On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 2pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 4pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($5/person).

Then join in the potluck at 6pm and dancing at 7pm until about 10pm.

The dance is $7-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child. Workday participants pay a discounted rate of $5-15, so come on down and hoe before you hoe down!

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

“We don’t want a bigger piece of the pie, we want a different pie.” -Winona LaDuke

Pie Ranch Work Days and Barn Dances are held every third Saturday of the month, all year long. Upcoming work day & barn dances:   June 16th & July 21st.

Click here for directions to the Ranch. . .

International Conference 2012 May 18 – 19

San Francisco, California

Biosafety Alliance is pleased to announce the 2012 Justice Begins with Seeds International Conference.

We still have some tickets at a reduced price for low income and scholarships and a few opportunities to volunteer during the event.

If your organization wants to endorse the conference please contact us ASAP.

Contact: miguel@biosafetyalliance.org 
415-368-1891

Please note: This conference will take place at two different venues with two different formats:

Friday May 18th: Strategic Meetings, Womens Building (Auditorium)

3543 18th St. #8 San Francisco, CA 94110 MAP

Saturday May 19th: Educational Forum, Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 (Auditorium)

3351 23rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 MAP

Register for this event

Program Schedule

This year there will be exciting presentations, by some of the more experienced activists, researchers, farmers, indigenous and entrepreneurs from California, Kenya, South Africa, Mexico and other places around the world.

While certified organic products assure customers that their food has been grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and is produced with attention to the soil through cover cropping, crop rotation, proper tillage & irrigation, etc — this certification does not assure that the workers who grow the food are treated with respect & have access to a living wage & health care. In response to this missing link, the Agricultural Justice Project has developed a homegrown domestic fair trade label that represents the gold standard for social justice in agricultural and food jobs, rigorous third party certification, and a system based on the experiences and input of the farmers, farmworkers and business owners themselves. This past month, the AJP came out to California to train inspectors & to do practice assessments on three different farms — Pie Ranch was honored to be included in one of these three.

AJP’s objectives were to: 1. Assess working conditions, policies and practices on the farm and how they compare with the standards of the Agricultural Justice Project.  2. Provide recommendations and resources for improving working conditions, policies, and practices on the farm. 3. Demonstrate the processes used in an AJP certification audit.

The AJP team conducted a review of the farm application that would be submitted to a certifier for AJP certification, the farm’s written policies, emergency plan and a sample job offer letter.  Based on this review, an initial report was provided to the farmers/owners that outlined the good practices as related to the AJP standards and fair labor practices and posed some of the questions that would be asked at the inspection.  Emails and calls followed up with requests for more information.  On March 28, 2012, the AJP team conducted a demonstration audit of the farm which included on-site interviews with the managers, most of the staff and all three apprentices. Based on the information gathered during these interviews, the AJP team developed a final assessment report that includes:

-An evaluation of the likelihood of AJP certification

-Recommendations for improvement and resources that may be helpful related to these recommendations

-Observations regarding good labor and negotiating practices, policies, and conditions

-Processes that may be different during a certification audit

The AJP said that “Pie Ranch is an outstanding farm and educational project with a staff that is passionate, dedicated, and creative, that exemplifies many of the elements of fairness that should always characterize organic agriculture.” We look forward to following up on the AJP’s recommendations & becoming AJP certified within the next year. Thank you everyone at the AJP for their important work!

For more information on the Agricultural Justice Project, you can visit their website here at http://www.agriculturaljusticeproject.org/home.html

Pie Ranch is undergoing a season of transition as both our Director of Operations and our Urban Youth Development Coordinator are continuing with the next phases in their personal & professional lives.  Pei-Yee Woo, our Director of Operations, will be focusing on growing her pastry business & spending time with her new baby while Mary Ann Brooks, our UYDC is attending graduate school at Davis in the fall.  We are looking for new talent to fill their positions.

Operations Manager:

Since 2005, Pie Ranch has worked with San Francisco youth around food & farming, providing repeat visits to Pie Ranch and engaging youth back in the classroom. In addition to our work with youth, we also train emerging farmers in sustainable farming practices through our year-­‐round apprenticeship and summer internship programs. Our efforts to build a healthy food system also include organizing work at the regional level where we are engaging in policy change on the Central Coast to create a supportive environment. We are currently looking for a knowledgeable and experienced professional to oversee the finances and operations of our growing nonprofit. Download more information about this postion here: Pie Ranch JA_OpsMgr 3-22

Urban Youth Development Coordinator:

We are seeking to hire an Urban Youth Development Coordinator for our partnership with Mission High School (MHS) in San Francisco. Pie Ranch has established farm-­based youth programming for seven seasons with MHS by engaging students in food systems education, culinary arts and sustainable farming. Through in-class programming, on-­site field trips, and our youth employment program, we have developed a strong relationship with students, staff and faculty at MHS. This position will continue to grow and sustain our partnership while realizing the goals of the program. We also have similar programs with Oceana High School in Pacifica and Pescadero High School in Pescadero.  Download more information about this position here: Pie Ranch JA_UYDC.3-22

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

The work day will begin at 2pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 4pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($5/person).

