Tweet

By Analiese Paik

If you live in or near New Milford or Danbury, this CSA is for you. Clatter Valley Farm in New Milford is a successful CSA farm that is in the process of applying for organic certification by Bay State Organic for edible crops. Shares can be picked up at the farm on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30pm-6:00pm or at the Danbury farmers’ market on Fridays.

The Clatter Valley Farm CSA will run from mid June to mid October and each share includes at least 6-8 different fresh-picked seasonal vegetables each week. A newsletter alerts members to the produce that is becoming available during the harvest season so they can plan ahead.The farm also offers fresh cut flowers, herbs and eggs and is working on creating an add on for a fruit share.   The CSA costs $450 for a full share, and $250 for a half share. Please register by March 31st.

How to sign up:

Please visit Clatter Valley Farm’s web site to learn more and download an enrollment form. You may also email owners Willow & Jeremy Schulz at clattervalleycsa@yahoo.com to request the form. Please complete the CSA registration form and send it with your check directly to the farm at their mailing address: 108 Squire Hill Road, New Milford, Connecticut 06776

Clatter Valley Farm is located at 125 Town Farm Road, New Milford,CT 06776

Web site: http://www.clattervalleyfarm.com/

Email: clattervalleycsa@yahoo.com

Willow & Jeremy Schulz     203.994.1286 / 5

By Analiese Paik

January is CSA registration month – your chance to buy local, organic food directly from the farmer who grows it. Spring/Summer 2011 CSA shares will be posted as they become available and can be found in a complete list on the CSA page.

Sport Hill Farm in Easton is expanding and has opened their shares to new CSA families. Pick up is on farm only, unless you participate in the Farm to Chef Connect option detailed below. Picking up your CSA share at the farm means you get to watch Patti pick your organic lettuces fresh so they don’t wilt and your kids get to see the chickens! Please  email farmer Patti Popp at farmgal596 at yahoo dot com and ask her to send you the CSA agreement. You may also be interested in her Crop Cash program. This is essentially a farm credit that allows you to stop by the farm during regular retail hours and buy produce, fruit, eggs, bread, honey and any additional local products she may offer without having to carry around cash. The deadline for registration is February 15, or when shares sell out.

A third and brand new program for 2011 is Farm to Chef Connect, a joint offering of Sport Hill Farm and organic, vegetarian restaurant Green Gourmet to Go. Farm to Chef Connect sign up is monthly, with a minimum of one month’s lead time (sign up May 1 for June 1 pick up). The weekly shares can be picked up on Thursdays at the farm or restaurant in Black Rock  and include produce from the farm and a quart of freshly prepared soup made from local, seasonal ingredients, plus a sweet treat made without refined sugars, flours or processed ingredients from the restaurant. Chef/owner Linda Soper-Kolton recently made news when she prepared a healthy meal at Holland Hill Elementary School as part of the Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama. Linda is a registered “Chefs Move to Schools” chef, an initiative that’s part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign, and is dedicated to making healthy meals easy, approachable and delicious.

If you live in Ridgefield, you surely know that Dina Brewster’s USDA/Baystate certified organic farm, The Hickories, is the only farm left in Farmingville. When you hear Dina talk about her CSA families, it’s clear that building community gives her joy and satisfaction. Dina increased the number of CSA shares offered on farm last year to 200 so some families had a rare chance to get a share last summer. Please register directly on the site to join the waiting list. Both fruit and vegetable shares are offered including 113 varieties of vegetables plus strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples and peaches. Share add ons include bread, eggs, meat and locally produced cheese.

Fort Hill Farm in New Milford, a Baystate certified organic farm, has opened up their waiting list to new registrants. But don’t expect a share this summer. The waiting list is 3-4 years out for two reasons – farmer Paul Bucciaglia has no additional land to farm and his 400 CSA shareholders (500-600 families) are extremely loyal. This farm drops half its shares in lower Fairfield County (Darien, New Canaan, Fairfield, etc.) and the rest are picked up on farm. Each share box includes a newsletter containing instructions and recipes for preparing some of the 140 different kids of vegetables they grow. Please register to join the waiting list on the farm’s web site and be sure to choose a “box” if it’s going to be dropped or the “mix and match” option for an on farm share.

