By Eileen Weber

Whether you’re a yoga mom having a Zen moment, a businessman just off the train from New York, or a 60-something retiree looking to change years of bad eating habits, one shop on Water Street in Norwalk has got you covered. The Stand Juice Company, run by Mike Hvizdo and Carissa Dellicicchi, is a funky little spot that boasts a loaded juice bar and all the organic vegan food you could stuff into a wrap.

Dellicicchi and Hvizdo, who opened the shop in 2006, source as much produce and fruit as they can locally. The majority of the ingredients in their smoothies, sandwiches, and other menu items come from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and other parts of the New England area. They get all of their sprouts and wheatgrass from Farming Turtles, Inc. in Rhode Island. Knowing their farmers personally is important to them.

Wheat grass, a common ingredient in The Stand's juices, is sourced from Farming Turtles in RI. The Stand receives daily shipments of fresh produce for their smoothies, juices, soups and sandwiches.

“We have a four year relationship and their products are perfection,” Dellicicchi said of Farming Turtles. “They are more eager to please than anyone I’ve ever met and jump through hoops to solve problems.”

It’s that kind of green mindset and attention to detail that has customers coming back for more. “One unifying factor in our clientele,” said Dellicicchi, “is that everyone wants to be healthier than they are.”

While they started out with 30-something moms who just wanted to stay trim, they said their demographic has changed. As far as their concerned, that’s proof positive that this style of healthy eating works. They still get slammed just before bikini season, however.

Much of that has to do with the 5-day juice cleanses they offer. Although, they make it a point to say that juice cleanses are not for everyone. They try to determine why a customer wants to cleanse before they administer it.

“One unifying factor in our clientele,” said Dellicicchi, “is that everyone wants to be healthier than they are.”

“We don’t promote it as a weight-loss program,” said Dellicicchi. “Some people are looking for a lifestyle change, some for illnesses, and some for a sugar addiction or a food allergy. We discourage making an immediate decision on cleansing.”

It was Hvizdo’s initial desire to change his diet that led them on this path of vegan and organic foods and juice cleanses. Mike suffers from a rare blood disease that he keeps in check with diet and exercise. “Dealing with things holistically guarantees you’re going to be better off that you are now,” he said.

But that wasn’t the only reason. Before they even opened their shop, Hvizdo’s mother had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. As a way to keep her strong and healthy, they started organic juicing. Soon, others at his mother’s cancer support group wanted juice. Before they knew it, they were making enough for 50 people out of their tiny Southport home. One thing led to another and the rest is history.

The baked goods menu changes weekly and includes muffins, cupcakes, cookies and granola.

Now, the recently engaged couple is planning for another store here in Fairfield. This summer, they plan to open their new location at the Sportsplex on Mill Plain Road. It will soon be a 1,700 square foot space serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, with shortened hours on Sundays. This new location will have a similar menu, adding child-friendly finger foods as well.

While Catch a Healthy Habit has been a lynchpin in the organic juice and raw food market here in Fairfield, Hvizdo and Dellicicchi think they offer something a little different. They source almost everything locally with only the avocados and almonds imported from California. But, what makes them stand out from their competition is their flexible attitude about healthy eating. They insist that while eating raw food is good for you, making your diet solely based on it is impractical.

The prepared food case offers a convenient solution for fresh and healthy meals and snacks to go.

Dellicicchi stressed that, while having raw food in your diet is essential to healthy eating and can be appropriate as a means for healing your body from an illness, it shouldn’t be a one-size-fits all diet regimen.

“I don’t believe in 100% raw food for the masses,” she said. “I’m not one to say one diet’s better than the other. I was 30 pounds heavier when I lived in Miami and followed a raw food diet. I guess I was eating the wrong raw foods. It’s just too much of a constraint.”

The Stand Juice Company has a full menu of juices, smoothies, salads, and sandwiches. Their baked goods, soups and juice specialties change weekly. For more information, visit their web site at www.thestandjuice.com or contact them at 203-956-5670.

Chef Brian Lewis describes his modern American cuisine as rooted in tradition and inspired by the seasons. Photo by Michael Weschler.

elm to Open in Fall 2011

Renovations at 73 Elm Street in the heart of historic downtown New Canaan, CT, begin this week in preparation for the fall launch of elm, a new restaurant by Chef Brian Lewis.  Best known for his collaboration with Richard Gere and Carey Lowell in creating the Bedford Post, Lewis looks forward to working with his close network of farmers and artisans to bring  seasonally inspired food to New Canaan.

