MIDDLETOWN
Postponed event: Feb 26 TEK and Fire Management on Zoom
It is with our deepest condolences that we acknowledge the recent passing of two Lake County Pomo Elders. Due to this unforeseen occurrence, this weekend’s TEK at the Middletown Art Center will be postponed.
A new date will be announced soon. Those who registered to join us on zoom will receive an email
—Submitted
California climate updates
Wednesday brought rain, wind, snow and freeze to California — and a trifecta of not-so-good climate news.
- Most of the farms that get water from the federally managed Central Valley Project will likely receive 0% of their allocation this year, according to initial estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — and most cities and towns will get just 25% of what they asked for. It’s the latest sign that California’s persistent drought will likely extend into its third year. “Last year was a very bad year. This year could turn out to be worse,” said Ernest Conant, the bureau’s regional director.
- Just 59% of California’s electricity came from renewable and zero-carbon sources in 2020 — down from 64% in 2019, according to new data from the California Energy Commission. The reason for the decrease? A decline in hydroelectric power due to severe drought — as well as pandemic delays to new renewable energy projects. Still, the commission said, California remains ahead of its clean electricity goals.
- California’s key climate change strategy is flawed, according to data that a panel of experts shared — again — with state lawmakers, CalMatters’ Julie Cart reports. Indeed, the structure of the state’s carbon market poses “a very real risk” that California won’t meet its next set of carbon reduction goals, said Ross Brown of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. The Newsom administration, however, said it “won’t be taking urgent action to simply change things.”
—Emily Hoeven, CALmatters
SACRAMENTO
First Partner Siebel Newsom releases report to expand access to Farm to School across California
Building on her commitment to ensuring California children have the best start in life, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom today announced the release of Planting the Seed: Farm to School Roadmap for Success, a report promoting the expansion of farm to school programs across California to advance child well-being, equity, economic growth, and environmental resilience.
“Last year, California made history as the first state to establish permanent universal school meals. Through farm to school programs, we are going one step further to ensure children don’t just have access to free meals in school, but that those meals are healthy, nutritious, and locally-grown,” said Governor Newsom.
Farm to school programs allow students to learn about the relationships between food systems and the environment.
Farm to school programs promote economic growth in local communities through local procurement, and incentivize climate smart, regenerative agriculture practices.
Planting the Seed outlines specific recommendations to advance the expansion of farm to school programs across the state, including:
- Allocating funding to scale up farm to school programs that encourage and prioritize equitable, climate smart procurement.
- Investing in school food careers and scratch cooking infrastructure to ensure school nutrition teams can prepare delicious, nutritious, and locally-sourced meals.
- Developing optional model K-12 food education standards to help students understand how food impacts health, culture, biodiversity, and climate.
- Strengthening relationships between schools and producers to improve food system equity and promote climate smart, regenerative agriculture practices.
- Expanding and creating inclusive access to school food markets for a wide range of California producers, especially small and mid-scale producers, producers that are Black, Indigenous, or people of color, and producers that utilize climate smart, regenerative agriculture practices.
- Investing in evaluation and research, and developing an annual California farm to school census.
Thursday’s announcement follows the state’s investment of nearly $70 million for the California Farm to School Incubator Grant, a program championed by the First Partner and administered by CDFA, to provide competitive grants to support innovative local and regional farm to school projects. In the 2021-22 budget, the state also invested $150 million to upgrade kitchen infrastructure and train food service employees.
