Leaf Community

LEAF Nights Are Bursting With Local Flavor

Lakewood Earth and Food Community (LEAF) will begin our 20 week celebration of local food and culture on June 9th.  Every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., farmers will be driving to the front porch of the Lakewood Public Library to deliver and vend their fresh picked produce. Two Community Supported Agriculture programs, multiple additional local vendors with fresh, local, naturally grown or created goodies, and music will be included at each LEAF Night this summer. In addition to the Wednesday LEAF Nights, a third CSA program will be delivered to the Root Cafe on Thursday evenings.

2010 will be the fifth year Lakewood residents have been participating in Community Supported Agriculture. Starting back in 2006, the first 15 shareholders started the Community Supported Agriculture interest with the Covered Bridge Gardens CSA program. Last year, LEAF assisted over 400 families participate in one of three CSA programs. Community Supported Agriculture or CSA is becoming more and more popular, but many still don't really know what it means. CSA is a model of food distribution where consumers develop a direct relationship with the farmer. People become "share holders", in which they pay the farmer up front and then receive delivery of "shares" (packages of fresh picked food) throughout the season when the farmers harvest them. The CSA model has many benefits for the farmer, the consumer, the environment and the local economy.

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Volume 6, Issue 11, Posted 8:56 AM, 06.02.2010

LEAF Third Thursday Speaker Series: Rain Gardens

When it rains, it pours. And when it pours, stormwater flows into storm drains, causing erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater. The chemicals and particles picked up by rain as it finds its way over pavement and through our sewer system causes a great deal of the pollution of our lakes, streams, and rivers. And, as it turns out, creates an undue burden on that sewer system.

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Volume 6, Issue 7, Posted 9:23 PM, 04.06.2010

LEAF 2010 Open House

Lakewood Earth & Food Community (LEAF) will be holding its 2010 Open House on Sunday, March 14th from 2:00 to 5:00 at the main branch of the Lakewood Public Library in the Multipurpose Room. This is your opportunity to get information and ask questions about LEAF programs. There will be representatives from our educational series, bulk buying, community gardening and our Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSA).

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Volume 6, Issue 4, Posted 8:31 AM, 02.24.2010

Summer Lovin'

 
This summer I fell in love.  It has blossomed into a colorful relationship filled with reds, greens, yellows, and blues. This partnership even has an official name, but one that I cannot adopt, because many other ladies and gentlemen are already part of its system.

It’s called my summer CSA program (community supported agriculture). While it might be a summer fling, I’m in it for the long haul.

For $260, and 16-summer weeks, I receive vegetables weekly. Fresh, crispy, mildly organic, Ohio only grown, goodness.  It feels like Christmas comes early when I pick up my fresh blueberries, strawberries, corn, basil, Napa cabbage, and tomatoes. Each week, the mix is different, gorgeous, and delicious.

I pick up a canvas bag mix every Wednesday at the Madison Library, which is the main distribution point. This ever so popular pick-up joint has been orchestrated by the LEAF Community (Lakewood Earth and Food), which is essentially a volunteer based organization of over 600 members. The LEAF Community partners with City Fresh to distribute the shares with the local farmers and other guest vendors.

I recommend these programs to anyone and any family, and most importantly, I save big time. Historically, I’d overspend by $75-$100 at my local Giant Eagle for China-based apples, Chilean grapes, New Zealand kiwis, Idaho potatoes, and who knows what else on other fruits and vegetables.  Join now and experience the summer love for local farmers.

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Volume 5, Issue 17, Posted 3:05 PM, 08.25.2009

Basil and Beyond Brings Locally Grown Herbs to LEAF Nights

Do you like locally produced, fresh food?  In addition to the great opportunities to buy local food in Lakewood, your chance to buy food grown even closer to home has arrived. A new urban farm has started in Lakewood, Basil and Beyond, LLC, which grows all natural culinary herbs including several types of basil, oregano, chives, sage, rosemary, cilantro and many others.  Basil and Beyond is operated as a small environmentally sustainable business that uses no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. 

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Volume 5, Issue 13, Posted 10:40 AM, 07.01.2009

LEAF Breaks Ground with Community Gardening

After receiving enthusiastic support from Mayor FitzGerald, the Lakewood Earth & Food (LEAF) Community has officially broken ground at plots in Cove, Kauffman, Madison, and Webb Parks, as well as the Plover Garden in Bird Town, for its community gardening initiative in 2008.

Beginning last year with six plots in the Plover Garden, LEAF has expanded its efforts in community gardening to more than 130 plots across Lakewood, including about 20 at Cove and Kauffman Parks, 30 at Madison Park, and more than 50 at Webb Park. Plots are now available to the Lakewood community for a small fee...

