This morning I had the great pleasure of  appearing on News Channel 8’s Good Morning Connecticut with Chris Velardi. I’m so happy for the opportunity to spread the word about the wonderful food being grown and made by our farmers and help you find it! Please find a list and links to what I talked about with Chris on this morning’s show below. To watch the Ch. 8 video from this morning, click here.

A Local and Sustainable Thanksgiving

• Local and sustainably-raised turkeys
  • Local vs. store bought

The turkeys shown were a USDA Certified Organic Black Spanish (a Heritage breed) turkey from Old Maids Farm in S. Glastonbury, CT and Whole Foods Market private label all natural free-range turkey from Jaindl Farms in PA (the same one that supplies the White House).

o   How to order a CT-raised turkey

• Connecticut Farm Fresh Express (CTFFE), the online retailer of exclusively CT Grown foods, is offering fresh turkeys from Ekonk Hill Farm and frozen turkeys from USDA Certified Organic Old Maid’s Farm for special order and home delivery. Please follow the ordering instructions on this link.

o   A guide to buying all natural, free-range, organic and kosher turkeys in Fairfield County

• Turkey Tasting Event
  • Whole Foods Market Westport Holiday Turkey Tasting and Sustainable Discussion, Friday, November 13 from 4-7 pm
• Connecticut’s Fall Bounty - Seasonal fruits and vegetables and where to buy them
  • Farmers’ Markets still open for the season

• Darien
• Greenwich
• New Canaan
• Westport, both locations
• Stratford
• Branchville
• Fairfield at the FTC beginning Dec. 5

o   CT Farm Fresh Express, the online retailer of exclusively CT Grown foods, delivers to your doorstep.

• Restaurant-made local, organic vegetarian Thanksgiving side dishes
  • Health in a Hurry Organic Vegetarian Cuisine to Go
    • Green Bean Casserole, Roasted Vegetable Platter, Potato Tartlettes, and Stuffed pumpkins
    

    Health in a Hurry's Organic, Vegetarian Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Select wines from the CT Wine Trail, available at Harry’s Wine & Liquor and other fine wine shops

• Sharpe Hill Vineyard’s Ballet of Angels
• Hopkins Vineyard’s Cabernet Franc
• Westford Hill Distillers’ fruit brandies, available at Harry’s and other fine wine shops
  • Fruit eaux-de-vie (fruit brandies) Poire Prisonierre
  

  From left: Sharpe Hill Vineyard's Ballet of Angels, Hopkins Vineyard's Cabernet Franc, Westford Hill Distillers' Poire Prisionniere and four eaux de vie (fresh fruit brandies). Courtsey of Harry's Wine & Spirits, Southport, CT.

Looking forward to seeing you again in December!

The Green Market Exposition held all day today at the historic Barnum Museum in Bridgeport kicked off with a speech by Mayor Finch announcing numerous initiatives being undertaken by Bridgeport to green the city. Shortly thereafter guests began to pour into the exhibition area and didn’t let up until late afternoon.

My only regret about exhibiting at this extremely well organized and attended event, instead of just being a guest, was that I was unable to visit all the other exhibitors to learn about their businesses or listen intently to any of the panel discussions being held adjacent to the exhibition area. I was so busy with guests that I managed to have only two quick conversations! Talking with Michelle at Origins I discovered that they will accept ANY cosmetics container at their cosmetics counter for recycling. And Planet Zero Gravity has two new 17 ounce thermoses, one of which fits perfectly into a lunch box and the other into a bicycle water bottle holder. I personally love their large thermos and use it to store smoothies in the refrigerator for easy access by the kids.

News Channel 8 was there and posted an online article with some event footage and photos. No question this event will be a repeat next year. Kudos to the organizers. Thanks Daphne! See you at Green Drinks Fairfield and maybe even the newly minted Green Drinks Bridgeport.

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF EASTERN FAIRFIELD COUNTY

GETS TO THE CORE OF HEALTHY EATING

New Program, in Collaboration with Wholesome Wave Foundation, Helps Make Local, Affordable Produce Accessible to
Mercy Learning Center Students

Fairfield, CT, October 8, 2009 - The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County (JLEFC) (www.jlefc.org) has teamed up with Mercy Learning Center to promote good nutrition with the new “Healthy Eating” program. The pilot program will provide fresh and affordable produce to twenty-five students from the not-for-profit, Bridgeport-based Mercy Learning Center and will teach them how to cook traditional meals in more healthful ways. Students will have the opportunity to purchase fruit and vegetables at a farm stand in Bridgeport with the help of Wholesome Wave Foundation, a not-for-profit founded to make locally-grown, sustainable foods available to all.

