Growing Food in the City is:
... a series of events in/around Portland Maine from October 2011 - May 2012
... a pilot for a loosely organized coordination of events/programs around a common theme

Please see the Calendar for all events in this series (marked with a "GFITC" tag!)

Goals:

• To facilitate skill-building and information-sharing so that more people/households can produce some of their own food.
• To emphasize the value of food production at the household and neighborhood level in building local food security and resilience.
• To create a common theme around which various groups/businesses/NGOs/agencies might want to align their upcoming events.
• To address food production issues that are unique to city dwellers, renters and households with no ready access to usable gardening space.

Topics Under Consideration / Being Scheduled:

• Contaminated soils and what to do about them
• Urban Composting
• Beginners Guide to Planning a Garden
• Growing Veggies 101: From Soil to Seedling
• Growing Veggies 102: From Seedling to Plate
• City Chickens for Eggs and Fun
• Food for Small Spaces (Sprouts, Mushrooms, Verticals and more) or Perennial Food in the City
• Season Extension for the City
• Rooftop Food Production
• Bees and Honey in the City
• Harvesting Rainwater in the City
• Garden Sharing and Community Gardens
• Exchanges and Swaps: Seeds, Plants, Veggies, Preserved Food
• Food Preservation/Storage (various?)
• What is Nutrient-Dense Food and Why do I care?
• Perennial Food in the City: Fruits, Nuts and Berries
• The Neighborhood Forager
• Buying Clubs and Coops
• Considerations for Landlords
• Cooking with Local Foods - various topics welcome
• And.... ????

On-Going Support:
We hope that this series will spur the formation of support circles or neighborhood mentoring groups to provide ongoing support and encouragement to those who are learning to grow, harvest, preserve and cook foods, often for the first time. If you would like to help with this ongoing effort, please let us know.

We would also like to catalyze the creation of public demonstration garden that can be used to propagate skills and build the capacity of local citizens to increase their own household and neighborhood resilience. Watch this space for developments.


Collaborators & Supporters:
Portland Maine Permaculture * The Resilience Hub * Urban Farm Fermentory * Winter Cache Project * City of Portland * Healthy Portland * Healthy Casco Bay * UMaine Cooperative Extension * Cultivating Community * And You! We invite neighborhood associations, agencies, non-profits, faith communities and others to join in!

Local organizations are encouraged to schedule their own events under the "Growing Food in the City" theme (feel free to use the event series logo above!) and let us put it on the schedule for you! 
To get your event on the schedule, email us with:
Title of Event
Min/Max RSVP numbers
Location
Time (start/end)
Cost to attend if applicable
Description of event and what attendees can expect to learn
Any special things to bring (notebook, camera, work clothes)
Format for event (lecture, movie, field trip, hands-on, skill-share, etc.)
Contact person or organizer name/number/email

Events will be put on this meetup calendar, announced to meetup members via email and will appear in the Portland Maine Permaculture/Resilience Hub Facebook and Twitter Feeds. We encourage you to use the logo on your materials and share the event far and wide as well!