Events

Vendor List for Saturday, September 4

Earl may be gone, but his winds are hanging around. Unfortunately, the Nantucket Farmers and Artisans Market is canceled, due to wind. We’ll miss seeing you all this weekend, and look forward to another great Market day, next week on September 11th!  Have a good Saturday and don’t get blown away!

Locally Grown Dinner Series

Our 2010 Locally Grown Dinner Series begins in September! This series is a celebration of locally grown food and Nantucket farmers & growers; the artistry of Nantucket’s chefs; and the spirit of Island community. These dinners have become a seasonal favorite of many, and are always sold-out affairs.

Straight Wharf Restaurant, Óran Mór Bistro, and American Seasons will host dinners this fall. The series benefits Sustainable Nantucket, and proceeds go towards our programs, campaigns and outreach including the Farmers & Artisans Market, Community Agriculture, and Sustainable Nantucket Youth Council.

Each restaurant will feature seasonal dishes highlighting locally grown ingredients in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of eating and buying locally. As well as supporting the work of Sustainable Nantucket, the series will also help SN continue to strengthen the connection between consumers and growers, food producers and chefs.

Tickets are sold through Sustainable Nantucket only and can be purchased online or by phone. Please note, there is a small additional fee for the ticket processing service we use.

Dinners will be held on Monday evenings this fall at:

Straight Wharf Restaurant – September 13  -  BUY TICKETS

Óran Mór Bistro - October 18  - BUY TICKETS

American Seasons – November 1  -  BUY TICKETS

Dinners begin at 7:00 PM. Tickets for the four-course dinners are $75 per person and the meal includes wine and beer. Gratuity is not included. Seats are limited and pre-paid reservations are required. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here or by calling 508-228-3399.

Through support for and education about local food production & organic practices, Sustainable Nantucket is cultivating a healthy community, economy and environment for the island.

Join us for our Annual Meeting & Panel Discussion: "Farm to School ~ Stories of Success from Other Communities"

Sustainable Nantucket’s Annual Meeting & Panel Discussion: Farm to School ~ Stories of Success from Other Communities ~ with Special Guests: Emily French from the Massachusetts Farm to School Project and Noli Taylor of Martha’s Vineyard’s Island Grown Initiative ~ will be held on Thursday, September 16th at 6pm at Bartlett’s Hayloft.

Please join us as we learn about the challenges, creative solutions and successes experienced by other Massachusetts communities in developing their Farm to School programs.

Refreshments will be served.

Farm Fresh Feast and Summer Soiree a Resounding Success!

On July 24, 2010 over 300 island residents, visitors, and Sustainable Nantucket supporters gathered to join us for a benefit event, our Farm Fresh Feast and Summer Soiree held in the fields at Moors End Farm. The event featured a four-course dinner highlighting fresh produce donated by local growers, and our special guest Jody Adams, chef/owner of Rialto Restaurant in Cambridge, MA spoke to us about sustainable food practices. The festivities continued into the night with live music provided by Orange Crush.

All photos by Pixel Perfect Photography*

The evening was about more than just the food and festivities, though. There was a underlying theme to this event that has great importance to everyone who lives, vacations, and visits on Nantucket. The message is best delivered in the words of Executive Director Michelle Whelan, who said this to the crowd gathered at the event:

“Let me talk to you a little bit about Moors End Farm…because Moors End is very much a model for what we’re trying to do here.

Under the present owner’s father, Stan Slosek, this was originally a dairy farm. And the farm, as you see it today, providing corn, produce and perennials to many an island business and resident –really evolved into what it is during the 1970’s, under Steve and Sue Slosek’s guidance. Now their children, Sam and Abby also work on the farm.  They have long-established relationships – with the land, their customers, and our community.

In the late 1990’s, when the Slosek family needed to sell the land in order to resolve their father’s estate developers were drawing up plans for this whole area, for this grass under our feet. But thanks to the family -who worked hard to come up with a different answer, and to those in our community –some of whom are here with us tonight– who banded together and gave money to help the Land Bank and the Conservation Foundation purchase the land and buy the conservation restrictions that have kept the farm from development, we can all continue to enjoy the wide open vistas of the farm and the delicious food provided by our friends and neighbors.

