mi n long

May 17

Terry Tempest Williams: When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice

Known for her naturalist prose, environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams will speak about her book When Women Were Birds. →→ Thurs., May 17, 7:30-9 p.m., free, Free Library of

Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St. For more information, visit freelibrary.org

May

Pennsylvania Environment Ride

Partake in this fully-supported, 170mile, three-day bike ride from Elizabethtown to Philadelphia. All meals, snacks and lodging included.

18

→→ Fri., May 18, 10:30 a.m., $75 registration

fee/$2,000 fundraising minimum, Elizabethtown.

For more information, visit environmentride.org

May 18

Norris Square Neighborhood Project Garden Resource Fair

The fair brings together green businesses, organizations and community members in Philadelphia’s gardening community. Workshops will focus on food, land/food justice and gardening. →→ Fri., May 18, 2-6 p.m., free, 2240 N. Palethorp St. To register, visit gardenresourcefair-eorg.eventbrite.com

May 18

Historic Mansion Bike Tour of East Park

Take the winding roads through East Park for a guided tour of historic mansions in Fairmount Park. The tour will return to Lloyd Hall for food and live music. BYOB.

jun 01

(special tickets), Independence Mall, 6th and Market Sts., For more information, visit phillybeerweek.org

house Row. To register and for more information, visit loveyourpark.org

Frankford Garden Club Plant Sale

Enjoy the outdoor plant sale and join the Friends of Overington Park for gardening.

19

→→ Sat., May 19, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., free, Overington Park,

Orthodox and Leiper Sts. For more information, visit loveyourpark.org/event/frankford-garden-clubplant-sale

May

Kick off the world’s largest beer celebration with the Hammer of Glory, award-winning brewers and Mayor Nutter’s smashing open of the first official keg of the week. →→ Fri. June 1, 7 p.m., free or $25-100

→→ Fri., May 18, 5:30-7 p.m., free, Lloyd Hall, 1 Boat-

May

Opening Tap: Philly Beer Week 2012

May 19

Rain Garden Workshop & Garden Tea Party

Join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to learn about the new rain garden at Vernon Park and how you can build your own rain garden. →→ Sat., May 19, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., free, Vernon Park,

Family Friendly Eco-Fest

Nature activities, including crafts, scavenger hunts and more, will teach families about responsible stewardship of our riverfront.

19

→→ Sat., May 19, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., free, Washington

Avenue Green, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd. For more information, visit washingtonavenuegreen.com

May

Trenton Avenue Arts Festival

Visit the 7th Annual Trenton Avenue Arts Festival for the Kinetic Sculpture Derby, handmade creations, live music and food.

19

→→ Sat., May 19, 12-6 p.m., free, Trenton Ave. between

Norris and Frankford. For more information, visit trentonaveartsfest.blogspot.com

5818 Germantown Ave. For more information, visit ttfwatershed.org/events

May 19

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Charter Member Exhibition Opening

Check out a showcase of work by Philadelphia Sculpture Gym’s Charter Members. →→ Sat., May 19, 12-6 p.m., free, Philadelphia Sculpture

Gym Gallery, 1834 E. Frankford Ave. For more information, visit philadelphiasculpturegym.blogspot.com

May 19

Happy Places: A Terrarium Workshop

Create your own whimsical terrarium with instruction from Beth Richey. Price includes moss, some decorations and other materials. →→ Sat., May 19, 1-2 p.m., $15, VIX Emporium, 5009 Baltimore Ave. To register, visit vixemporium.bigcartel.com/product/happy-places-terrarium-workshopmay-19-2012

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

43

May 19

Guided Historic Hike along Lower Forbidden Drive

Take this mile-long hike along lower Forbidden Drive to learn about several historical sites on the way to the Walnut Lane Bridge. →→ Sat., May 19, 3-4 p.m., free, intersection of Forbidden Dr. and Lincoln Dr. To register, visit fow.org/ news-events/lower-forbidden-drive-sarah-west

May

22

Best for the World: How B Corporations are Redefining Success in Business

Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab, will discuss how B Corporations, corporations that use business to solve social and environmental problems, are driving positive change. →→ Tues., May 22, 7-8 p.m., free, Easttown

Library, 720 First Ave. Berwyn. To register, visit easttownlibrary.org or call 610.644.0138

May

26

Spring Canning with Food in Jars’ Marisa McClellan: Strawberry Vanilla Jam

jun

Canning teacher, Grid columnist and cookbook author Marisa McClellan will walk you through the basics of boiling water bath canning.

