Sustainable Glasgow

The Last Waltz - Glasgow Style

2011-11-27T15:25:00.006-06:00

Everyone knows that Sustainable Glasgow is all about promoting the idea of living locally. While we have spent a lot of our time trying to get people to live local be eating local food, we also have other ideas and initiatives to promote local living. We are happy to provide you the details about the very latest one of those projects, The Last Waltz - Glasgow Style, our planned New Year's Eve celebration of local business and local musical talent.

On New Year's Eve, December 31, at George J's on the Glasgow Square, we want you to join us and your friends to celebrate the end of a fantastic year and the beginning of 2012. Sustainable Glasgow in cooperation with George J's and other local sponsors, is presenting this tribute to The Last Waltz with several local musicians playing and performing their versions of the music and the feeling of the movie, better described at this link. It should be a phenomenal evening and an opportunity to ring in the new year right here in Glasgow and keep your fun and your money local!

Tickets are $25 and seating is obviously limited. The plan it to start the evening with finger foods and snacks and listen to the music organized by Josh Johnson until midnight. Then the staff at George J's will serve you the first breakfast of 2012. It is our sincere hope that you will attend with your closest friends and start a new tradition centered around our life here in Glasgow. If you wonder just what sort of music this will be, check out this link. Contact us at localfirst@glasgow-ky.com for more information or to purchase tickets. We hope to see you there!

The Food Bill -- We Need To Worry

2011-11-18T13:19:00.001-06:00

We Owe Thanks to Many

2011-10-30T14:54:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we had our last outdoor version of Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market for 2011, and even though we will continue to have the market on the second Saturdays of each month though the winter (at the Barren County Cooperative Extension Service office), it is time to pause and reflect on our third year of operating the market.

We have so many folks to thank. First of all, we continue to owe Debbie Livingston and the team at BB&T for allowing us to give birth to the market at their property and to continue to give us a place when other events prevent us from using the Glasgow Square. Of course, next we need to thank Judge Executive Davie Greer and the Barren County Fiscal Court for allowing us to move the market to the Barren County Courthouse lawn this year. That move was also facilitated by the approval of Mayor Rhonda Trautman and the Glasgow Police Department, and we are thankful for all of the confidence these folks have in us. I think all of us, including the local elected officials, are thrilled with the way the market has brought life back to the Square this year on Saturday mornings.

We are so lucky to have gotten so much support from the locals who made the market a required part of their Saturday mornings and for the new folks who discovered Glasgow and the Square and the unique qualities of our community through their attraction to the local food and the festive atmosphere created by Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market on the Glasgow Square.

Of course, the festive atmosphere and the local food are things we owe to the farmers and craft people and local musical artists that gave of their time and talent for the twenty weeks of the outdoor market season. Their decision to employ themselves and their land in the work of feeding their neighbors is at the very core of the Sustainable Glasgow movement. Without them, we accomplish nothing.

We are still working to attract more local farmers and land holders into the local food economy that is represented by the market. We know that a sustainable local food economy begins and ends with local people willing to till the soil and work with the weather to firmly establish our region as one capable of producing food which can also be consumed by local folks. We have enough folks working the commodity crop business – we still need a lot more of them growing food that we can put on our tables right here in Glasgow such that our food system will serve us no matter what else happens in the business world outside of our region. The pursuit of this mission will continue to be at the very center of our efforts.

As this year’s outdoor market ends, the Sustainable Glasgow team begins its plans for next year, and beyond. We will be looking for ways to improve the market on the Square next year and we are always looking for more food vendors to set up shop there. Eventually, we hope our market evolves into a year-round indoor facility with a commercial kitchen and other features which will continue to move us toward a totally sustainable food economy. At the same time, we continue to lobby for improved pedestrian and cycling facilities in Glasgow as an alternative way to improve our transportation and health options in our town.

The Sustainable Glasgow movement is alive and growing and we know that is because of all of the folks who have made it a part of their life. We are thankful for all of the support we have gotten in our work and look forward to the many ways we can make our little corner of the world a better place for us all to live. Keep your eyes on our website and our Facebook page for exciting new developments, coming soon!

Big Day at BOTBM this Saturday!

2011-06-03T08:15:00.002-05:00

Every Saturday morning at Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market is a special celebration of life in our community, but this one will be extra big! It is Highland Games weekend in Glasgow so there will be a lot of visitors in town for that. We expect a lot of them to spend some time in the welcoming shade of the Barren County Courthouse Lawn. At the same time, the Courthouse lawn is also right on the route of historic US 68 which is the site of the famous 400 Mile Sale. So, we expect a lot of folks to pull into the market and explore the items for sale under our festive white canopies!

Everyone who drops by will enjoy spending some time with the local folks of Barren County, the local food produced by our wonderful vendors from Barren and surrounding counties, and they will get to immerse themselves in the pure joy of local music, provided this week by Bob and Joanna Harvey. We look forward to seeing you among the group enjoying the shaded lawn and the wonderful food prepared by the restaurants around the Square between 8:00 and noon tomorrow!

What You Can Do to Help

2011-05-18T13:55:00.003-05:00

This Saturday, May 21, at 9:00 a.m., the ribbon will be cut to officially open Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market for 2011. The market is now on the lawn of the Barren County Court House on Saturday mornings.

Three years into Sustainable Glasgow’s efforts to make Glasgow better by reinforcing the local economy, we are proud of what we have accomplished with Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market, but we have only begun the work of building the durability of our economy, starting with our food system.

In a world where our drive to build a sustainable local food economy, starting with locally grown food at our outdoor market, is challenged at every turn by the marketing might, convenience, and momentum of the big box supermarket system of feeding ourselves, the volunteers at Sustainable Glasgow are largely outgunned. Still, we continue to fight against the odds. We love our community and we are convinced that the future of local food production is indistinguishable from the future of the land in Barren County, which, in turn, is not distinguishable from the future of our community as a viable place to live out our years in peace and happiness (Thanks Wendell Berry for pointing this out to us!).

Obviously this task is too daunting for a handful of Sustainable Glasgow volunteers to pull off alone. This is a job for us all, that is all of us who have decided to put down roots in this community and make it the place we dream of. We need everyone’s work and the intelligence of the collective. You do not have to win an election to participate in this transformation, you only need to find what part you have the skills, or resources, to play.

Here is what must be done.

Grow. Barren County is rich in fertile farm land. Right now our high schools are graduating hundreds of bright young folks who are looking for their mission in life. These two ingredients should be combined and nurtured by sunlight and support from “we the people who like to eat.” The opportunity is obvious. Many studies are now predicting that the long term value of many college degrees is not worth the cost. We need more local folks growing food for local folks on local farms.

Study. We are sensitive to what we gaze upon with our eyes and what we listen to with our ears. Why then are we so flippant about what we swallow? Don’t take our word for it. Read the label of something in a box in your freezer. Does it sound like the ingredients to a chemistry experiment? If you want to purchase less medicine, eat more local food and less things with more than four ingredients. That leads one to real, local, food instead of fake food-like substances. A good variety of real food is available at Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market.

Innovate. Rebuilding our food economy from the ground up does not just mean planting more vegetables in Barren County soil. A few visits to Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market will reveal scores of other opportunities for someone looking to improve their lot, as well as the community. Watch the mad rush to purchase the very limited supply of cold pasteurized milk from JD’s County Milk and you will have to wonder why no Barren County dairy farmer has yet replicated that idea and product. Dare to come between local market patrons and the supply of peaches from the Jackson’s Orchard truck and it is obvious that more locally grown fruit will find a market here. A commercial kitchen operation would allow local producers to cook, can, and otherwise process their bounty when there is much and sell it the rest of the year. Opportunities abound for those who are looking for them.

Participate. Just show up at the market and become a part of it. Not sure if you even like vegetables enough to shop at the market? No problem, come and listen to the pure sounds of local musical artists who love the community so much that they just want to share their talents with us. Sit in the grass and give them an audience. It costs you nothing yet means everything to the artists. Mill about and chat with your neighbors and drink in the free milk of human kindness. Be late for soccer practice. Miss a few cartoons. Gain a new relationship with this place we call home.

Stick. This is the very easiest way to become a part of this movement. Just resist the urge to travel to Bowling Green, Louisville, Nashville, or farther, to acquire your food or other needs. Gasoline is $4 per gallon. Big box retail stores, even if they are called Kroger or Whole Foods, might suit your personal desire for nutrition, but nurture our home place they do not. Rejoice in the uniqueness of the local vendors at our market and while you are there soak in the pure joy of dining in a locally owned restaurant around the Square like Fine Arts Bistro or George J’s. For some added spice to your Saturday morning adventure, walk or bicycle to the market and leave the SUV at home! Free yourself from the wanderlust and siren song of the distant corporation and celebrate the joy of localism.

Together we can continue our progress toward a sustainable economy by uniting local land, local sunlight, local intelligence, and local work. Will you pick one or more of these tasks and join us?

Great Reasons To Buy Local

2011-05-13T13:06:00.002-05:00

Source: eLocal.com

Bounty of the Barrens On the Square Starts Saturday!

2011-04-06T09:44:00.001-05:00

In Glasgow there is no better sign that spring has arrived than the opening of our Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market, and that happens this Saturday April 9, on the beautiful bountiful lawn of our Barren County Courthouse at the center of Glasgow’s downtown! For the Sustainable Glasgow team, this move has meant a great deal of work and planning throughout the winter but we are very excited about the new possibilities for improving our local food initiative at the new location. We are deeply grateful for the support and confidence we have gotten from Barren County Fiscal Court and other local officials who believe in us enough to give us permission to have the market in the center of town. Now, it is our job to show them that they made a great decision!

Of course it is April and, while there will not be a vast variety of fresh fruits and vegetables yet available during the first few weeks, there will be a lot of locally raised beef, poultry, buffalo, and pork. There will be baked goods, local milk and cheese, some early season produce, and some of the craft items you have come to expect at the market. Starting at 8:00 a.m., the white tents of Bounty of the Barrens Market will be arranged on the Courthouse lawn and the market will be underway. You can come early and enjoy breakfast at George J’s or Fine Arts Bistro with your family and friends before, or after, strolling around the vendor tents and purchasing your needed items. The Sustainable Glasgow team will be there learning from the initial experience at operating the market on the square and, together, we will learn and adjust and get the kinks worked out of the process during the early season so we can have it all well adjusted by late May when the market, the vendors, the local music, and you, the patrons, are all in full swing.

As with all events on the square, parking will be an issue. Please be aware of the parking available in the parking structure behind the buildings on the north side of the square, the City parking lot behind City Hall, parking behind US Bank, and the city lot on the west side of the square as well as all of the on-street parking available on the many streets leading to and from the Glasgow square. Most of all, please be careful as you leave and return to your vehicles as we all learn how to better mix pedestrian and vehicles around Glasgow’s downtown area! Local law enforcement folks as well as the Sustainable Glasgow team will be working to help drivers recognize the presence of pedestrians on the square to help everyone get to where they are going safely.

It looks like we will enjoy warm weather, copious blooming trees and flowers, great food from the restaurants on the square, and a wonderful opportunity to renew friendships with each other and the vendors who lovingly raise food and create local crafts for our enjoyment. Please make plans to attend the market this Saturday and help us celebrate the beginning of year three of Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market at our new location!

Times Community Review Article

2011-03-28T12:37:00.002-05:00

In case you missed it, Glasgow Daily Times in its Time Community Review, just did a fine set of articles on Barren County's biggest industry, agriculture. By special permission, the following copy of the article they did on us is copied below. Thanks so much to Glasgow Daily Times for allowing this reprint and for caring about our work enough to do this fine article explaining what we are trying to accomplish so well.

By Amanda Loviza

Glasgow Daily Times

Printed in the Times Community Review (TCR) 2011 Published on March 27, 2011

When the recession hit Glasgow in 2008 along with the rest of the country, a small group of people decided they wanted to do something about it.

We wanted to help build a more durable economy in Glasgow, said Billy Ray, superintendent of the Electric Plant Board. Ray is a board member of Sustainable Glasgow, an organization focused on creating a more sustainable economy by focusing on building a local movement in Glasgow.

The idea was that if residents spent more of their money in local businesses, buying produce from local farmers, etc., that those dollars would continue to circulate within the Glasgow economy and would make the city's economy stronger.

"Ownership matters," Ray said. "It makes a difference. Every time they pick up a fork, they are in effect voting for which economy is going to be more durable."

Sustainable Glasgow began with a group of five people who started talking about what they would do to improve Glasgows economy. They began meeting in each others homes, and decided their first goal was to foster a sustainable, local food economy, Ray said. Barren County was ranked one of the top agriculture-producing counties east of the Mississippi River, but local residents were not eating a lot of Barren County food.

Why are we producing so much food around here but not consuming it locally? Ray said was the big question.

In order to promote a local food economy, Sustainable Glasgow began the Bounty of the Barrens Market, a farmers market that stemmed from an earlier market at St. Andrews Episcopal Church. St. Andrews had begun their market after the tobacco buyout had hurt so many livelihoods in Glasgow.

It started out as kind of a justice issue and a community issue, said Suzanne Barrow, the vicar at St. Andrews.

The farmers market was something we realized people really wanted, said Barrow, now a Sustainable Glasgow board member. Sustainable Glasgow was able to build upon that market to create the Bounty of the Barrens, which was first held in the BB&T parking lot on West Main Street at the end of 2008.

From a physical health standpoint, local physician and Sustainable Glasgow president William Travis said that food bought from farms is much healthier, without hormones and antibiotics pumped into the animals. Theres also the benefit of being able to trust the source of your food.

One of the great things about buying food at a farmers market is that you can talk to the person who grew it, look them straight in the eye, Travis said.

Barren County farmer Joe Trigg sells beef and produce at the market, and said Sustainable Glasgow has done a good job of trying to be an advocate for farmers, which is easier said than done.

To emphasize gardening, produce production goes against the normal thing, said Trigg, also a board member. But Sustainable Glasgow wants Barren County farmers to lean their focus away from cash crops like corn and soybeans and focus more on produce that can be eaten locally.

Dr. Jerry Ralston, superintendent of Barren County Schools and Sustainable Glasgow board member, has already seen the positive benefits of providing local produce for consumption. Ralston has pioneered efforts to promote healthy, local eating in the Barren County school system. Barren County students eat apples and salads from local farms, and some elementary schools are creating edible schoolyards, where the teachers and students grow their own gardens on school property. Ralston said that consumption has increased dramatically since the schools started providing healthy local food.