We’re looking at a success story. One that shows the kind of creative, collaborative solutions that people on this island can come up with. One that does all of these things: preserves open space, sustains a traditional industry, and helps a family, and our community as a whole retain an essential piece of our character.

• In 1875, there were over 100 small farms on the island
• In the 1930’ and 40’s, there were roughly 30 island farms and dairies in existence here.
• Today we have three farms -Moors End, Bartlett’s Farm, Pumpkin Pond Farm, and a handful of smaller growers.

Sustainable Nantucket is working to increase sustainable food production on-island.

Why do we this?

First: There are 10,000 people here year-round and 40,000 in the summer. The more successful we are, the more access our residents will have to fresh, local food. When you know how your food is grown, and know your farmer, you can have confidence in your food.

Second: Children and young people – learning how to grow food and how to care for the land naturally grasp the concepts of interdependence and sustainability. These concepts are essential to the survival of our ecosystem as we know it.

Third: Expanding local food production creates more local jobs and keeps more dollars circulating in the local economy.

How are we doing this?

1. We began our Nantucket Farmers and Artisans Market in 2007, the first-ever recorded weekly farmers market on the island. This gives our growers another venue to sell their produce in, and a place to connect with the community.
2. Our Community Agriculture Program. We are teaching classes and workshops on organic backyard gardening, composting, growing for the market , restaurant/grower workshops – designed to help our restaurants and growers connect with each other, and value-added food production – like jams and jellies.
3. We’re developing a Farm to School initiative, providing fresh, local food to our young people in the schools, and an additional market for the island’s growers.
4. Our Youth Council is building gardens at the public schools. We built one at the Nantucket Elementary School and we’re working on one at the high school.
5. We’re trying to get more land for existing growers by looking at creative solutions like the one which kept Moors End Farm here for us.
6. We’re hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Island Grown Initiative on Martha’s Vineyard where, with the help of Commissioner Soares and the State and local health departments, they just acquired a mobile poultry processing unit for shared use by all  their farms. They went from 300 chickens on the Vineyard to 5,000 in just a few months.
7. We’ve started an agricultural intern program, to help our existing growers expand, and to give them the opportunity to pass on some of their knowledge and skill to young people here who want to learn how to grow.

I would like to leave you with this thought. When you think of Sustainable Nantucket, I’d like you to be thinking about how all of these things add up to one thing. What are we doing? What are we all about? We’re cultivating a healthy Nantucket. And that’s a good thing. For all of us.”

Through this event we realized our vision of an evening to celebrate local food and community, and a venue to raise awareness of the importance of a successful future for agriculture on Nantucket.  We would like to thank everyone who came out in support of Sustainable Nantucket and our programs.

Our Sincere Thanks

We would like to extend special thanks to our gracious hosts at Moors End Farm, and to our special guest and speaker Jody Adams, chef/owner of Rialto Restaurant in Cambridge. We would like to thank Scott Soares, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture for his support and for joining us for the festivities.

Thanks also to our sponsors: Jane King, Real Estate Broker, Lee Real Estate; Cisco Brewers; Triple Eight Vodka; Lance & Marty Kelly, Image Design Studio; Nantucket Island Resorts; Stonyfield Farms; Cape Cod Savings Bank.

Thanks also to:

Youth Council Seeks Garden Team Apprentices for Farm to School Program

The Sustainable Nantucket Youth Council got its start in the spring of 2008, with the help of a generous grant from the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation, and in the spring of 2009, they built a garden at Nantucket Elementary School.

Currently, Sustainable Nantucket is looking for 10 Nantucket Residents, age 12 to18 years, from every Island School, to become members of its Youth Council Garden Team whose first charge will be to apprentice with local landscapers and farmers to build a new garden at the Nantucket High School. This garden is a part of the Farm to School Program that Sustainable Nantucket and the NPS Food Services Dept. are working to put in place for the fall of 2010. Apprentices will be paid a stipend of $150.00 for their work on planning, building and completion of the Youth Council Garden.  Click here for Application.  Application deadline is Sept. 21st, 2010, so get started now!

