August is the month Locavores' "concerned culinary adventurers" are challenging you, yes YOU, to watch what you eat and wonder where the heck it comes from.

Why oh why? Very simply, because what you eat and where you put your buying dollars affects...well, pretty much all of us in the community and the environment around us.

So what do I do, what do I do???

Really, it's up to you how hard-core you want to get into it.

If you haven't thought much about what you put into your stomach, try just observing what you buy for lunch and dinner each day and see if you can tell what it's made of or where it comes from.

Or, if you're a gung ho organic eater, how about trying to only buy your foods from local growers and purveyors.

Or, if you just love being cooked for, and would like to eat out for the entire month of August (you glutton!), how about choosing restaurants in our cool n handy list of Bay Area eateries that are local & organic-friendly.

Instructions and object of the game can be found on the informative Locavores website. Including simple guidelines to be a locavore!, the financial, health & environmental benefits of supporting your local foodshed, where to buy locally-grown produce, meat, dairy & seafood, and a list of your urban, suburban & rural friends who are joining in the August local challenge.

Join the group, and eat well...!

Read our recent feature on Thinking Locally & Acting Neighborly.

Traci Des Jardins -- of Jardiniere, Acme Chophouse and Mijita fame, and an early birdie to use and promote local, sustainable foods in SF -- kicked Iron Chef butt in the latest episode against Mario Batali! With her trusty sous chefs in tow, Robbie Lewis and Peter Armellino, she took that ever-elusive secret ingredient Shrimp and went to town, baby.

If you haven't seen it already, upcoming airings of Traci, Robbie & Peter are on the Food Network:
Aug 10 -- 11 PM ET/PT
Aug 11 -- 3 AM ET/PT
Aug 13 -- 7 PM ET/PT
Aug 13 -- 11PM ET/PT
Aug 14 -- 3 AM ET/PT

More congratulations to our favorite anytime restaurant in the Haight, Magnolia Pub & Brewery. They just won in the SF Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay poll for 'Best Microbrewery with a Conversation Piece Mural' category! (What, you never heard of that category?)

Regardless, we want to give some credit to owner Dave McLean and his new chef Sam Kimerling, who continue to serve up kick-ass organic meals sourced from our local, organic farms...and paired with their ultra-tasty, award-winning beers. You'll have to read the Beer-Making 101 menu to learn about their brews and their specialty 57-degree casks.

They're on the corner of Haight and Masonic, and they've got flexi-hours until midnight or 1am every day. Winner!

Sooo, it's a massive furniture exporter, which some of you may not like. But, hard-core shoppers sure are hungry, and IKEA's in-store restaurants are going organic!

Initially just in the EU stores, they're starting with organic, fair-trade coffees and teas, and then organic jams and cheeses, and then organic schnapps and meats. (That's all they eat in Sweden apparently. ha.)

Here's the press release.

Check our Events page for more happenins as they are announced.

Jardiniere's Traci Des Jardins on IRON CHEF AMERICA
Sun-Sun, 8/7/05-8/14/05
See above for times.

Convert a Carnivore Day at Millennium
Wed, 8/10/05
Millennium Restaurant, 580 Geary St. in SF
25% off!

U-Pick Days at Mariquita Farm
Thursdays 8/11, 8/18 (Andy's Bday!) and 8/25 8am-1:30pm; Saturday 8/27 9am to 4pm.
Free to attend and eat whatever you want onsite

Meet the Farmer - K & J Orchards
Sat, 8/13/05; 10:00am - 10:30am
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, Ferry Building in SF
Free

Vegetarian Cooking Class: Healthful Mediterranean II
Sat, 8/13/05; 10:00am-1:00pm
First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St. at Castro in Oakland
$35.

Berkeley Farmers' Market Tomato Tasting, Cooking Demo, and Theater Piece
Sat, 8/13/05; 10:00am-3:00pm
Saturday Berkeley Farmers' Market, Center St. at MLK, Jr. Way in Berkeley
Free

Shop with the Chef - Ben DeVries of Luella
Sat, 8/13/05; 10:30am - 11:30am
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, Ferry Building in SF
Free

Market Tasting: Cherry Tomatoes
Sat, 8/13/05; 12:15pm - 12:45pm
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, Ferry Building in SF
Free

Cool Summer Soups
Sun, 8/14/05; 10:00am-12:30pm
Crissy Field Center, 603 Mason Street at Halleck in SF
$15 per person

Solano Herbs and Fruit - Greenbelt Alliance Outing
Sun, 8/14/05; 9:00am-12:30pm
Solano County
Free

Biodynamic Wine Tasting - presented by the Commonwealth Club, Bay Gourmet & Ferry Bldg Marketplace
Thu, 8/18/05; 5:30pm reception; 6:00pm tasting
Ferry Building at Market/Embarcadero, Port Commission Hearing Room, 2nd Flr in SF
$20 Commonwealth members; $27 non-members

The Eggplant Menu at Millennium Restaurant
Fri-Sun, 8/19/05-8/21/05
Millennium Restaurant, 580 Geary St. in SF
$45/person prix fixe menu $20/wine pairing

Film and Discussion: "The Future of Food"
Fri, 8/19/05; 7:00pm
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., @ Bonita in Berkeley

SolFest 2005
Sat-Sun, 8/20/05-8/21/05
Real Goods Solar Living Center, 13771 S. Highway 101 in Hopland
$30 ($20 for one day)

Meet the Farmer - tbd
Sat, 8/20/05; 10:00am - 10:30am
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, Ferry Building in SF
Free

Shop with the Chef - Johnny Alamilla of Alma
Sat, 8/20/05; 10:30am - 11:30am
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, Ferry Building in SF
Free

Full Wort Moon Feast - A Nourishing Traditions Feast Celebrating the Local Foods of the Bay Area
Sat, 8/20/05; 6:30pm
St Francis Lutheran Church, Church St. in SF
Suggested donation $30/person

Tour d' Organics - Bike Tour / Race
Sun, 8/21/05
Starts in Sebastopol in Sonoma County
$25-60

Even a little snack. If you use these newsletters, use our website, or simply enjoy having delicious, organic food in the Bay Area, please support our programs that serve local, organic farms and the community. Om Organics is a project of the San Francisco Foundation - Community Initiative Funds, and can only continue with the help of contributions from conscientious people like you!

Any amount is appreciated!
You can make a donation:

• via Paypal.com: to donate@omorganics.org
• by credit card: via the SFF CIF donation page
• by check: "Om Organics: Project of SFF CIF", 225 Bush St. #500, SF, CA 94104

THANK YOU!