photo courtesy of marshall wright, eatthislens.com

Date: June 6th
Time: 12:30 – 2:30pm
Location: Green Gate Farms
Tickets: $16 (includes farm produce)

Skip Connett and Erin Flynn have become local farming stalwarts in the four short years since they moved into the historic Bergstrom farmstead and launched their CSA (community-supported-agriculture) farm, just off Decker Lane. “We’ve dedicated the farm to healthy food, and community,” explains Erin. The couple hosts a kaleidoscope of community events and kid-friendly activities, and collaborates with other farmers to bring pastured beef, pork and dairy to their Austin customers. And this summer, Green Gate will offer Austin’s first kid’s farm camp!

Slow Food Austin’s tour of Green Gate will be family-focused and kid friendly. Meet 400-lb. pigs, pet baby goats, see this spring’s crops going gang-busters, collect eggs, learn about worm composting, and take home an equal value of farm-grown vegetables in exchange for your ticket. Pastured pork, chicken and beef will also be available to purchase.

Contact Betsy Levy with questions.

Buy tickets

Date: May 20th
Time: 5:00pm ’til sunset
Location: Green Gate Farms

Slow Food Austin invites you to join us for a special happy hour at Green Gate Farms. We will enjoy wines from family owned Viu Manent Winery and spirited creations from our special guests Bill Norris, the master mixologist at Fino, and David Alan, the (in)famous Tipsy Texan. Delicious appetizers by Cake & Spoon and El Locavore will be served al fresco using farm ingredients so fresh, we don’t even know what they are yet! We request a $10 donation to cover the cost of the gnosh, while all the proceeds from the wine and cocktails will go to Slow Food Austin.

Lawn chairs and closed-toe shoes are encouraged.

You don’t want to miss this fantastic happy hour featuring food, toddies and tunes at Green Gate Farms so put it on your calendar and let us know you’re coming!

RSVP to karlal@slowfoodaustin.org

A special thanks to our audio providers, Ideal Productions. Make your next event an IDEAL event.

Tecolote Farm, Austin’s longest-running CSA, has some rare openings this season on their south Austin Wednesday route. Just a few spots available. Please contact the farm directly at tecolotefarm@gmail.com for details.

Green Gate Farms, a historic, urban farm on Austin’s upper eastside, has memberships available for its weekly organic food subscription program, beginning March 23. Green Gate’s CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) provide members with an assortment of delicious vegetables and herbs, all grown using sustainable methods throughout the spring and summer. Flower bouquets, eggs, pastured meats, dairy and other treats can be added to each share.  CSA members receive discounts on farm events, including gardening workshops, Farm Camp, cooking classes and yoga in the hayloft. Farm stand, open Friday 12-6, Saturday 10-2. See more information, www.greengatefarms.net.

Ottmers Family CSA is offered by two well-established farms, Ottmers Family Farm and Oma’s and Opa’s Farm, owned by a father and son, respectively.  JW and Kevin Ottmers, and their families are salt-of-the-earth, hard-working folks and always have great veggies.  Their website is www.austincsafarm.com.

Johnson’s Backyard Garden is now accepting CSA members. It’s hard to believe that just five years ago, Brenton and Beth started growing vegetables in a 30-by-50-foot garden in the backyard of their house in Austin. Today they are farming 70 certified-organic acres and growing over 300 different varieties of vegetables!  The best part is that all the extra land means even more veggies!  There’s no longer a waiting list. We’ve made it even easier for you to enjoy fresh, local produce year-round. JBG has 16 convenient delivery sites located around Austin.  To Join, simply visit www.jbgorganic.com or call the farm office at 512-386-5273.

Does your farm offer a CSA? Got any spots left to fill? Email us and we’ll add you to the list!

** sustainable sourcing resource notes from the Slow Session **

Date: Thursday, March 4th
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Location: Flatbed Press, 2830 East Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, Austin, TX 78702
Directions

We have all seen it slipping more and more into the menus of Austin’s local restaurants. You can usually spot those small words, “local” in the description of the item, but what does it mean? Was every ounce of your tender buffalo steak, braised greens and roasted potatoes from the farm or was it merely the parsley on top? Is the big restaurant trend for local sourcing a fad that chefs can easily whip up, or does it require a complete shift in the running of the kitchen? Moreover, what does local mean, and does it guarantee that the food is grown in a sustainable manner?

Join us March 4th at Flatbed Press for our Slow Food session on Sustainable Sourcing. The event will be a unique opportunity to start an ongoing community dialog about sourcing and to build relationships that will link us together as a food community. The session will be moderated with a panel of three local food industry professionals: a farmer, a chef, and a buyer/forager. Please bring your questions and if you like, a dish to share, because we might not all be foragers but we are definitely all eaters!

About the Panel

Buyer/Forager: Valerie Broussard
A Louisiana native, Valerie spent 11 years in New York City as a recipe tester, chef, food stylist, and writer. She moved to Austin following a year abroad in Parma, Italy where she completed an MA in Food Culture and Communications from the University of Gastronomic Sciences. She is currently the Organic Food Coordinator at Barr Mansion and volunteers as Slow Food Austin’s Biodiversity Chair.

Farmer: Erin Flynn
A writer and farmer, Erin and her husband Skip Connett run Green Gate Farms, a historic farm, eight miles east of downtown Austin. Erin is dedicated to connecting the community to local agriculture through their farm and events.

Chef: James Holmes, Owner/Executive Chef Olivia

Slow Session RSVP

Slow Food Feast in the Field

Slow Food Feast in the Field
Sponsored by Slow Food Austin
Benefitting Austin Discovery School

Saturday, October 24, 2009
7:00pm – 11:00pm
Green Gate Farms [directions]
$100 Donation Required
Buy Tickets Online or purchase at the door

The third annual Austin Discovery School/Slow Food Feast in the Field fundraiser is a multi-course gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine using fresh local vegetables and meats from Green Gate Farms, and served in the field under the stars. Proceeds will benefit the Austin Discovery School – a local elementary school that teaches children to become junior master gardeners using an outdoor curriculum.