This group of 10 apprentices and members of the Youth Council will start the planning stages for the garden as soon as possible. The apprentices will be part of the planning process and decision making from the very beginning, deciding on what to build, how to build it, its nutrient system and what to plant. This project will continue through the late fall/ early winter, requiring a commitment of roughly 2 to 4 hours a week.  Apprentices will also act as liaisons within their school, spreading the word about the Farm to School program, and helping to recruit for an after-school school Garden Club, which will take over the harvesting and garden upkeep once the building has been completed.  It is our hope that Youth Council Garden Team  members will also become part of the Garden Club as “Leaders and Founding Members.”

Contact Morgan Beryl for more information on becoming a part of the Youth Council Garden Team.

Click here for Application. Application deadline is Sept. 21st, 2010.

A Challenge Grant 'Thank You'!

THANKS to YOU…WE did it!

With gratitude, we are pleased to report that we met the July 31st deadline and match for our 2010 CHALLENGE GRANT. With support from dedicated individuals in the Nantucket community, we met the Challenge which will help us meet roughly 25% of our operational budget.

Thank you to all those who contributed in these difficult economic times. We appreciate your support and it is with these partnerships that together we can continue to cultivate a healthy Nantucket.

Thank you again for your investment in our community.

Town of Nantucket and Think Local First! to Form Local Procurement Committee

In response to the unanimous approval by Nantucket voters at the last Town Meeting, Think Local First! along with the Board of Selectmen and the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission have agreed to form a Local Procurement Committee. Members to date include Selectman Rick Atherton, with Chairman Patty Roggeveen as alternate representing the Board of Selectmen; Diane O’Neil representing the Town as Procurement Officer; Barry Rector and Linda Williams representing the NPDC, and Donna Hamel and Mary Wawro representing TLF!

The committee charter is to research and determine ways to maximize opportunities through communication and education for Nantucket’s local businesses to compete for public sector purchasing and contracts.

This is an exciting opportunity for our Town and businesses.  If done correctly we could see a marked increase in the number of business opportunities made available to our local trade and service organizations allowing more money to be kept within the Nantucket economy – of key importance in these very dire economic times.

The committee plans to commence meetings in September 2010 and will set a meeting schedule at that time.  If you are interested in working with or joining the committee we encourage you to contact us – we are also looking for input from our members to help guide us in our development.  Understanding real life issues and experiences is of major importance if we are to get this right.

Contact:          Donna Hamel e-mail: aldona.hamel@pnc.com, Telephone (508) 325-7743

The Think Local First! Campaign is an initiative of Sustainable Nantucket and the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce.

Town of Nantucket Seeks Public Input into the Climate Action Plan

The Town of Nantucket’s Climate Action Plan is still open for public comment. The Town is seeking suggestions for additions to the Plan that include as yet unexplored, or creative ways to help us reduce our overall carbon emissions as a community.

In March 2009, the Nantucket Board of Selectmen set a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target for the island of 10% below 2000 levels by 2020. The Town’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) considers strategies the town and the community can implement in order to achieve this goal. The plan considers efficiency, conservation and new technologies across four sectors: transportation, heating, electricity and waste management. We have a greater chance of achieving our goal if the community participates in the drafting process by providing feedback and ideas. Submit your suggestions and be part of the solution!

Kids Capture the "Spirit of the Market"

Sustainable Nantucket and the Artists’ Association of Nantucket have partnered on an exciting project: Kids Capture the Spirit of the Market! Children of all ages are creating artwork that expresses their vision of the Market. Below are just a few of the wonderful drawings they have submitted for our collection. Their drawings will decorate our office, website, and holiday and thank you cards. Check for AAN  on our vendor list and come down to the Market to participate!

Lilly Bartlett:

Willa Mary Phillips:

Hayden C.:

Lucy:

The Market Makes the New York Times!