Related Posts:

Clatter Valley Farm CSA Offers 2011 Shares (1/15/11)

Dragongoose Farm CSA Offers Spring 2011 CSA (1/23/11)

Stoneledge Farm CSA Offers Spring/Summer 2011 Shares (1/26/11)

Gazy Brothers 4 Season CSA (1/27/11)

Stone Gardens Farm CSA (1/28/11)

Tweet
By Analiese Paik
If you’ve resolved to lower your carbon footprint in 2011, the kitchen is one of the best places to start. Numerous opportunities to reduce, reuse, recycle – and even compost – are created each day as we  shop, prepare and cook meals at home.

On Saturday, January 15, 2011 WTNH’s Good Morning CT Show news anchor Ted Koppy interviewed Fairfield Green Food Guide Founder Analiese Paik about Greening Your Kitchen. Watch to learn some simple steps to lower your “foodprint”!

What if I told you that some of these eco-conscious practices can actually save you money while reducing your family’s impact on the Earth? These money-saving choices are highlighted in green below. I invite you to choose three action items from the list below that you can resolve to incorporate into your kitchen management practices this year. Please let us know how you do!

Stop throwing away food.

Make “Use it or Freeze It” your mantra. Learn not to buy more than you need, use your freezer to save food for another day, and start a “Clean Out the Refrigerator Night” once a week. You will save money by cutting down on wasted food.

Recycle everything you can.

Recycle glass, plastic, metal (even cleaned aluminum foil) curbside; Whole Foods collects #5s and cork for recycling (feel free to pop in just to drop off your recycling). Recycling costs you nothing but is a huge gift to the environment.

Use recycled products.

Use post-consumer recycled aluminum foil and paper products (napkins & paper towels), phosphate-free dishwashing liquid and dishwasher soap, and biodegradable garbage bags.

Compost your food scraps – even in the winter.

Food that’s thrown out instead of composted releases methane gas, contributing to global warming and climate change. Compost is a fantastic soil amendment and it costs you nothing, so you’re saving money in the end. Use an empty flour container, bowl or other receptacle to gather your food scraps in the kitchen (or a dedicated kitchen compost pail) and empty them regularly into your compost pile.

Not sure how to compost? Sign up for the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm’s composting workshop on January 15 from 9:30-11:00 am with Master Gardener and organic gardening expert Nick Mancini to learn how. Or visit Rodale’s web site for some immediate expert advice.

Buy local in season

Buy locally grown food in season to reduce the “food miles” your food has to travel to reach your plate and cut down on food packaging. Fewer food miles translate into reduced use of fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Less packaging means you create less waste. You’ll also be providing a living wage to our farmers, ensuring farmland preservation, and encouraging the cultivation of a diversity of species, including heritage and heirloom varietals.

CSAs (community supported agriculture) programs are the most economical way to source locally grown foods and January is the time to add your name to waiting lists. Please visit our CSA page for more information. Winter farmers’ markets offer more flexibility because, unlike CSAs, you only buy the items you want in a quantity that’s just right for you. CSAs on the other hand encourage us to try new foods and eat more fruits and vegetables.

Choose organic.

Choose organic whenever possible to protect the environment and human health. Organic foods and wines are cultivated without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides so they do not deplete the soil, damage the environment or pose threats to human health. Local organic CSAs are the most economical ways to buy fresh local produce and fruit.

Choose grass-fed meat.

Grass is the natural diet of cows and other ruminants, not corn and other grains. Most of the meat found in supermarkets is feedlot meat that has been fed industrial corn and soy (usually GMO) that’s been sprayed with pesticides and grown with synthetic fertilizers. Feedlots, also known as CAFOs (Contained Animal Feeding Operations) do not use the manure they produce as fertilizer because it is too concentrated and filled with antibiotics routinely fed to the cows to prevent them from getting sick due to their close living quarters.

