MDiTV is a new kind of media company: we’re a channel that creates original health and medicine programming for distribution online. We present credible and trustworthy information in an engaging and entertaining way.

View our rep video here.

The Leftbank Project (@leftbankproject) is the perfect home for MDiTV (@MDiTVorg). We have both our offices and television studio here, at the end of the hall on the second floor. On one side of the hall we have our offices, where our web team and administrative superstars have made their home. On the other side, the studio is home to the production team, the social media team, and Dr. Robert “Bobby” Lazzara, our CEO.

We feel a particular tie to the Leftbank building because we have similar approaches to business. At MDiTV, we are breaking new ground: we want to help people get the information they need to live a healthy life. We’re running a paperless office and doing all we can to minimize our impact. The Leftbank building does the same: recycling building materials, the great eco-roof, the plentiful bike parking. We’re both working towards a healthy world, and a more connected world.

View a still from the MDiTV show “Second Opinion,” hosted by CEO and company founder Dr. Robert Lazzara (@MDiTVLaz).

As we approach our launch, the benefits of being in the Leftbank Project become more and more apparent. Personally, I see the benefit when my coworkers walk in with their bike helmets, having come from a location shoot or from home. As part of the social media team at MDiTV, the location really benefits me because I can get to all the networking and tech events that I need to, sometimes as easily as walking a couple blocks to the convention center.

MDiTV is one of a new wave of tech start-ups, focusing on accessible media. You’ll be able to find us on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, and every place you can access the internet. When you sprain you ankle, open open the MDiTV app and watch a doctor show you what has happened to your ankle and give step-by-step instructions to wrap it. Pull out your tablet on the bus and watch the latest in medical news. MDiTV provides the information and fresh insights that you need and want, wherever you are.

Come visit us at MDiTV, we would love to show you our studio!

www.MDiTV.com/blog
facebook.com/MDiTV

to contact the author, email Aurora@MDiTV.org.

On April 22nd City Repair will be holding an event in celebration of the 40th year of Earth Day.  The event, which will be held in SE Portland’s Buckman neighborhood,  is a community based event  to promote awareness of environmental issues and progressive organizations.  It also provides an opportunity for everyone to get involved with the local organizations who are dealing with these issues head-on on a daily basis.  This year the theme is Re-Seeding the World - celebrating localization. There will be live music from March Fourth Marching Band, Fruition  and Off the Grid and Mayor Sam Adams will be putting in an appearance.

There will be booths for local, sustainable businesses and non-profit organizations and, if you would like the opportunity to set up a booth, it’s not too late to apply.  Registration information can be found here.  The deadline for booth registration is April 19th.

If you would like to volunteer to help out at the event, click here.  Or you could help with the pre-event neighborhood cleanup, the weekend before the event (April 17th).  Click here to register for the neighborhood spruce-up.

When we opened for the season a few weeks ago, we knew this would be a very different year for Portland Farmers Market. We’ve expanded the footprint of our largest market at PSU, we’re adding two markets to our weekly farm-direct roster, and we are staring straight into the eyes of the meanest market monster: garbage. With founding support from the Office of the Mayor, we have undertaken a new effort to radically reduce the amount of waste that is generated at our markets. We have christened this campaign EverGreen and with it, we hope to move a giant step closer to creating a sustainable food system.

The EverGreen campaign will be introduced across all PFM locations over the next three years, beginning with the PSU Market in 2010. This season, we are asking customers to find an EverGreen waste station to recycle it, compost it, or waste it rather than seeking out the nearest garbage can on campus. The EverGreen stations are staffed by volunteer “garbage gatekeepers”, providing guidance to customers about how to shrink one’s personal waste footprint by ensuring that waste goes where it belongs.

Our goal for this year is to divert 50% of waste generated at the PSU Market to compost and recycling streams. By the third year of EverGreen, we will divert 90% of waste from all market locations to compost and recycling, redirecting more than ten tons of would-be garbage from the landfill over the course of each season. Of course, we need all sorts of help to make this happen. Vendors, volunteers, customers, civic partners, and government leaders are all being asked to pitch in and help us realize this (near) zero-waste vision. Do you want to join our fight against the trash monster and spread the garbage gospel to the masses? Please click here or email EverGreen Coordinator, Ryan McLaughlin for more information. (Stay tuned next week for more about Ryan, the newest member of our farmers market family.)

See you at the market!

We are fast approaching the one year anniversary of Upright Brewing Company right here in Leftbank’s basement.   In honor of this auspicious occasion, Upright will be holding an anniversary/bottle release party where Alex will be showcasing two wonderful beers:- a seasonal, draft only,  apricot farmhouse ale (makes my mouth water, just thinking about it) and the second batch of their Four Play brew (only available in the tasting room) which has been barrel aged with cherry puree - yum! There will also be sweets from Kir Jensen’s Sugar Cube to pair with both beers.  The event will be held on April 9th, during normal Friday tasting hours, from 4.30-9pm.  Don’t miss it!

Congratulations Alex!

