Our Reasons for the Season
They're food-related, obviously. Fundraise for Nate Manuel and Hell's Backbone Grill, gift tips and markets, + free lunches from Food Justice Coalition.
With the holidays coming up, there’s no better time to dig into your local community for gifts, fun, and opportunities to give back. Below we’ve marked some great places to get some special presents, but if you’re less into spending money (or can’t this holiday season), consider making some homemade gifts—get some seasonal produce at the winter farmer’s market and make a big batch of pickles or jam to give out to people. Or, just reach for the flour in your pantry and your favorite seasonings and make some simple crackers (they’re easier than they seem) and package them up in whatever spare containers you have laying around, or maybe some cookie tins — which are a dime a dozen at local thrifts. Even the most modest of gifts can be special when they have that element of homemade care.
Whatever you’re doing this holiday season, though, we hope you have a good one, with lots of good food and lots of good people around you!
Events:
December 3
Gift Tip!
WCG’s Love Local Holiday Market
Wasatch Community Gardens’ first holiday market, the Love Local Holiday Market, will have all the cozy, festive things to get your holiday season started right—opportunity to browse garden tools, art, honey, preserves, and other goods, plus local food trucks and mulled teas or wines to enjoy while wandering through a forest of decorated trees. WCG is also calling for help with decorating the trees, which will be subjects of a silent auction. Proceeds from the auction will go back to WCG’s efforts to make growing local, organic food accessible to all. Shop it on Saturday, December 3 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at their campus on 629 E and 800 S in Salt Lake. Admission is $5 and free for kids under five. Find more info here.
December 4th and December 18th
Food Justice Coalition Free Healthy Lunch
Get a free, plant-based lunch from the Food Justice Coalition at Publik Coffee on 875 S West Temple twice this month, on Sunday, December 4 and Sunday, December 18th. The coalition often provides healthy, nourishing meals to those who need it, and this time around they’re calling out to people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, low income or unemployed folks, service workers, students, farmers or anyone who just needs a little love—in the form of a warm bowl of good food. Find info on attending, volunteering or donating to fund a meal on their Instagram.
December 7
Gift Tip!
MSU Ornament Workshop
Engage with your local mushroom community and get some Christmas decoration needs checked off your list at the upcoming Mushroom Ornament Workshop with the Mushroom Society of Utah. Meet up at the Bountiful Davis Arts Center on Wednesday, December 7 at 7 p.m. for a fun evening of arts, crafts and fungi. Find info here.
December 9
MSU at UVU Fungarium
Any mushroom fan knows that a fungarium is a special thing, since mycology is such an understudied part of biology—so it’s even more exciting that Utah Valley University has their own. MSU members will be meeting up to tour it on Friday, December 9 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. If you want to learn more about the science of fungi and aren’t a member yet, you can join at utahmushrooms.org.
December 10
People’s Great Salt Lake Summit
At this point, it’s more and more apparent how the fate of Utah’s water is linked to our agricultural future, so if you’re planning on attending this summit, don’t miss the breakout sessions on water and agricultural futures and solutions. Learn about the crisis facing the Great Salt Lake, how to get involved in efforts to save it and join discussions on what to bring to the 2023 legislative session. Register here.
Gift Tip!
Win-Win Holiday Market
While this is not a food-centric event, this annual locals-focused holiday market put on by Animalia will feature some vendors worth checking out for your gifting needs, like handmade treats (like Lenguitas Chamoy), herbal goods and more. Find more info on vendors here.
December 14
Black Food Traditions with Black, Bold & Brilliant
Sit in on this discussion on Black foodways and traditions just in time for the holidays, on Wednesday, December 14. Presented by the Utah Film Center’s Black, Bold & Brilliant series, maybe you’ll even walk away with some tips on the latest Black food establishments to open along the Wasatch Front. Find info and RSVP for free here.
December 15
Gift Tip!
Green Urban Lunch Box Cider Launch
In one of our last newsletters, we included word about GULB and Mountain West Hard Cider working together on a cider made from salvaged apples from all around the valley. Now they’re celebrating the release of the cider at Mountain West Cider. Sample the cider, made from local B-grade apples from a variety of local trees, and enjoy other refreshments, too. $5 bottle proceeds go back to GULB’s FruitShare program, which rescues all sorts of varieties of local fruit. Find info and reserve your spot here.
News:
Fundraiser to support Nate Manuel
This month there’s another community member who could use our help. Nate Manuel is an educator and mentor working with west side youth and elders for nonprofit the Neighborhood House, and there he also facilitates garden towers that grow food for that community. Nate’s important work has been impacted, though, by a recent diagnosis with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.) The disruptive neuromuscular disease impacts one’s ability to walk and talk and gets worse over time—to get the treatment he needs to treat and alleviate his diagnosis, Nate needs some help from his community. Contribute to his GoGundMe here, or contribute via Venmo at @n8splayground.
Wasatch Community Gardens Job Openings
If you’ve a background in youth programming, garden management, non-profit work or all three, and are passionate about sustainable food systems, check out these jobs! Wasatch Community Gardens is looking to hire an Education Program Director, Youth and School Garden Program Director, Green City Growers Program Manager, Community Garden Partnership Coordinator and a Youth Educator. The listings can be found here.
Petition for Porcini for Utah State Mushroom
Fungi is an incredibly diverse and important living thing, as much so as plants and animals, and deserves to be acknowledged as such. To spread awareness of this importance, the Mushroom Society of Utah is sponsoring a petition to give Utah an official state mushroom—the porcini, which is a prized edible that grows like crazy in Utah. Learn more about the mushroom and the importance of fungi on the petition page, and if you feel moved, sign it!
Hell’s Backbone Grill Fundraiser
Restaurants continue to be the barometer for stability in our country right now, and things are still bleak enough that they’re closing left and right. The latest to be threatened is Boulder’s Hell’s Backbone Grill. Despite being a nationally-known Utah culinary treasure, the farm-to-table restaurant continues to be impacted by the disruptions of the ongoing pandemic, and has started a GoFundMe to help with their costs, and to find a permanent residence that will provide ongoing stability. They are within $100,000 of their $324,000 goal, so chip in if you want to see this pioneering restaurant continue on their way.
Give the Gift of Fungus
Gift Tip!
Mushroom Grow kits from Fungal Focus combine the same kind of crafty fun of maintaining a houseplant or a garden with the payoff of a delicious edible mushroom—and it makes a really fun gift to give this holiday season. Currently, if you gift a CSA grow kit membership, your giftee will also get a t-shirt and spray bottle with the order. Browse kits at fungalfocusutah.com/growkits.
Podcast Rec
A great resource always for learning more about the food system from people working in the field, this episode of food justice-focused podcast Food Tank involves a conversation with Rosalinda Guillen about how worsening climate, exploited farm workers and our weakening food system are all inextricably linked. Listen here or wherever you find your podcasts.
Contribute to our Soil Summit Survey
As we prepare to hold a Living Soils Summit next year, we are still looking for input on all things soil. We want to provide a community-led alternative to some of the institution-led gatherings focused on actionable information and sill-sharing over theory and rhetoric. If you’re a grower interested in learning more about soil health, we want to hear from you! Find the survey here.
Did we miss something important? Let us know! If you find this newsletter helpful, please *gift* it to a friend! Happy holidays!