Email Response from Andrew (November 7th, 2014)
HI Esther, Thanks for sending this along. First, I like the Urban inFARMation Fair title--let's roll with that. You'll be able to access the kitchen anytime after 4 pm, which, i hope, makes things a little easier. I like the menu, and might want to add some whole wheat rolls, perhaps, to serve with the soup (It's important to offer protein!)
The things you'll likely be able to use from the farms in quantity are fresh herbs (pretty much anything you can think of) Kale and Arugula, and you ought to be able to harvest some mixed greens as well--however, Susanna indicates that it is essential that you have a backup plan for the produce, as frost will destroy it, and we've reached the time of year when that becomes a distinct possibility.
On the demo tables, it would be pretty ridiculous of us to not demonstrate salad from start to finish, and I'm kind of thinking that the "salad dressing" and the "salad" tables will be the same table; neither of those things is delicious without the other. The soup will need to be made ahead of time (and we do have equipment for keeping it hot.), and the kale chips can be produced throughout the evening, but we'll need to start with a bunch. (or we can make them all ahead of time, I'm fine with that too.) We'll need recipes for all of the things, maybe 1/4 of a a4 sheet, one recipe per.
The contact list looks good, for a start. I'll get in touch with the folks I've indicated. I really feel that each of you should have a stack of the handouts to distribute--in-person asks are the most effective way of getting people to come.
As far as the poster draft you sent me goes, our Graphic Designer is taking a look at it, I'm hoping to have an approved copy to send to you on Monday. I do appreciate Shelby's efforts here, but it doesn't make sense to pay our designer all this money specifically to do this sort of thing, and then not ask him to do it when I need this sort of thing done. I hope that sentance parses.
I'd suggest inFARMationFair@gmail as the handle because a) we might want to use gnhevents for something else, and b)it connects more solidly with the event, and is therefore easier to remember. I dislike like the passport idea, as it discourages somebody who wants more from going back for it and it condemns trees to an untimely fate.
I love a door prize, but seeds won't work, as we are going to be giving them away at the event. I do have an idea, however: Our Lead Farmer, Susanna, has agreed to provide a 1-hour garden planning consultation for the winner. That sort of mentoring really pulls everything together in my mind--though if that seems like a bad idea, then we can figure something else out.
Thanks again! Talk to you soon, Andrew
Group 14 & 15 Meeting - November 5th, 2014
• Event Title: A Garden Affair or Urban InFARMation Event
• Promotions o Shelby – will working on the poster tonight and Esther to send it to Andrew by tomorrow afternoon o Kalin, Cassandra, Kirianna – will send out emails to organizations over the weekend
• Budget o Matt: to put a budget together and send it over to Eduardo (reimbursement model)
• Cooking Demos o Kalin and Christine – Baking? o Matt o Ensure that recipes are printed out to hand out to community members
• Surveys o Will have a table with a sign up list, so community members are able to note down their email list (place a computer there); participants will also have another opportunity to win a prize if they write down their email address after they complete the survey o On the survey, we can note down a question asking participants on if they want to receive more information about the toolkits
• Information Table/Door Prizes o A write-up of who we are and why we’re here on a poster board o Shelby - A passport for participants to visit each table and get it stamped; if they complete it, they can insert their card into a box at the information table for a chance to win a prize
• Suggestions from Eduardo o Theatre as a research tool and getting people to interact with one another; would be able to identify interested folks and who we should connect with; challenge: timing of the event o Taking observations and taking down notes of what’s happening o Jeopardy game?