Grass-fed meat is raised on pasture and the cow patties are used as manure for crops, in many cases after chickens have had a chance to eat the bugs from them. Closing the nutrient cycle means that cow manure returns to the soil as an amendment rather than stagnating as waste that runs off and fouls waterways. Grass-fed beef has been found to contain less saturated fat (and therefore fewer calories) and many times more Omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef, so it’s better for your health too. Laurel Ridge Farm offers a grass-fed beef CSA and grass-fed meat is available from several CT farms through CT Farm Fresh Express.

Stop using single use plastic storage bags.

Use Lunch Skins to store lunches and snacks to go. Lunch Skins are an eco-chic, reusable and dishwasher- safe alternative to disposable plastic sandwich and snack bags made from a high quality, moisture-proof German fabric used worldwide in the food industry.They can be used hundreds of times, unlike single use plastic bags which wind up in landfills and take somewhere between 500 and 1,000 years to decompose. Buying Lunch Skins snack and sandwich bags once and reusing them for years saves you money.

Consider Lunch Skins when planning school and other fundraisers. The company’s unique co-branding program enables you to put your group’s logo on the bag for a small minimum order. What a great way to raise money, spread sustainable practices, and show your organization’s commitment to greening our world.

Start a garden this Spring.

Even if you just plant peas in a container on St. Patrick’s Day, you will enjoy the freshest, most delicious peas you’ve ever had because you’ve grown them yourself. Research has shown that children who grow and pick their own food tend to eat it. That means they’ll eat more vegetables!

Seeds are very inexpensive, and if you make your own compost, you’ll likely wind up saving money by growing your own. A fantastic source of inspiration and advice for home gardeners is Kitchen Gardeners International, the group behind the campaign to replant a kitchen garden at the White House. Comstock Ferre & Co., a 200-year-old seed company in Wethersfield, CT, offers a wide variety of heirloom seeds via their catalog or online store. Read more about Comstock here.

Please share your thoughts via a comment below or on our Facebook page. We’re also on Twitter @GreenFoodGal.

Tweet
CT NOFA (the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut) was awarded over $73,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a program specifically for specialty crops in Connecticut. Titled “Winter Food: Growing, Storing, Marketing and Cooking Specialty Crops for the Cold Season”, this program will focus on increasing the availability, sales and consumption of locally-grown, organic and sustainable fruits, vegetables and herbs in the winter and on educating farmers in the best practices for growing, storing and marketing winter crops.

Numbers of winter CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture farms which sell shares) and winter farmers’ markets continue to increase in Connecticut. This growing market opportunity suggests that education for fruit and vegetable producers can help them expand their markets throughout the winter. Some growers have already created ways; including simple season extension tunnels, root cellars, minimal processing and proper storage locations. With the help of CT NOFA, farmers will learn about best practices, successful and exciting varieties and practical storage facilities that other farmers are using. This will enable them to extend their selling season. To achieve this goal, CT NOFA will reach over 60 Connecticut farms through three conferences and four on-farm workshops, with at least 15 farms creating new, or improving existing, systems for winter food specialty crops.

As interest in local and sustainable eating grows, CT NOFA also plans to educate consumers on the availability of specialty crops during the winter months. CT NOFA will promote Winter Food by distributing recipes and stories to encourage home storage and consumption of Connecticut-grown winter food. CT NOFA will create a Winter Food display for outreach events and press releases to highlight success stories. Additionally, the CT NOFA website (www.ctnofa.org), its e-newsletter Gleanings, online social media pages, and the annual CT NOFA Farm and Food Guide will all have sections dedicated to the Winter Food program. Through these efforts, CT NOFA will reach out to over 2,000 consumers in Connecticut each month.