Then join in the potluck at 6pm and dancing at 7pm until about 10pm.

The dance is $7-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child. Workday participants pay a discounted rate of $5-15, so come on down and hoe before you hoe down!

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

“We don’t want a bigger piece of the pie, we want a different pie.” -Winona LaDuke

Pie Ranch Work Days and Barn Dances are held every third Saturday of the month, all year long. Upcoming work day & barn dances:   May 19th & June 16th.

Click here for directions to the Ranch. . .

The students from Mission High handled their tasks with the utmost seriousness & respect for the chickens they were processing.  We would like to share some of their thoughts here.

De-feathering

From the moment I stepped onto the bus to the point of now reflecting on the process; the true meaning of taking a life away has impressed me dramatically.  It makes me think about my future and taking a lesson out of this experience to honor my food above all else, and to thank God for each time my body needs energy.  When we were approaching the chickens I was expecting to just learn how to kill a chicken the right way and practice it as a skill I would use on the Mission field as I do my ministry on foreign soil…. But no; it went deeper than that, once I looked into the chicken’s eyes, I choked inside, paralyzed, scared, doubtfully attempting this process…  But I knew I had to do this, not out of enjoyment but deep reverence for the chickens!  I will never forget this moment engraved in my heart, soul and mind.- Marvin 

Chicken anatomy with Debbie

I was pretty excited today because I killed an animal for the first time.  I always wanted to do it because I wanted to see how it feels to be an animal killer since I eat meat almost everyday.  After I killed the chicken, I felt like I understood the meaning of eating meat deeper.  Before, to me, chickens were just food.  But today, after I killed one myself, I finally realized that they are living lives, just like us humans.  Since we’re at the top of the food chain, we get to eat them.  But when we kil them, we have to be respectful like we did today.  Not like those conventional farms where they kill chickens inhumanely.- Araceli

Roasting chickens with Chef Educator, Joyce

The students ended their day with instruction from our Chef Educator on how to season & roast chickens in preparation for soup.  Other students opted to help plant more apple trees during the chicken processing.  All the students & instructors came together for a meal at the end of the projects where the events of the day were discussed & explored.

Thank you Mission High students for your thoughtful & respectful comportment on this special day.

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

Please note that we will be adjusting our schedule to mark the time change happening this Sunday!

The work day will begin at 2pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 4pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($5/person).

Then join in the potluck at 6pm and dancing at 7pm until about 10pm.

The dance is $7-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child. Workday participants pay a discounted rate of $5-15, so come on down and hoe before you hoe down!

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

“We don’t want a bigger piece of the pie, we want a different pie.” -Winona LaDuke

Pie Ranch Work Days and Barn Dances are held every third Saturday of the month, all year long. Upcoming work day & barn dances:   April 21st & May 19th.

Click here for directions to the Ranch. . .

I’m Owen David and I grew up just over the hills in Menlo Park, but I’ve spent most of the past ten years on the East Coast, where my lifelong interest in environmental issues led to a series of jobs at book publishers with a sustainability focus. After being laid off from my most recent publishing job in early 2011, I decided to use the rest of the year to get outside my comfort zone and try something that was completely new, yet still within the broader environmental/sustainability world. I ended up finding a small, family-owned organic farm in Central Virginia that needed an intern, and I lived in a “civil war reenactment” tent in their backyard while helping out with all aspects of their farming operation, from weeding strawberries to running a stand at local farmer’s markets. Although I have felt good about all my previous jobs, last summer it became clear very quickly that I had stumbled upon something that was fulfilling in a way that I hadn’t experienced before. By the season’s end I decided to return home to California and find a farm that would allow me to take the next step toward having an operation of my own. I’m delighted to have ended up at Pie Ranch, which not only grows healthy food but also introduces the concept of a better food system to a wide audience through its farm stand and educational programs. Everyone on the staff has been so warm and supportive from day one, and it’s obvious that they’re an incredibly talented, creative, and dedicated group. I am proud to call Pie Ranch my home for the rest of the year.

