The entrance road to the new Whole Foods Market in Darien was so congested on the evening of their pre-opening party on Monday, that I glimpsed a reporter from Ch. 12 setting up a tripod to capture the line of vehicles, and the excitement. What awaited inside did not disappoint. Visitors were greeted by a friendly crew of volunteers from Person-to-Person, the beneficiary of the ten dollar entry fee, and the smile-enducing music of Arthur Lipner’s marimba and upright bass duo.

The enormous signs suspended from the ceiling with metal chains announce that Whole Foods completely understands and supports the local/sustainable food movement, and proudly sources from the Connecticut River Valley, Hudson Valley and Rhode Island. Lots of vendors from each state, plus New Jersey, were proudly handing out samples of  their products from stations set up throughout the store.

At least two  “producer” vendors  from Connecticut participated in the festivities. Westport Aquaculture supplies Whole Foods Markets in Fairfield County, along with high-end restaurants and farmers’ markets,  with super fresh, sustainably raised oysters and clams from Long Island Sound. Not surprisingly, they were among the first vendors to run out of food. Bear Pond Farm makes a wide variety of fresh, full-flavored dips and pesto sauces seasoned with USDA Organic herbs from their farm in  Glastonbury.  Note to those with nut allergies: their pesto sauces are nut free.

Visitors lined up at tasting stations throughout the store to sample ready-to-eat convenience products made from local and sustainable sources. The tender, juicy and flavorful organic chicken sausages from Bilinski’s in Cohoes, NY (near Albany) are made with Amish country chicken. The owner explained that the all natural version is also available for one dollar less because there’s not enough demand for 100% organic production.  Tang’s Natural in Brooklyn, NY makes a very tasty chicken and vegetable dumpling using  Bell & Evans chickens. The product is labeled “whole wheat dumpling”, but whole wheat is neither the first, nor the predominant ingredient according to both the package label and the product fact sheet handed to me. Ditto for their “whole wheat” noodles. A bit confusing to say the least, yet I am happy to see someone trying to do Asian healthier and they were a hit in the kids’ lunchboxes the next day. The dumplings stayed nice and warm in pre-heated food jars; just refrain from overcooking them or they’ll fall apart.

At 50,000 square feet in size, it took some time to arrive at the far end of the store where coffee, gelato, creme brulee, and chocolate were being served. How do you build and run a store of this size sustainably? Enter Green Mission Specialist Tristam Coffin, the answer book to all green questions. Do you own a hybrid vehicle?  Please come charge it in one of two complementary charging stations while you shop . According to Tristam, it’s the first store in the Northeast region to offer such an amenity. And just like their recently opened Milford store, Darien Whole Foods Market is going for the gold, as in LEED certification.

Our walk through the store began in the entryway where a large recycling center awaits guests. Come here to recycle your #1 and #2 plastics and receive not only a five cent refund, but also twenty-five rewards points redeemable for merchandise in Barnes & Nobel and other major retailers. Don’t forget to bring your #5 containers, plastic bags, cell phones and corks, because they’re collected for recycling here too. The first national retailer to launch a cork recycling program, Whole Foods Market announced in April the roll out of the program with partner Cork ReHarvest to all of its 292 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Everywhere in the store Tristam pointed out green features, which in the aggregate, help move them towards their goal of zero waste by 2013 and meeting the gold LEED certification requirements. Construction materials are in many cases locally sourced and made from reclaimed or recycled including beautiful, multi-colored  rectangles of glass matting ceiling signs, floors made from recycled aggregate material, and vintage-inspired tiles lining the walls behind the fish and meat counters made from 80% recycled content.

The fully compostable, 100% bullrush takeout containers, in-store composting program that gets shipped to New Milford Farm’s commercial composting facility, use of local roasters for their coffees, local artisans for their cabinet and counter construction, purchase of wind credits to offset their electric use, use of night shades and daylight harvesting to increase energy efficiency, and selection of low VOC paints all spell a dedication to sustainability.  Even the shad weather vane on the roof is made from recycled metal by a local artist.

When will the Fairfield store open? This time next year, complete with its own hydrogen fuel cell.

Win two nights in Maine, a GE Energy Star appliance (up to $500.00 in value, shipping incl.)

a bike,  a family pass to a Bpt.Blue Fish home game & many more prizes!!!.

FREE Admission! Town of Ffld. canvas shopping bag.

Plenty of Free Parking
SAT, MAY 8, 2010 from 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
@ Fairfield Warde High School, 755 Melville Ave., Fairfield

Learn about…state of the art, clean and renewable alternative energy choices, conservation, our environment, organic and sustainable methods of gardening, cleaning, and safe organic products and services, etc.

