Net Impact San Francisco » Food & Ag

Yards to Gardens Launch – Help Needed Getting Established in SF

menteral — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:40:42 +0000

Interested in community gardening and urban farming? If so, you may be interested in helping out Yards To Gardens become established in the Bay Area. It’s an online web platform looking to create an ecosystem of neighbors and communities helping each other garden. Check out this letter from the Y2G founders…

Hi folks!
Yards to Gardens (www.y2g.org) is a new website out of Minneapolis, MN designed to connect eager gardeners with available space. It’s a simple concept: say you have some extra space in your yard but no time for gardening, you can go to the website and in just a few seconds you can post your yard as a resource for someone to garden. Or say you’d like to be gardening in your neighborhood but you don’t have a yard and the local community garden is full. Just go to the website and see if there are any available yards in your area, or post yourself as a gardener.

This month we added new listing categories so that you can post or find just about anything gardening related. Got any extra compost or mulch? How about extra seeds or seedlings? Or maybe you’re cleaning out the garage and you find some old gloves and a trowel. Find a happy home for your extras by posting them on www.Y2G.org.

We’ve partnered with Gardening Matters of the Twin Cities, MN (www.gardeningmatters.org) in an effort to help manage the explosion of interest in community gardening in the area. Over the past few months we’ve begun to reach critical mass in the Twin Cities with over 50 listings in the area. We’d love to work with other community groups around the country to help provide this resource for gardeners looking for space and resources.

I’ve attached a press release. Please check it out, share it with friends and other listservs, give us feedback, and let us know how we might help Y2G grow in your area.

Sincerely,

The Y2G Team

Y2G.Press.Release

Pie Ranch Work Day & Barn Dance (April 17)

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:17:47 +0000

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The San Francisco Professional Chapter of Net Impact is planning to bring a group to join Pie Ranch at their next work day and barn dance on Saturday, April 17.

The work party starts at 2 pm.
Then join in the potluck at 6pm
and dancing at 7pm until about 10pm.

The dance is $7-20 (sliding scale) to compensate the band, ranch, and caller.
(Children under 12 free; workday participants pay a discounted rate of $5-15,
so come on down and hoe before you hoe down!)

The Pie Ranch Staff will also offer a guided tour of Pie Ranch, leaving from the Upper Slice at 3:00 pm for $5 (weather dependent).

Learn more about Pie Ranch at www.pieranch.org

Transportation:

We will close RSVP’s two days before the event so we can coordinate transportation to and from the event.

If you have a car and you’d be willing to host a carpool to Pescadero for this work day, please shoot us an e-mail: sfprofessional@gmail.com

Other Important info:

Please leave dogs at home.
Be careful turning into Pie Ranch.
Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.
Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (Pie Ranch has gloves and tools for you to use too).
Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

Net Impact SF Volunteers at SF Food Bank

menteral — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:06:09 +0000

View all photos

Our Volunteer event at the SF Food Bank on February was excellent. We packaged over 16,000 of cabbage in 2 hours and had a ton of fun!

Since this type of thing is easy to plan and the people who showed up got a lot out of it – look for more of these types of volunteer events in 2010.

Food Bank Volunteer Event – February 16th

menteral — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:31:57 +0000

Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Time: 6:00 – 8:00pm
Location: San Francisco Food Bank; 900 Pennsylvania Ave; San Francisco, Ca 94107

RSVP: http://foodbankvolunteer.eventbrite.com/ (or below)

Come join us in helping the SF Food Bank (SFFB) sort, package and distribute a variety of nutritious foods for our community! The SFFB is the critical link between food and people. They provide food to over 133,000 people every year through 600+ community food programs, such as child care centers, homeless shelters, senior centers, AIDS service organizations, and more. The food is collected from growers, packers, processors, manufacturers, the USDA and grocery stores.

