A few of our members from Howdy Farm had the wonderful opportunity to go camping at the beautiful Pace Bend Park just outside of Austin for our semester trip, and the elusive banana boats made an appearance (totally worth the long trip)! The next day we took a trip to Austin to learn about the SFC Farmers Market and a few farms in the area. Take a look at the services offered by the places we visited. SFC Downtown Farmers Market
Springdale Farm
Boggy Creek Farm
East Austin Succulents
*All the photos from this blog post, with the exception of the last photo, are from our very own Charlie Wong!
Text by: Jennifer Hernandez
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One of Howdy Farm’s beloved partnerships is with Ronin Cooking, a local dining experience unlike any other. Husband and wife duo, Brian and Amanda Light are devoted to serving the Bryan/College Station community with local, organic food and seasonal flavors.
Currently growing in the Ronin garden this season is a variety of vegetables, grains, and herbs consisting of but not limited to, carrots, asparagus, radishes, garlic, beets, cauliflower, romaine, sugar snap peas, basil, sage, mustard, and much more. Brian and Amanda are passionate about supporting local farms and re-bridging the connection between guests and their food source. Because of their passion, visitors to the farm are able to experience nature and its connection to our dinner plate like never before. Eating a meal composed of the freshest ingredients, beneath the light of the full moon shining through the forest trees, gives guests a newfound appreciation for the harvest as our
Coming up at Ronin is a Yoga + Dinner event on November 6th and 7th at the farm. Yoga Pod of College Station will be guiding guests through a one-hour flow class in the forest, focused on harvesting gratitude. The class will be suitable for all levels of experience. The gate will open at 5:30pm and the
Kindly reserve your space for the event at Ronincooking.com, or purchase tickets directly here. Then, just grab a friend, your yoga mat, and an empty stomach! We look forward to seeing you there!
Text by: Olivia Fotopoulos; Photographs courtesy of Ronin Cooking LLC Howdy Ags! We have so many exciting blog posts coming at you this semester, but for the first of this fall, we wanted to introduce you to some of the other amazing, environmentally conscious student organizations at A&M! With one of Howdy Farms' central goals being sustainability, there are so many related organizations to share here on the A&M Campus!
We involve our members and the campus community in fun, sustainable events all year including Campus Sustainability Day, Texas Recycles Day, and the Sustainability Challenge! We also participate in service activities like Replant, Stream Clean, and Big Event! Students are encouraged to join us for weekly meetings, Sunday nights at 9 pm in Hullaballoo 117B to learn more about these events, our service activities, and sustainability as a whole.
Since 2011, Aggie Replant also puts on the Lost Pines Recovery Campaign, where student volunteers takes buses to Bastrop State Park to plant pine seedlings. In 2010, a very large fire consumed a large portion of the pine trees in Bastrop and the Chancellor of Texas A&M committed Aggie Replant to be the first group of students to help in the reforestation project. Lost Pines Recovery Campaign this Spring will be spread over 6 days and involve around 100 student volunteers a day. Last Spring, Aggie Replant planted over 10,000 pine seedlings over two days with 215 students. Aggie Replant also has a Tree Farm on Texas A&M's Rellis (Old Riverside) Campus where we store and grow trees donated to us throughout the year! Replant Day 2016 will be held on October 15th. Sign up to volunteer at replantonline.tamu.edu.
We also coordinate with all the other environmental groups to throw an Earth Day Celebration for the Texas A&M Campus. In addition we provide our members a platform to voice their environmental concerns to the campus not only through policy, but with tabling events to stimulate the community's education and passions as well. We are passionate about the environment and strive to make a support system for others like us, we bleed maroon by living green! Snapchat: @tamu_eic Twitter: @eictamu Instagram: @tamu_eic
We are dedicated to improving humanitarian, environmental, and animal welfare issues through positive activism. The Human Environmental Animal Team is committed to making a difference in all areas of service, and we never spread hate or demonize others for their choices.
Email: [email protected] www.netimpact.org/chapters/texas-am-university-mays-business-school-undergraduate
There are 7 areas the Juice Joint focused on to achieve this certification including: Water Efficiency, Waste Reduction and Recycling, Sustainable Durable Goods & Building Materials, Sustainable Food, Energy, Reusable & Environmentally Preferable Disposables, and Chemical and Pollution Reduction. To start, the Juice Joint racked up many points towards their Green Restaurant status by using no city trash pickup! All of their juice pulp goes to Howdy Farm for composting while the rest of their waste is recycled at Brazos Valley Recycling. Additionally, the Juice Joint’s furnishings are 95% repurposed. For example, their outdoor furniture came from another restaurant and was repurposed and painted with beautiful colors and designs. To add, the Juice Joint is a Styrofoam free establishment and uses compostable cups for all their juices and smoothies. To earn points in the chemical and pollution reduction category, the Juice Joint avoids using harmful cleaning chemicals by using environmentally friendly yet effective options like water and vinegar. As for water conservation, stop by in the near future to see rain barrels as part of phase two of their green initiative.