I think its a way we can better take care of ourselves,?

Ralston said.

But Sustainable Glasgow still sees building a local food economy and having a farmers market as just the beginning.

I see it as a broad effort to not only bring the availability if local foods to a local market, but as a way to address local concerns, Ralston said.

Members of Sustainable Glasgow, especially Ray, would like to see the groups efforts expand into the development of biking and walking paths throughout the city. Sustainable Glasgow has started a push called Bicycles of the Barrens, submitting a plan to local government for a network of paths.

Unfortunately, that proposal has met with nothing more than a yawn from local government,?Ray said.

We have a long road to hoe to get this community to think about anything but wider roads, more vehicles,?he said. Kentucky was found to be one of the top five least-active states in a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released in February and based off data from 2007-2009.

Its a quality of life thing,?Travis said.

The organization has also started talking to local banks about the possibility of starting a local Slow Money movement, where banks would help residents invest in local businesses, so their money would remain in the local economy helping local businesses.

Rhonda Trautman, now mayor of Glasgow and a Sustainable Glasgow board member, said that it was the economic development aspect of Sustainable Glasgow that caught her attention. There are many studies that show that if a person spends one dollar in a local business, it circulates within the local economy much more than it would if that dollar were spent in a nationwide chain.

Its a multiplier effect, its just better for everyone,?

Trautman said.

Dan Iacconi, Sustainable Glasgow board member and director of the Industrial Development Economic Authority (IDEA) board, said that Sustainable Glasgow improves the local economy not only by creating jobs in the farming sector, but by attracting businesses to settle in Glasgow.

Prospective clients really appreciate that we have a grassroots movement committed to benefitting our community, Iacconi said. He added that it is a pleasure to showcase Sustainable Glasgow to prospective clients.

That commitment to benefitting the community is what drives the members of Sustainable Glasgow.

Its more than just a market on Saturday, its a way of life, Barrow said.

Ray said that having a sustainable community wont happen without risks, but he wants Glasgow to be as appealing as a small European town. He doesnt want people to feel like they have to travel thousands of miles for a scenic bike ride.

Why dont we just make it so we can live a vacation lifestyle here all the time??Ray said. Why not? Why cant we do that?By Amanda Loviza Glasgow Daily Times

When the recession hit Glasgow in 2008 along with the rest of the country, a small group of people decided they wanted to do something about it.

"Ownership matters," Ray said. "It makes a difference. Every time they pick up a fork, they are in effect voting for which economy is going to be more durable."

Why are we producing so much food around here but not consuming it locally? Ray said was the big question.

It started out as kind of a justice issue and a community issue, said Suzanne Barrow, the vicar at St. Andrews.

One of the great things about buying food at a farmers market is that you can talk to the person who grew it, look them straight in the eye, Travis said.

Barren County farmer Joe Trigg sells beef and produce at the market, and said Sustainable Glasgow has done a good job of trying to be an advocate for farmers, which is easier said than done.

I think its a way we can better take care of ourselves,?

Ralston said.

But Sustainable Glasgow still sees building a local food economy and having a farmers market as just the beginning.

I see it as a broad effort to not only bring the availability if local foods to a local market, but as a way to address local concerns, Ralston said.

Unfortunately, that proposal has met with nothing more than a yawn from local government,?Ray said.

Its a quality of life thing,?Travis said.

Its a multiplier effect, its just better for everyone,?

Trautman said.

That commitment to benefitting the community is what drives the members of Sustainable Glasgow.

Its more than just a market on Saturday, its a way of life, Barrow said.

Why dont we just make it so we can live a vacation lifestyle here all the time??Ray said. Why not? Why cant we do that?

Local Businesses -- The Nucleus of Glasgow's Economy

2011-03-18T06:02:00.004-05:00

At Sustainable Glasgow we believe that our local economy, and thus, our happiness, can be made more durable by doing business with local people and locally owned businesses. That belief is at the core of our work and our mission. We think that ownership matters.

Last year, when we wanted to upgrade the stage for Bounty of the Barrens Market, two locally owned businesses stepped up and gave us the money and material necessary to build a better stage. That is not even mentioning the fine local folks who run the Glasgow division of BB&T bank, who gave BOTBM a home in the first place! Now that we are moving the market to the square, we are, frankly, embarrassed that we will be leaving that stage and that those local businesses will not get the recognition they deserve. Those businesses, Square Deal Lumber Company and HVAC Services, and BB&T should continue to enjoy the attention of all members and fans of Sustainable Glasgow.

HVAC Services is again showing their commitment to the community by offering to donate $1 (up to $10,000) to the local Boys & Girls Club for everyone who visits their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HVACServices. Once you go there, click on the “Like” button and you will automatically make a donation to this worthy organization! We urge all members and friends of Sustainable Glasgow to help out businesses like these who do so much to reinforce our local economy. This is how we Live Local!

2011 Bounty of the Barrens Market Vendors - APPLY NOW!

2011-03-07T08:46:00.002-06:00

Over the weekend we finally completed the vendor application package for 2011. There is a permanent link to the download site on the left side of the page, or you can click here to download the application for 2011. Please get this rolling very soon, especially since some vendors will want to start setting up in about a month! We need your application and payment, and any questions you have for us as soon as possible.

2011 Bounty of the Barrens Market Plans Continue

2011-02-27T19:10:00.003-06:00

As another page is turned on the calendar, plans for Bounty of the Barrens Market 2011 continue to fall into place. As you know, the market will be on the lawn of the Barren County Courthouse at the center of the Glasgow square this year. We feel this is the perfect place to bring consumers and growers together for commerce in our community, but the perfect place is also dependent on a lot of puzzle pieces coming together before the market achieves our goals.

This link takes you to an interesting story on the most critical element of a successful farmers market - a great variety of vendors! Right now we are hoping that more local farmers are contemplating the planting of crops that will include a wide variety of local foods that can be sold at Bounty of the Barrens Market. Very soon, this site will feature a new vendor application package on the left side of the page which will detail the latest market rules and specify what steps are necessary to become a vendor at the market.

One of the other things Sustainable Glasgow has gotten a bit behind on as we have worked to plan this year's market is billing folks for annual Sustainable Glasgow membership. The family fee for being a part of our movement is $25. Please accept this as our formal request for you to mail us a check for $25 for your family's 2011 Sustainable Glasgow membership dues. We do need your help, both financially and physically. We are always in need of more volunteers to help us realize our goals.

Stay tuned to this site for upcoming news about our movement!

A Little Taste of Spring at BOTBM Tomorrow!

2011-02-11T15:57:00.004-06:00

Bounty of the Barrens Winter Market is this Saturday, February 12, from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Barren County Cooperative Extension Office on West Main Street. The location is just past Dana Corporation, on the right as you head west on West Main Street.

This is your February chance to purchase local food and crafts from local folks who grew the food locally or made the item locally, and local matters! Want something truly unique and beneficial to the local economy for your valentine? Then come out to see us at the market on Saturday morning. All the cool people will be there.

Bounty of the Barrens Market - Inside on January 8

2011-01-01T11:40:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year 2011! All of us at Sustainable Glasgow join in wishing you, and our community, a new year full of improvements and possibilities.

Now that the holiday season is over, we are all ready for warmer weather and the things we enjoy outside. For the last couple of years, one thing that many in our community have associated with spring and summer weather is Bounty of the Barrens Market. Even though we have bold new ideas and plans for the outdoor market this spring, you do not have to wait until spring to enjoy the market!

That’s right, due to our wonderful partner, Barren County Cooperative Extension Service, we have accomplished our goal of providing the market experience throughout the year. You can get a break from winter, and get started on those new year’s resolutions to lose weight and eat better food by coming to the Cooperative Extension office this Saturday for the January edition of Bounty of the Barrens Market. From 8:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday January 8, you can buy local meats, cheese, milk, eggs, and many other foods and crafts produced right here in our community.

The location is out West Main Street just beyond the Dana plant. Going out of town the Cooperative Extension office is on your right and signs will be posted to help you find the way. The market is inside in a temperature controlled facility there and, well, it is like finding a little bit of spring time during the dead of winter! Many of the vendors you got to know at the outdoor market will be there Saturday at the Extension Service office and we hope you will come. The market isn’t the market without you being there!

So, go ahead and mark your calendar to attend the market on January 8, and keep watching here for exciting information about our plans for the outdoor version of Bounty of the Barrens Market 2011. It is going to be amazing!

The Spirit of Christmas Past

2010-12-07T21:13:00.003-06:00

The Christmases of my childhood took place around Glasgow's Square, where enchantment hung heavy in the air. The basement of Newberry's was somehow directly attached to Santa's workshop and the finest work of his Elves was there. Heck, even Santa himself was a resident of the front window of the National Store. These were the days of magic surrounding the holiday and that feeling came from local merchants weaving that fabric of excitement and commerce. We cannot transport you back to the Glasgow of the 1960's, but we can guarantee you some of that same spirit this Saturday morning at the Barren County Cooperative Extension Service offices on West Main Street.

This Saturday morning the second winter Bounty of the Barrens Market will take place from 8:00 am until noon at the Extension office at the old location of the Jackson House Restaurant. About sixteen local farmers, craftsmen, and artists will be there to talk with you about the items they have lovingly produced right here in Barren County. There will be no high stress parking lot experience. There will be no self check-out lines and there will be no bar-code scanners beeping and chirping. There will be local people brimming with the Christmas spirit and suggesting items that you can purchase for your loved ones which already have a lot of love built in. Mindy McCulley has plans to offer another relic of the past...a gift wrapping service right at the market!

We can't guarantee that you will get that old Toy Land feeling when you come out to the market on Saturday morning. But we can assure you that the true spirit of Christmas will be there. We hope you will be there too!

Bounty of the Barrens Fall/Winter Market Tomorrow

2010-11-12T08:04:00.002-06:00

This is a reminder that the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market will be hosted tomorrow, Saturday, November 13, by Barren County Cooperative Ag Extension Office and Sustainable Glasgow inside the Ag Extension Office Building on W.Main Street. That is the building that was formerly Jackson House Restaurant, just past DANA Corp. Signs will be posted. The hours will be 8:00 to 12:00.

Many of the vendors you are accustomed to seeing at the summer BOTB Market will be present selling seasonal produce, local meats, eggs, baked goods, jellies, jams, and crafts. This is a great opportunity to buy unique holiday foods and Christmas gifts from local producers.

The vendors are excited about this opportunity to provide their locally produced goods to customers in a comfortable environment thoughout the fall and winter. This is a great location for the cool weather market.

The market will be held in this location every 2nd Saturday through March 2011.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Looking Back, Looking Forward

2010-11-03T14:47:00.000-05:00

In the mission of Sustainable Glasgow there is no clear line between our efforts to build a robust food economy and our work to make Glasgow a more pedestrian friendly place. These objectives, and many others, are all a part of our goal to reinforce our local economy and make our community the most enjoyable place it can possibly be. This post is intended to bring everyone up to speed on how we are doing with these objectives.

Our biggest project so far has been Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market. For about a month, the full-blown version of the market for 2010 has been put to rest. But many of the BOTBM vendors are still showing up on Saturday mornings at the regular location and a lot of the local produce and meats are still available from them. Of course, we all long to enhance our local food economy by establishing a permanent year-round market place. We are thrilled to announce that another step in that direction is going to come to pass on the second Saturday of each month through March 2011!!

Through the cooperation and work of our local Barren County Cooperative Extension Service, many of the BOTBM vendors will be inside the meeting room at the Extension Service offices on West Main Street (where the Jackson House Restaurant used to be, across from Dana Corporation) on November 13, December 11, January 8, February 12, and March 12 from 8:00 am until noon. Since this version of BOTBM will be inside, you will be able to shop in comfort no matter what the winter weather might bring to Glasgow! Please help us spread the word so that the vendors will have ample opportunities to sell their wares to local folks at the Extension Service offices.

Even though we had a fantastic 2010 market year, there are still many things we want to do better. First and foremost, we need more Barren County farmers to participate by growing local fruits and vegetables and bringing them to the market to sell directly to local consumers. This year, quite often we had more customers than we had local produce to sell to them. Our objective of improving our local economy through production and employment at local farm “factories” cannot be reached until we can convince more landowners in our county to give local food a chance. We know we still have a “long row to hoe” before we can approach success in this endeavor. Will you pitch in and help us with this work?

The Annual Meeting of Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. will be held at 7:00 pm on November 9 on the Square at the SG offices, right beside the Rogers and Driver Attorney offices on the east side of the Square. At that meeting we will conduct some required business like electing board members and such, but our main objective will be to review, with the membership and the community at large, the major initiatives of Sustainable Glasgow, Inc., including the market, our plan for establishing a pedestrian way about Glasgow, our recommendations for improving traffic and parking around the Glasgow Square, and our other ideas for making our local economy more durable and our life in Glasgow more enjoyable. Since we just elected a slate of new local representatives and officials, it is a great time for us to come together and develop our recommendations for their agendas.

Please make plans to visit the market, both at its regular location and on second Saturdays inside at the Barren County Cooperative Extension Office. Also, please make plans to spend the evening of November 9 meeting with us to make important plans for the future of our community. We will welcome you!

Next to Last Official Day of BOTBM 2010!

2010-09-17T13:20:00.002-05:00

It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that we were building the stage and getting things all lined up for Bounty of the Barrens Market 2010, but now we are about to wind it down. But still, it looks like it is going to be a glorious day on Saturday and there will be lots of reasons for you to come on down to our place behind BB&T starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

While some of the vendors have sold out of their products, you will still find a lot of great stuff at the market. Baked goods, honey, pork, beef, chickens, watermelons, craft items, sweet potatoes, eggs, and all manner of other great local products will be there awaiting you. The music will be unusual this Saturday too as we will be getting a demonstration of ballroom dancing!!

Come on down to the market and have some breakfast, stock up your kitchen, and learn to cut a rug. What else could you hope for on a beautiful Saturday morning in Glasgow?