You do not have to be part of Net Impact to volunteer – come meet people, find out more about Net Impact, and help a worthwhile organization that has a positive impact on the community.
Thanks for volunteering your time! Your support will mean that thousands of pounds of food will be distributed at meal and pantry programs throughout the city and you will join the movement to end hunger in SF! For more information about SFFB: www.sffoodbank.org

Please Note: The SFFB bank has asked that the volunteers commit to the entire duration of the 2 hour project shift. Also please note that closed-toed shoes are required in the SFFB warehouse. Anyone wearing sandals or any other shoe will not be able to participate.

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Getting there: The SF Food bank is located 1 block from the 22nd street CalTrain station. We will meet at the CalTrain station at 5:45 pm and walk over together. Alternatively, if you are interested in carpooling, please email juleselyse@gmail.com and we will organize rides.

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Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. The San Francisco Professionals chapter hosts several events for the Net Impact SF community each month, including content-focused panels, volunteer opportunities and networking events. For more information:

January Monthly Gathering: Urban Agriculture

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:17:30 +0000

Date: Wednesday, January 13th 2010.
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Poleng Lounge; 1751 Fulton Ave; SF
RSVP: Form below or at http://urbanag.eventbrite.com/

In January, our Net Impact SF gathering will be focused on Urban Agriculture. With Gavin Newsom announcing some pretty bold initiatives in San Francisco and the FAO getting together in Rome to discuss food security, agriculture is becoming top of mind for world leaders. During this event, we’ll discuss a wide range of topics from innovative business models to the role of government to promote agriculture in urban areas.

Confirmed guests are:

Keith Agoada – Sky Vegetables [GreenBiz article]
David Stockhausen – Amyitis Gardens [about them]
Mei Ling Hui - Responsible for urban agriculture, City of San Francisco. Read Mayor Newsom’s Executive Directive on Healthy and Sustainable Food for San Francisco.

Exploring Sustainable Winemaking: Tours & Tasting in Mendocino County – NI-SF bus trip on 11/21

menteral — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:41:37 +0000

Date: Saturday, November 21
Time: 8:00am–6:00pm
Location: Mendocino County, CA
Cost: $85
RSVP/Pay: http://sustainablewinetour.eventbrite.com/

Come on the road with Net Impact’s San Francisco Professional Chapter as we explore the vines, wines, and sustainable practices of Mendocino County. Our stops include:

Paul Dolan Wines (Biodynamic)
Paul Dolan will lead us on a private tour of Dark Horse Vineyards, the biodynamic operation that is the heart of Paul Dolan Wines. Paul Dolan is a fourth-generation winemaker and will spend the morning with us to share his experience from three decades in the wine industry. Paul wrote the book True to Our Roots: Fermenting a Business Revolution, which describes his journey transforming Fetzer into one of the country’s largest sustainable vineyards. Paul is a huge fan of Net Impact and excited to host our group. We are thrilled to be able to spend time with him—he is a knowledgeable and central figure in the sustainable wine community.

Parducci Cellars (Sustainable)
Parducci is America’s first carbon neutral winery and a true leader in sustainable winemaking. We will be visiting the Parducci Cellars tasting room to sample their collection of fine wines. Listen here to KQED’s report on green winemaking, which spotlights Parducci Cellars. Along with Paul Dolan Vineyards, Parducci produced the Green Winegrowing Handbook.

More Stops Coming Soon!
We are still settling arrangements with 1-2 other vineyards for afternoon tours and tastings (likely 2). Options being considered: Barra Vineyards, Oster Vineyards and Jeriko Estate & Winery.

Cost
The $85 fee includes transportaion, tours and tastings. Transportation will be provided by Baurer’s Intelligent Transport, with a fine assortment of movies both there and back (likely wine-focused flicks, such as Mondovino, Bottle Shock, and Sideways). This cost does not include lunch, which we ask everyone to pack for themselves (think picnic in a vineyard!). Transportation will be leaving to and from a central location in the city, specific location TBD.

There are only 30 spots available—so sign up now!