Recycle… Old sneakers, batteries, eyeglasses, hearing aids, cell phones, wire hangers, and even clean pairs of socks and unmatched socks.

Enjoy… Free samples, face painting, arts & crafts, kid’s wood construction projects with Home Depot w planting wStudent Exhibits.

See… “Trashy Fashions“ A combined elementary & high school student fashion show using recycled materials. A “Green” Auto show

Hear… Experts discuss current & future trends in automotive transportation.  What’s up with healthy eating, gardening, etc.?

Taste…Fantastic food by Catch a Healthy Habit  and Chef Jeff’s portable wood-fired brick oven. Indulge yourself!  Try kettled corn!

Sing along with… the Mill River Band w Lisa Furman & Friends w Roger Ludlowe Middle School (RLMS) Chamber Choir w Fairfield House Band

Meet … 80+ exhibitors

Schedule

* Please see posted information at the event for most up to date information*

10:15 OPENING CEREMONY by Fairfield’s First Selectman Ken Flatto in the Courtyard.

LECTURE SCHEDULE

Lecture Room:

10:30   An Organic Teaching Farm in Fairfield ?

Pam Jones/Jody Eisemann

11:30   Local Food Panel Discussion

Moderated by Analiese Paik, Founder Fairfield Green Food Guide

Guest Panelists:

• Schools gardens - Annelise McCay & Amie Hall,
• Organic gardening - Nick Mancini
• Community Garden - Eric Frisk
• School Food - Michelle McCabe
• CSAs & Food Coops - Sarah Bollman
• Town Farm - Jody Eisemann and Pam Jones

2:00     Bees into Battle Win Baum

3:00     Organic Gardening Simplified Nick Mancini

Court Yard (Lecture Room if weather is inclement):

1:00       Future of Transportation - a panel discussion.

Moderator -  Jim Motavalli

Sure to be an exciting and informative panel discussion on our current transportation behaviors and the prescription for the future for attaining sustainability in the way we should choose to move ourselves, and the alternatives that will available to us.  Be sure to attend this engaging discussion by our panel of transportation experts.

Cooking Room :

Ongoing demos begin at 10 am. Stop in any time! Follow the signs to the cooking area

Coordinator and Speaker - Amie Hall

11:00    Sustainable Eating

11:30    The Green Lunch Box

1:30    Square Foot Gardening in the Curriculum

2:30    Square Foot Gardening - The Basics

10:00 am- 4:00 pm - Earth Food Tour, Self Guided, Ongoing.  Visit 5 interactive family friendly stations that will expand your food knowledge and build comfort in your kitchen. Topics include Glorious Greens, Great Grains, The Mighty Bean, Flour Power and The Green Lunch Box.

ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE

Time               Court Yard

10:45                   Mike Dougherty & the All Star Energy Band

11:15                     Save our Trees-Reading by Persephone  Ocasio

Trashy Fashions

11:45                     Drumming Circle

12:30                     Trashy Fashions

2:00                       Drumming Circle

2:45                       Mike Dougherty & the All Star Energy Band

Main Entrance (Outside)

Solar Powered Music

11:15 -2:00         Lisa Furman Band

2:00                       FFld House Band

2:45 - 3:45           Lisa Furman Band

Lecture Series Speakers:

Pam Jones and Jody Eisemann, former Westporters, re-met as Fairfield residents and found they had numerous interests in common, including the preservation and restoration of their local environment. Both of them believe that the earth is facing an unparalleled environmental crisis of resources, out of control pollution and most importantly the safety and security of our food sources. Pam and Jody believe that learning to grow your own food is a simple solution to lowering the area’s carbon footprint, accessing really healthy food and is real security for people everywhere. They have spent the past year pursuing the idea of creating a town owned organic teaching farm as a way to help create a sustainable future for our town and our children.

Analiese Paik is a local/sustainable food advocate and founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, an online consumer resource for finding local and sustainably grown food and connecting with the green food community. Launched in January 2009, fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com features a blog, database of green food resources, event calendar and e-newsletter that empower consumers to eat fresh, local and sustainable food in Fairfield County. Analiese organizes documentary food film events to benefit not-for-profits, and is a regular monthly guest on News Channel 8’s Good Morning Connecticut show.

Win Baum, Fairfield Backyard Beekeeper, is back this year and will talk about the perils honeybees and fellow pollinators, like bats and butterflies, are facing from chemical pesticides and other man-made foes. Win and his wife, Stefanie, have been keeping bees in their backyard Fairfield apiary since 1992.  Win’s experience with honeybees and other pollinators is sure to be informative and useful for gardeners of all types.