Patriot Day at Bounty of the Barrens Market

2010-09-10T09:11:00.002-05:00

Even though the official season for Bounty of the Barrens Market is winding down, and even though it might be a bit wet, tomorrow is still going to present plenty of reasons for you to come out and join your friends and neighbors. After a few weeks of no live local music, the sweet sounds of Derek Oldenkamp's brass quintet will fill the air starting around 8:00 in the morning.

The air will also carry the delicious aroma of sausage and biscuits and gravy by the Tubbs Family Farm folks. There will be coffee from the St. Andrews Episcopal Church team, and the usual rich palette of local foods that you have come to expect at the market. Rain or shine, come on down to be a part of the river of life in Glasgow. The season is winding down, so don't miss a minute of it!

We Want Our Square Back!

2010-09-07T20:24:00.003-05:00

For the last few months the Sustainable Glasgow team, supported by the fine folks at BITS, has been putting together the above proposal for a revitalization of Glasgow's Square. Our plan is to emphasize the Square as the nucleus of our community and the layout proposed above intends to return the Square to a pedestrian commons area and increase the available parking while attempting to make it easier for vehicular traffic to get where they are going with much less danger and aggravation to the pedestrian traffic.

This layout nets about fifteen new parking places and it establishes some wider sidewalks and public spaces where park benches, water fountains, art, and other spaces where people-based activities can be promoted. These plans have now been shared with most of the businesses around the Square and they have also been discussed with City Government and with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Now it is up to you. If you like this plan, please let it be known to your elected representatives. If you do not like it and have alternative suggestions, please let us know. Clearly, this project will not move forward without broad community support - that is exactly what we were told by the Transportation Cabinet folks.

We plan on sharing the comments we get with everyone on this site, so keep coming back to see what we are hearing. The comments will be copied here under the "comments" link below this post.

August 28 at Bounty of the Barrens Market

2010-08-27T10:25:00.002-05:00

It is time for Bounty of the Barrens Market again! This Saturday we get to hear the musical styling of our own No Bottom Boys! If that is not enough for you, how about the local honey, baked goods, melons, vegetables, eggs, and wonderful locally raised and harvested beef, pork, and chicken.

If you have yet to try JD Country Milk from the market, you simply are missing the best milk drinking experience this side of 1965. I have been getting a quart of their heavenly chocolate milk for the last few weeks and it mysteriously disappears within a day.

At the food tent our own Father Suzanne Barrow will be the chief chef and breakfast wraps and omelets will be there for your nutritional enjoyment. See you there!

August 14 BOTBM - Special Features

2010-08-13T11:12:00.003-05:00

It is Friday and time once again to think about things we can do in, and for, our community over the weekend. First, as you already know, there is Jammin' at George J's tonight and we can't wait to be there!

Tomorrow's Bounty of the Barrens Market will also be a lot of fun. One special feature will be local milk (well, actually not Barren County local, but a lot more local that what we have to choose from in our grocery stores!), from JD Farms in Logan County. This dairy farmer is producing hormone free milk that is pasteurized at low temperatures and then cooled very quickly to preserve the natural flavor and beneficial enzymes of milk produced by healthy, grass-fed cows. The folks at the Epicure's Garden/Kenny's Cheese tent will have a limited supply of chocolate, skim, 2%, and whole milk from JD Farms as well as cream, buttermilk and peach and raspberry drinkable yogurt. Orders will be taken this Saturday for delivery the following week.

Now, this does slightly violate our "producer only" philosophy at BOTBM, but we think this special exception is worthwhile to help our local dairy farmers see what demand is out there for local, hormone free milk. We think it will be big and we hope to be a part of convincing local dairy farmers to mimic this model. Right now, the milk we get from local groceries has traveled at least 200 miles before reaching us. Some would say that there is a bigger diesel fuel component to this milk than the milk part of it! We simply say that we are surrounded by beautiful dairy farms operated by our friends and neighbors. We want them to make more money by selling high quality products directly to the folks who want those products. Come by this Saturday and see what this idea is all about.

In the food tent we will be doing sausage and biscuits and Gabe will be doing some French Toast. The musical artists are Bob and Joanna Harvey, and all of the vendors you have come to love will be there with their own products. We hope to see you all there!

Jammin' at George J's Tonight

2010-08-13T08:49:00.002-05:00

All friends of SG: Jammin' at George J's tonight featuring "Steel Country." This is a local band that features some great players of "classic country." If you like the country music of the greats from the era before the cookie cutter "hat boys" that Nashville is producing these days, you'll love Steel Country.
Doors open at 6, music starts at 7, cover $3.
Come on down to the square for a great Friday night.

Special Day at Bounty of the Barrens Market

2010-08-06T08:34:00.003-05:00

We feel like every market day is special, but tomorrow's version is even more special. In celebration of National Farmers Market Week, we are also celebrating our local market. All of the vendors you know and love will be there with their bountiful selections of locally grown produce and locally crafted goods., but there is more.

You can come hungry because the Tubbs family will be running the food tent and they are doing biscuits, gravy, sausage, and jelly! Yummm! Then, at about 9:00 Julie Ann Williams will sing the National Anthem, kicking off a brief program of remarks from local elected officials and dignitaries. We are so proud to have them recognizing the value that BOTBM is bringing to Glasgow's economy!

Right after the remarks we have another treat. The Song Farmers will be setting up (is there a more appropriately named group?) to deliver a morning full of their unique bluegrass/rock-a-billy/blues sound, developed right here in our region.

Even the weather forecast promises a special day for us! Come on out and participate. Creating a robust local food economy is not a spectator sport!

Jammin' at George J's Tonight

2010-07-30T10:39:00.003-05:00

Eric Albany will be our performer at Jammin' at George J's on the Square in downtown Glasgow tonight. Eric performed earlier in the year and the crowd had a great time. Eric sings and accompanies himself with acoustic guitar. He performs an interesting and eclectic set of country,rock and blues. Eric is a really talented and seasoned performer who I'm sure you'll enjoy.
Also, George J's has a great menu for this event - perfect for a summer Friday evening.

The doors open at 6:00 and music starts at 7:00. Eric will be playing past 9:00. There is a $3 musician/cover charge at the door.

Come on out, meet your friends and enjoy good food and entertainment on the square in Glasgow tonight!

This event is co-sponsored by Sustainable Glasgow.

July 31 Edition of Bounty of the Barens Market

2010-07-30T09:25:00.001-05:00

You can get your sweet tooth fulfilled several ways at the BOTBM tomorrow. Gabe Esters will be serving up his killer french toast at the food tent. Many vendors will have other baked goods, and many will also have some of the sweetest watermelons you have ever tasted! Come on down and commune with your friends and neighbors over the sweet smells of local food!

July 24 at Bounty of the Barrens Market

2010-07-23T15:06:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow's market will be extra special! All of the vendors you know and love will be there and this time of year the crops are the most bountiful. There will be lots of everything fresh and local and good. Tambra Cambron and her family will be providing original local music AND we will get a preview of the upcoming production of High School Musical 2 from our talented local youth involved in the upcoming show. The fine folks from T.J. Samson Hospital will be showing us what real chefs can do in the cooking tent. Where else would anyone want to be on a Saturday morning in Glasgow? See you there!

July 17 Version of Bounty of the Barrens Market

2010-07-16T09:51:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow's market might get a little wet, if the weather man is correct, but, well, it is summer time! Come on out and get wet at our Bounty of the Barrens...Water Park! We are getting into the time of year when tons of produce is available. There will be tomatoes, corn, beans, and all of the things you have come to expect at the market. AND, this week we have been assured by Jackson's Orchard that they will be there with PEACHES!!

The food tent will be dishing out fabulous breakfast wraps by our own divine chef, Father Suzanne. The music will be very special as Holly Alexander and Jackie Benningfield bring us some classical pieces for flute and violin.

We can't think of any reason why you would not be there on Saturday morning!

Local Food and Local Music on the Glasgow Square Friday Night

2010-07-14T08:38:00.004-05:00

This Friday night we all get another chance to vote for local food, locally owned restaurants, and local musical artists by showing up at George J's on the Square in Glasgow to attend the sixth edition of Jammin' at George J's. We hope to see you all there!

Bounty of the Barrens Market Tomorrow!

2010-07-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

Ready for Bounty of the Barrens Market in the morning? We are! This week you will get to hear local musical artists Jenny Lu and Chad Shireman. You will have access to fantastic locally grown produce and chickens, pork, and grass fed beef. You will be able to enjoy a local breakfast omelet made from all local ingredients. I mean, really, we even have locally brewed root beer!

Brew of the Barrens - The Recipe

2010-06-27T11:43:00.001-05:00

For the many who have asked about the recipe for the "Brew of the Barrens" homemade root beer we have been making at the market, here it is:
Put 3.5 gallons of cold Glasgow Water Company water in a five gallon cooler. Add 6 cups of white sugar and stir it until fully dissolved. Add 2 ounces of root beer extract (it takes some research to find it, but it is available - Mc Cormick even has it in the spices area of larger grocery stores). Then add the secret ingredient, four pounds of dry ice from Glasgow Ice Company! This puts on the big show with all of the smoke and fog coming off of the mixture...put the top on the cooler LOOSELY and let the brew work for about an hour, stirring occasionally to keep it all going.

On the other hand, you could just keep coming back to the Bounty of the Barrens Market to get your local root beer fix!

Localism in Action

2010-06-25T08:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I had an experience that was a perfect example of why ownership matters and why the very happiest shopping experiences come in locally owned and operated businesses. It was a simple, yet elegant and totally satisfying experience at Square Deal Lumber Company.

Wednesday night was the first evening of the week that I had time to mow my yard. Of course, it was also too hot for humans to actually be outside, so I waited until nearly dark to do my work. As is usually the case when I try to squeeze an outdoor task into a very limited time slot, something went wrong. This time it was my trusty Echo trimmer that refused to run long enough to tame the weeds around my yard.

Thursday morning I threw the trimmer into the back of my car to drop it off at Square Deal Lumber where I had purchased it many years before. Since we are in the heart of the mowing season, I fully expected them to take the unit in and tell me it should be ready in a week or so, but that is not what happened in this wonderful little establishment owned and staffed by folks who live right here among us. When I walked in the door with by dress shirt and tie on while clutching a very used trimmer, I was immediately acknowledged and within minutes a very nice fellow was asking about my problem with the trimmer. As I described the symptoms he took it out of my hands and walked toward his work bench. "Have you got a minute?" he said, "because if I don't fix it now it is going to be sometime tomorrow before I can get to it." "Why of course I have a minute," said I (even though the prospect of getting it back the next day was way more than I had hoped for).

In five minutes he disassembled, diagnosed, repaired, and returned the trimmer to my hands repaired. He also refused to allow me to pay for the repair! This, friends and neighbors, is not something that would occur at any big box retailer or foreign owned establishment. This is the kind of treatment that can occur in small towns where the locals support these businesses by trading with them even though the initial price might be a little higher than the big box retailer. This is the very heart of localism and the concept of a sustainable local economy where we vote for our happiness with the dollars we spend every day.

Cheers to you Square Deal Lumber Company! Now my neighbors will not have to look at my unkempt yard any longer.

Big Day at the Market Tomorrow!

2010-06-25T07:47:00.003-05:00

All Bounty of the Barrens Market Days are exciting. What other word could describe the opportunity to purchase real food, local food, clean and unadulterated food grown by extremely cool folks that live no more than fifty miles from your dinner table?

This Saturday's special offerings will include breakfast prepared by Joellen and John Tubbs. They grow real blueberries right here in the Barrens and they are going to do a blueberry pancake throwdown in the BOTBM food tent that will make you want to throw rocks at your normal breakfast fare! Up on the BB&T - HVAC Services - Square Deal Lumber stage will be Glasgow's own Eric Albany.

Over at the Sustainable Glasgow tent we will be once again, thanks to the fine folks at our own local ice company - Glasgow Ice, preparing our Brew of the Barrens homemade root beer and we will be passing it out for free. With a little luck (and a lot of work by Lauren), we will have our EBT/Debit Card machine working too so you will be able to use EBT cards and regular debit cards for purchases at the market.

Mindy McCully and Kristin Goodin from the Barren County Extension Service Office will also be there to show off their cucumber salsa recipe, and the usual group of fantastic vendors will be on hand to share the fruits of their labor. I can't wait to see you there!

Come to BOTBM Tomorrow!

2010-06-18T10:35:00.000-05:00

Time to make plans to attend Bounty of the Barrens Market, behind BB&T on West Main, 8:00 - noon tomorrow. Music will be by Tambra Cambron and her students, local breakfast will be served, local vendors will bring all sorts of locally grown and made items for your enjoyment. We will even have more locally brewed root beer! See you there!

Simple Sandwich - Not So Simple

2010-06-01T12:30:00.003-05:00

I am looking for something more elusive than good seats at a concert -- I want a local sandwich with turkey or ham on it that has no other ingredients other than that which was produced by the fowl or the pig. This should be simple, but it isn't for me.

Ever since mine eyes were opened about the horrors of our industrial food system, I thought I was getting good unprocessed turkey or ham by shopping at the deli department of local grocery stores. Surely, I thought, if I step up and point to a turkey and tell the nice deli folks how many pounds of it I want and how thick to slice it I am rewarded with the real thing, but, alas, a friend has revealed the truth. The packaging the deli folks peel back to slice off my sandwich staple tells the real story. That oven baked turkey breast actually contains: Turkey Breast, Water, Modified Food Starch, Lactate, Salt, Honey, Corn Syrup Solids (here too!!!! good grief), Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Sodium Diacetate, and it was browned in Oil. As Charlie Brown would say, "ARRRGGGHHHHH!"

Michael Pollan says that if your grandmother would not recognize something as food, don't eat it. My Grandmother never served me any Sodium Diacetate. The folks at Harvard School of Public Health recently confirmed that processed meats are strongly implicated in our spiraling rates of diabetes and heart disease. This study just came out a couple of weeks ago.

So what is an aspiring locavore and dedicated sandwich-for-lunch person supposed to do? Really, I want to know. Other than regularly baking my own ham or filling a crock pot with a turkey breast, is there a way for me to purchase a nicely sliced pound of turkey or ham for my daily bread? When I go to a local restaurant, is the turkey on my hot brown or club sandwich from someone's processed meat inventory? I'm afraid to find out the answer to that, but am eternally hopeful that I will find out that they cooked it and sliced it themselves.