The JLEFC will kick-off the innovative “Healthy Eating” pilot program with a field trip to the Marina Village Farmers’ Market, located in the South End of Bridgeport and a project of Wholesome Wave Foundation and the Healthy Bridgeport Alliance, on October 8^th from 10:30am-12:00pm. University of Connecticut nutrition expert Heather Harrington will explain to the Mercy Learning Center students the benefits of fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to increase awareness and use of these neighborhood farmers’ markets. Each student will receive $20, funded by the JLEFC, in Wholesome Wave tokens to purchase produce at the market. Any change will be returned as tokens to encourage the students to return to the market.

The second part of the “Healthy Eating” program will take place in November when Analiese Paik, founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, will do a hands-on cooking demonstration and tasting for the students. She will focus on ways to use nutritious alternatives for commonly-used but heavily processed ingredients.

“This year, the JLEFC’s community outreach programs focus on improving health, nutrition and literacy for women and children,” says Susan Zaveruha, President of the JLEFC. “We are so pleased to collaborate with such outstanding community organizations in this pilot program and look forward to giving other students at Mercy Learning Center a similar opportunity to access and learn the benefits of fresh, local produce.”

By providing basic literacy and life skills, the staff at Mercy Learning Center helps over five hundred functionally illiterate women in the greater Bridgeport area improve their skills and earning potential, creating a more hopeful future for themselves and their children. “Trying to eat healthy within a very strict budget is a daunting task for anyone. But for our students at Mercy Learning Center, this concept is an even bigger challenge,” said Sharon Sanford, Student Enrichment Coordinator, Mercy Learning Center. “The Junior League’s initiative empowers our women to take steps to provide more nutritious meals for themselves and their families.”

Analiese Paik is on a mission to bring fresh, local and sustainable food to consumers of Fairfield County. Her online Fairfield Green Food Guide includes a Buying Guide and searchable database for local green food resources, a blog and a calendar of green food events.

“The trend towards buying and eating processed food is shifting towards eating fresh and local but this is generally not an easy feat to accomplish for low-income families,” says Analiese Paik, founder, Fairfield Green Food Guide. “When the Junior League presented an opportunity to educate the Mercy Learning Center students about healthier meal options, I immediately thought of Wholesome Wave’s Park City Harvest farm stands as a way to bring local, affordable produce to these women. This program represents local to its core: local community organizations using local resources to help local residents, and I am excited to be a part of it.”

Founded by chef and food policy advocate Michel Nischan to make locally grown, healthy sustainable foods available to all communities, Wholesome Wave Foundation runs three “farm-to-community” programs, including the Park City Harvest farm stands in Bridgeport, as part of its nationwide “Nourishing Neighborhoods” campaign.

“Through vegetable stands in various Bridgeport neighborhoods, Wholesome Wave strives to provide the city’s residents with affordable, healthy and convenient alternatives to conventional food shopping, while encouraging easy preparation of healthy, farm fresh foods at home,” says Michel Nischan, President and CEO, Wholesome Wave Foundation. “Mercy Learning Center’s students live and work in the heart of a historically excluded community but through the Junior League’s new program, we hope to positively impact their families’ health and wellness and help prevent a deepening health crisis.”

Made possible by a contribution from the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF), Wholesome Wave Foundation recently purchased a refrigerated truck for food storage, augmenting its current farmers’ markets by making fresh, local and affordable produce even more accessible for Bridgeport residents. FCCF provides philanthropic advisory services to individual donors and helps to connect them with local causes in their own backyard.

“When we learned about the impressive work of Wholesome Wave Foundation in Bridgeport, we shared its story with a donor who has an interest in bringing fresh farm produce to cities,” said Karen R. Brown, vice president of programs, FCCF. “The donor ultimately recommended a generous $25,000 grant to be presented to Wholesome Wave Foundation for its needs for a refrigerated truck. FCCF was thrilled to connect this donor with Wholesome Wave Foundation and we are excited to see how the truck has already been put to great use, especially for the ability to bring local and affordable produce to the students of Mercy Learning Center.”

To learn more about the Junior League and its programs, please visit www.jlefc.org.

ABOUT THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF EASTERN FAIRFIELD COUNTY

The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County (JLEFC) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. Communities represented by the JLEFC include Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Newtown, Redding, Shelton, Southport, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston and Westport. The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County is part of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) which has developed the award-winning Kids in the Kitchen program to combat childhood obesity through education about healthy eating and exercise. For additional information, including membership and volunteer opportunities, please visit www.jlefc.org.

ABOUT MERCY LEARNING CENTER

Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport, Inc. provides basic literacy and life skills training to low income women using a holistic approach within a compassionate, supportive environment. All women are welcome without regard for race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation or national origin. Learn more about Mercy Learning Center at www.mercylearningcenter.org.