CT NOFA will also be conducting a survey of Connecticut farmers to determine a baseline of which farms produce winter food and how they are successful in marketing it. If you are a farmer in Connecticut (conventional or organic) or would like to share the survey with someone, please visit the CT NOFA homepage to find the link for the “Winter Food Growers’ Survey”. Even though it may be winter, there are still plenty of great recipes for soups, stews, and other delicious meals using “winter foods”.

Here’s a recipe from the CT NOFA cookbook “Eating Well”, submitted by Heather Crawford.

Toasted Barley with Winter Veggies

2 T. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Dried Sage

1 ½ cups Pearl Barley

1 tsp. Thyme

1 med. Onion (diced)

1 pinch Saffron (optional)

1 cup Celery (sliced)

2 cups Vegetable Broth

1 cup Carrots (diced)

1 ½ cups Diced or Stewed Tomatoes

1 cup Parsnips (diced)

Roast veggies in oven at 450 for 10-15 minutes. Put oil in deep skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add barley and cook, stirring occasionally until barley is toasted to a light or medium brown (about 10 minutes). Place roasted veggies on top of barley and sprinkle with herbs and seasonings. Pour broth and tomatoes over the top all at once. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender. Barley should be moist but with no visible liquid.

Note: This is a vegan meal. Try it before you knock it – you may be surprised!

Tweet
by Analiese Paik

Nobody should be eating factory farmed meat, especially when local, grass-fed beef options are available. We’re lucky here in Connecticut because our state is home to Laurel Ridge Farm, one of the best 100% grass-fed beef producers in the country. Meat is expensive, and grass-fed can be tricky to find at retail, so to ensure a constant supply of high-quality, sustainable meat on your favorite carnivore’s plate, buy them a share in Laurel Ridge Farm’s monthly CSA. We buy fruit and flowers of the month gifts, so why not meat?

Learn more about the farm and CSA in the article below by Elizabeth Keyser, which was originally posted on this site on November 30.

John Morosani started raising grass-fed cows in 2003, but it’s only now that Laurel Ridge Farm‘s capacity has grown enough so it’s offering a monthly CSA in Fairfield. Morosani comes to Reef Road in Fairfield the first Thursday of each month.

In 2006, the New York Times singled out Laurel Ridge’s grass-fed beef as one of the top four winners in a taste-test of 15 rib-eyes from grass-fed beef raised across the country. Marion Burros wrote that Laurel Ridge’s steak “brought back memories of the beefy flavor meat had before cattle were stuffed with grain in feedlots” and was “juicy and slightly chewy.”

Laurel Ridge’s CSA is a six-month commitment that offers members 30 percent steak, 30 percent slow-cooked meat (roasts and stews) and about 40 percent ground beef, which the farmer chooses for members based on what they had the previous month. The meat comes frozen and Cryovaced.

A commitment of $77.50 per month entitles the member to a 10% discount from retail prices (which range from $23 a pound for rib eye; $11 a pound for top round roast; and $6.50 for ground meat). Spending $150 per month will get you a 13% discount, and $217.50 per month a 16% discount.

The cows are born on the farm and put out to pasture in May. This past spring was unusually warm, so the cows got out a month earlier.  In winter they eat hay grown on the farm.  Although they are not certified organic, the farm does not use herbicides or pesticides. Clover is mixed with the grass to put nitrogen into the soil. Depending on the weather, however, the farm occasionally has to purchase hay. It’s not organic because the cost is 50 percent higher, Morosani says.

Morosani also offers pasture raised pork and chickens. They are not bred on the farm. He buys one-day old chicks, and three-week old piglets.

For more information and to purchase a CSA share, please visit Lauren Ridge Farm’s web site or contact John Morosi directly at john@lrgfb.com with your name, address, phone number, email to respond to, and monthly level of commitment, or call  860-567-8122. PDF registration forms can be downloaded from the site.