So, I ask you vendors at Bounty of the Barrens Market; I ask you potential local entrepreneurs who might be thinking of opening a real deli, when will I be able to safely go home and make myself a turkey sandwich again? I await your advice with the faint aroma of carrageenan on my breath.

The Glasgow Greenway -- An Idea Ripe for the Picking

2010-05-30T11:15:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago Sustainable Glasgow sent a well thought out formal letter to the Mayor and County Judge Executive laying out a proposed master plan for walking/jogging/cycling paths that would form the Glasgow Greenway. As of this morning there has been no formal response to that letter, but I do know that Mayor Pickett is pondering it.

Just a few days ago an article in the Glasgow Daily Times outlined plans for the repaving and re-striping of West Main Street from the Glasgow Square to L. Rogers Wells Blvd. Since that section of West Main is a component of our suggested Glasgow Greenway Master Plan, this is an opportunity to start the years long process of implementing the plan. We need for our local elected officials to immediately interject the master plan into the current plans to rework West Main Street. If this section of roadway is to receive new traffic graphics, this is the time to establish cycling lanes along this route.

While it is true that a set of lanes from the Square to the Bypass along West Main would accomplish little to provide a usable section of Glasgow Greenway, it is a heavily traveled street which would expose many locals to the concept of cycling lanes and would begin the process of teaching folks how to interact with cycling lanes and cyclists. This could easily be done by taking some space away from the vehicle lanes and from the turn lane in the center of the existing roadway. Taking this action would also get us moving on the concept of steering heavy traffic toward major roadways and arterial routes and away from the Square such that pedestrian traffic can be emphasized and cherished in our city center. If the lanes are tighter, it should follow that big vehicles and trucks will seek alternate routes.

If the newspaper article was correct, this work could begin at any time. If we are serious about working for change, improvement, and new thinking in our community; if we are serious about lobbying to get the Glasgow Greenway established, now is the time to contact people you know in local government to get them interested in this project and this opportunity which is being dumped in our lap right now.

BOTBM 2010 Market Day 1 - Retrospective

2010-05-29T15:58:00.004-05:00

The official opening day for 2010 was this morning and it went very well. Perhaps 500 folks, mostly locals, but many from other states, were on hand to share in the bounty of our region and witness what a community can do for itself if it puts its heart and mind into it. Bob and Joanna Harvey christened the new Square Deal Lumber - HVAC Services - BB&T stage by graciously sharing their talents with the folks who attended and about 30 vendors offered to feed us with the products they have produced with the sweat of their brow and the sunshine from Mother Nature. It was a great morning.

Still, we noted several things we can do better and plan to start on those things next week. First, we didn't have anyone there cooking for the attendees and there was not enough there to drink. Next week we hope to remedy that by stepping up to have omelette chefs working with local ingredients available at the market, coffee from the fair trade coffee offered by St. Andrews Church, and other cold drinks offered in recyclable containers.

We also ran into a bit of trouble with our debit card/EBT terminal and hope to have that corrected in two weeks. After that, you will be able to come to the market with no cash and use your debit card on site to acquire tokens which can be spent with any of the vendors at the BOTBM. Also, for anyone who receives government benefits and nutrition support benefits, they will be able to use the EBT cards at the market as well.

For all of you who came this week, thanks, it was a great start, but you really haven't seen anything yet!

Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market Opening Day

2010-05-26T11:23:00.003-05:00

For those of us working on making the market a reality, it came a lot faster than we expected, but Saturday, May 29, Bounty of the Barrens Market officially opens for the 2010 season. The music will be back with Bob and Joanna Harvey kicking off the new season and christening our new Square Deal Lumber/HVAC Services/BB&T stage! The produce, local baked goods, local honey, eggs, beef, pork, etc., etc. will be there as well. The white tents will be there. Most importantly, your friends and neighbors, whom you might not have seen since the market ended last year, will be there as well. All we need is for you to be there to make it a happening!

We are proud of the market and how well it has developed in one year, but no one should forget that the market is not the end of Sustainable Glasgow's work, it is only the beginning. We are determined to make our community more self-sufficient and more enjoyable to live our lives in. The market is designed to bring together producers and consumers for commerce. We don't want to just operate a successful farmers market. We want to create a sustainable food economy where more of our local farmers change from commodity crops to food crops that can be counted on to feed our community. We want more local beef and dairy farmers to find ways to sell directly to the people who live here, for a fair market price, instead of selling their products at a loss to distant middle men. We want local restaurants to thrive by purchasing from those farmers and constructing menus from local ingredients instead of the latest convenient fare from a wholesaler's truck. We want local hospitals, nursing homes, and schools to enter into relationships with local producers so that each enjoys the benefits of trade within our local area, such that the dollars remain in the local community and get circulated for the improvement of all local businesses. We believe ownership matters and that owning our own food economy may matter more that just about anything else.

So come and join us this Saturday, and every Saturday through the summer, at Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market. But, stay with us to push our movement forward toward a community that rediscovers the beauty and peace of living in a place where we invest in ourselves and enjoy the benefits of that investment as we spend our lives in the company of each other.

Bounty of the Barrens Pre-Season Continues...May 15

2010-05-14T08:08:00.003-05:00

The Bounty of the Barrens Market Preseason continues tomorrow with lots of early season items including.....STRAWBERRIES! And we mean real, local, picked yesterday, strawberries. Not those fake things that look like strawberries and were picked in California a couple of weeks ago while still green. Come on out Saturday morning!

Glasgow Greenway and Bounty of the Barrens Preseason Market Update

2010-05-05T09:24:00.004-05:00

First, this link will take you to a draft of the Glasgow Greenway Master Plan that we are proposing for adoption by both City and County governments. Click here and you will open the plan we have developed through our new initiative, Bicycles of the Barrens.

The idea here is to get the local governments to approve this plan to develop a variety of options to establish clearly designated pathways along these routes shown in green. Some of the solutions will be to paint lanes on existing roadways, some will be reconstructed and widened sidewalks, and some of the routes would need to be newly constructed pathways that do not exist at all now (look at the suggested route along South Fork Creek which would connect schools and several parks).

Obviously this network of greenways would not be created quickly, but some segments of the proposed plan would be very simple to establish and we are asking the local governments to start immediately. We are also asking them to begin earmarking at least 5% of their roadway maintenance budgets to the establishment of the Glasgow Greenway. Any opportunity you have to tell an elected official that you support this plan, especially right now as they contemplate budgets for next year, would be a big help!

Also, the Bounty of the Barrens Market Preseason continues this Saturday morning at 8 a.m. to noon. Many of the vendors are showing up for the preseason market. Local crafts, locally baked treats of all manner, locally raised and processed meats, and some early season produce is already available. You can also admire the progress on the new Square Deal Lumber Company stage at Bounty of the Barrens Market! Thanks to Square Deal and some dedicated volunteer carpenters, a great stage will be available for our local musicians this year. Get ready for the Grand Opening of the market on May 29!

Bounty of the Barrens Pre-Season Continues...

2010-04-28T12:45:00.002-05:00

This Saturday morning we all will have another opportunity to get out and stretch our legs at the preseason version of Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market. Starting at 8:00 on Saturday (and every Saturday through October), the vendors will assemble at the lot behind BB&T on West Main Street in Glasgow. This time of the year they bring locally made art and crafts, locally raised beef, pork, and chickens, along with some early season produce like lettuce, asparagus, and rhubarb. There will also be wonderful baked goods produced in the kitchens of many of your neighbors along with local farm fresh eggs - even buffalo! Please start making plans to be there this Saturday and make it a Saturday morning tradition for your family!

Since it is the preseason (the market does not officially open until May 29), we are not sure which vendors will be there each week, but we do know that some new ones will start on May 1, including the folks from Tubbs' Farmstead (think outstanding baked goods, asparagus, and rhubarb).

Support the vendors who come to the Bounty of the Barrens Market and they will expand and improve our community's ability to feed itself. Isn't that worth a bit of your time on Saturday mornings?

Sustainable Glasgow Open Meeting Tonight

2010-04-20T11:05:00.002-05:00

A reminder that TONIGHT is our Open Community Meeting at 118 East Public Square at 6:30PM in the storefront below Alexander Law Office. Whether you are a member, a prospective member or just curious, please attend. We plan tonight to review the progress of Sustainable Glasgow and discuss future initiatives. ALL ARE INVITED. WE WARMLY WELCOME YOUR IDEAS AND PARTICIPATION!

Watch Food, Inc.

2010-04-20T08:36:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday night, April 21, 8:00 p.m., the documentary Food, Inc. will air on KET (Channel 11 on EPB). This is one of the most important documentary films ever produced. Please do yourself a huge favor by taking the time to watch it and then act on the information contained therein by purchasing local food from your neighbors at Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market. The best way to combat the food system you will learn about by watching the movie is by purchasing food from local producers who will meet you and look at you eyeball to eyeball and assure you that their products are fresh and clean.

Talking About Walking

2010-04-13T13:53:00.002-05:00

Among the many things we learned in running Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market last year was that folks love to get out of their cars, walk about, shop, chat, and generally enjoy the company of their friends and neighbors in a quiet, car-free environment. Should anyone be surprised at this? Most of the places where we yearn to go on vacation offer the same qualities. So how might we move our community toward an expansion of this thing we learned at the market? How about starting right in the nucleus of Glasgow on the Square?

Go to George J’s or Subway on the Square and have lunch while watching the traffic on the Square. Anyone can see why the Square is not the pleasant pedestrian plaza that we want. Over the years we have mistakenly emphasized vehicular traffic around our Square and that has made it an arterial roadway instead of a pedestrian plaza. It is noisy. It is unpleasant for pedestrians. The sidewalks are narrow and the roadways are wide. Pedestrians have trouble finding parking places so they can get out of the cars and walk because the parking layout is inefficient and large numbers of parking spaces have been claimed by the various government agencies around the Square. Vague traffic organization and signage makes the problem worse. This is no place for a person in a vehicle, much less a pedestrian that wants the same sort of experience they have at Bounty of the Barrens Market!

Making changes to our city center will certainly bring about doubt and resistance, but surely we can allow ourselves to dream of a different sort of nucleus for our community without causing immediate resistance. What if we were to throw away everything about the way our Square is organized and start with a clean sheet of paper? What if the sidewalks were wider and the driving lanes smaller? Can you imagine the whole Square as a cross-walk and striped to designate that? What if the parking plan for the Square were totally redesigned to provide more, and safer, parking spaces? What if the people who own the Square got a voice in how many parking places were allocated to our government agencies?

If the Square is to be the nucleus of a new transportation plan for our community that includes facilities for walking, jogging, and cycling, then the Square should be an area where the pedestrian, and the local businesses there, are King and Queen, and the vehicular traffic is tamed and respectful of the King and Queen. We think that East-West traffic along Main Street should be two-way in order to allow that traffic to move on without circling the Square. This, by itself, would drastically reduce the number of vehicles orbiting the Square. Maybe there should be speed bumps to calm the traffic, and new traffic control graphics and devices to organize it. Maybe there should be local ordinances that prohibit any vehicle with more than two axles to use the pedestrian zone created around the Square (sitting at George J’s at lunch one day we counted over thirty tandem-axle, heavily loaded dump trucks circumnavigating the Square). To create a pedestrian-friendly plaza in the center of our community, many drivers should find the Square to be too slow for vehicles, prompting them to find alternate routes, and allowing peace and quiet and that elusive pedestrian friendly environment to flourish. Once that happens, it seems that existing businesses on the Square, as well as new ones, will find themselves flourishing as well.

Sustainable Glasgow wants to engage the community in dreaming about a new Public Square. We want to be a catalyst in the process of promoting a cycling/jogging/walking infrastructure plan for Glasgow. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy asks Glinda (the good witch), “but – how do I start for the Emerald City?” Glinda replies, “It’s always best to start at the beginning. . .” We think it always makes sense to follow the advice of a good witch. Let’s begin at the beginning, on Glasgow’s Square and make it the center of our master plan for a pedestrian friendly city.

If you want to be a part of this conversation, please join us for our next Sustainable Glasgow public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on April 20. We will be meeting on the Square at 108 East Public Square. We hope to see you there!

BOTBM Market Preview again tomorrow!

2010-04-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

Remember that several of the Bounty of the Barrens vendors will be set up on the BB&T parking lot tomorrow morning from 8:00 till noon. Several early season produce items, meats, and baked goods will be available if you come on out to get them! Also, we will be commencing work on the Square Deal Lumber Company stage for this year's musical performances. If you want to help, bring your talent and come on!

April is Bounty of the Barrens Preview Season

2010-03-30T21:35:00.001-05:00

This Saturday, the first Saturday in April, will herald the beginning of the Bounty of the Barrens Market season. Obviously it will not be the full blown market as very little is available in the way of fresh produce this time of year, but there will be some of your favorite vendors there at the regular site of the market, behind the big BB&T bank on Main Street in Glasgow.

We don't have an exhaustive list of which vendors will show up during this "preview" season, but it is certain you will find some fresh lettuce, cabbage, greens, cheese, and a variety of locally raised meats. Some of the Sustainable Glasgow crew will be there as well to discuss the plans for the full blown market which will commence at the end of May. We will also be happy to sign you up as an SG member and maybe even convince you to volunteer to help us prepare the grounds for the 2010 season. One of our big projects is to build a better stage facility for our local artists to use in the wonderful music performances which are already a Bounty of the Barrens Market tradition.

Come on down Saturday mornings, starting this Saturday, April 3, and get reacquainted with the fine folks who tend the soil in order to feed the rest of us.

SG Nearly April Update

2010-03-26T10:10:00.002-05:00

April is coming around the bend and there is a lot to talk about relative to Sustainable Glasgow. First of all, especially at this time of year when so much is going on in preparation for Bounty of the Barrens Market, we have started doing a lot of our posting of information on our Sustainable Glasgow Facebook site which you can access by following this link. If you do not yet participate in Facebook, all I can say is, click on the link above and follow the directions to set up a simple account. You will be amazed at how easy it is to use and how much sharing of information is possible via this service.

If you just refuse to use Facebook, we will still use this blog to keep you posted and here comes a lot of information! First, we hope to see you tonight at the second Jammin' at George J's on the square in Glasgow. There is local food, local music, and local folk there. What more could you want? Food starts at 6:00 and music by Good Time Charlies starts at 7:00.