ABOUT ANALIESE PAIK

Analiese Paik, Founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, LLC, is a local/sustainable food advocate, avid organic gardener and home cook. Recognizing an opportunity to marry her love of food, wine and gardening with her business and marketing expertise, Analiese launched fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com in 2009. The website features a blog, searchable database of green food resources, event calendar and e-newsletter subscription to help consumers source fresh, local and sustainable food in Fairfield County. She partnered in August with Pequot Library to host Connecticut’s first large community screening of the documentary food film FRESH, after which guests enjoyed a panel discussion by leaders in the local/sustainable food movement and an exhibition of area resources including farms, farm stands, farmers’ markets, school gardens, organic restaurants and not-for profits organizations. Analiese is a member of Slow Food USA and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut.

About Wholesome Wave Foundation

Michel Nischan, President/CEO of Wholesome Wave Foundation, is chef/author/policy advocate and a leader in the sustainable food movement. He founded Wholesome Wave Foundation - with seed funding from the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation - in an effort to make locally grown, sustainable foods available to all. Nischan is a 2008 James Beard Foundation Award winner for his work on the PBS series, Victory Garden and author of two best-selling cookbooks - Taste Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2003 (a Beard award winner in 2004) and Homegrown Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2005. He serves on the boards of the Amazon Conservation Team, the James Beard Foundation and Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment. Learn more about Wholesome Wave Foundation at www.wholesomewave.org.

ABOUT HEATHER HARRINGTON, MS RD

Heather is an assistant extension instructor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut. The primary role of this position is to function as a public health nutritionist, reaching individuals of economic disadvantage with effective nutrition education program to improve dietary quality commensurate with the State Nutrition Education Plan. The secondary and complimentary role is to function as a preceptor for dietetics students in their community nutrition supervised practice working on this nutrition education plan. A Connecticut native, Heather attended the University of Connecticut and graduated with a B.S. degree in Nutritional Science meeting the didactic requirements in May 2005. She completed a 50 week Dietetic Internship at Yale New Haven Hospital in August 2006. She recently graduated from the Masters in Allied Health Sciences program in August 2008.

PR Contact, JLEFC

Charlotte Vinci

Cell: 843.271.7755

Email: charvinci@yahoo.com

PR Contact, Wholesome Wave Foundation

Diane Stefani

Direct: 212.255.8224

Email: diane@rosengrouppr.com

by Eileen Weber

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms. Photo courtesy Ripple Effect Productions, producer of FRESH

Joel Salatin is a religious man. He is a believer that nature should be left to nature. But above all else, he is a farmer. Going against the tide of industrialism where hormones and antibiotics are fed to livestock, he lets his chickens have their “chicken-ness” and his pigs have their “pig-ness”. They roam free to peck and forage as they please across Salatin’s rolling hills of Polyface Farms in Swoope, Va. By some, he is considered a lunatic. For others, he is a genius.

Will Allen of Growing Power Inc., a recipient of the 2008 MacArthur Genius Award. Photo courtesty Ripple Effects Productions, producer of FRESH

Mr. Salatin is not alone. There are others who have the same core values he does. Will Allen, a former basketball player and subsequent marketing manager, is an urban farmer in Milwaukee, Wis. growing vegetables without any chemicals or fertilizers on only three acres of land. His secret is compost and he’s not shy about grabbing a fistful to make his point. After being gored by one of his hogs with the resulting infection resistant to scores of medication, Russ Kremer, a farmer in Frankenstein, Mo., is now a proud and sought after hog farmer. He took the extreme measure of exterminating his herd to begin anew, swearing off antibiotics and hormones.

Russ Kremer, founding member of the Heritage Acres Pork Cooperative which raises “Certified Humane Raised and Handled” hogs. Photo courtesy Ripple Effect Productions, producer of FRESH.

We can see these farmers in their fight against an industrialized food system in the highly acclaimed film FRESH. Last night, the Pequot Library in Southport held a viewing of the movie, a film produced and directed by Ana Sofia Joanes. There was a panel discussion afterward and close to a dozen local exhibitors displayed their wares in the library’s adjacent Reading Room.

The event was the brainchild of Analiese Paik, Founder of Fairfield Green Food Guide. With the idea and her enthusiasm, she approached Dan Snydacker, Executive Director of the Pequot Library. The efforts of six tireless weeks of work paid off. There was a huge turnout. While the seating could only accommodate 200 people, there was a wait list for the event and some were turned away at the door. What a clear indication of how important an issue food is to this community.

The film’s subtitle says it all: “New thinking about what we’re eating.” But is it really new? The film celebrates the environmentally aware farmers, Salatin, Allen and Kremer being prime examples. But what each of these men has achieved is not a novel concept. Letting nature be nature without the use of chemicals is an age-old farming technique. Let the grass grow. Let the cows and chickens roam free. Let their manure fertilize the grass so it can grow some more. The cycle of life continues.

“We’re farming grass,” said Salatin of how he sees its role in farming animals. “If we take care of the grass, it will take care of us.”