Nick Mancini will show you how to maintain a trouble free garden through good sanitation, crop selection, proper fertilization and Organic pest management. Nick is a Certified Master Gardener from the Cooperative Extension System of the University of Connecticut, specializing in organic vegetables, fruits and brambles, and past head Master Gardener of Vegetables and Tree Fruit at Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, Connecticut. He teaches organic gardening at Norwalk Community College’s Extended Studies program and the Kathryn Croaning Child Development Laboratory School where they have developed an organic garden. Nick also teaches Organic Gardening at the Westport Continuing Education, Fairfield Continuing Education, Northeast Organic Farmers Association and lectures in garden clubs, horticultural societies and libraries throughout Connecticut and neighboring states.

Amie Hall - Amie Guyette Hall, is a certified health coach, Square Foot Gardening teacher and Founder of Fairfield’s Middle School Gardens.  Amie has helped our foods teachers develop a whole foods based curriculum. She connects children and families to their food, their community and the land through educational workshops and wellness programs in our schools and at a local farm.

For more information visit: fairfieldearthday.org or call (203) 256-3010

Ridgefield and Westport GVIs will be hosting an on-farm workshop (emphasis on the “work” part of workshop) for people interested in learning about organic soil care and the basics of organic garden management.  Participants will join Dina Brewster of The Hickories as she leads us through the steps involved in the readying of a spring garden plot. The Hickories is a certified organic farm under the Bay State Organic/ USDA National Organic Program located  in Ridgefield.

Topics to be covered:

• the basics of organic soil science and fertility
• seeding and the seed calendar
• pest, disease and weed management

Sunday, May 2nd.  1:30-3pm, at The Hickories, 126 Lounsbury Road, Ridgefield CT 06877

RSVP and $10 registration fee required. Click here to reserve your spot.

by Eileen Weber

A number of sites like LocalHarvest.org will list all the Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSAs) available in your area of the country. The Fairfield Green Food Guide recently published an online  Guide to Spring 2010 CSAs and lists CSAs in The Buying Guide. But what many people don’t realize is how rapidly CSAs have taken hold. Purchasing a share in a local farm in exchange for fresh produce, or in some cases meat, milk, and eggs, has essentially “gone viral.” More and more people are signing up for CSAs and many of them are sold out before the growing season starts. This is good news for the local farmer and one of the most economical ways for consumers to buy locally grown.

According to an article in The Hartford Courant dated April 8th, Shared Harvest CT, an upstart web site launched in March and a subsidiary of Edibles Advocates Alliance, helps connect farmers and the people looking for their produce. It essentially functions as an online classified ad. Like speed dating for crops. Consumers and restaurants can look online for what they want from what’s available, and the current listings include several CSAs.

“Shared Harvest creates a separate sales revenue stream for our producers and opens up that margin so that more people in Connecticut have the opportunity to participate and find their farmers,” Emily Brooks, CEO of Edibles Advocates Alliance, the parent organization for Shared Harvest CT, was quoted as saying.

Growing your own food and selling it is an age-old occupation. But with our societal focus shifting from processed foods, fresh produce is getting the spotlight. Farmers’ markets, CSAs, and farm stands are cropping up at an increasing rate. That’s because there is more demand for it.

For Stacia Monahan, who owns Stone Gardens Farm in Shelton with her husband Fred, her farm is in its third CSA growing season. As far as she’s concerned, CSAs provide her customers with new foods to try that they might not ordinarily pick up at the grocery store.

“There’s an investment in a farm, more than the value of the vegetables,” said Monahan. “By word of mouth, we’ve had more interest than last year. But there’s still plenty of room.”

Word of mouth is exactly what has helped CSAs grow across the country. According to Local Harvest’s January 2010 newsletter, they have nearly 400,000 shares from over 3,000 listings. That translates to 0.5% of all households in the U.S. who participate in CSAs. That might not seem like a lot, but it actually is. With that kind of growth, there could conceivably be close to 20,000 listings by 2020.

Growing your own food has expanded on a different horizon. According to an article on Change.org dated April 14th, prisoners in a Florida correctional facility are getting into the act. The state’s correction facility is working in conjunction with West Florida Research and Education Center to teach inmates how to farm. The article brought up three main points: Prisoners growing their own food meant a meal savings of $60,000; Farming is a sustainable job skill; With a link between nutrition and health, better food could lead to better behavior. That’s at least the hope for the latter statement.

For farmers offering CSAs, it gives them an opportunity to form a closer relationship with their consumers. For Dawn Allen, CSA manager for Gazy Brothers Farm in Oxford, the CSA means they can be more personally focused on the customer. “It’s not that we don’t like farmers’ markets,” said Allen. “But you see hundreds of people come and go. With a CSA, you can be very individual.”