The next thing on to talk about is that we now have a fully executed agreement with the fine folks at BB&T Bank to allow us to hold the Bounty of the Barrens Market at the same site we used last year. This year it will be enhanced with picnic tables, and a more permanent stage facility for our local musicians. Some vendors will actually start appearing on Saturday mornings in April as some food items start becoming available. The full blown opening of the market featuring many vendors and local music will be on May 29!

Another new feature of the BOTB Market this year will be our ability to accept EBT cards and debit cards! That's right. During the winter we have worked hard to become certified to accept these benefit cards so that fresh local food will be more available to those who are down on their luck at the moment and are getting these benefit cards to supplement the nutrition of their family. The SG tent will have a card reader device so that we can scan the EBT cards or regular bank debit cards and issue tokens which can be spent like money at any of the vendor locations in the market. Of course, there are certain restrictions on what can be purchased with the EBT cards, but we will work out all of those details by May.

On April 16 we will be presenting the program at the Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Breakfast meeting at Glasgow Country Club. We look forward to that opportunity to bring the community up to speed on the issues Sustainable Glasgow is working on. We hope to see many of you there.

On April 20, we are holding a general Sustainable Glasgow membership meeting to discuss our progress and projects with all SG members and those interested in becoming members. This meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at the SG office at 108 East Public Square in Glasgow. Again, we really hope to see you all there. An agenda for that meeting will be posted here within the next few days and we will use Facebook to create an event which will automatically invite the folks who have become fans of our Facebook page.

Well, guess that is about enough for this post. Hope to see you all soon!

Jammin' at George J's 2!

2010-03-22T08:26:00.002-05:00

UK is not playing on Friday night, so what else are you going to do in Glasgow besides come to the second edition of Jammin' at George J's? Food service starts at 6:00 and music from Good Time Charlies starts at 7:00. Hope to see everyone there!

Spring and Sustainability in Glasgow

2010-03-21T11:21:00.002-05:00

Apparently it is the season for communities to come together to discuss local food issues in Kentucky. We attended the Community Farm Alliance meeting in Louisville last week called Everybody Eats, and we came away with some great new ideas. Then there was the Bluegrass Food Security Conference a few days ago in Lexington, which we did not get to attend but that this article gives a great background on. It seems that the concepts of eating and shopping locally are alive and well in Kentucky and we are pushing hard for them to take root in Glasgow.

The Sustainable Glasgow team is working hard on plans for Bounty of the Barrens Market this year. As always, we are looking for more volunteers to help us pull off an even greater market this year than we had last year. Of course, we are also looking for new and returning members. All of you should have gotten an email invoice for your 2010 Sustainable Glasgow membership. For those of you who have already responded with a check for 2010, Thank You. For those of you who have not yet responded, we really hope you will renew your membership and make a donation toward this essential work we are doing.

Finally, if you have not yet started to participate in Facebook and have not yet discovered our very active Sustainable Glasgow Facebook page at this link, you really are missing the latest and most robust way for us to stay in touch. Please click on the link above and become a fan of our Facebook site!

Market Layout for 2010

2010-03-11T21:14:00.002-06:00

Let's Do More Than Talk About Alternate Transportation

2010-03-05T09:17:00.004-06:00

This post was originally created as a discussion on our new Bicycles of the Barrens Facebook page at this link. It is reposted here for those who do not yet use Facebook.

Anyone who has occasion to drive around the south side of Glasgow on a school day between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. knows it is time to start the discussion that we created the Bicycles of the Barrens group to conduct. It is time to discuss the need for a master cycling/jogging/walking route plan and the need to secure a commitment from local governments for annual funding for the plan. Nearly every day when the schools are in session, the southern end of the 31E Bypass is just as gridlocked as a southern California freeway. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of vehicles destined to and from WKU Glasgow, the Barren County HS/Trojan Academy Campus, South Green Elementary, Red Cross Elementary, Christian Academy, and Glasgow Montessori all seem to be delivering one child at a time. As a result, traffic is totally locked up between the many traffic signals that exist within a half mile radius of South Gate Shopping Center. This is a wasteful, dangerous, exasperating mess and it repeats itself again later in the afternoon when schools release students and every day when school is in session.

If we had a simple network of cycling/jogging lanes that connect the schools, parks, and residential areas, as well as connecting to the new Veterans Outer Loop, we might have the foundation of a solution. Parking in outlying areas along the cycling lanes might encourage students to drive in with bicycles on racks, park in the outlying lots, and ride in to schools and work. The schools might provide incentives for students arriving and departing on bicycles or on foot. Maybe, just maybe, some of the students who are determined to live a sustainable lifestyle might begin to arrive on bicycles and maybe the idea might catch on. Stranger things have happened, right?

If you look at a map of Glasgow, it is notable that the new Outer Loop will intersect all routes into Glasgow from the westernmost to the easternmost extremes of the city. Beginning in front of South Green Elementary, South Fork Creek similarly runs all the way to an intersection with the new Outer Loop to the east. If we built a multi-use pathway along that scenic creek from South Green to the Outer Loop. Then if we got the Transportation Cabinet to use the broad shoulders of the new loop to paint a bicycle lane all the way around from that point to its eventual intersection with KY 1297 on the west side of Glasgow (and if we could convince the city and county to maintain that pathway by simply sweeping and vacuuming it regularly), we would have a nearly 20 mile loop around the community complete with the exception of a missing segment on the south west side of town. Eventually, Cleveland Avenue will need to be rebuilt from the Bypass to the new Loop, and it can be planned and built with a cycling lane, completing a dream alternate transportation/fitness system around our community. This would benefit our happiness relative to transportation snarls and make a great impact on our overall health, by encouraging us to walk, jog and cycle.

Then if we complete the aforementioned system of internal spokes to that "wheel" with a variety of painted lanes and improved sidewalks over the years we will develop a real cycling/jogging infrastructure capable of actually relieving traffic pressure on many of our existing roadways. With that network in place, 15,000 people will have access, and the option of walking or cycling for 90% of their trips to run local errands of three miles or less (which happens to be what most trips in town actually are). If we got our local governments to commit something like 5% of the existing budget for construction and maintenance of the roadway network, we could have this system totally in place in a few years.

What do you say? Ready to start advocating during this year's budget cycle?

Twenty Minute Talk says it all

2010-03-01T20:39:00.002-06:00

Once a year some of the greatest thinkers on the planet come together for the TED conference to examine a wide variety of topics. This year, the hands down best talk of the whole conference was delivered by Jamie Oliver. He talked about food, the American diet, and how our lives are being taken in the name of cheap and fast food. You owe it to yourself to take twenty minutes to watch this video at this link

C'mon Barren County Dairy Farmers -- Copy This Idea!

2010-02-24T08:15:00.004-06:00

Today's Courier-Journal has a great article linked here written by Marty Rosen about the Schrock family and their local dairy products to consumer operation in Logan County. As the article explains, these folks decided to dump the dairy model that is giving all of our local dairy farmers so much pain because of the low prices being paid by the wholesalers. They set up an operation to process raw milk into excellent finished products which they sell directly to the consumers at a few farmers markets and a few small grocery stores, thus, cutting out several middle men and hundreds of miles of transportation costs.

They also sell their milk in glass bottles that people return for reuse! I know Barren County is bound to be full of folks who could do the same thing. I know for sure that if they do, we would love to help them sell the products at Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market! So, here is the link again, read the story and then find a local dairy farmer that we can convince to make this bold move. This is the sort of localism and commitment to locally produced goods that Sustainable Glasgow is striving to promote. Can we make this happen?

More on the Market for 2010

2010-02-19T14:02:00.002-06:00

While the sun is peeking out for a few minutes and thoughts of spring are bouncing around, it seems like a good time to bring everyone up to speed on the latest Sustainable Glasgow happenings.

First of all, everyone should know that plans for the 2010 version of Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market are well underway. Last weekend we held our annual vendors meeting to discuss the market with vendors and over fifty folks showed up to discuss the plans for our second year. We have revised the layout of the market some and we will post the new layout right here as soon as we get final approval from BB&T for our new plans. The new layout provides for more vendor spaces as well, and we really think that we are going to need that space for many new vendors this year.

We are also planning a “food court” area of the market where we hope that a number of local restaurants will set up shop on Saturday mornings and sell us some of their specialties every week. Can’t you just smell breakfast and lunch cooking at the market? Yummm! Near the food court we are hoping that BB&T will give us permission to place several picnic tables so everyone will have a convenient spot to consume the food purchased from the local restaurants, and those tables will also be close to another feature we are planning for this year – a really nice permanent stage facility to be used by the local musicians that come to perform! If you are one of those musicians that wants to perform on that stage, please contact us so we can start arranging dates for this year.

Another really great feature we think is secured for this year is that we will have an ATM/EBT terminal at the market in the Sustainable Glasgow tent. That means we will be able to scan your debit card and give you tokens to use to purchase goods at the vendor tents. No longer will you be going home with only a few food items because you forgot to bring cash! Also, we were just notified by USDA that we are approved to use that same terminal to accept USDA SNAP cards and other food program vouchers.

SNAP helps low-income people and families buy the food they need for good health. This is the modern day version of the old Food Stamps Program. Benefits are provided on an electronic card that is used like an ATM card and we will be able to accept them at the market. That means that a whole new segment of our local populace will start getting access to real, local, nutritious food. The SNAP helps clients learn to make healthy eating and active lifestyle choices and Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market is proud to be able to be a part of this program.

Finally, at the meeting Dr. Jerry Ralston delivered some thrilling news about the plans, starting with North Jackson Elementary School, for the creation of Edible Schoolyards projects in the Barren County School System. He told us of the excitement which is building among the educators and children in the Barren County Schools about this project which will involve elementary students in the planning, planting, tending, and harvesting of real food on the grounds of their schools. They expect the programs to last through the summer and, hopefully, will include the kids bringing their produce to the market so that they can also learn about the business of retailing food to the public. It is hard to believe that all of this is coming to pass so quickly, but, it truly is. Sure, it has been a long cold winter for us all, but the market will be opening before you know it. I can’t wait!

"Jammin' at George J's" on Friday, February 26

2010-02-14T21:17:00.009-06:00

Sustainable Glasgow is partnering with our good friends at George J's restaurant to present the inaugural "Jammin' at George J's" on Friday, February 26 from 6:30 to 8:30PM. Our first performer will be Josh Johnson with his trusty sideman Ty Bowles. Josh plays acoustic guitar and sings and Ty plays bass and mandolin. They perform a great set of acoustic favorites from blues to country to folk to rock and everything in-between. Josh played at the Bounty of the Barrens market twice this summer and was a favorite of the patrons and vendors.
I hope you can make it for this evening of food, fun and great live music right on the square in downtown Glasgow.

Vendor Meeting February 13 @ 10AM!

2010-02-03T18:33:00.003-06:00

We will be hosting an informational meeting for anyone interested in being a vendor at the 2010 Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market on Saturday, February 13th at 10AM at the Sustainable Glasgow office (108 E Public Square, Glasgow- below Alexander Law). Vendor applications will be available at the meeting and Kristen Goodin with the Barren County Ag Extension Office will be there to answer any questions you may have regarding HB391, sampling, GAP classes, etc. We welcome anyone who is interested in being a vendor or interested in the market in general to join us at this meeting. Please e-mail localfirst@glasgow-ky.com with questions.

Michael Pollan on Oprah

2010-01-28T13:49:00.003-06:00

Yesterday the Oprah show featured one of our favorite authors, Michael Pollan. This link takes you to a text summary of his conversation. It is definitely worth a read!

Sustainable Glasgow Gears up for 2010

2010-01-18T06:24:00.003-06:00

Yesterday the Sustainable Glasgow Board met for several hours concerning our plans for 2010 and I can tell you we have a lot of exciting things planned for this year. Bounty of the Barrens Market will be back and it will be bigger than last year. We are looking forward to new features with things like local artists displaying their finished products and teaching us about their work, multiple local restaurants offering their specialties, special cooking competitions among local chefs (real ones AND those who might just fancy themselves a chef), and even more access to local musical talent.

We are also excited about some new initiatives this year that are not directly related to Bounty of the Barrens Market, one of which is a local version of The Edible Schoolyard Project. We are very optimistic that a local school will put this project into action. This video explains the concept:

Bicycles of the Barrens

2009-12-29T10:31:00.001-06:00

What is a newbie cycling enthusiast to do when it is twenty degrees outside for weeks on end? This one resorts to riding on a trainer in the garage and spending a lot of time thinking about cycling issues and how to organize those who might be similarly interested in this issue. So, this post is designed to open the dialog and see just how far this social networking medium can go in pulling together a group of folks interested in improving the cycling environment in Glasgow.

I am such a newcomer to the sport that I am a bit sheepish about trying to rally the cyclists, but, well, here goes anyway. Our community has issues relative to cycling and the recognition of cycling as an alternate form of transport as well as an activity which can make great strides toward the improvement of our community’s health and happiness. We have virtually no cycling infrastructure here. There are no paths, no painted bicycle lanes, and no signs setting forth the rules of the road. There is no attempt to educate the general public about the rights of cyclists and the safest ways for vehicles and bicycles to share the road. When new roads and sidewalks are built, no one even suggests that they should include plans for bicycle use of the new facilities.

Perhaps the central reason we have all of these issues is that there is no organization of those interested in cycling and thus they have no voice to speak to local government about these issues. There is not even a local bicycle shop where cyclists can gravitate and convene to discuss these issues. So, Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. is offering to expand its reach into the cycling community and act as the umbrella organization to start pulling together the “Bicycles of the Barrens.”

Are you interested in cycling? Whether you are already a hard core, spandex wearing, leg shaving, 100 miles at a clip person with a $1500 road bike or if you just got a bicycle for Christmas that you are considering riding around your neighborhood, or somewhere in between, we all have something in common and reasons to come together. To get started, we need to know who you are and how we can stay in contact with you. Please use the reply and/or comment features of this site to let us know who you are so we can start planning some meetings. If Facebook works like it should, you will respond and your similarly interested friends will see that you have responded and they in turn will respond as well. When we have 15 to 20 folks, we will pull the trigger on setting up a meeting and get this thing rolling on two wheels!

