New Menu at Lotus Leaf Cafe & Creperie!

Our Local Food - South Central member restaurant, Lotus Leaf Cafe & Creperie is excited to introduce their new Executive Chef, Beau Franklin and a new menu!  A few of the new items on the menu to get excited about include the Mediterranean Quinoa Burger, Crepe Balls of Fire (a spicy turkey meatball crepe), Lemon Tarragon Salmon and Blackberry Bliss.    With offerings of  French, Greek and Mediterranean, sandwiches, seafood, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options you will be sure to find  a vast selection sure to please everyone.

Lotus Leaf Cafe is located in the Delano District of Wichita at

	613 A W Douglas Ave, Wichita, KS 67213.  Their hours are Mon-Wed. 10am-8pm, and Thurs-Sat 10am-9pm.  Visit their website at: http://www.lotusleafwichita.com.

Stop by to say hi to Chef Franklin and sample the new menu!  CLICK HERE FOR MENU

Energy and Sustainability Fair this Week

This year the Regional Energy and Sustainability Fair will be held in Wichita January 25 - 28 at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview (400 West Douglas Avenue, Wichita, Kansas, 316-262-5000) and the adjacent Century II Convention Center. 

A large range of topics targeting do-it-yourselfers, renters, homeowners; community leaders, nonprofit and faith-based members. There will be exhibitors, demonstrations and hands on sessions including sustainable landscaping, community gardening, and urban farming. The conference has something for everyone.  Other events and topics include home weatherization and a fuel effecient car show.  Stick around Saturday and you could win one of two rain barrels being given away!

Pre-Conference activities on Wednesday, January 25th, and the FAIR, Saturday, January 28th are FREE!  This year Our Local Food-South Central will be an exhibitor so be sure to stop by and pick up some Savor the Season recipes and learn more about us.  For more information and a schedule of conference events visit greenwichita.org. 

See you there!

North Central Producer Workshop

Commercial Enterprises Workshop for North Central Kansas:

Production, Marketing and Management

On Saturday February 25 there will be a day long workshop, "North Central KS Commercial Enterprises: Production, Marketing and Management Workshop" addressing production, management and marketing of vegetables and fruit on a commercial scale. The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Washington High School, 115 North D Street, Washington, KS. Google map link

The workshop sessions include: moving your hobby into a business, direct marketing strategies, vineyard and grape production, growing raspberries and blueberries, no till vegetable production, High Tunnel production, marketing at a roadside stand, marketing to restaurants and other institutions, and more.

This workshop is sponsored by River Valley Extension, Kansas State University Extension and Washington County Farm Bureau.

Registration is $25 for the first registration, and $15 for partners ; students are $10. Registration meal deadline is Feb. 15. Add $10 to your registration after Feb. 15.             

For more information contact David Coltrain at 785-325-2121, or coltrain@ksu.edu

For a brochure with registration information, click here. 

Kicking off the New Year with Savor the Season

The Savor the Season program is back in full force!  We are ready to get markets signed up for Savor the Season 2012, cost shares, and mini grants.  We will also need help from you to put together our recipe library.  We know that the best recipes come from your kitchen so we want to share them with the rest of Kansas. Your recipe could even be featured on one of the new Savor the Season color photo cards that will be available at participating markets!  Please read on below for IMPORTANT information and dates. 

Recipe Submissions

Do you have some recipes or tips and tricks that incorporate the 2012 featured crops?  Are they so awesome, the rest of Kansas should know about it?  Perfect!  Just send us your recipes, tips for storage and preparation, and anything else you'd like to share about any of the following specialty crops:

Spring Crops: Spinach, Arugula, Snow Peas, Rhubarb

Summer Crops: Basil, Bell Peppers, Garlic
Autumn Crops: Spaghetti Squash, Turnips, Pumpkins

Your recipes could be selected for inclusion in the 2012 Savor The Season program, published on colorful cards to be distributed throughout the state, and posted on ksfarmersmarkets.org and ourlocalfood.org.  To submit a recipe or tips, contact Tracey Graham at twinrivers.olf@gmail.com.

Savor the Season Program Sign-Up

This year 20 farmers markets will be able to take advantage the Kansas Rural Center sponsored program.  Highlights will include:

·         10-4” by 6” color photo crop cards with selection, storage and preparation tips as well as a recipe. (printed)

·         10 FYI Tip Sheets providing additional crop info such as preservation, nutrition and seasonal availability. (PDF format)

·         reprint 16 previous Savor the Season cards.

·         4 press release templates highlighting the program and featuring information on the selected crops by season.

·         program banner, 18” by 36”, for display at market

·         40 additional recipe entries on the ksfm web site featuring selected crops

To participate in Savor the Season 2012, a farmer’s market representative can click here for the 2012 Savor the Season Program onlineApplication or visit the program website by clicking here.  If a paper copy of the application is needed, please contact me, Natalie Fullerton, at 402-310-0177.  Markets have until March 15 to sign up to participate.   For more information about the 2012 Savor the Season program please visit the 2012 Program Overview & Sign-Up page. 

Q&A Call: Savor the Season Cost-Share and Mini-Grant

If your market is interested in the Savor the Season program, please join for a toll-free call on Monday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. for brief overviews of the Savor the Season program and the two associated funding opportunities.   KRC is accepting both mini-grant and cost-share proposals from markets. The application deadline for both programs is March 15.

Click Here to Register for the call

Mini-Grants: Markets can submit applications requesting up to $250 in funds to support specialty crop promotions. This program is targeted to smaller or new markets interested in testing a special event program. Total available funding is $2,000.

Cost-Shares: Markets can submit applications requesting up to $400 in matching funds to support specialty crop promotions. This program is targeted to markets with existing special event programs. Total available funding is $2,100.

Important: Before submitting proposals, markets will need to have completed the online 2012 Savor the Season Program Application.