Elizabeth Keyser is an award-winning freelance writer based in Fairfield, CT and regular contributor to the Fairfield Green Food Guide. Her work has been published in GQ, American Photo, The New York Times, The New York Post, Connecticut Magazine, Edible Nutmeg, the Yankee Brew News and newspapers in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Tweet
By Elizabeth Keyser

John Morosani started raising grass-fed cows in 2003, but it’s only now that Laurel Ridge Farm‘s capacity has grown enough so it’s offering a monthly CSA in Fairfield. Morosani comes to Reef Road in Fairfield the first Thursday of each month.

In 2006, the New York Times singled out Laurel Ridge’s grass-fed beef as one of the top four winners in a taste-test of 15 rib-eyes from grass-fed beef raised across the country. Marion Burros wrote that Laurel Ridge’s steak “brought back memories of the beefy flavor meat had before cattle were stuffed with grain in feedlots” and was “juicy and slightly chewy.”

Laurel Ridge’s CSA is a six-month commitment that offers members 30 percent steak, 30 percent slow-cooked meat (roasts and stews) and about 40 percent ground beef, which the farmer chooses for members based on what they had the previous month. The meat comes frozen and Cryovaced.

A commitment of $77.50 per month entitles the member to a 10% discount from retail prices (which range from $23 a pound for rib eye; $11 a pound for top round roast; and $6.50 for ground meat). Spending $150 per month will get you a 13% discount, and $217.50 per month a 16% discount.

The cows are born on the farm and put out to pasture in May. This past spring was unusually warm, so the cows got out a month earlier.  In winter they eat hay grown on the farm.  Although they are not certified organic, the farm does not use herbicides or pesticides. Clover is mixed with the grass to put nitrogen into the soil. Depending on the weather, however, the farm occasionally has to purchase hay. It’s not organic because the cost is 50 percent higher, Morosani says.

Morosani also offers pasture raised pork and chickens. They are not bred on the farm. He buys one-day old chicks, and three-week old piglets.

For more information and to purchase a CSA share, please visit the farm’s web site or contact John Morosi directly at john@lrgfb.com with your name, address, phone number, email to respond to, and monthly level of commitment, or call  860-567-8122. PDF registration forms can be downloaded from the site.

Elizabeth Keyser is an award-winning freelance writer based in Fairfield, CT and regular contributor to the Fairfield Green Food Guide. Her work has been published in GQ, American Photo, The New York Times, The New York Post, Connecticut Magazine, Edible Nutmeg, the Yankee Brew News and newspapers in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Nancy Earle is on a mission to bring fresh, local, affordable food to lower  Fairfield County communities. Farm to Community is not a new concept, but bundling multiple CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) programs to offer consumers a very wide choice of affordable locally grown foods  is a novel concept whose time has come. Nancy has just launched BR Farm Stand to do just that and the options are pretty fantastic.

This season there are two pick up locations for bi-monthly and monthly shares beginning the week of December 13: The Center for Green Building, 3309 Fairfield Ave, Bridgeport or 365 Lalley Blvd (corner Edward), Fairfield. The day of week is yet to be determined but hours are 4:00pm-7:00 pm.

New! Open House Saturday, December 11, 2010 from NOON – 3PM at the Black Rock Library to learn more about the CSA options and taste some of the offerings.

BR Farm Stand charges a $45 annual membership fee. If you already purchased a Winter Sun Farms’  CSA and were expecting to pick up at Trinity Southport Church, your new pick up address is BR Farm Stand’s 365 Lalley Blvd. location in Fairfield (no membership fee applies). If you decide to purchase any additional CSA offerings from BR Farm Stand, you will have to become a paid member.

CSA shares available for Winter 2010. Mix and match as you please. Place all orders through Nancy Earle at brfarmstand@gmail.com or 917-502-5544.