Wendell Berry Strikes Back

2009-12-20T16:00:00.003-06:00

In case you missed it, today's Courier-Journal featured a wonderful response by Wendell Berry to statements by the presidents of four of Kentucky's premier universities. The article at this link is classic Wendell Berry, elegantly constructed, endlessly accurate, and embarrassing for those in his cross-hairs. I hope you take a minute to click on the link and enjoy it.

We Got Milk

2009-12-12T21:30:00.005-06:00

Today's Glasgow Daily Times has a great article by Gina Kinslow about the plight of our local milk producers and the idea of creating a local fluid milk processing facility right here. This idea is a perfect example of just what Sustainable Glasgow stands for and promotes!

The situation with one of Barren County's biggest industries is grim. Barren County is the largest dairy producing county in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, yet all of that milk is leaving the county to be processed over one hundred miles away. Someone, be it the processor, the wholesaler, or the grocery store, is making plenty of money on this product of our neighbors here in the county, but it sure is not the producers that are making money right now.

The idea of creating such a processing facility here is very exciting and something we should all get behind. This would be a sustainable facility that would produce jobs that are not likely to leave. The dairy farms which encircle Glasgow are often run by dedicated farm families that have lived here for generations. These farms provide a living for those families and often additional jobs for others. They purchase supplies from local vendors to support their operations and they use local veterinarians to support the health of their herd. All of these local businesses would be enhanced by the creation of a local processing facility, largely controlled by the local community, that would create an outstanding product and assure that more of the money spent on milk is returned to the farm family that produced the raw product. Of course, the facility itself would employ local folks as well. This is the very definition of a sustainable industry and is precisely what Sustainable Glasgow was created to promote.

Now it is time for us all to get behind this concept. We need to dig for incentives for an existing local industry to expand into this operation, or help create the facility from scratch. We need to promote this with the same vigor that we would expend on other industries who show an interest in locating in our community. In fact, we should pursue this idea with even greater determination because the profits it may make would stay in our community.

Yes, we've got milk, and the rest of the region should get a chance to purchase it from our facility!

BOTBM Winter Market December 12

2009-12-03T12:36:00.002-06:00

Sustainable Glasgow will be hosting a one day only winter farmers' market on Saturday, December 12 from 10am-2pm behind BB&T on W. Main Street in Glasgow. There will be a variety of "winter" items available, including locally raised beef and pork, eggs, honey, homemade crafts, and more. This is a great opportunity to shop LOCALLY for the people on your holiday list while also supporting local farmers and craftspeople, and the community as a whole. We hope to see you there!

Thanksgiving Thinking

2009-11-22T15:19:00.002-06:00

With the coming of Thanksgiving, the biggest food related day of the year in our region, it seems appropriate to talk about Sustainable Glasgow and our mission to create a durable, sustainable farm and food economy for this place we call home. Due to divine intervention, or perhaps due to complete dumb luck, my family will be enjoying what we have come to know as a traditional Thanksgiving feast. We will eat too much and then spend the afternoon in satisfied slumber, generally oblivious to several truths that are easily unraveled by doing a bare minimum amount of research and thought.

There are far too many families in our community who have neither been adequately blessed with food on this one day, nor with opportunity on the rest of the days. We need to do more to change that and Sustainable Glasgow is trying. Far too much of the food that the lucky ones will enjoy on Thanksgiving is not real food, but rather an amalgamation of “food-like substances” and diesel fuel and petroleum based fertilizers and herbicides and pesticides and exotic pharmaceuticals. We need to do more to change that too. We have this crazy idea that both of these problems might be hit with the same rock.

Our Thanksgiving, thanks to this summer’s Bounty of the Barrens Market and the vendors who produced the food in cooperation with the sun and the miracles contained in our region’s soil, will include green beans and corn and sweet potatoes that we purchased and preserved by canning and freezing. I wish our feast also included a heritage turkey that was raised and harvested here. I wish we could have bread made from locally grown grains that were milled into flour by a locally owned and operated mill and then baked into perfection by a local person in his or her local bakery. I wonder if we couldn’t also have a local meat processing facility where animals lovingly raised by our local farmers could go straight to local butcher shops without spending time in the filth of a concentrated animal feed lot operation in Oklahoma, Texas, or Colorado. These wishes could come true now couldn’t they?

While we are wishing, wouldn’t it be great to start the Christmas shopping season off at local stores and shops built around our town center, where our homes are, instead of off in a distant big box store surrounded by a flotilla of cars and trucks bobbing upon a sea of blacktop? We dream of a Glasgow with jobs created by those businesses that we could easily support if we could only break free from our habits of shopping elsewhere. We see that bakery and coffee shop for weary shoppers to frequent after visiting the local art gallery, bicycle shop, bookstore, and toy store. We are crazy enough to envision the soon to be unemployed folks at Carhartt coming together to create their own local clothing manufacturing facility and we see local shops selling that clothing at local stores where local folks see the simple wisdom of purchasing goods made by their neighbors, even if they are not the cheapest thing available.

We have big dreams and maybe they are a bit crazy, but are they as crazy as thinking we could operate our own utilities, build our own cable system, operate our own hospital and medical community? Hardly. These are simple dreams compared to what we have already been able to accomplish here. Today we have two really big problems sitting right next to each other. Problem number one is the lack of a sustainble food supply. We are counting on distant factories and cheap diesel fuel for our daily bread. The second is that we are experiencing spiraling unemployment as distant boards of directors make decisions without regard for the damage being done to Glasgow’s economy. These two problems can be hit with the same stone. Come on along with Sustainable Glasgow as we take aim on these problems.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another World -- Delayed

2009-10-30T09:30:00.004-05:00

It would be great if everyone would watch Now on PBS tonight. It is on KET1 at 8:30. The video above is nice, but it just has more punch when you actually watch the program on television...especially on EPB cable! (sorry about the shameless plug)

The program does a great job helping everyone see the sort of relationship between energy consumers and energy providers that we have been trying to bring about in Glasgow, both from the EPB's perspective and from Sustainable Glasgow's perspective. For those of you who might have read my recent series of articles entitled Another World - Parts 1 - 3, you got a good feel for how we have been planning the technology to change this relationship. We were counting heavily on being able to roll the technology out to the whole community over the next couple of years through the economic stimulus funds announced earlier this year and administered through the US Department of Energy (DOE). Unfortunately, just this week the winners of those grants were announced and Glasgow was not among the successful applicants.

In fact, of the $3.4 billion made available for "smart grid" projects, no cities in Kentucky were given a dime. Meanwhile, places like Chattanooga and Knoxville, and Memphis got hundreds of millions of dollars for projects. It sort of makes you wonder just what a city like Glasgow, who has moved the infotricity ball steadily down the field for twenty years, would have to do to be considered worthy of some modicum of support from our federal government. Weren't we supposed to be represented by an exceedingly connected and powerful Senator? Hmmm...

So, that means we are back to where we have always been, doing the hard work and science of understanding how to change the way people use electric power all by ourselves. That means that the new world we discussed over the last few weeks, and the one better represented in the video story about Denmark, is going to be a bit slower in coming and a lot more expensive for us to put in place, but we are not about to give up on the idea. Stay tuned for our continued work with Google and other technology partners to bring new technology to the people of Glasgow. We can probably move more quickly and learn more by continuing our guerrilla warfare methods than we could have done if we had gotten all of that money anyway (even though I certainly would have liked to have experienced what life would be like with someone giving us money).

Cool Video on Water Conservation

2009-10-28T10:44:00.006-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOLf2RbxmzE&feature=player_embedded

Sustainable Glasgow 101 @ MWW Library

2009-10-27T11:10:00.002-05:00

Sustainable Glasgow will be hosting a "lunch and learn" event on Thursday, November 12 from 12-1pm at the new Mary Wood Weldon Library. Please join Dr. Bill Travis as he leads a discussion of sustainability issues and the goals of Sustainable Glasgow. If you have any ideas or suggestions for SG or questions/input about sustainability in general, this event is for you!

To RSVP to this event, please e-mail localfirst@glasgow-ky.com. You may bring your own lunch to the event or there will be boxed lunches available for purchase at the library. We look forward to hearing from you!

Cycling and Sustainability

2009-10-08T13:46:00.007-05:00

Since the Sustainable Glasgow movement was born we have said that it is about much more than just eating locally, so now let’s start talking about something else, the infrastructure that makes us happy to live, work, and eat here. The Sustainable Glasgow movement has already taken on a massive task in trying to change the way our community thinks about food and the way the community shops for food. So, we know what it is like to try and turn a battleship which is sailing at full speed in the wrong direction. We must be crazy then to try the same thing again, but here we go.

Let’s talk a bit about streets, sidewalks, automobiles, and bicycles. We have a basic problem with respect to food; that problem is that we have no plan to assure a sustainable food economy even though we live in a highly productive agricultural region. Our basic problem relative to transportation infrastructure is similar in that we have no known plan for improving transportation convenience for walking, cycling, or any other mode of transport other than the automobile, though we have a beautiful and compact community which is ideal for alternate modes of transport. We spend virtually all of our locally available transportation dollars on building more roads and adding additional pavement to the ones we have. We spend our influence in Frankfort on the idea of building more roads and bypasses and outer loops that consume more productive land and encourage more suburban sprawl. More suburban sprawl encourages more development away from the city center, increases our costs for police and fire and ambulances and utilities, and contributes to the continued reliance on the automobile and foreign oil for every aspect of day to day life. This cycle of funding, construction, and consumption is becoming a perpetual motion/perpetual problem machine which is consuming our taxes, our land, and our resources, while outputting noise, pollution, and stress. It is time for us to start looking closely at this machine to see exactly why we are putting up with it.

As this is written, it is Fall Break week for the local schools. Local families who can get off work and who have the money to travel, have all headed off for vacations in communities that offer the kind of life they long for. Those communities have a few things in common: wide sidewalks which encourage pedestrian strolls, vibrant local restaurants with locally grown foods on their menus, and shops offering local goods that make long strolls rewarding, and bicycle paths and lanes which make cycling to those same destinations equally attractive. This relatively inexpensive infrastructure, and local lifestyle, thus functions to attract Glasgow people and Glasgow dollars away from Glasgow. So, if we are spending 100% of our resources on building roadway infrastructure that people are looking to escape from whenever they can, perhaps we need to rethink what we are doing. Sustainable Glasgow feels this is the case.

Long before I started cycling I was a devout dog walker along the sidewalks on South Green Street. Even though those sidewalks are too narrow, too close to the roadway, and way too constrained by utility poles, they are constantly used by a growing number of locals who walk and jog there for simple enjoyment, transportation, and for exercise. We need a master plan for identifying and upgrading the arterial sidewalks so that even more folks are encouraged to walk instead of drive. Long before I started cycling there were many avid cyclists in Glasgow who regularly don their spandex apparel and dutifully hit the streets where they take risks mixing it up with cars and trucks on their way to the many rewards of riding a bicycle. Those rewards are worth the risk, but those risks can be lowered and more folks can be encouraged to ride if we provide the right kind of environment which will include expanded sidewalks and marked cycling routes. I joined those local cyclists with my heavy, slow, commuter-style bicycle a few months ago and I simply love it. Most of all, it is fun, but it has also lead me to shed thirty pounds and it has helped me discover that, for most trips in downtown Glasgow, my bicycle gets me where I need to go faster than my car does. The group of people making this same discovery is growing in spite of the fact that there is no plan for bicycling infrastructure or investment in our community. Sustainable Glasgow feels that there should be a plan and a commitment to spending a portion of the money we are now spending on feeding the automobile’s needs to create more walking, jogging, and cycling infrastructure in Glasgow.

Creating a sustainable local economy is a complicated matter, but working on our local food economy was a great place to start. However, a durable local food economy is dependent upon several moving parts, not the least of which is the willingness of local residents to vote for the local food economy by purchasing food from local growers and from local restaurants whenever possible. A large part of encouraging local folks to frequent local vendors is to create the same attractive environment for living locally that so many from our community are seeking out by traveling this week. True, we cannot create a beach and an ocean here in Glasgow, but we can create walking/jogging/cycling paths along beautiful tree lined streets and along some of the babbling creeks which surround this place we call home. We can use those paths to create a better life for our residents. We can start assembling the building blocks of a durable food economy and better infrastructure toward our ultimate goals of a completely sustainable community. Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. has a vision for a community which offers these things to everyone. If this vision interests you, join us.

Real, Safe Food Comes From Local Farms

2009-10-04T06:51:00.003-05:00

Even though the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market was not "officially" open yesterday, ten of our faithful vendors did show up to make local food and goods available to the people of Glasgow. Since the Sustainable Glasgow gang was not busy setting up and taking down the canopies and other equipment necessary to make the market work, I got a chance to purchase plenty of local food and we prepared that food last night. We had a salad made from Joe Trigg's lettuce and tomatoes (which traveled no more that four blocks since he grows these items right in the middle of Glasgow!). We had late season corn from another local vendor. We had ground beef from Dry Branch Farm (grass fed beef grown on their farm just over the county line in Monroe County and slaughtered in a local facility where the ground beef came from one cow and was never mixed with anything else...more on this later). For desert, we had a slice of a watermelon from Bobby Groce's farm. This meal proved that you we can provide food for ourselves -- real food that is safe to eat and tastes better than anything we might normally purchase at a big box retail store.

Reading the New York Times this morning underscored the value of that meal and our movement toward establishing a vibrant and durable local food supply. I urge you to click this link and read the frightening story about the simple hamburger that so many of us commonly purchase in a big box store and innocently assume we can throw it on the grill and enjoy. After reading this, I fully expect to see more of you at our farmers market and purchasing local, safe, real food from our local farms and vendors. Our lives literally depend upon it!

Vendors at BB&T this Saturday

2009-10-01T12:20:00.003-05:00

While the Bounty of the Barrens Market held it's last official market day of the 2009 season last Saturday, some of your favorite vendors will still be setting up informally at the market site for the next few weeks. Sustainable Glasgow will still be sponsoring these folks in their effort to bring you the best local fall products, but there will not be any musical talent or a restaurant vendor this Saturday. We hope you will come by the lot and check out the great products that these vendors have for sale this Saturday.

Now This Seems Like a Great Idea!

2009-09-28T13:11:00.000-05:00

Rain Delay

2009-09-26T06:33:00.001-05:00

Somehow we just knew that the rain would nail us on the last day! Our plan right now is to call a two hour rain delay and start the Bounty of the Barrens Market at 10 a.m. instead of the normal 8 a.m. See you then!