Gazy Brothers has been doing farmers’ markets since 1995. The CSA is relatively new for them in comparison. Allen said that obviously farmers’ markets provide a financial return, but the goal will be to have the CSA as their mainstay. “You can tailor it more,” she said. “We’re really listening to what our customers want.”

With last year’s shares totaling 273, Gazy Brothers is now in their sixth season. Their ultimate goal is 600 shares. Overall, the CSA experience has been a good one for them. But, Allen said the one minor down side to the CSA is when customers don’t tell them there’s a problem until the end of the season. “When customers bite their tongues and don’t tell us they didn’t like something-maybe they got more radishes than they wanted-we’ll wish they said something earlier,” she said.

Each of the farms interviewed for this article said that CSAs were an added bonus to doing business. It not only supports their farms, but it brings them closer to the customer. Good produce. Good face time. Good profit. Now that’s a good business model.

By Eileen Weber

The Food for Thought Expo took place at Fairfield Warde High School this Saturday. A good buzz of people attended the fair to hear lectures and experience what local vendors had to share. From locally made breads and honey to fresh milk and organic gourmet take-out, this showcase had it all.

As part of a series of lectures included in the event, Analiese Paik, this site’s founder, spoke for close to an hour about getting the message out about local, organically grown food. “It’s there for the taking. It’s out there,” she said.

Paik went on to describe the opportunities consumers have at their fingertips. From CSAs to farmers’ markets to retail chains selling whole foods, there is something for everyone. The biggest joy for her, she said, is connecting the farmer to the consumer. It’s making that connection that is key to fresh food’s survival in our society.

“We need to check the box on local food. Check the box on the local economy. Check the box on farmland preservation,” she said. Paik’s point was that local, organic food should be a way of life and not something we do once in a while. With obesity and juvenile diabetes rampant in this country, the very thing that makes a difference with those two epidemics is the kind of food we put in our mouths.

In a recent press release about the event, Michelle McCabe, Chairperson for Fuel for Learning Partnership (FFLP), the expo’s organizer and sponsor, said the event was meant to remind us of what foods to avoid. “It seems almost daily that we hear or read stories about the foods we eat, many of them with bad news,” she said. “…the main goal is to help us better feed our families. With the help of cooking instructors, educators, and local businesses, visitors to the Food for Thought Expo will be introduced to the vast range of resources available to help us all attain that goal of healthful eating.”

The FFLP sponsored the event as part of an on-going effort to help educate the general public about the best ways to approach nutrition, and how we can overcome the health challenges Paik mentioned in her lecture. “We’re all on a journey toward changing the way we eat,” said McCabe. “That comes with a learning curve, and our focus is to help people take ownership of their health, and the health of their children.”

Paik sees consumer interest in natural foods growing exponentially. She sees her role as providing a way for people to get to the food they should be eating. It’s also a way to keep our precious farmland preserved. “There are a thousand points of light out there and we’re connecting them,” she said. “There is hope.”

But it’s not just the farms. It’s everything that relies on the farm that provides fresh food to families. Maybe you go to food stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market. Or maybe you decide on take-out from Fairfield area hot spots like Health in a Hurry, Catch a Healthy Habit, and Green Gourmet To Go. Fairfield County’s latest farm-to-table restaurant comes in the form of a mobile brick oven caterer and Cheff Jeff had it stationed outside to serve pizza made with fresh, local toppings to the more than 600 guests that attended the event.

But there are some people who are a little apprehensive about buying shares in CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). Frequently, farms provide an abundance of produce at some point during the season that the average consumer can’t use up in a week. To that, Paik said there are easy ways to avoid that problem. Blanching the excess and freezing it makes it easier for you to use the vegetables any time you choose. And if that doesn’t work for you, try Veggie Trader. They link people with excess produce to those who are looking for it. And if you can’t make it to a farmers’ market and don’t belong to a CSA, use CT Farm Fresh Express to get farm-fresh food to your table in one quick delivery. Of matching a farmer’s produce with the consumer, Paik said, “That’s a match made in heaven.”

While real estate is location, location, location, food has a similar concept: local, local, local. “CSAs are selling out,” said Paik. “We’ve stopped losing farmland. Smart people are running farms with a good business plan.” She said that farms are the hub, providing the raw material for the consumer, government, institutions like New Milford Hospital and their Plow to Plate initiative, retail chains, chefs, and school lunches. “It’s a jigsaw puzzle,” she said “and we are all finding ways to work together to be part of the solution.”

Paik feels we’ve reached our tipping point with the organic food movement. “We’re not waiting for our government to fix the food system. We’re doing it for them.”

A celebration of local farms, stores, restaurants, local/sustainable food advocates, businesses and educators for National Nutrition Month.