• Winter Sun Farms: Fruit and produce fresh frozen and sourced from small sustainable Hudson Valley Farms. 4 months: $124 w/o eggs, $145 w/eggs, 5 months: (to include April) $155 (add egg share – $26.25)
• Gazy Brothers Farm: Oxford, CT-based farm using IPM (Integrated Pest Management) growing practices. 5 deliveries of mixed fresh vegetables for $100
• High Hill Orchard: Meriden, CT-based grower of IPM fruit (Integrated Pest Management) and organic vegetables: $170 for three large monthly shares (Dec/Jan/Feb) including potatoes, apples, carrots, cooking greens, onions, garlic, cider, cabbage, beets, turnips, winter squash.

Coming soon:

• Cheese
• Honey & Jam
• Soap & Candles
• Meat & Seafood
• Sweet biscuits – cookies and biscotti
• Artisanal Bread
  

Contact:

Nancy Earle
BR Farmstand
brfarmstand@gmail.com
917-502-5544

www.brfarmstand.com

Twitter-@FarmtoCommunity

Gazy Brothers Farm in Oxford, CT is offering a 5-week winter CSA share of farm fresh vegetables and apples starting January 3 and will run through March 6. The share will include 5-6 items every other week including winter squash, pumpkins, hardy greens, apples, a variety of potatoes plus root vegetables like carrots, turnips, radishes, beets for a cost of $100 per share. Shares are delivered to customers’ doors by Gazy Brothers.

Gazy Brothers uses Integrated Pest Management (IPM) growing practices. IPM practices differ by farmer, but stress the avoidance of routine spraying and emphasize preventing crop damage while creating  “the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment”.

Registration Deadline: December 20, 2010

How to register: Download and complete the registration form then mail it with your check directly to the farm.

Note: Gazy Brothers Farm’s CSA is also available through BR Farmstand, a brand new business which offers a multi-farm CSA to give Fairfield and Black Rock consumers easy access to multiple, complimentary CSAs at one pick up location. Call or email Nancy Earle at BR Farmstand for more information. brfarmstand@gmail.com 917-502-5544

A more complete description of BR Farmstand will be coming soon.

Tweet

Wednesday evening’s screening of Nourish the film at Wilton Library kicked off an evening of lively moderated discussion about local and sustainably grown food with guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter.

Every seat in the house was taken, a testament to the popularity of the topic and guest panelists and coordinated team effort in planning and organizing the event by the co-sponsors: Wilton Library, Wilton Go Green, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm and Fairfield Green Food Guide.

About the Film:

Nourish is an educational film about the story of our food – food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish illustrates how food connects to such issues as biodiversity, climate change, public health, and social justice. Hosted and narrated by Cameron Diaz, Nourish features interviews with best-selling author Michael Pollan, sustainable food advocate Anna Lappe, eco-chef Bryant Terry, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke, and organic farmer Nigel Walker. With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish the film was created by WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years’ experience in designing education and outreach programs, in order to deepen our national dialog about our food.

“Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well.”
— Michael Pollan from Nourish the film

Visit the web site and view the trailer.

About the Panelists:

Annie Farrell, Master Farmer, Millstone Farm.

Millstone Farm is owned by Betsy and Jesse Fink and is a for-profit working farm whose mission is to operate in a sustainable manner, both in economics and best farm practices. Millstone Farm is an important provider of high quality fresh produce to local families, restaurants and retailers. Annie Farrell, Betsy Fink and Millstone Farm are celebrated in a newly released and very beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans, that was just named Best Cookbook Overall 2010 by Epicurious and will be featured on the Martha Stewart Show next Wednesday, November  24. Look for Betsy Fink and Annie Farrel in the audience.

In keeping with their goal to see local food production become the norm rather than the exception, Millstone Farm also serves as an educational outreach hub, supporting other farmers, community organizations, school groups and restaurateurs who are interested in learning more about the practice of sustainable agriculture, its implementation and its impact on local economies and food quality. The Millstone Farm Charitable Fund helps support philanthropic initiatives, such as school and community gardens and healthy food initiatives. Millstone Farm was recognized with a Green Coast Award at the Third Annual Green Faire at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa on the morning of this event.

Tim LaBant, Chef/Owner of the Schoolhouse at Cannondale.