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Volume 4, Issue 11, Posted 6:39 PM, 05.22.2008

LEAF Community Offers Two CSA Programs

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a term given to a model of food production and distribution where a group of people (us) develops a direct relationship with nearby food producers (farmers). Customers enroll in the program to support a grower, who they trust to take good care of their land, crops, and animals. A typical CSA program includes an early spring membership payment, with weekly distribution of produce and other items when they are freshly harvested...
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Volume 4, Issue 11, Posted 9:45 PM, 05.17.2008

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UPCOMING EVENTS

September 3, 2010:
7:00 PM - 10:30 PM - "JAZZ YOU LIKE IT"

September 4, 2010:
12:00 AM - Where's My Jet Pack?

12:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Cleveland Craft Coalition's September Bazaar

6:00 PM - FALL GUYS AND FEMME FATALES: Film Noir in the Forties The Maltese Falcon (1941) Directed by John Huston Not Rated

September 7, 2010:
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM - Job Seeker Tuesdays in September

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM - JOB SEEKER TUESDAYS IN SEPTEMBER Sponsored by the Lakewood Family Collaborative and Cuyahoga Community College

12:00 PM - Hodad's Music New Longer Hours!

5:30 PM - 8:00 PM - Lakewood Dog Swim

7:30 PM - Lakewood City Council Meeting

September 8, 2010:
6:30 PM - 10:30 PM - 1st Annual "Singing for Survivors" Karaoke Fundraiser

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM - MEET THE AUTHOR: Linda Legeza FISH TALES Cooler Full of Fish by Linda Legeza The Rainy Day House by Linda Legeza

September 9, 2010:
5:30 PM - 6:15 PM - Prenatal Water Aerobics

6:30 PM - 9:00 PM - Prostate Partners Quarterly Meeting

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM - BOOKED FOR MURDER BOOK CLUB: New York City Lush Life by Richard Price

September 10, 2010:
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM - got green? Lakewood Christian Service Center event

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Lakewood Early Childhood PTA Open House

7:00 PM - 10:30 PM - "JAZZ YOU LIKE IT"

September 11, 2010:
7:00 AM - 1st Annual St. Joseph Parish Golf Outing and Fundraiser

11:00 AM - 5:00 PM - 23rd Annual Lakewood Community Festival

6:00 PM - THE LAKEWOOD PUBLIC CINEMA: A Day at the Races

September 12, 2010:
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM - The Lakewood Historical Society 10th Biennial “Come Home to Lakewood” House Tour

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - SUNDAY WITH THE FRIENDS: InTransit

7:00 PM - Saint Vincent DePaul Benefit Concert for St. Joseph Church’s Overnight Shelter

September 13, 2010:
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Incontinence and Overactive Bladder: Tips to Improve Bladder Function HEALTH TALK

7:00 PM - The Curl Advantage

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM - Introductory Lakewood Block Club Meeting

September 14, 2010:
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM - Job Seeker Free Workshops

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM - CLEVELAND’S GOLDEN AGE OF PRINT

7:00 PM - CLEVELAND’S GOLDEN AGE OF PRINT: Front Page Girl

7:00 PM - Catholicism 101

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM - 10 Steps to Perfect Credit

September 15, 2010:
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Life After Cancer

September 16, 2010:
7:00 PM - BUSINESS BOOK TALK with Tim Zaun and Friends

September 17, 2010:
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM - Cancer Etiquette: What to say (and not to say!) when your loved one has cancer

7:00 PM - 10:30 PM - "JAZZ YOU LIKE IT"

8:00 PM - My Fair Lady

September 18, 2010:
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Child and Infant CPR Class

6:00 PM - FIVE STAR FILMS: Broadway Melody of 1940

8:00 PM - My Fair Lady

September 19, 2010:
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM - Red Cross Babysitting Class

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - SUNDAY WITH THE FRIENDS: Christine Lewis

3:00 PM - My Fair Lady

September 20, 2010:
7:00 PM - Financing Your Very Small Business

September 21, 2010:
12:00 AM - 8:30 PM - KNIT & LIT BOOK CLUB: Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM - Job Seeker Free Workshops

7:00 PM - PROTECTING CHILDREN: Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force

7:00 PM - KNIT & LIT BOOK CLUB

September 22, 2010:
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Life After Cancer

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM - LAKEWOOD HISTORICAL SOCIETY presents: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Usonian Home

7:00 PM - Listen to Lakewood (L2L)

September 24, 2010:
7:00 PM - 10:30 PM - "JAZZ YOU LIKE IT"

8:00 PM - My Fair Lady