Posted on June 10, 2010 - by JamieYuenger
“I (goat) you, Babe…”
Hello, this is Jamie Yuenger from the FRESH team!
I must apologize to you for being so tardy in introducing myself. I’ve been working at FRESH for a little over five months now, and during that time, I think my colleagues and I assumed that the people behind FRESH were less important than the farmers and business people in FRESH.
People begged to differ. They suggested we step from outside the “DVD box” and get a little more personal.
I recently encountered inspiration of a rather meaty-kind and decided it’s time we “meat,” you and me, even if only through this blog.
I work on quite a diverse number of tasks at FRESH. I organize and plan FRESH week events with non-profits, restaurants and businesses across the country, in cities where our film releases theatrically. I estimate and order the number of movie vouchers and posters we’ll need to promote the events. I support the aspirations of groups who want to screen our film. We’ve talked shop with CSAs, Unitarian Universalist sustainability groups, inner-city youth programs, and enthusiastic dietitians. And, last but not least, I “book” theaters.
Now, I’ll be honest. Most of the time, I’d rather throw out week-old trash than try to get a hold of a theater owner. These people are busy. They forget to get back to you. The movie calendar they’re trying to schedule is like trying to figure out a 6-sided Rubik cube. It’s down-right my least favorite part of the job. But, yesterday, my two worlds collided. Yesterday I met a theater director who farms.
Mike Negra, the Executive Director of State Theatre, introduced me to Babe. Babe is one of Mike’s 40 goats. Now, I’ve worked with a theater owner who is also a medical student in residency. We’ve worked with a theater director who is also a documentary filmmaker himself. But, until yesterday, we had never worked with a theater director who also works in the very realm of our film’s message. It felt very much like cupping your two hands together.
In Mike’s own words: “We started raising goats last year. Our neighbor wanted to utilize some of our land, (we have 45 acres). One thing led to another. We now are Southview Farm LLC. Our herd is 40 this year. We have the potential to double or triple that amount as we devote more of our property to the business. We are strictly a goat farm as of today. We have discussed bringing in a cow or two to the fields after the goats to eat the grass down. We’ll see.
We sell to local restaurants, especially the high end ones, and through farmers markets. All meat is locally butchered USDA.
The most surprising thing we have experienced is how much fun they are both with us and with each other. They’re pretty easy to deal with. They let themselves in and out of the barn every morning and evening, LOVE IT when I bring them sumac, and enjoy the pine of Christmas Trees from our neighbor’s Christmas tree farm. Pine is good for goats as it reduces the possibility of worms. They are also BIG players of King of the Hill…fun to watch.
Couple of stats: Goat meat is lower in fat than chicken, higher in protein than beef, and is the most consumed meat in the world. 70% of all red meat eaten in the world is goat! Not is the USA … yet!”
I had to just ask — Mike, has one of your goat’s been to State Theatre yet?
“No, we have not had a goat here yet. Might have if we had screened The Men Who Stare At Goats!”
Mike has restored my faith in theater owners and he’s inspiring me to bring my colleague Lisa to the 5-course goat tasting I saw available at Rosewater, a restaurant a few paces up from her apartment in Brooklyn.
Well, now you know what gets my goat.
Signing off, but soon to return,
Jamie
***FYI, my next project here at FRESH is a 12-week-long blog series entitled “Women Nourish Us,” a weekly series that introduces you to some of the most fabulous female movers and shakers in the food world. If you’ve got a recommendation for me, be in touch: jamie@FRESHthemovie.com***