Michael Pollan, author of such agriculturally provocative titles as The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, inserted his own commentary in the film. “Industrialized food is cheaper but nutritionally deficient,” he said as scenes of well-known brands in a supermarket’s freezer aisle flicked across the screen. “The more processed it is, the less nutritious.”

But many people, especially those in urban areas considered a “food desert” because local produce is not available, will buy the cheap food. In a tough economy, having any food on the table is better than having none. So many kids grow up eating little if any vegetables that don’t come with a colorful box top and a plastic toy.

Karen Parker, Co-Director, Growing Power Inc. Photo courtesy Growing Power, Inc.

That was the case for Karen Parker, Co-Director of Growing Power, Inc., the organization founded by Will Allen in urban Milwaukee. She admitted that she and her kids ate whatever came from the closest drive-thru without ever buying much in the way of fresh produce. After working with Allen, she has changed her tune.

“I used to say, ‘That’s too fresh! My food don’t have a name!’ But now it does,” she said of Allen’s first attempts to get her to eat the different varieties of vegetables he grows.

Too many Americans buy processed food on a weekly basis and eat at fast food chains. As a result, there is an epidemic of obesity and diabetes in this country. Slowly but surely, that trend is starting to shift. But that shift begins within each community.

Sue Cadwell, Chef/Owner of Health in a Hurry with Analiese Paik, Founder of Fairfield Green Food Guide

“We are the local food movement,” said Sue Caldwell, owner of Fairfield’s Health In A Hurry restaurant and one of last night’s panelists. “The biggest message in Fresh was showing the labels with that long list of ingredients. They kept talking about food, food, food. But that’s not food.”

“We don’t need to teach kids how to read labels,” said panelist Amie Guyette

Amie Hall, Holistic Health Counselor and Cooking Coach, and founder of Fairfield's middle school Square Foot Gardens

Hall, Holistic Health Counselor and Cooking Coach working with the Fairfield district middle schools, “because there are no labels to read when you grow your own food.”

So grow your own vegetables. Have pots of herbs. Plant flowers and let the butterflies come. Eat locally and eat fresh. As Analiese Paik said of the resources available in Connecticut, “There’s no excuse for not eating locally.”

Indeed. No excuse.

Fairfield County Child is a blog dedicated to informing parents about all the unique places to eat, shop and play with your little ones in Fairfield County. Blogger mom Meg Robustelli is prolific in her posts, many of which include special offers and giveaways. She was recognized as an influential suburban blogger by the New York Times last summer and her site is worth a regular visit.

Lunch Skins reusable lunch bags by 3greenmoms

Now through June 4, I am offering the Fairfield County Child subscriber who refers the most new e-newsletter subscribers to the Fairfield Green Food Guide a free pair of Lunch Skins reusable lunch bags. The runner up wins a free 1 liter stainless steel water bottle from Planet Zero Gravity. Meg tied the giveaway to an article about how to find a farmers’ market in your town using The Buying Guide on the Fairfield Green Food Guide. Check it out!

Planet Zero Gravity's 1 Liter Stainless Steel Water Bottle

I got to thinking that you might enjoy this contest too! So here it is - all you do is copy and forward this message to your friends via email and invite them to subscribe to the Fairfield Green Food Guide’s e-newsletter. Be sure to ask them to type your name in the “How did you hear about us” field. The reader who refers the most subscribers wins a pair of Lunch Skins and the runner up wins a free stainless steel water bottle from Planet Zero Gravity. Got green foodie friends? Join the contest! Your friends can sign up for the e-newsletter from the icon in the left sidebar of the Fairfield Green Food Guide home page.

Eileen Weber of CT GreenScene.com wrote a fantastic story about the Fairfield Green Food Guide yesterday. Thank you Eileen and welcome all ctgreenscene.com readers and subscribers!

CT Greenscene.com is a fantastic destination for participating in and keeping current on efforts to build a more  sustainable Connecticut. I encourage you to subscribe. Here’s an excerpt from their About page:

“The mission of Connecticut GreenScene is to connect, highlight and amplify the organizations, businesses and individuals who are working to build a sustainable present and future. From the local cafe who serves locally grown produce to the Fortune 500 company who installed solar panels on their headquarters to the high school student collecting signatures for clean energy sign ups, Connecticut GreenScene aims to reflect our local, green community.

We accomplish our mission through a comprehensive online portal to showcase unique aspects of the local green community, and GreenScene LIVE events that bring people from all sectors and backgrounds together to collaborate, exchange ideas, brainstorm solutions and have fun.

Above all, we are a network made up of people like you! If you’d like to post events, contribute articles, collaborate on events, or get involved in any way, drop us a line, pick up the phone, send a message in a bottle, perform a singing telegram…however you prefer to reach out and connect.”