Each year, Strong Beginnings provides a nice lunch, an interactive educational presentation and a time to celebrate women of color who are considering breastfeeding or are currently breastfeeding. If interested, please register — you are also welcome to bring along a supporter.
Please join us!
Visit the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market this weekend!
Fresh local produce, cottage foods &the YMCA Veggie Van. We accept Bridge Cards, SNAP, WIC, Double Up Food Bucks, Sr. Project Fresh and more!
One Bite at a Time: Food as Medicine
As part of its Women of Color strategy, OKT is bringing some amazing women (and one man!) to Grand Rapids to educate and inspire through a series of events entitled Women of Color Cook, Eat and Talk. On August 11, Adela Nieves ADS, CCT, RMT, presents “One Bite at a Time: Food as Medicine.” OKT cooking coaches will start the event with a healthy-foods cooking demo and sampling “Take the time to nourish your body by learning some important guidelines for food grouping and combining for ailments such as arthritis, gout, sinus allergies, anxiety and hypertension,” Nieves says. “In this workshop we will share information that supports a strong digestive system and helps the body break down food easily, while also discussing simple and hearty meals. So fun!”
A traditional community health and healing arts practitioner, Nieves currently is studying to become a Naturopathic Doctor. She is deeply committed to integrative wellness approaches, practicing Acudetox (ear acupuncture), indigenous traditional medicine, cupping therapy, whole person natural care, and Reiki for individuals and groups struggling with addiction, PTSD, stress and trauma.
Adela co-founded Homemade Healing, a small neighborhood wellness center in Southwest Detroit. There, she practices supporting those in their journeys to tell their own stories and define health, healing and wellness for themselves. “Homemade Healing is a collaborative space where we decide and practice what healing is for ourselves,” Nieves says. “We offer bodywork and energy work, natural health consultations, classes and shared space that prioritizes the local community.”
In February, the Women of Color Cook, Eat & Talk event featured, Lila Cabbil, president emeritus of the Rosa Parks Institute, and Barbara Roos, former GVSU film department head and 60s civil rights activist, facilitated a dialogue on white allies against racism. On May 12, Lottie V. Spady, Detroit food and media justice activist, taught about Herbs from Your Garden as Medicine. On May 21, Shane Bernardo, outreach coordinator for Detroit’s Earthworks Urban Farm, led a daylong Anti-racism Summit.
On November 10, Shakara Taylor, mother, returning generation farmer, educator, activist-scholar and PhD student at Michigan State University Department of Community Sustainability, will speak about Woman-ism and Agroecology: An Intersectional Praxis.
Please join us!
Representatives of the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University are coming to the market Saturday to ask patrons to take part in the 2016 VoiceGR Survey. VoiceGR is an evolving community survey designed uniquely to connect demographics with the opinions, attitudes, and perceptions of greater Grand Rapids area residents on topics such as ability to meet basic needs, access to healthcare, neighborhood safety,employment, education, and racism and discrimination. The data gathered from the survey is meant to help create a baseline to stimulate conversation on pertinent issues to our region.
“We primarily administer the survey at community events and meetings throughout the summer and provide incentives to community members for taking the time to complete the survey,” says Taylor Bowe, project assistant.
The survey asks questions about you and your experiences. It takes about 10 – 15 minutes to complete.You can skip any questions you do not want to answer.The survey does not ask for your name.Your personal information will NOT be shared.In the spring of 2017, results can be seen on www.VoiceGR.org.
You can also take the survey online.
The primary goal of VoiceGR is to provide objective data to residents, nonprofits, governments, businesses, and other decision makers regarding the perceptions and needs of the community.
19th Annual Detroit Tour of Urban Gardens & Farms presented by Keep Growing Detroit
On Wednesday, August 3rd guests will travel by bus and bike to get a taste of the routes that Detroit grown food is traveling from farm to table and learn a little bit more about the deep roots of the urban agriculture community. All tours will leave from Eastern Market Shed 3, located east of Russell St. between Adelaide and Division. Check-in begins at 5:00pm and tours will leave at 6:00pm sharp.
Stick around after the tour for a reception featuring delicious food prepared with Grown in Detroit produce by some of Detroit’s best local chefs. Back by popular demand, we’ll also be hosting the “Good Food Bazaar” an interactive space at the reception designed to help introduce tour guests to opportunities to become active volunteers, consumers and supporters of the organizations and entrepreneurs behind the good food momentum in the city.
Registration is now open and early registration is strongly recommended. To register, visit detroitagriculture.net or call 313-757-2635. The fee for the tour, paid when you register, is a sliding scale $15-$100 to offset cost of producing the event, which is valued at $50/person.
The Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) is excited to host three Farmers Markets at the Capitol on the East Lawn of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Downtown Lansing. The events will kick off on Thursday, July 28 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. with the future events being held on Thursday, August 25 and September 22.
At the July market, shoppers can visit more than 70 vendors from across the state who sell Michigan-grown and produced products ranging from fresh fruit and vegetables to flowers, meat, cheese, baked goods, prepared foods and much more. Two complimentary yoga classes provided by Lululemon Athletica will be held on the lawn of Capitol from 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Shoppers are encouraged to join in! In addition, shoppers can learn to prepare their favorite fresh, seasonal produce with cooking demonstrations provided by the Holt Farmers Market throughout the day near the east steps of the Capitol Building.
“Hosting this event on the lawn of the State Capitol allows us to demonstrate the positive impacts Michigan’s 300 farmers markets have on their local communities. Our goal is to remind legislators that farmers markets stimulate the local economy, foster community development, and support the health and wellbeing of community residents,” explains MIFMA Executive Director, Dru Montri.
The market accepts Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) Bridge Cards, Double Up Food Bucks, WIC Project FRESH and Market FRESH, ensuring that all Michigan residents have access to the fresh, local fruits, vegetables and other food products sold at the market.
Sponsors for the July event include CATA Clean Commute Options, Physicians Health Plan, Lansing State Journal, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, GreenStone Farm Credit Services, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The market is hosted by the Michigan Farmers Market Association, a statewide association with a mission to advance farmers markets to create a thriving marketplace for local food and farm products.
To find a full list of farmers markets in Michigan, including those that accept food assistance benefits, visit www.mifma.org/findafarmersmarket.
The Southeast Area Farmers’ Market operates 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays at MLK Jr. Park, 900 Fuller Ave. SE 49507
The Spoke Folks will be at the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market Saturday. Representatives from this amazing Grand Rapids non-profit are favorites with market patrons because they not only provide advice and information, they also do bike repairs on-site and teach children and adults how to make their own minor bicycle repairs. They will return to the market August 20 and September 10.
The Spoke Folks mission is to increase and sustain bicycle ridership in the West Michigan area and beyond. Their goal is to make sure that people who are interested in cycling have access to safe and reliable bikes. And, their hope is to break down the obstacles that prevent people from cycling.
The Spoke Folks also run a non-profit, co-operative bike shop. They don’t fix bikes. Instead, they give cyclists tools and knowledge to fix them themselves. Don’t have a bike? The Spoke Folks refurbish and sell used bicycles of all kinds for pretty cheap. Stop by to see what they’ve got in stock. Also, the Spoke Folks stock new and used bike parts and accessories.
The Southeast Area Farmers’ Market is open 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Vendors gladly accept SNAP, WIC, and Senior Project Fresh/Market FRESH and Double Up Food Bucks.
Our Kitchen Table 