Last Day of BOTBM 2009

2009-09-25T19:59:00.002-05:00

Well, this summer has flown by and the Bounty of the Barrens Market has been a great success, but this Saturday will be our last market day of the season. We want to make sure you are healthy enough to come back next year, so TJ Samson will be at the market tomorrow morning doing free health screenings. They will be doing blood sugar and cholesterol checks via finger stick as well as blood pressure checks. As always, there will be plenty of local, healthy food available as well as several local arts and crafts vendors. We would like to thank all of our supporters and customers who have made it down to the BOTBM and we hope you will make it a part of your regular Saturday morning routine next summer. Hope to see you at the market tomorrow morning as we close out the 2009 season.

Eating Local on Planet Green starting October 12

2009-09-25T11:01:00.003-05:00

For those of you who have Glasgow EPB Digital cable, next month, the channel Planet Green (channel 103 on EPB system) is set to premiere the six-part series The 100 Mile Challenge, based on the 2006 bestselling book The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating.

The show is being billed as part reality series, part docu-soap, part social experiment. It follows the people of Mission, British Columbia, as they take on the challenge to eat food that was grown and produced within a 100 mile radius for 100 days. The book's authors, James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith, serve as guides to the experiment, providing behind-the-scenes access to the experiences of six families. Produced by Vancouver's Paperny Films, the show premieres on Planet Green on October 12.

This should be really good television!

Twelve Minutes of Wendell Berry Worth Watching

2009-09-18T08:31:00.003-05:00

Big Food vs. Big Insurance

2009-09-10T15:12:00.002-05:00

No matter which side of the health care debate you presently find yourself believing in, we all want to be healthier, live longer, and have good health insurance to cover us in case we start to stray from those desired outcomes. Curiously, we all seem to be arguing about the interests of doctors, government, insurance companies, and the pharmaceutical companies, but missing the real center of the problems with health care in our country - our diet.

This article from Michael Pollan does a fantastic job of making that point.

Invasive Plant Awareness at BOTBM on Saturday

2009-09-08T09:26:00.001-05:00

The Glasgow Garden Club, a Natural Resource Specialist from Mammoth Cave, and the Horticultural Class will be providing information and have samples of invasive plants and trees at the Bounty of the Barrens on Saturday, Sept 12th., from 8 - 11 am, to facilitate Kentucky's Invasive Plant Awareness Month. They will provide information on control / eradication and alternatives to invasive plants. Bring in your invasive plant for identification. There will be a "mystery" plant for everyone to try to identify. A $30 gift certificate from Lowe's will be given to the person whose name is drawn for correct identification.

SG Meeting- Thursday, September 10, 2009

2009-09-01T10:10:00.002-05:00

Sustainable Glasgow will be hosting a general membership meeting on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 6pm at the office at 108 E. Public Square (beneath Alexander Law). We invite you all to join us to help direct this movement. Bring your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.... we want to hear from our members! We also encourage you to bring a friend who might be interested in joining Sustainable Glasgow. Sustainable Glasgow has seen great success with the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market and we want to continue with this momentum in new projects while also maintaining and improving the BOTBM for next year. The last official day of the 2009 market will be Saturday, September 26 so be sure to stock up on items to can for this winter.

If you are interested in SG but cannot attend the meeting on September 10, please send your ideas to localfirst@glasgow-ky.com. You can also join SG by clicking on the link on the left side of the blog page and mailing your application and membership fee to Sustainable Glasgow, Inc., PO Box 1654, Glasgow, KY 42142.

We look forward to seeing you all at the meeting!

Lauren Ray

What We Learned Over the Summer

2009-09-01T09:55:00.002-05:00

As the opening season of Bounty of the Barrens Market winds down (we plan to fully operate the market through September), it is time for the members of Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. to review what we learned during our Saturday mornings spent at the market.

First of all, our belief that the region’s land, and our neighbors that farm the land, are capable of feeding us was confirmed. The forty-plus vendors that tended the soil and their booths at the market were perfect proof of that theory. Obviously we would need a lot more vendors, just like we would need a lot more local folks to become convinced of the value of eating locally and supporting the vendors who live here, to make it all work. But we clearly learned that having a sustainable food economy is possible.

Next, as mentioned above, we learned that it is going to be a lot more complicated than just establishing a place where vendors and consumers can meet for commerce on Saturday mornings to make real progress toward a sustainable food economy. We have to counteract decades of marketing by the big box retailers to awaken our neighbors to the dangers of over reliance on distant boards and stockholders for our daily bread. Way too many locals still think that their food comes from Wal Mart instead of from the miracles of soil and sun and the farm families that tend that soil under that sun. Education will take a very long time, but it is possible.

We also learned that most of the vendors that came to Bounty of the Barrens Market are eager to expand their operations and provide more local food, but they are stymied by the lack of available labor to support their expansion plans. This really came as a shock to all of us! When we are reading a steady stream of bad news about local employment during the week but then hearing local farmers lament the unavailability of labor to allow them to grow, well, we scratch our heads. There is a promise of expanded employment in this sustainability movement, but it is going to take a while to figure out how to get potential employees and motivated employers together. Still, we know it is possible to accomplish.

We learned a lesson about the abundant crop of local musical talent as well. For eighteen straight Saturday mornings, we were blessed with unbelievable local musicianship. These locals came for free. They brought their guitars and fiddles and banjos and keyboards. Many brought their own sound and amplification systems as well. Most of all they brought with them a love for their art and for their fellow man. They brought all of this along with a stunning portfolio of talent and passion. I was humbled each Saturday morning by their talent and love. We discovered that we can not only feed ourselves, we also possess the capacity to entertain ourselves! Why should we continue to leak our precious local treasure to neighboring communities for entertainment. We clearly have all the talent necessary for our needs right here at home. With the right cooperation and attention to detail, it is possible to continue this exhibition of local talent right through the Fall and Winter and trap tons of local entertainment dollars right here in our local economy.

Finally, we learned that our community is hungry for more “quality of life” improvements like Bounty of the Barrens Market. The team at Sustainable Glasgow has learned this lesson well. Locals want more opportunities like the market presented. They want to be able to commune with others in the neighborhood in the presence of local vendors and artists. They long for things like bicycle paths and lanes. They want more local businesses brimming with local products and local expertise. Our community spoke to us on Saturday mornings at the market, and we have planned a program of work for 2010 that will begin to address those wants and the other lessons mentioned above. Do you have other things you want from our community? Do you want to be a part of the solution and the provision of these wants? If so, join up with us at Sustainable Glasgow! We can use your help!

William J. Ray

A Bounty of Musical Talent in the Barrens

2009-08-21T10:18:00.001-05:00

We all know about the musical talents and success of our own Sam Bush, Kentucky Headhunters, and Black Stone Cherry; but for each of these widely recognized talents there are dozens in our region who play music “for the love of the song” to quote Townes Van Zandt. Many of those have performed for us this summer at the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market to the great pleasure of market attendees.

We have seen great variety – from lone singers onstage with only their voice and their guitar (a brave and outstanding lot) to bluegrass musicians in pairs and up to six on a stage (a small, crowded stage, I might add), a local music teacher and aspiring songwriter accompanied by her voice and piano students, a talented instrumental duet of violin and flute, an aspiring young singer with dreams of the Grand Ole Opry, the cast of a local musical theater production and a local trio playing music with a “south of the border” flavor. All these musicians have donated their time and talents to entertain the market patrons and support the efforts of Sustainable Glasgow and the vendors of the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market.

I am reminded of a quote I heard from Kenny Weber, the recently deceased and much beloved local musician and owner of Backstage Music here in Glasgow. Kenny said, and I might be paraphrasing, that a successful musician is simply one who loves to play. By that measure, all the musicians who have played at the market are great successes. Their love of the music is readily apparent.

I have seen much live music in my life, and I can tell you that none of it has been any more enjoyable or satisfying than the performances offered up by our neighbors at the market. If you have missed it, you have missed a real treat and a real local “happening.” Don’t let another Saturday go by without venturing to West Main and Water Street for what is becoming a Glasgow Saturday morning tradition of food, folks, and music.

William Travis

Sustainable Glasgow

Good Time Charlies Rock BOTBM on August 15

2009-08-18T10:16:00.004-05:00

One of the greatest things about coming out to Bounty of the Barrens Market on Saturday mornings is the great local music. These video give you a sample of just what you missed last Saturday if you were not there. Don't miss another one! Also, don't miss this blog

It tells about the musical experience from the musicians themselves!

Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market Celebrates Farmers Market Week

2009-08-13T11:46:00.001-05:00

Now in our third successful month at the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market in Glasgow, we have a lot to celebrate. But, the past two Saturday’s have been extra special as the market vendors, patrons and volunteers celebrated National and Kentucky Farmers Market Week. To commemorate Farmers Market week, volunteers at the BOTBMarket handed out hundreds of free, re-usable shopping totes to early morning shoppers on what turned out to be a remarkable day for the BOTBMarket with nearly 900 customers that we were able to track.

This enormous success is great for Sustainable Glasgow, the founding organization of the market, and really tells us that people of the community like what they are getting from the market. Consequently, the community is now supporting over forty regular vendors at the market who provide everything from local, home grown fruits and vegetables to grass-fed beef and pork, cut flowers, great local arts and crafts, and even bison. There really is something for everyone.

Still, there is a lot of room for improving the lot of the vendors. Right now they are in the “fat” part of the growing season and there is more “bounty” than there are buyers. We need more folks to come out and thank these folks who are working hard under the sun, and rain, to feed us. In addition, we all need to be asking the owners of local restaurants for more local food items to be included on their menus. The local farmers seem to always run into problems selling to local restaurants because the local products are not as cheap as the products sold to restaurants from commercial food services. It is up to us, the restaurant customers, to make the source of the food we buy an issue with the restaurant owners. Local food IS 1500 miles fresher!

So, even as farmers market week passes us by, there are so many great reasons to come to the BOTBMarket this Saturday. As always, we’ll have live, local music and a great local restaurant serving up delicious prepared dishes. Sustainable Glasgow will be passing out recipes for new ways to prepare the healthy, seasonal produce available right there at the market from hard-working, local farmers.

We plan on having the market through October to continue to provide an outlet for Fall items like pumpkins and gourds, herbs, flowers, and seasonal produce but also a place to buy arts and crafts and to continue the fellowship that seems to have evolved between regular Saturday customers and vendors. We can only hope that the BOTBMarket will become a part of the fabric of life in Glasgow now and in the future.

Ode to the Tomato

2009-08-12T08:06:00.002-05:00

This article in today's Courier-Journal is reason enough for all to come out to Bounty of the Barrens Market this Saturday! There are abundant ripe juicy tomatoes there.

You Say You Want a Revolution?

2009-08-05T12:42:00.002-05:00

We certainly cannot claim to have invented the Sustainability movement. In fact this idea is at least ten years old, probably older, and is in full swing in many other communities. But we are proud to bring the idea to our little corner of the world and to raise the awareness of the many issues which fall under the general sustainability umbrella.

If you think that Sustainable Glasgow, Inc., or the Sustainability movement is just about farmer’s markets, then we have done a poor job communicating our mission. Sustainabilty, as a movement, has many faces, but all of them relate to the creation of plans and infrastructure capable of helping us provide for our own essential needs. A sustainable economy would have a master plan and facilities for feeding ourselves, for providing our own energy needs, for providing our own entertainment and quality of life, for supporting and encouraging local artists and performers, and even for providing our own capital (the money necessary to finance all of the above).

Perhaps you have never seen yourself as part of a movement, but it is time to consider joining one. With respect to the idea of Sustainability, you truly are either part of the solution or a part of the problem. Continuing the habit of purchasing your family’s food at a supermarket means that you are not concerned that our present food economy is unsustainable. It continues our vulnerability to contaminated and unhealthy food from factories instead of from local farms. It continues our vulnerability to finding ourselves hungry due to the interruption of a regular supply of diesel fuel, electric power, or even a closure of one highway - Interstate 65!

Continuing to just pay your electric bill instead of asking where your electric power comes from and demanding that its production get cleaner and more sustainable, places you on the other side from those who would like to establish clean, local means of generating some of the power we use in Glasgow. Joining in with Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. and the Sustainability movement would add momentum to the idea of local energy production. Joining our movement would also enlarge the group that wants to provide a venue for local musicians and artists, which would enhance the possibility of making Glasgow more like the places we long to visit in resort communities afar. Sustainable Glasgow will be lobbying for more money spent on things like walking, running, jogging, and bicycling infrastructure and less on investments for foreign companies that take more from our community than they give. We will be working with local banks and businesspeople to establish methods for local investors to buy stock in local businesses and local folks who want to establish, or expand, a local business.

Are you totally satisfied with the way things are in Glasgow and the way you are living your life? If so, peace be with you – perhaps the Sustainability movement is not for you. If you yearn for change, for improvement in the way we provide for the essentials of life, Sustainable Glasgow needs you! If you want to learn more about these sustainable concepts, go to our outstanding local library and check out books like Deep Economy, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Slow Money, Blessed Unrest, and The Small Mart Revolution. And remember our mantra – Live Local!

Wizard of Oz at the Market

2009-07-30T13:49:00.002-05:00

Performing at the Market this Saturday will be cast members from the local stage production of the Wizard of Oz. They will feature some of the songs from this weekend's show at the Plaza Theater. They will also perform some favorite tunes from past local theater productions including Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof, Children of Eden, and Cinderella. Those of you who have seen those shows know what a treat this will be.

Buckhead Cafe will be cooking and offering prepared foods at the market.

Our vendors are flush with local summer fruits and vegetables, meats, farm eggs, cheeses, baked goods and flowers. Fresh squeezed lemonade is a summer favorite available at one of the vendors' tents.

If you have never visited the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market, this Saturday is a great time to give it a try. If you have visited the market, you know that this Saturday should not be missed.

Come visit with your friends, enjoy the entertainment, have a bite to eat, buy some fresh local goods from the vendors and share a great summer Saturday morning here in downtown Glasgow, Kentucky.

Keith Vincent's New CD

2009-07-29T10:16:00.004-05:00

I have had several people contact me about purchasing Keith Vincent's new CD "Long Dry Spell"....you can do so on his website at www.keithvincentms.com. Thanks again to Mr. V and all of his fans for coming out to the Bounty of the Barrens Market last Saturday!