Type:     Free expo with guest speakers and workshops
Date:     Saturday, March 27, 2010
Time:     10:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Fairfield Warde High School, 755 Melville Avenue, Fairfield, CT

Don’t miss this amazing, free event sponsored by Fairfield PTA Council’s Fuel for Learning Partnership Committee. Come with your family and enjoy the cooking demos, panel discussions, guest speakers, exhibitors and free tastings of fresh, local food. Lunch may be purchased from the portable, wood-fired brick oven caterer featuring locally grown foods.

Participants include:

Samantha Heller, MS, RD, CDN, author of Get Smart: Samantha Heller’s Nutrition Prescription for Boosting Brain Power and Optimizing Total Body Health.

Amie Hall, CHHC, AADP, From Your Inside Out, is host to many delicious farm lunches and part of the edible schoolyard garden team.

Health in a Hurry, an award-winning restaurant offering inspired organic, vegetarian food to go.

Catch a Healthy Habit, an organic, raw food cafe and host to many live, education events.

Fairfield Green Food Guide, your guide to local and sustainable food.

Red Bee Artisanal Honey, a Weston apiary offering honey, a full line of honey products, honey tastings and book events.

Wave Hill Breads, Wilton, handcrafted, artisan breads available at specialty stores and farmers’ markets including the indoor winter farmers’ market at the FTC.

Fairfield Bread Company, Fairfield, home of  “The Flaxette”

Chef Jeff Borofsky and his portable, wood-fired brick oven catering company featuring locally-grown food. Come hungry because Chef Jeff is catering the event.

Sport Hill Farm, an organic farm in Easton run by Patti Popp and also the site of The Unquowa School’s Summer Farm Camp. Her CSA is sold out, but you can buy just picked produce at her farm stand once the season begins.

Stone Gardens Farm, an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) farm in Shelton offering CSA shares for pick up at the farm or at Westport GVI’s Wakeman Farm in Westport

Green Gourmet to Go, a brand new, organic, vegetarian restaurant located in Black Rock.

The Farmer’s Cow, Lebanon, provider of milk, eggs, cream, cider and lemonade. Ask them about their ice cream which is coming out soon.

SPEAKER SCHEDULE

10:00 - 10:15am    Introductory remarks

10:15 - 11:15am    Growing your own Produce: Organic Backyard Gardening with Nick Mancini

11:30am - 12:30pm
Get Smart: Samantha Heller’s Nutrition Prescription for Boosting Brain Power, Samantha Heller, MS RD CDN, Registered Dietitian, Clinical Nutritionist, Exercise Physiologist

1:00 - 2:00pm
Get it Local: Finding all Your Cooking Needs in and around Fairfield County with Analiese Paik, Founder and Editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide

2:15 - 3:15pm Panel Discussion

From Classrooms to Cafeterias: Why Public Schools are Important in the Fight Against Obesity and the Fight for Sustainable Food Systems

Marlene Schwartz, PhD, Deputy Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity

Bruce Gluck, Food Services Director, New Canaan Public Schools
Michelle Flashman, Curriculum Leader and Instructor , Family and Consumer Science Department, Fairfield Public Schools

Please feel free to stop in at any time to attend the following family friendly activities! For everyone - of all ages and all stages of life! All talks, demos, and displays are designed to help build confidence in your kitchen and comfort at your table.

Location:
Barlow’s Restaurant (in the school)
10:30am Healthy Eating Choices for the Whole Family, JoAnn Koebbe

11:30am Healthy Eating Choices for the Whole Family, JoAnn Koebbe

12:30pm Cooking in the Classroom: the Fairfield Middle School Curriculum, Michelle Flashman

1:30pm Cooking in the Classroom: the Fairfield Middle School Curriculum, Michelle Flashman

3:00pm Healthy Eating Choices for the Whole Family, JoAnn Koebbe

Instructors & Classes
JoAnn Koebbe, Certified LEAN Coach & Health Counselor
Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude, Nutrition are the key components to this interactive, FUN, lesson in making healthy eating choices. For everyone, children, parents, grandparents.

10:30 am, 11:30 am, 3:00 pm, 3 sessions, 30 minutes each

Michelle Flashman, Family & Consumer Sciences Curriculum Department Leader, Fairfield Public Schools
Discover what Fairfield middle school students are learning about food in the cooking classroom!

