by Jessica Dur Taylor from "Northbay Bohemian" [http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/the-best-food-money-cant-buy/Content?oid=2410949]: For more information, visit [www.whoafarm.org].
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At the Santa Rosa Health Center in Roseland, 50 percent of Dr. Patricia Kulawiak's adolescent patients are obese. "There is an epidemic of diabetes in this area," Kulawiak tells me over the phone, "and since good, healthy food is expensive, poverty severely limits your options."
Thanks to the Work Horse Organic Agriculture (WHOA) Farm, dozens of these families receive bags of fresh, organic produce every week—for free.
Started two years ago by Eddie and Wendy Gelsman, WHOA Farm's motto is "The best food money can't buy," a tidy summation of their mission to provide fresh, organically grown food to those who can't afford it. "It's not a crime to be poor," says Eddie. "Everyone has the right to eat well."
Located on 16 acres on Petaluma Hill Road, WHOA Farm began with six months' worth of nonprofit application paperwork and a few raised beds, which the Gelsmans cultivated themselves. In January of 2012, they hired young farmers Balyn and Elli Rose to live on the property and run the farm, which, as the name indicates, is one of the few in the area that harnesses the power of draft horses to plow the fields. "Horses," says Wendy, "are the ultimate piece of the sustainability puzzle."
Even though they were just a few weeks from having their first child, and even though they had never before worked with draft horses, the offer to work on the farm "was an opportunity we just couldn't pass up," says Elli, who met Balyn in an agro-ecology class at UC Santa Cruz, where they both graduated in environmental studies.
"They are two highly educated and highly skilled agriculturalists," Eddie says of the couple, who prior to WHOA ran a farm and CSA program called Wild Rose Ranch for four years.
Together with Dan Evans, the only other full-time WHOA Farm employee, the Roses grew and donated 15,000 pounds of organic produce, 876 baskets of strawberries and 556 dozen eggs to health clinics and food banks across Sonoma County last year. (According to Cathryn Couch of the Ceres Community Project, WHOA provided $14,000 worth of food to their organization alone.)
While plenty of farms and supermarkets donate their leftover produce once it is no longer marketable, WHOA is unique in its practice of growing food specifically to give away. Produce is harvested in the morning and delivered that same afternoon in order to "give people food with the highest nutritional value," says Eddie.
Anyone who's ever inherited a surplus of fennel or radicchio understands that fresh produce is a wonderful thing—as long as you know what to do with it. Which is why education is at the heart of WHOA's mission. "We are committed to giving away food responsibly," explains Wendy, "which means that we want people to be comfortable with the produce and understand the nutritional value of what they're eating."
click to enlarge
To that end, health centers in Santa Rosa and West County offer nutrition classes (some taught by Ceres) in which patients learn how to turn things like kale and rutabaga into healthy, delicious meals. All who attend—many of them at-risk, uninsured and low-income—are given a bag filled with WHOA produce to take home.
Ever ambitious, the Gelsmans want to do even more. "Our goal is to be able to give away teams of draft horses to young farmers," says Eddie, whose plans for WHOA also include hosting educational workshops and internships. Of course, nothing is possible without funding. In addition to private donations, grants, fundraisers, monthly volunteer days, and an outreach booth at the Santa Rosa farmers market—where customers receive a jar of Elli's sauerkraut or fruit preserves for a ten-dollar donation—WHOA is also cultivating creative financial solutions.
The Gelsmans are leasing the Crane family's 11-acre vineyard (conveniently situated smack-dab in the middle of WHOA's property), and with the generous help of winemakers Guy and Judy Davis, will soon make WHOA Pinot Noir. Beginning in the fall of 2014, they hope to sell 600 to 800 cases annually, which could provide over 50 percent of WHOA's operating budget.
On a recent Friday afternoon, I walk around the farm with Elli and 11-month-old Olivia, who mimicked the sound of the hens clucking outside their mobile chicken coop; every couple of days they move it to fresh, new grass. Using expert Doc Hammill's "gentle horsemanship" approach, Balyn, who calls this his "ideal job," harnesses Chip and Mark, whose shiny blonde manes and tails belie their dude-like monikers.
The Gelsmans' vision is evident in the green fields of oat hay shimmering in the winter sunlight. After conditioning the soil for spring planting, the hay will be harvested and fed to the horses, who will then plow the fields where onions, lettuce and parsley sprouts will soon take root. And come September, a patient at the Santa Rosa Health Center will discover the spicy kick of mustard greens or the surprising sweetness of a just-picked carrot.
"By honoring the people who are used to getting the leftovers," Dr. Kulawiak says, "WHOA is working to dismantle health disparities. They are helping people make changes that will last for generations."
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
CODA electric car company in Benicia
2013-02-26 "CODA leaves Benicia; Poor sales cited as electric car company ends assembly in Industrial Park" by Keri Luiz from "Benicia Herald" [http://beniciaherald.me/2013/02/26/coda-leaves-benicia/]:
Benicia Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani confirmed last week that CODA, the Los Angeles-based electric car company, has ceased its Benicia operations.
“CODA has ceased production in Benicia due to lack of sales,” Giuliani said in an email.
He cited previous news stories relating the difficulties CODA had in meeting projected timelines and sales.