Today we are happy.  Our Spring Collection is available in Apple stores nationwide.  Go and check it out here, or stop by and say hello.  We are on the 2nd floor, suite 203.

The 19th season of Portland Farmers Market has officially begun. This past Saturday, the stars aligned for a picture perfect spring day and 12,000 Portlanders turned out en masse for food and fun on the South Park Blocks. It was an amazing sight. See it for yourself in this cool video from Cooking Up a Story that takes a peek at opening day from the farmers’ perspective.

If pictures are more your thing, “taste” opening day through the eyes of two of our favorite bloggers. PFM volunteer Allison Jones snapped these fantastic shots and our community partner and Pietopia creator Tricia Martin captured these sights. Enjoy!

See you at the market!

Hey Leftbankers,

Every Friday through Sunday from now until April 25 there will be an art installation by artist Stephen Slappe, here at Leftbank as part of Disjecta’s Portland2010 “a biennial exhibition of contemporary artwork significant to Portland’s art landscape”.  So, before you head down to Upright for your Friday afternoon tasting session, why not stop by the basement garage space (next door to the cafe) and expand your mind a little?  The exhibit is open Friday/Saturday/Sunday 12-6pm.  For more information on Disjecta’s citywide Portland2010 exhibits click here.

The countdown to opening day continues with only one week left before we pull out the tents and ring the opening bell for our flagship market, the Portland Farmers Market at PSU, opening March 20. If you haven’t already heard, we will expand to include the block directly south of its existing location. The expansion will allow the more than 120 vendors and 10,000+ shoppers more space to shop for farm-fresh produce, baked goods, meats, cheeses, seafood and more. Although the Saturday PSU farmers’ market location will double in size, we will not double the number of vendor booths. Instead, vendor booths will line up along the perimeter of the South Park Blocks, eliminating the majority of the inner ring of vendors’ stalls (aka ‘mud row’) formerly packed into the previous market footprint.

If you want to do some advance reconnaissance to find your favorite farmer fast, we have provided a map of the vendor locations for opening day. The locations shift week by week as the season progresses. Look for these new vendors as you stroll through the market this season:

Farm. – Farm. is an exciting new produce venture in Oregon’s French Prairie region. Young farmers have come together, informed by the tried and true practices of the American family farmer.

15 Miles Farm – This local farm sells a variety of certified organic fruits and vegetables, and a large portion of their harvest is donated to local charities including the Oregon Food Bank.

Nut-Tricious Foods – Nut-Tricious Foods specializes in agave nectar-sweetened fresh nut and seed butter blends, including almond, cashew, hazelnut and walnut. Utilizing their unique and proprietary processes, they maintain the nut and seeds’ nutritional value and benefits. They will be at the market once a month as a product representative.

Oregon Kombucha – Oregon Kombucha creates kombucha - a naturally fermented tea beverage – from cultures grown in Portland using only four ingredients. Half of the tea used for brewing is sourced locally. They will be at the market once a month as a product representative.

Pasta del Sol – Pasta del Sol will be offering fresh pasta, including linguine, rigatoni, rotini and other assorted fresh and organic noodles.

Sassafrass Catering – Sassasfras will be selling their line of unique relishes, chutneys and preserves based on old-world Southern recipes. All of their products are created in small batches at the peak of the season, and they strive to buy their ingredients directly from local farmers.

Sexton Ranches – Sexton Ranches is a family owned ranch in Eastern Oregon that raises natural grass-fed and grass-finished lamb and beef, plus pastured poultry and eggs from pastured hens.

Upright Brewing Company – This small craft brewery specializes in French and Belgian-inspired farmhouse ales, which will be available in 750 ml bottles.

Via Chicago – Chicago-style pizza for real! Via Chicago makes the real thing four different ways, with the freshest local ingredients around.

See you at the market!

Hey Leftbankers,

Please join me in welcoming our new neighbors - Focus the Nation - who have just moved into Suite 212.  Their mission statement is “Empowering a Generation to Power a Nation” and, in their own words:

Focus the Nation is a national non-profit headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1999 by professor and economist, Eban Goodstein. We believe in the science of climate change and the opportunity it presents to rebuild American communities and US leadership at the local and international level.

We are driven by a fierce commitment to empower young people with the leadership, educational and civic engagement opportunities that will accelerate our transformation to a more just and prosperous clean energy future.

For more information on the kinds of the things Focus the Nation stands for please check out their website here.

Like many small non-profits, Portland Farmers Market wouldn’t be the gem of an organization that it is without the passionate energy of dedicated volunteers. We have the good fortune of working with a core group of forty people who help with everything from staffing the information booth at the Saturday PSU Market to assisting with cooking classes for children during the summer months. As we prepare to open for our 19th season, we want to give a special shout out to these fine folks, many of whom have been with us for several years of service. We are extremely grateful for these fun-loving, enthusiastic volunteers who are committed to spreading the good food gospel. We couldn’t do it without you!

Would you like to join our volunteer ranks this year? If so, please email amber@portlandfarmersmarket.org for more information about current opportunities.

See you at the market!