05

→→ Sat., May 26, 12-2 p.m., $35, Greensgrow Commu-

nity Kitchen at St. Michael’s, 2139 E. Cumberland St. To register, visit greensgrow.org

May

Rose Petals in All Their Glory

This workshop will give you hands-on experience in making rose petal jelly, rose water, rose beads, potpourri and candied rose petals. Students will take home what they make.

26

→→ Sat., May 26, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., $50 for members/$75

for non-members, Wyck, 6026 Germantown Ave. To register, visit wyck.org/programs

May

26

→→ Sat., May 26, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., free, Lloyd Hall, 1 Boathouse Row. To register, visit phillywalk.org

Grid Alive

Join Grid for their monthly live event.

Featuring: Ann Karlen, executive director of Fair Food, Leah Troiano, on how to make your own skincare products, and musical guest

31

44

gri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 20 12

Join United By Blue in a cleanup at Bartram’s Garden and along the Schuylkill River, preceded by a free, pre-cleanup cookout at 5 p.m. →→ Tues., June 5, 5 - 7 p.m., free, Bartram’s

Garden, 54th St. and Lindbergh Blvd.

For more information, visit unitedby-

→→ Thurs., May 31, 7-10 p.m., $5, Trinity Memorial

Church, 22nd and Spruce Sts. For tickets, visit bit.ly/gridalive53112

jun 01

Get the Scoop on Beautifying Your Stoop

Let City Planter owner, Mary Costello, share her tips for creating stunning container combinations for your home exterior according to your lighting conditions.

blue.com/upcoming-cleanups

jun

06

Green Drinks Enjoy an evening of drinks and network with green-minded people.

→→ Wed., June 6, 7 - 9 p.m., free, Earth, Bread + Brew-

Humane League Walk for Animals

Join animal lovers from across Philadelphia for a 2.5-mile walkathon to raise money for The Humane League of Philadelphia.

May

Ross Bellenoit. Also enjoy local beer from Rolling Barrel Events and free gelato from Capogiro Gelato.

United By Blue Cleanup

→→ June 1, 6:30-8 p.m., $10, City Planter 814 N. 4th St. To register, visit cityplanter.com/storefront/events

jun

02

Book Signing and Q&A with author Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars

Meet canning teacher and Grid columnist Marisa McClellan at this book signing of her first cookbook, Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year Round.

ery, 7136 Germantown Ave. For more information, call 215.242.6666

jun

7th Annual Garden Party Fundraiser

Join the Camden Children’s Garden at their annual Garden Party Fundraiser to help fight hunger in Camden. Ticket includes dinner, silent auction and live music.

07

→→ Thurs., June 7, 6-9 p.m., $125 adults/$35 children, →→ Sat., June 2, 12-2 p.m., free, Greensgrow Farms,

2501 E. Cumberland St. For more information, visit greensgrow.org

Camden Children’s Garden, 3 Riverside Drive Camden, N.J. To register, visit camdenchildrensgarden. wordpress.com/fundraiser

Pairs well with food! phillyfairtrade.com s 267.270.2563 Find our coffee online or at area cafes and markets

PFTR GRID ad.indd 2

4/22/12 6:37 PM

e finest sustainably raised fruits and specialty vegetables available at Headhouse Farmers Market (Sundays 10-2) and at like-minded stores and restaurants throughout the city.

FROM OUR FARM TO YOUR HOME 717.677.7186

R

www.threespringsfruitfarm.com

U LT I M O

COFFEE BAR 15th and Mifflin Streets in South Philadelphia Mon-Fri 7-9 • Sat-Sun 8-9 • 215.339.5177 www.ultimocoffee.com

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

45

Sweet Dreams A quest to conquer the best in local gelato

by jennifer rezeli, contributions and edits by summer rezeli

T

he inspiration for the great gelato caper naturally began during a trip to Italy with my twin brother, sister-in-law and niece. Among the highlights of our trip was a particularly rugged hike, during which my niece, who was nine years old at the time, discovered the restorative powers of a good gelato. Since then, I’ve always made an effort to visit one of Philadelphia’s fine gelaterias whenever my niece visits from her home in North Carolina. Each time, she samples one or two flavors before deciding. Wistfully, she then says, “One day I’m going to ask to sample every flavor. Can you imagine?”

