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  • From: Brent McMillan <brent@gp.org>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Madison Farmer Wins White House Farmer Race
  • Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:02:39 -0500

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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  • [permaculture] Madison Farmer Wins White House Farmer Race, Brent McMillan, 02/03/2009

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