Tag: local food

WERU News Report 11/22/11

Broadcast Time: 4pm

Program Topic: Blue Hill Rallies In Support of Farmer Brown

Key Discussion Points:
a) Why is the state suing farmer Dan Brown?
b) How does the state’s action impact small local farms and their customers?
c) How does the State’s action conflict with the local food ordinance passed in Blue Hill (and several other towns)?
Guests: Farmer Dan Brown and supporters, speaking at a rally in Blue Hill on 11/18/11
More information is available at http://www.razoo.com/story/Weareallfarmerbrown
Call In Program: No

Host and Producer: Amy Browne
Audio recorded by: Matt Murphy

Talk of the Towns 11/11/11

Issue: Celebrating Food Heritage in Downeast Maine

Broadcast Time: 10-11
Program Topic:
Key Discussion Points:
·Interest in food, food systems, food heritage is abundant…
·What is the scope of the interest and what is fueling that interest?
·What is food heritage, as a concept?

Guests:
·Joshua Torrance, Woodlawn Museum
·Katie Freedman, Healthy Acadia
·Todd Little-Seibold, College of the Atlantic
·Regina Grabrovac, Washington County Farm to School

Call In Program: Yes
Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Engineer: Amy Browne

Common Ground Radio 11/4/11

Issue: Farm and Food Policy
Program Name: Common Ground
Broadcast Date: 11.4.11
Broadcast Time: 10-11 am
Program Topic: Farm & Food Policy
Key Discussion Points:
a) Local Foods Act, HR 3286
b) Farm insurance
c) Building local markets for food
Guests by name and affiliation:
A) Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
B) Brian Snyder, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
C ) Katie Green, Cheryl Wixson, Russell Libby
Call In Program: Yes
Political Broadcast: No
Host: Russell Libby
Engineer: Amy Browne

Common Ground Radio 7/1/11

Producers/Hosts: Melissa Pillsbury White, MOFGA
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne
Topic: Maine Food Independence Day
How are we getting more Maine food on Maine plates? What projects/models are working to reach new people with local foods? How do we achieve food independence in Maine?
Guests: Sara Trunzo, Unity College; Laura Binger, Food AND Medicine
Call in show

Talk of the Towns 3/25/11

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Studio Engineer: Joel Mann

Topic: A local food ordinance for the Blue Hill Peninsula and beyond?

What is the actual proposal and how would it work?
What do you imagine the outcome will be, for producers, growers, the local community, after a town adopts the ordinance?
If the local food ordinance passes, how would you advise producers and consumers to attend to concerns about food safety?

Guests:

Heather Retberg, Quill’s End Farm, Blue Hill
Ruth Sullivan, Halcyon Grange
Cullin Schneider, Blue Hill Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
Jason Bolton, Food Safety Educator,
University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Hal Prince, Director , Division of Quality Assurance & Regulations, Maine Dept. of Agriculture, Food & Rural Resources
Walter Kumiega, Representative, District

WERU News Report 3/23/11

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Contributor: Marge May

**NOTE: There are a few seconds of hissing sound at the beginning of this audio file before the show starts.**

Segment 1: Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance of 2011

These ordinances have now been passed in Penobscot and Sedgwick, and been defeated in Brooksville voters by a margin of just 9 votes. The town of Blue Hill will be voting on the issue on April 2nd. For some background on the movement, WERU’s Marge May spoke with a local farmer Heather Retberg, owner of Quill’s End Farm in Penobscot. (Note: This interview originally aired on WERU’s “Women’s Windows”)

Segment 2: Local News Headlines
As hundreds of workers rallied in support of unions in Augusta yesterday, Governor LePage has ordered that a mural depicting labor history in Maine, be removed from the lobby of the Department of Labor. He has also ordered that conference rooms bearing the names of heroes of the labor movement be renamed…
At a statehouse news conference earlier today, sportsmen, lake advocates, and experts on wildlife, water quality and fisheries decried legislative attacks on Maine’s natural heritage (LDs 1, 156, 159, 219, 341, 434, 872, 888, 1022 and 1031)…
A group of small business owners and the Maine Small Business Coalition, held a press conference in Portland yesterday, ahead of the Maine Bureau of Insurance’s public hearing on Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s proposed rate increase on individual health insurance plans…
Animal Welfare Advocates to plan to Lobby State Legislators at the Capitol Tomorrow…

Segment 3: LePage TV
Governor LePage– well known for avoiding talking to media or attending debates when he was on the campaign trail, now has his own TV show. “Inside the Blaine House”, which premiered this week, is hosted by Chamber of Commerce employees and stars the Governor himself… (Time Warner Cable TV and www.MaineVOD.com)

Bangor Area Commons 2/3/11

Producer/Host: Meaghan LaSala
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Topic: All Season Localism in Bangor

What are some suggestions for starting a small business that offers local products? How do you build relationships with farmers and other local producers? What local products are available in the winter?

Guests:
Zeth Lundy from Central Street Farmhouse- a new downtown business with DIY supplies such as homebrewing, cheese making and cloth diapers.
Rich Gilbert from the European Farmers Market, a year – round market in Bangor

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Mid-Coast Currents 12/17/10

Producer/Host: John Zavodny
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

A discussion among local food and hunger experts concerning how local agriculture is addressing hunger in Knox and Waldo counties, and profile the hungry of Midcoast Maine.

Guests: Ann Acheson, research associate at the University of Maine Margaret Chase Smith Center, editor of Maine Policy Review and author of the “2009 Poverty in Maine Update”; Jennifer Gunderman-King, co-administrator and co-founder of the Davistown Community Farm Share Program; Barbara Murphy, extension educator for the Oxford County Cooperative Extension; and Sara Trunzo, food and farms coordinator at Unity College.

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