A good solid starting point

Here is where our family is coming from:

We were preparing dinner one night and Cameron who is 13 took one look at a baked ham and an unpeeled yellow squash on the table and asked earnestly "Which one is the ham?"

Olivia, age 8, while eating strawberries, asked "Mom - what are these little black dots on the outside for?"

So there you have it - a totally untainted control group for our experiment!

Stay tuned as they learn that chocolate milk does not originate from a chocolate cow...

A note from Georgia

“Interestingly enough, around here as per the Georgia Organics Association, demand is far exceeding supply. There is a real need in making it easier for people to farm so more people will. The laws are so unfriendly to the small farmer and in favor of industrialized farming. I am so not political....but this sure doesn't seem to be on most people's concern agenda....and it's not only giving adults chronic disease, our kids are riddled with health issues that they just shouldn't have to deal with (for their whole lives!).

I think it is really outstanding that you are doing something - and in such a great way.”

- Holly Thompson - Atlanta, GA

Art Producer Blog article

http://artproducer.blogspot.com

A day at the farm

Barry, Olivia (8), Cameron (13) and I visited our first farm we will be working with yesterday. Around The Bend Farm is about the happiest place on earth for farm animals to be. The animals have a million-dollar view of beautiful Buzzards Bay and lots of room to run around inside and outside the barn to play with their friends.
We got to see many goats - some very pregnant with twins we guessed, big momma pigs and their litters of adorable baby pigs - all running around like excited puppies, and sheep including a brand new baby sheep snuggled up with its mom in the barn. Olivia and Cameron got into the pig pen and all the pigs tumbled over each other running up to see them. Olivia got to touch one and named it "Wilbur". We will have to see Wilbur again when we come back in April for a visit.

Theswellesleyreport.com

How to really farm out work to a Wellesley design firm

Valerie Gates, creative director for Gates Studio in Wellesley, has come up with a novel way to help local farms better get the word out about themselves while also seeing to it that her family eats more healthy food.

For the first 5 farms that respond to the offer, made public initially last Friday via the Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership newsletter, they’ll get Gates Studio design and branding services in exchange for organic food or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares. The idea being to give local farms a better chance to compete for market attention vs. well-heeled competitors.

“Of the 16 farms and growers that have contacted me so far, they are looking for a variety of branding needs from logo design to website design and development to signage to their farms. One winery also wanted tent cards designed for restaurant tables,” Gates says.

She plans on picking the first 5 farms and starting design work next week.

Gates, who operates the studio with her husband Barry Friedman, has begun documenting her effort in a new blog called “Will Work for Food.” Among other things, we’ll get to follow the progress of the farms’ design work and find out how much her family (including children Olivia and Cameron) enjoy eating organic meats and produce. She says she got inspired in part by reading the books Omnivore’s Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable and Miracle this winter.

It’s possible that the farm project could be the start of something bigger. Gates says she will look to develop a part of the studio into “a venture of sustainable design for green companies.”

organicfoodee.com

http://www.organicfoodee.com/news/2009/02/gatesstudio

Incredible response

Well - this is day two of the media response to the project. I think this is just a timely pro-active grass roots venture that is so anti-wall street bonuses and Madoff. People are tired of the bad news and are rooting for the underdogs.

Boston Design Firm Will Work For Food

Wellesley, MA…When Gates Studio founder and principal, Valerie Gates read Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable and Miracle this winter, she knew she had to do something to help the small organic farms and the local food movement in the Boston area. Gates came up with the idea to offer local growers and farms her studio’s professional design and branding services on a creative pro-bono sliding scale. With help from the non-profit group, Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership, she put out the word to local farms that she was offering her studio’s services on a first-come, first-served basis as follows:

First five farms: a barter agreement of design time and services for organic food or CSA shares

Next five farms: 75% discount on rates for services

Next five farms: 50% discount on rates for services

Next five farms: 25% discount on rates for services

By the end of the second day, Gates had over 15 farms and local growers lined up to take advantage of her unique offer. “I wanted to do my part in helping even out the playing field for small growers and help them compete with larger farms and organizations that have larger marketing budgets,” explained Gates. “I also wanted to find a creative way to get my family to eat more organically and introduce them to sustainable farming life by creating a relationship with these local farms.”

Gates Studio is an award-winning boutique design firm in Boston run by Creative Director, Valerie Gates and her husband, Studio Director Barry Friedman. They specialize in complete creative design solutions including branding and style guide design, print and collateral design, website design and development, digital photography, and film/video creative and production.

Gates Studio has won EMMY, BDA, Promax and American Film Institute Awards and their clients include: CBS, Liberty Mutual, United Way, Women’s Entertainment Network, The American Meteorological Society, Charles River Labs, The Medical Foundation, and the Dept. of Health and Human Services.