July 25 Market Happenings

2009-07-24T11:39:00.003-05:00

If you have not yet been to the Bounty of the Barrens Market, or if you are a regular customer, tomorrow's market is going to be a great one to attend. We have lots and lots of local produce in right now and have a special musical guest, Mr. Keith Vincent. Mr. Vincent was the band director at Glasgow High School during the nineties and continues his career in music today. Sorrento will be at the market preparing lots of yummy dishes for you to sample as well. See you all tomorrow from 8-12 behind BB&T in Glasgow!

100 Mile Potluck this Saturday!

2009-07-15T08:36:00.002-05:00

The Barren County Extension District Board, Barren County Extension Council will be hosting the area's first 100 Mile Potluck on Saturday, July 18, after the BOTBM from 4:30 to 6:30 at the Barren County Extension Office Auditorium at 1463 West Main Street in Glasgow.

Similar events are scheduled around the state as well discussed in this article from today's Courier Journal, but this is our local event and Sustainable Glasgow encourages everyone to put together a a potluck dish to feed 8-10 people, made with locally grown or produced foods from within one hundred miles of Glasgow. The easy way to do this will be to attend our Bounty of the Barrens Market on Saturday morning and find some excellent ingredients to turn into a dish by Saturday afternoon! We know you can do it!

For more information about this event, please contact the Barren County Extension Office at 270-651-3818.

Look Who Wants to be Local Now!

2009-07-09T09:05:00.003-05:00

I just ran across this article by Stacy Mitchell, author of a really fantastic book, Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses . Not only is the book great, but this article is very timely as Sustainable Glasgow fights to identify true local businesses and direct more business their way. I hope you enjoy the article and that it helps you stay on the look out for real local businesses as opposed to those that just happen to have an outlet in the area.

Lauren Talks SG and BOTBM on WBKO

2009-07-07T15:11:00.003-05:00

In case you missed it, Lauren was recently on WBKO Midday Live to discuss Sustainable Glasgow and Bounty of the Barrens Market. Click on this link to see it.

WCLU Radio - A True LOCAL Radio Station

2009-07-03T08:55:00.003-05:00

When I moved to Glasgow in 1991, I was a dedicated Public Radio listener. In moves from Nashville to Bowling Green to Lexington I developed a routine of listening to the local NPR station in the mornings and on commutes. My mother in law, Zara Alexander, told me early on that I simply must listen to WCLU Radio to know what is going on in and around Glasgow and Barren County. I resisted at first, considering myself a sophisticated listener and not yet fully engaged in the community. When I finally did succumb and tuned in to WCLU, I realized that she was right and my morning routine for the last 18 years has included Henry Royse and WCLU.

We sometimes get complacent and comfortable with our local assets and don't appreciate them until they are gone. A great local asset for Glasgow and Barren County is WCLU Radio. Henry Royse and his crew focus on local news and activities and help to create a real sense of COMMUNITY. If something is going on in "The Barrens" it will be reported on WCLU. Public Service Announcements, obituaries, local, county and state government news, school news and announcements,local features, and local history are all part of the fare along with some eclectic music choices. When you listen to WCLU, you get a sense of the place where you live and a connection to those who share that place.

In his seminal book "Deep Economy" Bill McKibben wrote a chapter about the benfits and charms of local radio versus canned radio produced distantly. Here in Glasgow, at WCLU, we are blessed to have just what McKibben was writing about - a local radio station that thrives on and with the community it serves. Local radio is a great example of successful local entrepreneurship.

WCLU has been a great supporter of the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market. Every Friday just after 7:30AM they offer a spot for a live interview (simultaneously shown on EPB cable channel 6) with our musical performer(s) of the week. At the market we are presenting local/regional musicians a stage to demonstrate their talents and support our local farmers. Henry is offering them a platform to discuss their performance and how music fits into and impacts their lives. It is great local radio - be sure to tune in. Henry's interviews with our musicians are always fun and engaging.

I appreciate how WCLU local radio enhances the quality of my life as a citizen of Glasgow/Barren County. It is part of our "bounty" here in the Barrens, not to be taken for granted. Kudos to Henry Royse and his crew.

Join us at the market on July 4th!!

2009-07-02T12:07:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let you all know that the Bounty of the Barrens Market WILL be open this Saturday, July 4th! Summer is really getting into full swing now and that means more LOCAL PRODUCE at the market. As always, there will be a great selection of local meats as well- perfect for your 4th of July cookout! So, be sure to make a stop by the BOTBM Saturday morning and get all of the necessities for your local celebrations. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Small Market, Big Ideas

2009-06-25T21:38:00.001-05:00

As we get ready for our fifth edition of Bounty of the Barrens Market, which promises to be the best yet as Jackson's Orchard arrives with fresh peaches and blueberries, perhaps it is time to reflect on what we have accomplished and what we still want to get done. Even though everyone with Sustainable Glasgow is thrilled with the overwhelming success of our first four weeks of Bounty of the Barrens Market, we still want to remind everyone that the market is only the beginning of our plan to make our community better. We want a resilient local economy that can withstand the economic storms in much the same way that our local infrastructure has been able to withstand the lightning and wind storms we experienced over the last couple of weeks. And we are not just going to wish for a sustainable local economy, we are going to design one and work as hard as we must to make that design a reality.

Just a few months ago we methodically designed the Bounty of the Barrens Market and that plan is now a reality. If you have not been to BB&T’s rear parking lot on a Saturday morning to experience the camaraderie, the colors and smells of fresh produce, the succulent cooked food offerings from George J’s, and the sweet sound of music performed by talented locals, then you have missed the new place where our community convenes. You really should not let another Saturday go by without coming to the market.

The market is a great start toward Sustainable Glasgow’s goal of creating a sustainable food economy. We want to encourage more locals who have access to our greatest local resource, fertile land, to use that land to produce food for local consumption. We want to reestablish our ability to feed ourselves as a way to reestablish Glasgow as self-sufficient community instead of just another colony, totally dependent upon the global distribution systems of big-box retail stores for our daily bread. The market is proving that such a sustainable food economy is possible, but we are very far from being able to declare victory on this front. Still, each dollar you spend at the market registers as a vote for the creation of a sustainable local food economy, and we still need more votes.

Another exciting step toward a sustainable local economy is also beginning to evolve at the market. Local folks with the yen to start their own business are beginning to use the market as a small business incubator, and we are completely thrilled with that. As you vote with your pocket book at the Bounty of the Barrens Market, you are electing local folks who may soon be opening a full time business on Main Street. Those businesses will hire staff and hire local plumbers and electricians who will purchase supplies from other local businesses who, in turn, will hire more local folks. This is the manifestation of the “dollar multiplier effect” that is the real reason why we all should purchase what we need locally.

Can all of this flow from a simple idea and a small Saturday morning market? We think so. Big is not the answer to everything. We tend to agree with Kentucky’s own Wendell Berry who said, “We need to confront honestly the issue of scale. Bigness has a charm and a drama that are seductive, especially to politicians and financiers; but bigness promotes greed, indifference, and damage, and often bigness is not necessary. You may need a large corporation to run an airline or to manufacture cars, but you don't need a large corporation to raise a chicken or a hog. You don't need a large corporation to process local food or local timber and market it locally.”

More on Food, Inc. - the link

2009-06-23T11:24:00.003-05:00

Sorry, the link didn't make it on the previous post.
Here it is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/opinion/21kristof.html?em

and this link takes you to another NYT story about how the industrial food industry hooks us on tastes and textures we cannot easily resist.

What Would You Think About Us Bringing This Movie To Glasgow?

2009-06-18T14:05:00.003-05:00

Market Day 3 is Tomorrow - 17 Reasons to Participate

2009-06-12T10:58:00.001-05:00

The third Bounty of the Barrens Market Day is at hand, and though I am a bit worried about the weather and how we will deal with our sound system and over twenty canopies if another one of these storms shows up, I know we will deal with it somehow.

Already the market is becoming THE place where our community comes together on Saturday mornings to see friends and convene our collective vision for how great our city can be. The scene at the market with local musicians performing and local producers selling their goods is simply magical, but, as we have said before, our goal is not simply to help the community stock its refrigerator. Rather, we want to help the community re-stock its soul.

We are driven by the wisdom of folks like Kentucky’s own Wendell Berry, who has been writing and speaking and cajoling us for decades to build sustainable communities. To be honest, we are all a bit ashamed that it has taken us so long to hear his voice of reason, but, we are tuned in now. I hope he will not mind my excerpting the following 17 Rules for a Sustainable Community from his book Another Turn of the Crank. While these principles have not been formally adopted by Sustainable Glasgow, Inc., they certainly represent everything we hope to accomplish with Bounty of the Barrens Market and the many other initiatives we hope to roll out in the future.

So, we hope to see you every Saturday at the Bounty of the Barrens Market, and when you come there, please remember these are the things you are helping to accomplish. Wendell Berry wrote that if the members of a local community want their community to cohere, to flourish, and to last, these are some things they would do . . . and we agree!

1. Always ask of any proposed change or innovation: What will this do to our community? How will this affect our common wealth?

2. Always include local nature – the land, the water, the air, the native creatures – within the membership of the community.

3. Always ask how local needs might be supplied from local sources, including the mutual help of neighbors.

4. Always supply local needs first. (And only then think of exporting their products, first to nearby cities, and then to others.)

5. Understand the unsoundness of the industrial doctrine of “labor saving” if that implies poor work, unemployment, or any kind of pollution or contamination.

6. Develop properly scaled value-adding industries for local products to ensure that the community does not become merely a colony of the national or global economy.

7. Develop small-scale industries and businesses to support local farm and/or forest economy.

8. Strive to produce a much of the community’s own energy as possible.

9. Strive to increase earnings (in whatever form) within the community and decrease expenditures outside the community.

10. Make sure that money paid into the local economy circulates within the community for as long as possible before it is paid out.

11. Make the community able to invest in itself by maintaining its properties, keeping itself clean (without dirtying some other place), caring for its old people, teaching the children.

12. See that the old and the young take care of one another. The young must learn from the old, not necessarily and not always in school. There must be no institutionalized “child care” and “homes for the aged.” The community knows and remembers itself by the association of old and young.

13. Account for costs now conventionally hidden or “externalized.” Whenever possible, these costs must be debited against monetary income.

14. Look into the possible uses of local currency, community-funded loan programs, systems of barter, and the like.

15. Always be aware of the economic value of neighborly acts. In our time the costs of living are greatly increased by the loss of neighborhood, leaving people to face their calamities alone.

16. A rural community should always be acquainted with, and complexly connected with, community-minded people in nearby towns and cities.

17. A sustainable rural economy will be dependent on urban consumers loyal to local products. Therefore, we are talking about an economy that will always be more cooperative than competitive.

Lambs to the Slaughter - The Atlantic (May 2009)

2009-06-07T17:41:00.001-05:00

An interesting article in the Atlantic Monthly about the benefits of buying your meats from local/regional producers.

Lambs to the Slaughter - The Atlantic (May 2009)

Shared via AddThis

Ready for BOTBM Day 2?

2009-06-05T08:06:00.005-05:00

We certainly hope so! The Bounty of the Barrens Market opens at 8:00 a.m. and runs until noon at the parking lot behind BB&T on West Main in Glasgow. It looks like the weather is going to cooperate again and we hope the community turns out again this week to enjoy it. This week the folks from George J's will be manning the cooking tent and fixing up some of their specialties for your enjoyment. Luke Vaught will be performing sweet acoustic music and 20+ vendors will be set up to furnish you with the products they have proudly grown and/or produced right here in the Barrens.

To get your market game face on and further understand why eating local is so important, check out this link and then make sure to watch the program NOW on PBS tonight. It is on Channel 11 at 8:30 tonight on EPB cable.

Pictures from BOTBM Day 1!

2009-06-01T10:27:00.006-05:00

Market Opens THIS SATURDAY 8-12

2009-05-29T18:45:00.003-05:00

The Bounty of the Barrens Market will open on Saturday, May 30 at 8am behind BB&T on W. Main Street in downtown Glasgow. Several local vendors will be there selling meat, produce, and crafts. Eric Albany will be providing great live music and Wade England will be filming an episode of "Come on into My Kitchen" at the market. So come on out and join your friends and neighbors for a morning of local products and talent at the 2009 Bounty of the Barrens Market (8am-12pm).

We need volunteers to help at the BOTB Market

2009-05-11T19:16:00.005-05:00

The opening day for the Bounty of the Barrens Market (May 30) is nearing. We are working diligently to get all the organizational tasks completed. The farmers are doing their best (despite our recent rain torrents) to get their crops moving forward.

We now need to ask for volunteers from the Sustainable Glasgow membership and the community at large to help us on market days.

We don't expect anyone to volunteer for every Saturday (although your offer would be accepted) but we would love to have you volunteer for at least a few Saturday mornings this summer. We most need help with setup and takedown of the market (canopies, tables, traffic cones, etc.) but help during the market hours will also be needed and welcomed. A market manager from Sustainable Glasgow will be directing volunteer activities. The market will open at 8:00 AM and close at noon. That will mean that we need to set up at around 7 AM (possibly a little earlier for some) and, of course, start taking down at noon. We will have live music and active cooking, so it will be a nice place to be if you stay through the market morning.

The creation and management of this market is a truly volunteer, community, grassroots effort. Our goal is to create a marketplace for our local and regional food producers, a place for our citizens to buy the freshest, healthiest and best local foods, and a place for us to connect and enhance our bonds of community and to have a little fun.

The greatest place for conversation, family and friends is at a dining table - and we want this to be a big community table.

If you are interested in being a volunteer, you have several ways to respond. You may contact us at 270-361-2888, at localfirst@glasgow-ky.com, or come to the site of the future market behind BB&T Bank on West Main Street at 1:00 PM on this Saturday, May 16 where we will be meeting for a market rehearsal.

I hope to see you at the market.

Vendor Meeting Saturday, May 16 @ 1pm

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We will have another vendor meeting this Saturday, May 16 at 1pm at the market site (behind BB&T on W. Main St. in Glasgow) to discuss the specifics of the opening day of the market and answer any questions you have. If you cannot attend this meeting, we will also be posting the information shared at the meeting on the blog. E-mail localfirst@glasgow-ky.com with any questions.