12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, 2 sessions, 30 minutes each

Location:
Family & Consumer Sciences Classroom

SPEAKERS & DEMOS
10:00 - 10:45am Whole Foods, Whole You — Amie Hall

10:45 - 11:00am Gluten Free and Flour Power — Amie Hall

11:00 - 11:30am Small Batch Baking and Buying local breads — Michael Mordecai

11:30 - 11:45am Whole Foods, Whole You — Amie Hall

11:45am - 12:45pm Food Scientists! — Valerie Wilke

1:00 - 2:15pm An Introduction to Health Supportive Cuisine - Sue Cadwell

2:15 - 3:15pm Lunch Box Fun and Co-op Bulk Buying - Valerie Wilke

3:15 - 4:00pm    Re-thinking the School Lunch Menu - Bruce Gluck and Amie Hall

Instructors & Classes
Amie Guyette Hall, Health Counselor and Cooking Coach, From Your Inside Out

Whole Foods, Whole You! We all know we should eat better food. This workshop helps us understand WHY. Kick off the day’s events with this helpful way of understanding the food mood and chronic condition connection that we are all trying to conquer. Insightful, eye opening.

10:00 am - 10:45 am, 11:30 - 11:45am

Gluten Free & Flour Power. A supportive introduction to alternative flour and pantry products.
10:45 am - 11:00 am

Michael Mordecai, Fairfield Bread Company, Bread Baker
Learn about small batch baking and buying local. Bread is the staff of life, and Michael shares
11:00 am - 11:30 am

Valerie Wilke, Chef, Blood Root Restaurant
Food Scientists!
Become the food scientist that you and your children want to be! Find encouragement and discover fun, fabulous ideas of how to experiment around the rainbow!
11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Lunch Box and Co-op Bulk Buying
2:15 - 3:15pm

Sue Cadwell, Owner, Health in a Hurry
An Intro to Health Supportive Cuisine. Easy recipes & food samples. Grains, Greens and Soy.
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm

Bruce Gluck, chef and Food Services Director in the New Canaan Public Schools
Rethinking the School Lunch Menu
3:15 pm - 4 pm

SELF GUIDED KITCHEN TOUR
Visit 5 interactive family friendly stations that will expand your food knowledge and build comfort in your kitchen.
Topics include Glorious Greens, Great Grains, The Mighty Bean, Flour Power, and Power Tools!
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

RSVP for this event on my Facebook page

Jonathan Rapp is Chef/Owner of  River Tavern Restaurant in Chester, CT, a celebrated farm-to-chef restaurant featuring local ingredients on an ever-changing menu. He was one of the most interesting speakers at the March 6 CT NOFA conference and his passion for local food inspired me to share this series of 12 benefit dinners celebrating our farms, farmers and community. Jonathan created and co-founded this special program with two other chefs: Drew McLachlan of Feast Gourmet Market in Deep River and Chip Dahlke of Ashlawn Farm in Lyme.

According to the Dinners at the Farm^TM web site, the on-farm dinner series was begun in 2007 to “bring guests right to the farms to experience seasonal, local food. At each of our twelve dinners, guests will savor course after course of delicious food cooked from scratch on our cherry-red cook truck, break bread and raise a glass with the farmers, fishermen, and others who make up our vibrant agricultural community and since our dinners are benefits, a portion of the proceeds help to support those who work hard daily to maintain our state’s agricultural viability. Some of our current and past beneficiaries are: Connecticut Farmland Trust, Slow Food Connecticut, CitySeed, Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries, Working Lands Alliance and the Stanton Davis Homestead. “

Click here for the 2010 dinner schedule and to pre-purchase your dinner tickets. Barberry Hill Farm in Madison, Conn and White Gate Farm in East Lyme are the sites of this seasons’ on-farm dinners. See you at the farm!

Chef Jeff Borofsky is introducing his new, wood-fired brick oven catering company to Fairfield this weekend at the Garden Expo. Specializing in gourmet meals featuring local, seasonal ingredient, Chef Jeff’s driven to make his business, Skinny Pines Catering, as green as possible.

His commitment to sustainability starts with sourcing as much locally grown produce, fruit, dairy and meat products as possible for his pizzas, calzones, frittatas, salads, cookies and seasonal specialties liked baked apples. The food is cooked in his portable, wood-fired brick oven, so this is true slow food!

A very special pizza will be making its debut this weekend. “The JT” is named for John Turenne, Founder of Sustainable Food Systems, and  an Alice Waters disciple who implemented the Yale sustainable food service program as its Executive Chef. The JT pays tribute to Chef John as a local, sustainable food hero and was born after he told a story about it to his workshop attendees at the last CT NOFA Conference. The recipe was passed on to Chef Jeff and the JT was born. The JT is whole wheat or spelt pizza crust topped with roasted squash, sage, ricotta and maple syrup. I tasted it the other day and knowing that winter squash is just about finished, it’s a great pizza to bid farewell to winter food and welcome in the spring.

