Art by Marabou * On Sale at Dandelion in March

Life is a journey, and being the ringleader of Dandelion has definitely been that. Chris & I started the cafe with big plans and dreams, not just for us, but for our entire community. So we’re dreamers, but we’re not the only ones – many of you have conspired, inspired and moved into action, and so many initiatives (Slow Food, OurLando, The Daily City, ELLA Music Festival, Audubon Park Community Market…to name a few) have taken hold to make our community more connected, fun, enlightened and informed. Orlando is the kind of place you are proud to call home. The kind of place you want to put down roots and make better for the next generation.

We started with an idea to bring people together around the table because we knew it was vital to fix our broken food system, like this guy explains so well. There’s a lot of momentum locally and nationally to start that process, thanks to good people like you who support philosophies like Sole Food and Slow Money. Even though our hopes and dreams have brought us to this place, it’s time to wake up.

The Spring Equinox marks our 4th birthday (you’re invited, of course) and we’ve committed the next four years to digging deeper into the reach America’s appetite for fuel (the kind we eat & drink + coal & crude oil) has on people & planet. Many people think the film Avatar is a fantasy, but billions of people in communities around our globe continue to be exploited, displaced and destroyed while their land is razed, their dignity & ability to sustain themselves stripped and entire cultures with rich histories and unique knowledge perish.

It’s happening right here in the United States to the people of West Virginia and Florida farmworkers. It’s happening to the people of the Amazon. We’re watching in horror to the last gasps of it in Haiti right now. As we take in environmental refugees from this long exploited people and land, I hope it serves as an urgent reminder that vibrant local economies and preservation of natural resources, including a strong regional food network are paramount to the security and, thus, sustainability, of life. If this earthquake were to have occurred in a Haiti that had not been deforested to the point of desertification, this would have been a disaster, but not one complicated by massive mudslides or non-existent access to food.

I don’t want to bum you out, and promise to continue to educate you by lifting the veils of illusion one by one in unique, artistic ways. Our featured artist in March shares his deep understanding of these issues so beautifully, you won’t even realize you are being schooled. We’ll continue to strengthen our own community and connection to food with lots of live music, poetry and opportunities to meetup while planting seeds for our garden & yours.

Thanks for being on this journey with us. It’s been up and down for everyone the last four years, and the next four are probably going to be about the same, but we’ve now had some practice at how we respond and how to prioritize when the going gets tough. We enter the next four years a bit wiser, with resilience and more appreciation for taking delight in simple pleasures because we are more empowered with each passing day to be the change we wish to see. After all, it’s become quiet obvious that WE are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

“Going green just got a lot more colorful. For the vegetarian-fare Dandelion Communitea Café in Orlando, it’s a combination of Bluefield, Jasper, Bryce Canyon and Tuscan Gold that now adorn its walls in the form of good old natural American Clay.” Read the Full Article.

Tune into Front Porch Radio Wed, Feb 17th at Noon to listen in on a discussion about Pachamama.

You Have To Love A Place

Also coming up during our 4th B-Day Bash on the Spring Equinox (March 20th, more on that soon) we will be visited by the Modern Day Slavery Mobile Museum. It’s all connected, just like you and me.

Julie Norris, co-proprietor of Dandelion Communitea Cafe near downtown Orlando, said that the local farmers were not only chosen for their proximity. Their independence from the mass markets allows them the freedom to emphasize quality. “It’s so important to know your grower,” Norris said. She said with the overuse of pesticides, environmental impact of big agriculture and the poor treatment of farmworkers, the best way to know that the food is good, clean and fair is to build a relationship.

“I’m all about organic food,” Norris said, “but when it comes to a small grower, they can’t get that certification because it’s expensive. But if I know the person and I know what their growing philosophy is, I call that relationship organic. The reason we have a USDA label is because we’ve lost our connection to who’s growing our food.”

Read the entire article here: Central Florida Future – Restaurants showcase ‘slow food’.

Read More (includes a quote from Julie Norris of the Ourlando movement): How the World’s Biggest Corporations, From Starbucks to Wal-Mart to Barnes & Noble, Claim to Be ‘Local’.

The next couple of weeks are going to be delicious, educational and entertaining, we promise. Here are some highlights:

For more on the local food movement, watch the above video (taped in 2007) and check out our answer to Why Local?

Eat Local Week by Slow Food Orlando is January 25-31st

As you know, Dandelion is dedicated to helping grow the local food movement. We’ll be participating in this special effort to source within 200 miles of Orlando with a Southern inspired plate of Collard Wraps from My Yard Farm edible installations, Rock Bottom Farms Mushroom Pilaf, Deviled Eggs from happy chickens over at Lake Meadow and more. Be sure to tune into Front Porch Radio on Wed, Jan 20th for a discussion with Chef Josh Oakley of the Enzian about the state of Slow Food in Orlando.

…but be sure you know your grower!

Florida is filled with big corporate ag. When we talk about eating local, we don’t just mean proximity, we mean supporting independent growers who take social & environmental responsibility into account. You are invited to join the National Farmer Workers Ministry on Thursday, January 28th at 7pm to discuss the plight of modern day farm worker’s and how you can help stand up for what is right. Listen to this podcast about modern day slavery, child labor and the human rights crisis taking place in the fields of Florida.

Thomas Thorspecken

Thor sketched his own Art Opening at Dandelion – check out the photos below & then read Thor’s take about the evening and see the sketch here. This is the public’s first opportunity to buy what are the most famous Orlando sketches to date. Also view him in Winter Park Magazine sketching a Front Porch Radio show (he’s interviewed towards the end of that show).

They’ll serenade us while you check out this month’s awesome art show, with community documentarian Thomas Thorspecken’s scenes from local happenings & hotspots sketched in pen & ink and watercolor This show will be an Analog Artist/Digital World Retrospective; it has been a year since Thor, as we lovingly call him, started his blog. This will be the first time all of his sketches will appear together, in public.

Amelia Coffaro’s photography and Rebecca Downin’s portraits of music legends on vinyl records are also worth a serious eyeballing.

Thank you for standing by us this year. It’s a beautiful example of what is possible when we participate in community. Have a wonderful holiday!