Welcome to Farm to Shul: Boston’s Jewish Local Agriculture Campaign
In October 2008 Moishe/Kavod House kicked off its newest campaign, now known as Farm to Shul: Boston’s Jewish local agriculture campaign. Welcome to our home on the web. This campaign, incubated at the Moishe Kavod Jewish Social Justice House in Brookline, MA is currently focused on educating about, and increasing demand for, local agriculture and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares in the Jewish community in Brookline, Brighton and beyond.
- WHY? An intro to Farm to Shul: Boston’s Jewish local agriculture campaign
- WHAT? Components of the Campaign
- HOW? Resources & Tools
*Contact the Moishe/Kavod House campaign by email at moishehouseboston@gmail.com.
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RECENT ACTIVITIES
- The Farm to Shul Team has recently finished its educational workshop on Judaism and food systems for synagogues, teen groups, synagogue “green committees,” day school students, and community organizations.
- On October 3, 2009, the Farm to Shul crew successfully led our first two workshops at the Workmen’s Circle in Brookline, for both adults and young adults. More workshops to come. If you wish to schedule a workshop for your community, organization, synagogue or school, or to learn more, email Meira Soloff.
- In addition, we will be training 1-2 leaders from local groups and working with these leaders to deliver this workshop free of charge to 10-15 groups throughout the winter and fall.
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Upcoming events:
Past events:
- 10/12/2008- Sukkah building
- 10/16/2008- Food Justice Kickoff Meeting
- 10/28/2008- Food Justice Follow-Up Meeting
- 11/20/2008- Film Night Presents ‘King Corn’
- 11/24/2008- Outreach Team: Outreach Mapping
- 2/8/2009- Tu B’shevat Seder
- 6/28/2009- Pickling Workshop
(Have a CSA farm share and don’t know what to do with all of your veggies? Want to save some of your recently purchased farmer’s market veggies for winter? This is the perfect workshop for you! Just bring yourself and some veggies to Kavod House! Details regarding what veggies and jars to bring upon RSVP.) - 7/5/209- Screening of Food Inc.
- 7/16/09- Kavod House Third Thursday Presents “The Real Dirt on Farmer John”
- 7/26/09- Workshop 2: Composting at Home
- 8/27/09- Workshop 3: Canning/Freezing/Infusing
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WHY? AN INTRODUCTION TO FARM TO SHUL
Growing interest in farming and food justice among the Moishe/Kavod community and the Jewish community has led to…
Farm to Shul: Boston’s Jewish local agriculture campaign, a project of the Moishe/Kavod House, with generous funding from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, aims to:
- Increase understanding of importance of local agriculture in the Boston Jewish community.
- Increase demand for community supported agriculture (CSA) shares in local farms.
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WHAT? COMPONENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN
- Education and Outreach to a variety of segments of Boston Jewish community, with a focus on Brookline and Brighton
-Kavod House community members will create an education campaign to build awareness and excitement around supporting local agriculture among Jewish adults and families.
-This will be an important opportunity to build and strengthen relationships between Kavod House and other Jewish groups in the area.
-This will be an excellent opportunity for learning and leadership development.
- Tu B’Shevat Seder in a local synagogue
This large event will draw connections between Tu B’Shevat, Judaism, local agriculture and our responsibility/stewardship for the earth and those tilling the earth.
- Campaign to Increase Jewish Community Shares in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
-Our campaign goal is to increase the number of households in the Boston Jewish community with CSA shares for the 2009 season. By doing so, we will increase demand for CSA shares, allowing local farmers greater financial security and stability, supporting their ability to maintain viablility.
-While other support for local agriculture through farmers’ market and other direct farmer to consumer avenues are valuable and encouraged, we will be directing the majority of our efforts towards CSA membership.
-This will be an opportunity to build relationships between the Kavod community and other Jewish groups in the Boston area, and with local farms and agricultural groups.
PROGRAM UPDATES
Events Team
The Events Team Coordinates the annual Tu B’shevat Seder as well as other events throughout the year. This year, the seder sold out at more than 200 people from several Jewish communities in the area as well as eight farmers that provided insight into the challenges and rewards of food production. Thanks to Temple Beth Zion, Hebrew College and all volunteers for their stellar support.
Contact the Moishe/Kavod House Events Team to help plan, set-up, or outreach for food justice events or next year’s Tu B’shevat Seder.
Education Team: Think Games! Think Food! Think Fun!
The Education Team is collaboratively creating an interactive workshop to engage Jewish communities in the Boston area about local food choices. Young adults in the Kavod community will be trained in leading the workshop, and empowered as local food educators.
The 1.5 hour workshop, which will focus on local fruits and vegetables, will include interactive activities about locally available produce; text studies comparing classical and contemporary Jewish sources on food ethics; and information about how to obtain a community supported agriculture (CSA) share.
We plan to offer the workshop for free in local congregations, community centers, and possibly schools. The workshop will be modifiable to fit audiences of different ages and Jewish backgrounds, and will require minimal supplies and infrastructure
Contact the Moishe/Kavod Food Justice Education Team if you’re interested in getting involved with or coordinating a workshop in your congregation, community center or school.
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Stay tuned for excerpts from the Farm to Shul Curriculum Guide and Workshop
Learn more about how you can take action to change our food system at our resource page “Hungry for Food Justice?”