The Sustainable Nantucket’s Farmers & Artisans Market is making the news this week in a travel article written by Sara Gold titiled: 36 Hours in Nantucket. Along with other Island businesses and landmarks, the market is on Gold’s list of things to do while on Nantucket, and several of our vendors are mentioned by name. We thank Sarah for shopping with us during her weekend stay, and for including us in her article! Look for it in the New York Times Travel section in newsstands on Sunday, July 18th, or read the article online by clicking here.

Nantucket Golf Club Awards Grant to Sustainable Nantucket Youth Council

Sustainable Nantucket’s Youth Council would like to extend our thanks to the Nantucket Golf Club for their recent grant to help fund our Youth Council’s ongoing “Top Up From the Tap!” Campaign.

We appreciate their generosity, and their grant which will help us continue our campaign. Begun in 2008, this campaign is designed to raise awareness and educate our community about the island’s superb water quality and includes:

• Distributing information on the high quality of Nantucket’s town water supply, urging our residents and visitors to “Top Up from the Tap”.
• Selling stainless steel, reusable containers at a discounted rate as an alternative to using and purchasing plastic bottles.
• Performing advocacy aimed at providing alternatives to plastic water bottle consumption on-island.

We are grateful to for the Nantucket Golf Club’s ongoing and generous support for our Youth Council and the programs that benefit the children of our community.

Youth Council Thanks Nantucket Atheneum

The Youth Council would like to thank Maggie Sullivan and the Nantucket Atheneum for choosing Sustainable Nantucket’s Youth Council as the beneficiary of the fundraising aspect of their Summer Reading Program. Here at Sustainable Nantucket, where we have long focused our thoughts and efforts around the sustainability of this island,our sense of place, and what will keep us a thriving, vibrant community, we recognize the Nantucket Atheneum as a true island treasure: an anchor and a hub in our downtown, a multi-faceted community resource and an intellectual and cultural center. Where would we, as a community, be without the Atheneum? An historic gem of a library with a highly-regarded collection, the Atheneum also provides us all with thoughtful, lively and engaging programing for all ages. Their Summer Reading Program is just one example of the fine programs they continually provide for the youth of our community. The Atheneum is truly a community-minded nonprofit: collaborating frequently, and genertously sharing space and resources with other island nonprofits. We’d like to thank them very much for their support, and to take this opportunity to urge our fellow community members to become members of, and to support the Atheneum.

Funds raised by the Summer Reading Program will go toweards ongoing Youth Council projects:

• The Top Up from the Tap Campaign aimed at reducing bottled water consumption and educating the community about the high queality of Nantucket’s drinking water.
• Continued maintenance of the garden they installed for the 3rd grade class at the Nantucket Elementary School.
• Construction of a second garden at the High School as part of the community’s growing Farm to School Initiative.

Again, we’d like to thank the Nantucket Atheneum for their generosity and support, and for choosing the Youth Council as the beneficiary of their “Going Green” Summer Reading Program in 2010.

Cast Your Vote!

Do you love the Nantucket Farmers & Artisans Market? Then cast your vote for us in the 2010 America’s Favorite Farmers Market Contest, a project of American Farmland Trust!

Vote today, and help us by spreading the word to your friends, neighbors and family!

Many thanks!

Agricultural Events - NOFA Summer Conference

Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference

When: August 13-15,2010

Where: UMass Amherst

www.nofasummerconference.org

Over 200 workshops on organic farming, gardening, land care, sustainability and homesteading.  Teen and children’s program, dozens of outdoor exhibits and vendors. Keynote speakers: Sally Fallon Morrell, founder of Weston A. Price Foundation and Dr. Fernando Funes, of the Cuban Association of Agronomists and Foresters. Entertainment including dancing, country fair, live auction, dorm rooms, camping and wholesome organic meals. For more information contact the NOFA Summer Conference office at (978) 355-2853 or nofa@nofamass.org.

ABOUT NOFA

NOFA is a non-profit organization of approximately 5,000 farmers, gardeners, land care professionals and consumers working to educate members and the general public about the benefits of a local organic food system based on complete cycles, natural materials and minimal waste for the health of individual beings, communities and the living planet. NOFA has chapters in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.