Chef Jeff is currently sourcing from the following CT farms:

• Eagle Wood Farms
• Gilbertie’s Herb Farm (sage for the JT!)
• Holbrook Farm
• Newgate Farm (squash for the JT!)
• Sport Hill Farm

You won’t be eating your pizza on paper and plastic this weekend, only fully biodegradable tableware, cutlery and cups made from plants. Their menus and other company materials are printed on recycled paper using soy and vegetable-based inks. Even their pizza boxes are made from 100% recycled content.

Chef Jeff’s mission is to “care for your catering needs while caring for the health of our community and planet.” Chef Jeff will also be making pizza at the Food for Thought Expo on March 27.

On a sunny yet crisp winter’s day at Audubon Greenwich last Saturday, over 100 guests gathered to attend a screening of the documentary food film FRESH.  This film is the perfect excuse to invite members of the local-sustainable food movement to serve on the guest panel and share their passions with the public. A complete list of all the panelists and exhibitors appears below, along with a photo gallery from the event.

Thoughtful audience questions during the panel discussion clearly demonstrate an ongoing need for continued dialog on this topic. Please read “How to Eat FRESH this Winter” to learn ways you can join or increase your participation in the local-sustainable food movement.  Please sign up for the e-newsletter and follow me on Facebook and Twitter so we can stay connected.

I’m delighted to have received very positive emails from a number of guests, one of whom posted a fantastic review of the event on his blog. He’s become a fan of the Fairfield Green Food Guide and Audubon Greenwich and is looking forward to more events like FRESH. As a reminder, Jeff Cordulack at Audubon has planned  two more screenings that are worth the trip: ‘A Chemical Reaction’ on Sunday, March 28 from 3:30-5 pm and ‘Tapped’: A Movie About Bottled Water on Friday, April 23 from 7-9 pm.

Remember Russ Kremer? He’s the hog farmer from FRESH who’s also the poster boy for how sick superbugs passed from animals to humans can make us. Well an excellent op-ed piece in Sunday’s NYT by Nicholas Kristof opens our eyes to the disturbing fact that “70 percent of antibiotics are used to feed healthy livestock, with 14 percent more used to treat sick livestock. Only about 16 percent are used to treat humans and their pets, the study found.” Russ was lucky they could save him with a new generation antibiotic, but the article suggests that increasingly, we might not be so lucky. And so, the FRESH story continues.

Panelists:

Moderator: Analiese Paik, Founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide

Dan Levinson, Co-founder and Chairman of Westport Green Village Initiative (GVI)

Dan is Founder and Chairman of Westport Green Village Initiative(GVI); and Founder/Chairman of Main Street Resources

www.westportgvi.org;  www.mainstreetresources.com

Deb Marsden, Founder, CT Farm Fresh Express

Deb Marsden is the founder of CT Farm Fresh Express, a farm-to-consumer company that sells exclusively CT grown and made food. Deb has been featured in article in the New York Times, the Faith Middleton Show on NPR, and NBC 30 News. www.ctffe.com

Amy Kalafa, co-producer school lunch documentary 2 Angry Moms, and a better school food advocate

Rachel Khanna, an organic chef and Certified Health Counselor

Melina Brown, a chicken expert and founder of the Southern CT/Westchester Backyard Poultry Meetup

Exhibitors:

Analiese Paik, Founder, Fairfield Green Food Guide, LLC

Analiese is a local-sustainable food advocate who helps consumers source local and sustainable food via her web site, blog, live events and regular guest appearances on News Ch. 8’s Good Morning CT Weekend. www.fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com

Deb Marsden, Founder, CT Farm Fresh Express

Deb Marsden is the founder of CT Farm Fresh Express, a farm-to-consumer company that sells exclusively CT grown and made food. Consumers place their custom order online once-a-week home delivery that Friday. Deb has been featured in article in the New York Times, the Faith Middleton Show on NPR, and NBC 30 News. www.ctffe.com

Amy Kalafa, a better school food advocate and co-producer of the school lunch documentary, 2 Angry Moms

Rachel Khanna, an organic chef and Certified Health Counselor

Melina Brown, a chicken expert and founder of the Southern CT/Westchester Backyard Poultry Meetup

Nick Mancini, Master Gardener, Founder Organic Gardening Simplfied

Nick is a Certified Master Gardener from the Cooperative Extension System of the University of Connecticut, and past head Master Gardener of Vegetables, Brambles and Fruit Frees at Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, CT. He is a lecturer, educator and consultant that specializes in vegetables, brambles and espaliered fruit trees. Nick is a member of CT NOFA. www.organicgardeningsimplified.com

Fairfield Bread Company - a new artisan bakery making the bread served at the event, The Flaxette. Michael Mordecai can be reached via http://fairfieldbread.blogspot.com/

Artscape Organic Care LLC - Owner Mike Pappa is a CT NOFA Certified organic landcare specialist serving Fairfield County.

