[permaculture] Madison Farmer Wins White House Farmer Race

Brent McMillan brent at gp.org
Tue Feb 3 18:02:39 EST 2009


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


*Madison Farmer Wins White House Farmer Race*

*Claire Strader, farmer at Troy Community Farm in Madison, Wisconsin, 
won the race for White House Farmer by 254 votes over the weekend from a 
field of 111 candidates vying to be the first White House Farmer at 
**www.whitehousefarmer.com* <http://www.whitehousefarmer.com>*. In an 
October /New York Times Magazine/ article, author Michael Pollan called 
for the creation of a White House Farmer position suggesting turning 
five acres of land on the White House grounds into an organic fruit and 
vegetable garden. *

Madison, WI – February 3, 2009 -- Claire Strader, farmer at Troy 
Community Farm in Madison, Wisconsin, nominated by Community GroundWorks 
at Troy Gardens for the position of “White House Farmer” won the 
competition over the weekend by 254 votes with a total of 8,868 votes, 
or 16%, from a field of 111 nominees from around the country including 
16 nominees from Wisconsin. A total of 55,871 votes were cast in the 
election.

All 111 nominees are listed on the www.whitehousefarmer.com 
<http://www.whitehousefarmer.com> website. Voting began on Inauguration 
Day, January 20 and ended at midnight January 31. The Top 3 vote 
recipients will have their names forwarded to President Obama for 
consideration to be the first White House Farmer.

Other Top 3 candidates include Carrie Anne Little with Mother Earth Farm 
in Puyallup, WA, who received 8,614 votes, or 15%, and Margaret Lloyd, 
with Home Farming in Davis, CA, who received 5,306 votes, or 9%.

Other candidates receiving over 5% of the vote include Will Allen with 
Growing Power in Milwaukee, WI, who received 5,280, or 9%, and Nash 
Huber with Nash’s Organic Produce in Sequim, WA, who received 3,553, or 6%.

In an October /New York Times/ article, Michael Pollan called for the 
creation of a White House Farmer position and suggested turning five 
acres of land on the White House grounds into an organic fruit and 
vegetable garden. Pollan is author of the /Omnivore’s Dilemma/ which was 
named one of the 10 best books of 2006 by the /New York Times/ and the 
/Washington Post/.

According to Pollan’s idea, the White House Farmer would be charged with 
transforming “five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and 
plant[ing] in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden,” the 
produce from which would be used by the White House Chef and given to 
area food banks.

“The next step for this process will be to move toward building a 
national coalition to advocate for the establishment of a White House 
Farmer position,” said Bob Gragson, Executive Director of Community 
GroundWorks at Troy Gardens in Madison, WI. “More details will be 
released in the near future as they become available,” he continued. 
“Our organization will certainly be participating in this process,” he 
concluded.

The top two candidates, Claire Strader and Carrie Anne Little, have 
issued a joint statement about the outcome of the race:

“It is a great honor for us to be recognized by our communities as 
potential candidates for the first White House Farmer. We are thrilled 
by the possibility of converting a portion of the lovely White House 
lawn into a lively vegetable farm. As vegetable, fruit, and flower 
growers, we know that a well-managed organic farm can be at least as 
beautiful as a lawn and certainly more engaging, productive, and 
inspirational.

“The fact that so many farmers were nominated for the White House farmer 
position and that so many individuals voted in this unique “election” 
speaks loudly to our combined interest in local, organic agriculture. As 
is made clear in each farmer’s nomination, there are many skilled 
growers who contribute significantly to local food movement throughout 
our country. We are all unique. We all have a somewhat different focus 
be it Community Supported Agriculture, or emergency food relief, or 
youth empowerment. Still, we share the common cause of feeding our local 
communities with the freshest, cleanest, most healthy food we can coax 
from the soil.

“Taking personal responsibility to a new level by addressing the core 
issues of the Obama administration’s focus, this farm could be the 
example for the nation. It would clearly address economic insecurity, 
fuel conservation, climate change, and healthcare issues in a very 
tangible way. Collectively, this effort could be the center of the 
cultural shift needed to highlight the imperative that we need to eat 
locally and think globally.

“We are working toward a new future of agriculture in our country. We 
believe that future is grounded in small-scale, organic food production 
that meets the nutritional needs of people within reach of the farm and 
is not shipped from coast to coast at great cost of fuel, freshness, and 
nutritional value. With the support of more and more eaters in our 
communities, that future is coming nearer. A White House farm and a 
White House farmer will be powerful symbols for this future of 
agriculture, not to mention a delicious resource for the DC community. 
No matter who becomes the first White House farmer we stand in support 
of the White House farm project and would be honored to bring our spades 
and worm castings and hula hoes to join in the effort!”

The /WhiteHouseFarmer.com website was conceived by The Brockmans, a 
family farm in Illinois.///

Troy Community Farm in Madison, Wisconsin, is part of Community 
GroundWorks, a non-profit that also runs a five-acre community garden, 
programs in restored natural areas, and kids’ gardening programs on 26 
acres of open land on Madison’s Northside. Community GroundWorks at Troy 
Gardens feeds people and teaches people to feed themselves. Claire’s 
work with this organization connects her with other growers and 
educators who have the skills and ambition to help people eat locally 
and grow locally.

For more information about Community GroundWorks, visit their website at 
www.troygardens.org <http://www.troygardens.org> or call (608) 240-0409.

* *

*About Community GroundWorks*

Community GroundWorks, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides food 
security opportunity and education in an urban setting and promotes 
local food production as an alternative to energy intensive 
agri-business. Located on 26 acres in Madison, Wisconsin, it operates 
Troy Community Farm and CSA, the city’s first organic and urban farm; 
one of the largest community gardens in the city, Troy Community 
Gardens; a Kids’ Gardening Program for elementary children; a Farm & 
Field Program for high school students; a college internship program; 
and a natural areas restoration program.

The organization has recently received several prestigious awards and 
honors including the Virginia M. Kline Award for Excellence in 
Community-Based Restoration, Outstanding Achievements in Youth 
Monitoring from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Steve 
Jones Award from The Capital Times Kids Fund for its Kids’ Gardening 
Program, and was selected as a U.S. delegation to the Slow Food 
International Conference in Turin, Italy, in 2008.

For more information:

Bob Gragson, Executive Director

Community GroundWorks, Inc.

Phone: 608-240-0409

Web: www.troygardens.org <http://www.troygardens.org>

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