Tim’s uncompromising commitment to serving the highest quality fresh, local, and seasonal food has won Schoolhouse numerous awards including a Top 10 Ranking on Open Table’s Best of the tri state area, Best Special Occasion restaurant 2010 by Westport Magazine, and the top Fairfield County Pick for the Best of New England 2010 guide. Much of the food on the menu is sourced from Millstone Farm and some is even picked by the chef himself.

Starting Dec. 9 Tim and his team will be serving lunch, along with other farm-to-table chefs, on rotating Thursdays at the indoor winter farmers’ market at Gilbertie’s in Westport from 10-1 pm.

Jim Hunter, Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher and founder of the organic edible school garden at Wilton High School

Jim has taught at Wilton High School for the past nine years and recently founded Wilton High School’s edible school garden, made possible through funding from Newman’s Own Foundation and funding and other support from The Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation and Millstone Farm. Jim spent years learning to garden organically from Annie Farrell and her time and expertise were key contributors to the project’s success.

The panel discussion lasted about an hour and we invited the audience to submit questions on question cards that were collected during the final 20 minutes of Q&A.

It was my great pleasure to serve as moderator for the guest panel and this was my introduction:

“We are delighted so many of you were able to join us tonight. I know you will leave feeling uplifted and inspired by our guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter. As you listen to their stories, it will become evident that Wilton is indeed a very special place where people who care deeply about nourishing the community are working in concert with one another for the greater good.”

The following questions were presented to the panelists by the moderator and some of their answers can be read in the article Residents Encouraged to’Eat Local, Think Global’ by Kara O’Connor, a staff writer at the Wilton Villager who attended the event. A second article, Panel Promotes Farm Fresh Food, by Anthony Buzzeo at The Daily Wilton conveys a few additional thoughts. And my favorite is Film and Discussion at the Wilton Library Nourishes the Community by Audra Carbone of the Wilton Patch.

Panelist Questions:

Q1: The final chapter of the film encourages us to Be the Difference. Each of you IS the difference, working to transform the way we eat and nourish the community. Would you please tell us more about your work?

Q2: The film encourages us to Vote With Our Forks. What does that mean and what are some ways to do that here in Fairfield County?

Q3: Is being a conscious eater enough? Should we all be growing some of our own food and finding ways to support programs and initiatives working to transform the food system into something more sustainable, just and healthy?

The following audience questions were taken on cards and answered by Jim Hunter, Tim LaBant, and Annie Farrell, respectively.

Q1: Will gardens be put in the elementary and middle schools in Wilton?

Q2: What’s local in season November through April?

Q3: What workshops and programs are offered at Millstone Farm, how do you find out about them, and how do we encourage more people to grow in their own backyards?

Many thanks to Tim LaBant and Schoolhouse Restaurant for the delicious cassoulet, Wave Hill Bread for the bread used in the dish, and Vintage Fine Wines of Wilton for their support with the wines. A red and a white wine were served, a 2008 Bonterrra Vineyards Chardonnay and 2006 Lolonis Cabernet, both California wines made from 100% organic grapes.

Guests enjoyed the food and wine during the networking event that followed with panelists and exhibitors Wilton Go Green, Millstone Farm, Fairfield Green Food Guide, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm, and Ambler Farm.

Thank you to the many guests who supported the library through donations and purchased DVDs from the non-profit Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm to share with their family, friends, businesses, school and organizations. Many thanks to the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm for their sponsorship of the Nourish screening.

(from the web site)

Nourish is a multi-year media and education initiative. The purpose of Nourish is to open a broad public conversation about our food system that encourages citizen engagement, particularly among young people and families. To inform and inspire, Nourish combines television programming, short films, web content, and learning tools. With a distinctly positive vision, Nourish celebrates both food and community.

Nourish is a project of WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years experience in designing education and outreach programs. To maximize the effectiveness of Nourish, WorldLink is collaborating with more than 40 organizations dedicated to creating a sustainable food future.

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.