Cheap, good eats and Young Love

Double your money (times 5)
Julie Estep, of Cultivating Community NV, informed me that Cultivating Community will offer the first of several farmers’ market/EBT incentive events during the week of July 10-14 at farmers’ markets throughout Butte County whereby one dollar in EBT/CalFresh benefits will buy $10 in fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts, as well as seeds and plant starts.

Four farmers’ markets in Chico are participating in this amazing program—the Wednesday market at North Valley Plaza, which runs from 7:30 a.m. until noon; the Thursday Night Market downtown from 6-9 p.m.; the Friday-afternoon market from 2-5 p.m. in the Chapmantown neighborhood (at East 16th and C streets); and the Chico Certified Farmers’ Market every Saturday from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Second and Wall streets.

Go to www.cultivatingcommunitynv.org for participating farmers’ markets in Gridley, Paradise and Oroville, and for more info.

There’s more
Just prior to Cultivating Community NV’s EBT/CalFresh farmers’ market bonanza, the healthful-food-championing organization is offering a free canning workshop, on Saturday, July 7, from 9-10:30 a.m., and Monday, July 9, from 6-7:30 p.m., presented by local canning guru Stephanie Elliott.

“Come learn how to preserve your summer bounty by using the water bath method of canning,” writes Elliott on the flier advertising her workshop. “This hands-on class will take you through all the steps: preparing the food safely, packing food into jars, and pulling the food out of the water bath. We will talk about tips I have learned over the years and ways to keep your kitchen stocked with wonderful, local food all year long.”

Each workshop is limited to 15 participants, and will be held at Cocina Cortes (1110 Dayton Road). To sign up, go to www.cultivatingcommunitynv.org or call 588-0585.

Lovin’ it
There’s a brand-spankin’-new clothing company in town called Young Love Outfitters with a stated mission of “creat[ing] quality goods that do good,” according to the words of co-founder David Zoppi in a recent press release. Zoppi and fellow co-founder Kenneth Swain “quit their day jobs at the Chico Mall to pursue their own dreams of operating an independent clothing brand with a purpose, and have just launched their website this week, showcasing their first set of designs and causes,” as they put it.

Quitting a mall job is commendable enough, but Zoppi and Swain are really setting an example by creating an online clothing company that “features three causes at a time on their website (e.g. provide clean water, plant trees, etc.), partnering with several nonprofits in order to make a positive impact with their products. A portion of every purchase made supports world change and customers get to choose which cause they would like to support upon checkout.”

Check out their cool black “Build your tribe” T-shirt and “F*ck Plastic” tote bag. Go to http://younglove.co to find out more.

“And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: ‘Look at this Godawful mess.’”

– Art Buchwald