After my son was born, I wanted to do something special to thank my niece for being a constant presence during my early motherhood days.

And so, the idea for the Great Gelato Caper was hatched. I shared my idea with local food maven Lindsay Gilmour and she suggested The Bent Spoon in Princeton, N.J., which is known for phenomenal gelato and an owner with an oversized sense of fun. From there, friend and client Ann Karlen of Fair Food made an e-mail introduction. Soon, I had an eager co-conspirator.

On paper, the Great Gelato Caper looked straightforward enough. Step One: Find a topnotch gelateria with an owner willing to host the caper. Step Two: Tote unsuspecting niece to aforementioned gelateria to play out life goal of sampling every flavor of gelato in one sitting.

Step Three: Covertly get owner Gabby Carbone’s attention to signal the start of the Caper.

Step Three is where the plan started to unravel.

I had been warned the Bent Spoon is tiny and that even on a blustery Black Friday, a crush of gelato aficionados and hot chocolate seekers would pack the house. Even so, I was not prepared for what I saw when I snuck away from my window-shopping niece and stuck my head in the store. With only two tables and a large glass storefront, the shop was teeming with customers.

I was feeling somewhat sheepish for even thinking Gabby could entertain a time-consuming special request when crushed with honestto-goodness customers. Soon, I realized the store would be busy all day, so I redoubled my efforts to complete Step Three. Not so covertly, I approached the counter and awkwardly waved my arms while yelping, “Gabby! Hey, Gabby!”

46

gri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 20 12

Gabby looked over, confused. “It’s Jenn Rezeli,” I offered. “Um, it’s about the Gelato Caper.” Mercifully, Gabby caught right on and enthusiastically said that she’d been waiting for us.

While Gabby got us situated for our tasting, she insisted we start with a thick river of hot chocolate topped with hand-cut vanilla bean marshmallows. It wasn’t the only time during the Caper we felt like we’d stumbled into Willy Wonka’s factory. She then brought over the first two spoonfuls of her shop’s unique “artisanal ice cream,” an authentic vanilla bean that could stand on its own—no pie needed. Seventeen(!) flavors followed— each one hand-delivered by Gabby along with a story of what was local or otherwise special about the ingredients. It was clear Gabby was taking care to layer the flavors, starting with the more mild and working up to a robust Blackberry Passionfruit. While there wasn’t a miss in the entire group, we agreed our top picks were: Chocolate-Orange, Chocolate with Bourbon and Honey Pecans, and Cardamom Ginger.

Back in my kitchen that night, wearing the Bent Spoon T-shirt Gabby had secretly slipped into a bag of samples she insisted we take home, my niece began to consider spending four years at Princeton for easy access to her now-favorite gelato. The afternoon was a wonderful experience in human kindness and a reminder of why shopping locally is so rewarding. As we topped our Bourbon, Caramel and Sea Salt gelato with some chocolate-covered honey pecans, we savored the sweetness of our personal interaction with a creative entrepreneur, knowing that Gabby would applaud our push for the ultimate ice cream experience. jennifer rezeli is co-founder and managing principal of Re:Vision Architecture (revisionarch.com ), a green architecture and sustainable design consulting firm based in Philadelphia and Berkeley.

il lustratio n by j uli e laquer

j un e 20 12

g r i d p h i l ly.co m

47

What matters most?

Walk-In wednesdays

Environmental Advocacy and Education Matter

Walk-In wednesdays

The University of Pennsylvania’s Master of

Environmental Studies featured the second Wednesday of each month

they need to know to convey complex environmental

Walk-In

Environmental Studies Program teaches students what wednesdays information to a wide range of audiences.

Combining on coursework in urban studies, government, education, and business, the MES prepares graduates for careers in teaching in

Accelerated BA/MES Program Complete your bachelor’s degree at Penn and count up to four MES courses toward both degrees.

48

gri d p hi l ly.com

ju ne 2012

classrooms or museums, journalism, and community relations.

Give purpose to your passion at Penn. www.upenn.edu/mes or search penn mes @PENN_EES

www.facebook.com/UPennEES