“City staff was aware that CODA was not meeting their projected production/sales goals but it was confirmed this week that all CODA operations ceased last quarter,” he said Thursday.
“The company continues to operate out of their L.A. office, but no longer has a presence in Benicia.”
However, he added, “If the company’s financial viability improves, they may return to Benicia, but that is still unknown at this time.”
A CODA spokesman responded to a request for comment late Monday by saying the company “has suspended automotive production as it reviews strategic options to bolster its financing. While production is currently suspended, the company continues to provide service to its dealers and customers.
“Our desire is to secure financing that enables us to become fully operational.”
Because Benicia was not the point of sale for CODA’s operations, its departure had no sales tax implications for the city, Giuliani said.
The status of CODA workers hired in Benicia — whether they were released or reassigned to other locations — is unknown.
CODA announced Sept. 12, 2011, that it would begin assembling cars in Benicia, adding about 50 positions to its work force. The company picked Benicia for its assembly site after a year’s consideration, K. Forrest Beanum, vice president of the company’s public affairs and communications, said at the time.
Beanum said Benicia was chosen because its port has the necessary infrastructure to meet CODA’s production schedule, and because of its easy access to rail service and several interstate highways.
CODA rolled out its first commercially available electric sedans from an AMPORTS building at the Port of Benicia on March 12, 2012.
However, last September a recall was issued on 78 of the company’s electric sedans because of a side curtain airbag deployment problems, leading to speculation in the Los Angeles Times that the company’s all-electric car was selling poorly.
Beanum dismissed the Times’s report that the company had sold only 78 vehicles since launching last April, saying it “came to an erroneous conclusion.” He also said the company had not officially released sales numbers at that time, and that media guesses had been largely inaccurate.
Though CODA has ceased its Benicia operations, Giuliani said the company choosing the city for its Northern California operations was a positive development. “We are very proud that CODA chose Benicia as it its Northern California distribution point. This shows that our city is well positioned to attract new startup companies.
“The fact that Benicia was chosen is a win unto itself,” he said.
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CODA sedans line an AMPORTS warehouse in September 2011, where company and city officials and others were on hand for the announcement that Benicia would host the assembly of up to 14,000 of the electric cars.
IN MARCH 2012, CODA executive Forrest Beanum, left, spoke at the company’s unveiling of its Benicia-assembled cars; Solano County Supervisor Linda Seifert and Mayor Elizabeth Patterson (seated) were among those in attendance.
[http://www.codaautomotive.com/]:
Benicia Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani confirmed last week that CODA, the Los Angeles-based electric car company, has ceased its Benicia operations.
“CODA has ceased production in Benicia due to lack of sales,” Giuliani said in an email.
He cited previous news stories relating the difficulties CODA had in meeting projected timelines and sales.
“City staff was aware that CODA was not meeting their projected production/sales goals but it was confirmed this week that all CODA operations ceased last quarter,” he said Thursday.
“The company continues to operate out of their L.A. office, but no longer has a presence in Benicia.”
However, he added, “If the company’s financial viability improves, they may return to Benicia, but that is still unknown at this time.”
A CODA spokesman responded to a request for comment late Monday by saying the company “has suspended automotive production as it reviews strategic options to bolster its financing. While production is currently suspended, the company continues to provide service to its dealers and customers.
“Our desire is to secure financing that enables us to become fully operational.”
Because Benicia was not the point of sale for CODA’s operations, its departure had no sales tax implications for the city, Giuliani said.
The status of CODA workers hired in Benicia — whether they were released or reassigned to other locations — is unknown.
CODA announced Sept. 12, 2011, that it would begin assembling cars in Benicia, adding about 50 positions to its work force. The company picked Benicia for its assembly site after a year’s consideration, K. Forrest Beanum, vice president of the company’s public affairs and communications, said at the time.
Beanum said Benicia was chosen because its port has the necessary infrastructure to meet CODA’s production schedule, and because of its easy access to rail service and several interstate highways.
CODA rolled out its first commercially available electric sedans from an AMPORTS building at the Port of Benicia on March 12, 2012.
However, last September a recall was issued on 78 of the company’s electric sedans because of a side curtain airbag deployment problems, leading to speculation in the Los Angeles Times that the company’s all-electric car was selling poorly.
Beanum dismissed the Times’s report that the company had sold only 78 vehicles since launching last April, saying it “came to an erroneous conclusion.” He also said the company had not officially released sales numbers at that time, and that media guesses had been largely inaccurate.
Though CODA has ceased its Benicia operations, Giuliani said the company choosing the city for its Northern California operations was a positive development. “We are very proud that CODA chose Benicia as it its Northern California distribution point. This shows that our city is well positioned to attract new startup companies.
“The fact that Benicia was chosen is a win unto itself,” he said.
---
CODA sedans line an AMPORTS warehouse in September 2011, where company and city officials and others were on hand for the announcement that Benicia would host the assembly of up to 14,000 of the electric cars.
IN MARCH 2012, CODA executive Forrest Beanum, left, spoke at the company’s unveiling of its Benicia-assembled cars; Solano County Supervisor Linda Seifert and Mayor Elizabeth Patterson (seated) were among those in attendance.
[http://www.codaautomotive.com/]:
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