The Howdy Farm is focusing on winter crops, such as kale, chard, and cabbage. These plants do better in the cooler months of Fall, and continue to grow throughout Texas' winter. Current crops include cucumber, pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash, and okra, all of which are either on the market or will be soon. Howdy Farm is back and ready for volunteers and consumers alike. Volunteer hours are from 1-5 pm every MWF. Upcoming events include:
September 11: After volunteer hours end at 5:00 pm, Howdy Farm will head over for a bite at Blackwater Draw. September 17th: At 6:00 pm, Howdy Farm is throwing a Welcome Back Cookout, and hopes to provide information to new and old students at the farm. September 20th: Volunteers and members meet for breakfast at Hullabaloo Diner and then head to Millican Reserve's "Market On The Green" for shopping and entertainment. Howdy Farm hosted its first ever official "Gig 'Em Week" event at the Northgate Juice Joint this past Wednesday evening. We had no idea just how many new Aggies were in town. 300+ people attended the event with lines down Northgate to squeeze through the door! Lisa Bradway, owner of the juice joint, and her staff were in a frenzy making non stop juice orders ($1 off!) and announcing them ready over a PA system. The outdoor urban garden, the backyard of the juice joint, was busy with students eating local, visiting the member informational booth and farmers market table as well as the "raffle bar" to enter our three giveaway baskets. Students who patiently spoke with us at our member info booth got a free potted herb to take home! We gave away 100 herbs: a combination of basil, lemon basil, parsley, and cilantro. People were also able to sign up to receive howdy farm updates through our newsletters and take to current officers. We also announced a social media contest. Attendees could post about the event and tag @HowdyFarm as well as use the hashtag #gigemhowdyfarm over either facebook, twitter, or instagram for a chance to win a $25 howdy farm market gift card and t-shirt of choice! Winner Maddi received an organic green cotton "Can you dig it?" shirt and gift card. Her instagram picture at the juice joint won the contest! As for the giveaways, two lucky freshman living in dorms on north campus won our "foodie" and "chef" themed baskets. Will got his hands on our foodie basket full of Blackwater Draw merchandise, What's the Buzz Coffee and more. Merylin won the chef basket complete with ready-to-eat foods and and cooking supplies. Finally, Sam is the proud owner of a mini kitchen herb tray and potted chrysanthemum as winner of our "gardener" crate. A whopping 291 students entered to win our raffle prizes! At the farmers market booth, we sported our brand new Howdy Farm tanks that were popular with the gals. We gave away free Howdy Farm decals and produce. Many students living on campus didn't want to bring home fresh produce without a kitchen to cook it in, but others snatched our free okra and peppers without a second thought! The last hour of the event the crowds finally calmed down and we could all relax and appreciate Katy Crocker on the ukulele. by Jessica Newman
The farmers market is a special place for Howdy Farm to be a part of. It's a community. When we go each week we see the same friendly faces and chat with the same vendors beside us, our neighbors. When all we have is a ton of peppers and okra so we stop going to market (like right now) it gives us a warm feeling to hear from other farmers that we were asked about at the market. "Where are those two girls with all the peppers!?" To get a sense of the special people that make the market home, read about other farmers and vendors from part 1 and part 2 below. Amy Decker: Jammin’ Granny Jams & Jellies
Robert & Ann Forsthoff, produce and such
Jennifer Windham, David Gibbs & Nancy Williams: Harvest Moon Canning Co.
Kenny Closs and Spencer Temple: Ag Farm aquatic greens farm
Roger and Donna Burton: 2 Brothers Salsa & baked, canned, and fresh goods
ET Ash: “ET’s Bees”
Richard Schubert: “The Egg Man”
Dave Hall: Lonesome Pine
-Photos and blog written by Jessica Newman
There's something special about market that only those who are there every (or almost every) Saturday can understand. Farmers markets are meaningful because they are the intersection of local, home grown & made food and the farmers who deliver. The Brazos Valley Farmers Market in particular has my heart. Unlike major cities where interns or part time workers tend to the markets, here in Bryan you're actually talking to the farmer directly. These people are the most down to earth, friendliest, humble people. They care for their land, raise animals, make home goods in their kitchens, and drive from surrounding cities to give us all the finest in local food. While I do love the food - the home baked breads and fresh, organic produce - I'm really a sucker for the people. I find myself at home with one too many squash, okra on the verge of going bad, a full supply of jams, and a leftover cinnamon roll. It's the people, the lovely faces behind the product, that I like to support. I eat those morning sourdough cinnamon rolls because besides being delicious, Beth is too sweet to resist in the morning. And I have patty pan squash needing to be cooked because I'm drawn to Johnny's calming voice at market. Yes, I splurge at market because the wonderful farmers there are deserving of my time and dollar. The Brazos Valley Farmers Market is something special. For those who can't make it or maybe haven't found the time to talk to their sweet farmers (which you should), here's a glimpse at some of those who can be spotted. (More to come in a future post!) Beth & Ed Hadden: Twisted Bakery
Johnny Mason: Johnny’s Produce Virginia Cox & Sean Cox: Virginia Cox
David Elsik: Dog-Run Farm
Ed & Emma Fowler: Fowler Farm
Wilton & Carolyn Wilton: Astera Meadows Ranch
Melissa McCoury: home garden |
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