I’m so grateful for the support and generosity of Audubon Greenwich.  Special thanks go to Deb Marsden of CT Farm Fresh Express for arranging the cheese donations from the followingfarmers listed below and to Fairfield Bread Company for donating their “Flaxette” loaf to the event and Glenville Wines for the organic wines they donated to accompany the cheese tasting.

Connecticut cheeses served during the FRESH reception/exhibition:

Cato Corner Farm, Colchester (all cow’s milk)

Hooligan

Brigid’s Abbey

Aged Dutch Farmstead

Beltane Farm, Lebanon (all goat’s milk)

Feta

Dill chevre

Chive chevre

Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm, Lyme

Pleasant Cow (cow’s milk)

Sun (cow’s milk)

Pleasant Valley (sheep’s milk)

M&K Dairy, Lebanon (all cow’s milk)

Black Pepper Queso Fresco

Chive Queso Fresco

Meadowstone Farm, Brooklyn (cow’s milk)

Cheddar

All these cheeses are available for online ordering and home delivery from CT Farm Fresh Express. See you at the movies!

The documentary food film FRESH was shown to a packed house at Audubon Greenwich yesterday and nearly everyone attended the guest panel discussion! In honor of the movie and all the local heroes who make farm-fresh food available to consumers, I’ve created a list of ways you can easily eat fresh this winter. Enjoy the winter season and all the interesting and delicious local food it brings: Organic Adironack Blue potatoes, organic tatsoi, organic maitake mushrooms, sweet, wild Maine shrimp-what are your favorites?

1)      Shop at a winter farmers’ market and stock up for the week. Both Fairfield and Norwalk have indoor winter farmers’ markets that run on Saturdays from 10-2 and offer a wide variety of CT Grown produce, cheese, yogurt, eggs, meat, bread, and artisan made foods. Fairfield’s is held inside the Fairfield Theater Company on Sanford Street and Norwalk’s is held at 61-65 Wall St., near the Garden Cinemas.

2)      Buy CT Grown foods online for home delivery. Order online from CT Farm Fresh Express (CTFFE) by noon Tuesday for a Friday home delivery. You pick what and how much CT-grown food you want from their online store and they deliver it to your door. No minimums, no membership fees and no ongoing commitment. Leave a cooler with ice packs on your doorstep if you won’t be home to receive the delivery. New: Order your CSA from CTFFE for home delivery.

3)      Buy from local, family-owned specialty or independent grocers that make it a point to carry locally grown and produced food. Palmer’s Market in Darien, The Village Market of Wilton Fairfield Cheese Company and The Pantry in Fairfield, and Walter Stewart’s Market in New Canaan carry a selection of local fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, honey, and artisanal foods.

4)      Buy from national retailers that are committed to selling locally grown and other sustainably grown and harvested foods. Whole Foods Markets in Greenwich and Westport proudly feature produce from local farms, artisan products from local producers, and a wide range of organic and Fair Trade Certified foods like coffee, tea and chocolate.

5)      Dine at restaurants that source local and organic ingredients. Farm-to-Chef restaurants in the county include: The Boxcar Cantina in Greenwich uses local and sustainably grown food and is Fairfield County’s first restaurant to receive a Green Restaurant Certification from the Green Restaurant Association. Health in a Hurry and Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe in Fairfield, The Dressing Room and the newly minted Le Farm in Westport, Bloodroot in Bridgeport, Cobbs Mill Inn in Weston, David’s Catering and Napa & Co. in Stamford, and Woodway Country Club in Darien all cook with the seasons using fresh, local ingredients. Look for The Filling Station to open soon in New Canaan; it will feature grass-fed burgers, nitrate-free hot dogs, organic French fries and antibiotic and hormone-free milk shakes.

6)      Buy some Connecticut wine directly from a winery or buy organic and biodynamic wines from a wine shop like Glenville Wine & Spirits in Greenwich and Harry’s Wines & Spirits in Southport. Some standouts from the Connecticut Wine Festival were Sharpe Hill Vineyard’s Ballet of Angels, the award-winning wines of Hopkins Vineyards, Miranda Vineyard’s Seyval Blanc and Woodridge White, Land of Nod’s Bianca, Taylor Brooke’s Traminette and Connecticut Valley Winery’s Chianti and port-style Black Bear.

7) Join a spring, summer or winter 2010 CSA (Community Supported Agriculture program).  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a means for consumers to buy a share in a farm’s seasonal production directly from the farmer. Consumers benefit from buying local, farm fresh, high quality produce at an attractive price and farmers benefit from pre-selling the harvest. Click here for a complete Guide to Fairfield County 2010 CSAs.