Walden Mutual Bank

Fun facts: gelato contains much less air than ice cream, making it denser & smoother, and it means more food in your cup/cone. It's also served at warmer temps allowing you to taste more of the flavor. We are thrilled to partner with Robb Duncan and violeta edelman who founded Dolcezza Gelato & Coffee in 2004. Robb studied engineering at Georgia Tech before starting a career in software development that included stops in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Portland, and Buenos Aires. While in Argentina, he found two passions – his future wife, violeta edelman; and gelato. They eventually relocated to Washington D.C. and founded Dolcezza. Dolcezza is distinguished by its emphasis on partnerships with particular farms that live up to high standards of quality. They feature some of those farmers, and their stories, right on their website (see comments below for the link, if you're curious). "After our first meeting with Charley, we knew Walden was very different; we'd finally found a bank who values the local community of farmers and makers. Sharing values with your banker? That's something I never thought possible." - Robb Duncan

“It's one thing to eat local and organic and wear natural fibers, but what is your money funding while it sits in your bank!?"- Kristina Villa; Co-Executive Director of the The Farmers Land Trust ? We obviously agree and we're excited to partner with you! ? The Farmers Land Trust works nationally to transact farmland (real estate, fundraising, legal) out of private ownership and into community ownership through the Farmland Commons, which are local land holding nonprofit entities that then give 99-year, secure, affordable, and equitable lease tenure to next generation farmers using chemical free, regenerative food production agriculture. ? These amazing properties inspire optimism and hope.?The work they are doing to create the emerging Farmland Commons includes: - Strategic farmland search with a Black-led food, community and health centered nonprofit in a Mid Atlantic city ?- Innovative legacy farm transition with an elder biodynamic farming couple and their island community centered farm in the Northwest ?- Intentional, personal and strategic transition of a naturally?built ecological community farm in Northern Appalachia - Guidance, assistance and leadership that brings together land owners, collaborators and community nonprofits in the creation of a Black-led community, housing and food justice collective Farmland Commons?in the Southeast ?- And many more! Sign up for The Farmers Land Trust newsletter and connect with them on your favorite social media platform to hear more about their vital work!

One of the more intractable problems for Northeast agriculture is that land prices have far eclipsed the production value of the land.?We now have some tools to address this, from current use in NH to agricultural and conservation easements... But when those fall short there is also just sheer determination and ingenuity. In an effort to lower this barrier, Andrew Kane and his partner Denise are rejuvenating a breathtaking 20-acre plot of land in need of some love in Rumney, NH. They plan to offer community members free plots of land in exchange for contributing to their educational programming that will supplement an agritourism and retail farmstand business. We were so thrilled to partner with the Kanes to get the purchase over the finish line, and we are excited to someday soon invite all of you to come visit with us!

We are so inspired by the work of our friends and newest partners at Zero Foodprint! They have distributed over $6m in grants for projects that directly reduce the carbon footprint of our food and sequester carbon in the soil (which, by the way is the greatest carbon sink we have here on earth, containing an estimated 2,500 gigatons or about 80% of the planet's total). Projects range from supporting no till practices, cover cropping and compost application on a 2 acre farm to prescribed grazing on a 5,000 acre farm to hedgerow plantings to establishing riparian forest buffer zones.... all proven methods of enhancing the ability of a given plot's ability to sequester carbon in the soil. Pictured: High Plains Permaculture, a recent grantee that produces Hay, Beef, Native Niche Fruit & Seed Crops in Boulder, CO Learn more about Zero Foodprint's work at https://lnkd.in/gtvKb2YR

We are so honored to partner with Justin Strasburger and the changemakers at Full Plates Full Potential of Maine. 20% -1 out of every 5 - of Maine children suffer from food insecurity - the highest rate in New England. We already have the programs, infrastructure, resources... everything, already in place to address it. Federal school meal programs meet kids where they are, for breakfast, lunch, after school meals, and summer meals. Children in need depend on these programs for vital nutrition, and Full Plates Full Potential is their voice. And they are a rather effective voice too... as a result of their tireless advocacy, on July 1, 2021 Governor Janet Mills signed School Meals for All into law, making Maine the only state in the country that provides free breakfast and lunch to ALL children. From a policy perspective this was also an important acknowledgment that the most impactful and enduring programs (see Social Security) are broadly open to all. Learn more and consider making a donation to support their ongoing work to address child hunger at https://lnkd.in/d-dByDtA https://lnkd.in/eaFmhCpw

There's lots of talk of the "missing middle" infrastructure in our local food system, and it's often referred to as a chicken or the egg problem: "you can't build the infrastructure until there's growers producing stuff to be processed, and nobody will grow the product unless there's somewhere to process it..." So we're always impressed by those who ignore the chatter and just build it. As the Chinese proverb says: "person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." Patrick Shaw-Kitch is one of them - and we've been honored to partner with Brooklyn Granary & Mill in their efforts to reinvigorate a local grain ecosystem. Using locally grown grains, these folks mill flour on Vermont granite stones... retaining nutrients and flavor that are lost in the typical steel rolling process. Stone milling preserves the entire grain (endosperm, bran and germ), while steel rolling mechanically separates these pieces (and therefore require the flour then be "fortified" with vitamins as a result). The difference in flavor is akin to eating a local, in season strawberry versus one that was picked green and imported from abroad. Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/eM44UZNt

Was so fun to join Andy D. to talk about local food, local banking and local economies - Give it a listen! https://lnkd.in/eMm22vT2

Struggling to get your product into a new distribution channel? Curious about how to finance your new venture? Bob Burke - who we are exceedingly lucky to have as a board member - hosts a number of seminars annually alongside what has truly become a WHO's WHO of the natural products industry. If you'd like to join one of the upcoming seminars in December, we are offering partners of the bank a special discount on tuition. Shoot us a note to learn more! https://lnkd.in/eeDHmCx

Please take the time to recognize some amazing stories of gratitude from some of our partners by voting in our Giving Thanks Challenge. We had some amazing people recognizing their spouse, their local farmer, their town clerk, close friends or others for doing something meaningful in a time of need. In collaboration with our good friends at Keap Candles - philosophers turned candlemakers - this challenge was designed to simply spread some love and celebrate good in the people around us! Checkout the link below to VOTE! The winning entry will receive a donation to the charity of their choice and a paid trip on a local food experience in Hudson, NY. https://lnkd.in/dMA4gViM

Jefferson, Clarence, "the train," Frank, Hanks... If your preferred English muffins belong on this list, you're missing out... and you should consider a far superior option, hand made locally, right here in Boston. Stone & Skillet English muffins are grilled on cast iron... making for a deliciously doughy, almost donut-like result. Plus, last year they launched their Super Grains variety, which incorporates spent grains from area breweries that they've upcycled. This turns an underutilized waste stream into a key ingredient AND makes for a more nutrient dense and delicious muffin. Or you could just go with pumpkin... we're told there is a strong scientific consensus that everyone's diet should contain at least 25% pumpkin from Sept 1 to November 30.* Regardless of what you choose... give them a try. We're honored to partner with Cam Meekins and team as they grow their business! #localbaking #localbanking *if it wasn't abundantly clear, that was a joke, but pumpkin is great.