Monday, February 8, 2016

Featured CT NOFA Business Members ~ February 2016

Walter Stewart's Market is an independent, family-owned grocery store in New Canaan that goes the extra mile to source local, artisan and sustainable food for the growing number of consumers who want to eat this way. CT Grown fruits and vegetables are featured year round along with Millstone Farm eggs, Arethusa Farm milk and cream, and a delicious selection of farmstead cheeses.

Artisan and specialty foods from local, Non-GMO and organic producers, some quite small, make shopping at Walter Stewart's particularly exciting and rewarding. Whole G bread from New Haven makes a delicious, German-style bread from whole and organic grains; Lulu's Southern Pies from Greenwich are as small batch as they come; and Nutty Bunny ice cream from Westport makes organic, Non-GMO, gluten-free and dairy-free frozen desserts just perfect for vegans and those suffering from food allergies. Walter Stewart's carries Shearwater Coffee Roasters' line of organic and Fair Trade, local-roasted coffees, Maury's Hive Tea, and direct trade, Non-GMO hot chocolate from Cisse Trading.
 
Walter Stewart's Market
229 Elm Street
New Canaan, CT 06840
(203) 966-4848

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gilbertie's is a family-owned business started in 1922 that is now the largest grower of USDA Certified Organic herb plants on the East Coast. All of the ingredients for your perfect garden can be found here - from a wide selection of annuals and perennials, to extensive landscape products, to their renowned USDA Certified Organic herbs and vegetables. Each of their plants is grown in a custom made, certified organic soil blend that has taken them four years to perfect, ensuring the highest amount of essential oil and taste in each herb and green.
Visit their garden center in Westport to shop for all your organic gardening needs and be sure to budget time to enjoy the formal display gardens and themed greenhouses, and peruse the gift shop where you can purchase Sal Gilbertie's gardening books to further your knowledge. Check their online schedule for free lectures and classes on the importance of growing organically to preserve our world and to be healthier. For the last five years, Gilbertie's has hosted the Winter Westport Farmers Market in one of their greenhouses. The market is held each Saturday from 10-2 through March 12.
What Martha has to say about Sal's 5th book, "Small-Plot, High-Yield Gardening":
"Whether you have a real garden or just a window box, I can think of no better guide to creating a sustainable herb and vegetable garden than Sal Gilbertie. For more than 30 years I have turned to Sal for healthy, productive plants. With this useful and informative book, he can help you, too, cultivate your garden." - Martha Stewart, Celebrity Author, Chef & Lifestyle Guru

Gilbertie's Herb Gardens
7 Sylvan Lane
Westport CT 06880
Call (203) 227-4175 or email GilbertiesHerbs@msn.com
 

McLoughlin Landscapes LLC is a family owned and operated business based in Stamford that has provided homeowners and businesses in Fairfield and Westchester counties with professional landscaping services since 1975. Founder Jim McLoughlin built his business from a one man operation into a highly successful landscape design, build and maintenance company that currently employs fifteen skilled and dedicated landscape technicians.
Managing Partner and Lead Designer James McLoughlin has been with the company for close to twenty years and is a NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional (AOLCP). Certified by the New York Botanical Garden as a Landscape Designer, James has also completed the New York Botanical Garden's Gardening Program and continues to utilize the wealth of knowledge that the Botanical Garden provides by regularly attending classes and seminars on landscape design and theory. James holds both an Arborist and a Turf and Ornamental Supervisory license from the State of Connecticut.

McLoughlin Landscapes LLC
281 Silver Hill Lane
Stamford, CT 06905
Email jimmcland@gmail.com or call 203 324 5550

Monday, February 1, 2016

34th Annual Winter Conference ~ Connecticut’s Largest Organic Food and Farming Conference



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Connecticut’s Largest Organic Food and Farming Conference Returns for 34th Year
Organic community to unite for a weekend of education, inspiration and celebration

Derby, CT, Feb. 1, 2016 – The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT NOFA) is pleased to invite the public to its 34th Annual Winter Conference on March 12 and 13 at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) in Danbury. Guests will discover new ways to strengthen Connecticut’s local food system and help combat climate change using practices rooted in organic farming and land care. Keynote  speaker Travis Marcotte, Executive Director of the Intervale Center in Vermont, will inspire and energize guests about building community food systems as the conference kicks off.
 
Saturday programming features more than 60 workshops taught by industry experts about organic gardening, land care, homesteading, farming and do-it-yourself foods including kombucha, ginger beer, wine, and fermented vegetables.  Gardeners will learn how to graft fruit trees, grow roses organically, and cultivate mushrooms while land care professionals further their expertise in soil biology, creating landscape designs for feathery friends, and using beneficial insects for pest management. 

Jack Kittredge, longtime NOFA Massachusetts leader and author of The Natural Farmer newspaper, will lead a soil carbon restoration workshop designed to teach farmers techniques for returning carbon to the soil and restoring soil health. Farmers can explore climate change adaptation strategies with Kip Kolesinskas, Conservation Scientist at American Farmland Trust, and learn a practical approach to cover crops with Dr. Elizabeth Dyck, a plant scientist and founder of the Organic Growers' Research and Information-Sharing Network (OGRIN)

We are very excited to present two days of outstanding programming for our diverse and growing membership and community of supporters” says CT NOFA Executive Director Jeff Cordulack “and look forward to sharing inspiring news about the power of regenerative ‘carbon farming’ to absorb carbon from the air and help reverse climate change. Our organic mission has never been more relevant than it is today.”

Guests may purchase lunch tickets for $15 and enjoy their choice of delicious and locally-sourced dishes prepared by generous lunch sponsors including Barcelona, The Whelk, Kawa Ni, Sugar & Olives, Mill Street Bar & Table, Wave Hill Breads, New Morning Market, Plan B and Sodexo. A complimentary tasting of locally-roasted, organic coffee is being sponsored by Shearwater Coffee Roasters and at lunchtime, organic teas are being sponsored by local tea producer Harney and Sons.

Saturday admission includes access to workshops and more than 60 organic food and farm exhibitors. Sunday features a choice of intensive workshops for farmers and serious backyard gardeners, including programs for beginning farmers who want to improve their crop planning and business skills. 

Register online at ctnofa.org for CT NOFA’s 34th Annual Winter Conference for the organic food and farming community held on Saturday, March 12 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, and Sunday, March 13 from 9:00-3:30 pm at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. Saturday admission is $60 for non-members and $50 for members; Sunday admission is $50 for non-members and $35 for members; combined Saturday and Sunday admission is $110 for non-members and $85 for members.

Thank you to our generous sponsors for their support.




CT NOFA's 34th Annual Winter Conference is being brought to you in cooperation with Western Connecticut State University and its Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies.  



 This Program is a cooperative effort of CT NOFA, UConn Extension, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, and the Risk Management Agency/USDA.
 

  



About CT NOFA
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut, Inc. (CT NOFA) is the first and leading grassroots association advocating for organic food, farming, gardening and land care in Connecticut. We connect people in the local-sustainable food and land care movements with organic resources and cutting-edge educational opportunities. Our organization’s emphasis is on training organic farmers, gardeners and land care professionals on the latest sustainable practices; promoting organic products and practices to consumers; and bringing attention to critical state and federal policy issues affecting our international food system and global environment. CT NOFA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1982 and one of the seven State Chapters of the Northeast Organic Farming Association.

Media Inquiries:
Contact:
Analiese Paik
Communications Director
203-520-3451

Jeff Cordulack
Executive Director
CT NOFA
126 Derby Avenue, Derby, CT 06418
(203) 613-8813

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