Aileen Suzara is a Filipina/American with connections to the land and foods across the Pacific Rim. For the past 6+ years she has gained broad experience as an environmental educator, advocate, cook, and cultural worker. Aileen comes to farming driven by the desire to reconnect with ancestral agricultural heritage and to bridge communities of color with healthy foods. After finishing the Bauman College Natural Chef program, she completed the Apprenticeship at the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden in 2011 and is now excited to grow with Pie Ranch. When not growing or cooking food, Aileen serves on the board of justice organizations including the Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity. She can also be found writing at Kitchen Kwento and winning adobo throwdowns.

The apprentices have already had their first class with Amy on crop planning. This is one of the more complex aspects of managing a diversified sustainable farm and one element of planning that often gets overlooked in the rush and frenzy of day-to-day farm work. The apprentices learned the importance of completing a crop plan to make sure they can meet the demands of our markets, as well as knowing when to plant for an estimated harvest, how much seed  you’ll need for the season, how to rotate crops to not build up disease and pest pressure in the soil and much more.

Nancy led the apprentices in the basics of winter pruning in Pie Ranch’s apple & pear trees this month. Winter pruning invigorates the tree & stimulates vegetative growth, establishes structure & form, opens up the tree to sunlight & helps to develop fruit wood. Our apple trees are going into their 7th year & we hope to harvest an abundance of yummy fruit come late summer/fall. Other apple varieties & pears planted last year will have to wait a couple more years before we can expect our first crop.

Our apprentices came in from the field to join join Pie Staff in their ongoing work in challenging racisim.   After an inspired workshop on Decolonizing the Food System, we gathered together for a delicious potluck followed by Aileen’s amazing Lemon Pie!  We would like to thank UCB graduate student, Marcelo Felipe Garzo Montalvo & Saqib Keval, Growing Justice Coordinator at People’s Grocery for their help facilitating this important work.

On the third Saturday of each month, Pie Ranch hosts a Community Work Day, potluck dinner, and rollicking barn dance in the roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.

Due to the time change the work party begins at 1pm.

We offer an optional farm tour at 3pm that begins at the upper slice toolshed ($5/person).

Then join in the potluck at 5pm and dancing at 6pm until about 9pm.

The dance is $7-20 (sliding scale) to compensate Pie Ranch, the County Line Pickers (featuring Jim Davies, bass; Joni Davies, guitar; Josh Lane, mandolin; Ken Clarkson, banjo; Jon Young & Nancy Vail, fiddles) and caller, Andy Wilson.

To keep our barn dances open & accessible to the public, we cannot accommodate large, private groups of over 10 people.  Children under 12 free accompanied by their parents; if you bring a large group of youngsters (over 7, 10 the maximum) we request prior notification and a sliding fee of $5-10 per child. Workday participants pay a discounted rate of $5-15, so come on down and hoe before you hoe down!

Important info:

• Come check in at the Roadside Barn upon arrival to find out where the work day activities will be taking place.
• Please leave dogs at home. (We love dogs too, honest, but it is really not a good event to have dogs present)
• Be careful turning into Pie Ranch from Highway 1.
• Park at the Roadside Barn or in the field directly behind the roadside barn. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE UP TO THE UPPER SLICE.  If you’re confused, please ask at the roadside barn.
• Bring water bottles, clothing layers, sunscreen, closed toe shoes, and sunhats.
• Bring work gloves, tools, and enthusiasm! (We have gloves and tools for you to use too).
• Please bring your own dishes and utensils for the potluck. Every bit of clean up help is greatly appreciated!
• To keep an inclusive, family atmosphere, the potluck and barn dance are alcohol-free events.

“We don’t want a bigger piece of the pie, we want a different pie.” -Winona LaDuke

Pie Ranch Work Days and Barn Dances are held every third Saturday of the month, all year long. Upcoming work day & barn dances:  March 17th & April 21st.

Click here for directions to the Ranch. . .

Join Pie Ranch and Slow Food Santa Cruz for an evening of literature and film.

Authors Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko will talk about their new book Farmstead Chef.  They will share simple tips for homegrown and homemade cooking, from preserving the harvest to stocking the pantry to building local community around your kitchen table.

Filmmaker Chuck Schultz will be present for a showing of his film, The Last Crop.  This is his story of farmers Jeff and Annie Main, their Good Humus Farm and how they are planning to preserve it as a working, organic farm for future generations.  The film will be followed by a panel discussion, featuring area farmers talking about issues they encounter in staying on the land and what we can do to assist them.  For a synopsis of the film, visit http://vimeo.com/7026032/.

Friday, January 27, 2012

6:30 – 9:00 PM

Pie Ranch

Suggested Donation:  $5.00 – $10.00  RSVP to kelly@pieranch.org