Lewis will be transforming the 19^th century space into a warm and inviting dining space encompassing a glass-enclosed, state-of-the-art-kitchen, a 70-seat dining room, a casual bar area that will seat 30, as well as seating for 14 at The Kitchen Table and 4 seats at The Chef’s Tasting Bar.  elm will be open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and will serve a Sunday brunch and special Sunday Supper.

Chef Lewis’s modern American cuisine is both rooted in tradition and inspired by the seasons.  He developed his own unique and personal style while contributing to the successes of many well known restaurants throughout the country, including: Lutece, Oceana, The Sign of the Dove, Rockenwagner, The Village Pub and Bix.

While Executive Chef at The Bedford Post, Lewis garnered national attention with Esquire magazine selecting The Farmhouse as a “Best New Restaurant” for 2009 and The New York Times awarding an “Excellent” review for “Oscar Worthy Flavor.”   Lewis has appeared on the Today Show and MARTHA and is featured in the critically-acclaimed cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans.

“It has been a lifelong dream of mine to open my own restaurant,” says Lewis.  “I am blessed to have two partners who share my vision for creating a world-class restaurant that has a real sense of community.  We will be preparing the space this summer and I look forward to welcoming everyone this fall.”

By Elizabeth Keyser

J. Porter's at the Marriott Trumbull now sources eighty-five percent of their food from local farms under the direction of Executive Chef Chris Molyneux.

If you need proof that the local food movement is here to stay, check into a Marriott.  Last year, the international hotel chain introduced a sustainable seafood program in its restaurants, and now a core group has instituted farm-to-table menus.  J. Porter’s, the restaurant  in the Trumbull Marriott, is the latest.

Executive Chef Chris Molyneux is quietly rolling out his farm-to-table menu. Greyledge Farm delivers their grass-fed and hormone-free beef, free-range chickens, and pastured pork.   Connecticut Farm Fresh Express delivers farm fresh produce and artisan products from across the state.  Seafood comes from Stonington.

Institutional  frozen products are out. Whole salmons, chickens and bags of fresh vegetables from the farm are in. “It’s a little more work,” Molyneux says, “but it’s a great payoff. The quality is far better.”  Bones are used to make sauces, stocks and demi-glaces. Hamburgers are formed in the kitchen. The chefs use the in-house smoker to make the salmon, pulled pork and the beef in the prime-rib sandwich.

Preparing food from scratch isn’t new to Molyneux. One of his first cooking jobs was at Captain’s Galley in West Haven. “I’d peel 100 pounds of shrimp,” he says, “Onions rings? I’d prep 200 pounds of onions.” In J. Porters kitchen, the cooking staff has had to adjust. Picking lobster meat from the shells is the job no one wants.  But if he hears a grumble, Molyneux has a ready reply, “I’m standing right here next to you, man.”

Customers have responded with enthusiasm, interest, and some protests when a favorite, like Chilean Sea Bass, has been removed from the menu.  J. Porters servers and chefs help educate the guests about the changes. “When we tell people that Chilean Sea Bass is endangered, they are shocked.  They say they didn’t know.”

Wild salmon from Scotland has replaced farmed salmon on the menu and is a reflection of Marriott's move to a sustainable seafood program begun in 2010 with CleanFish.

Chef Molyneux says that the veggie burger is a surprise bestseller. This generous burger is a mix of beets, brown rice and black beans.

One surprise on the new menu is the popularity of the veggie burger. “We sell out almost every night,” says Molyneux. The burger is a hearty mix of beets, brown rice and black beans, served on a whole wheat bun.  “It’s like a three-hour process to make it,” says executive sous chef Michael Dunton.

Salmon is another favorite. The Loch Duart salmon comes from Scotland where it is farmed sustainably. “I definitely saw a huge difference in the taste of the Loch Duart than regular farmed salmon,” says Molyneux. The salmon arrives whole.  “We see the quality,” he says.  At a recent lunch, the salmon was simply roasted, and accompanied by ramps and turnip greens.

Look for seasonal New England seafood on the menu like this soft-shell crab served on a bed of local arugula.

Molyneux knows fish. “I’m a seafood guy,” he says. Growing up in West Haven, the grandson and nephew of commercial fishermen, he was on a boat at 2 months old. As a young man, he worked as a commercial fisherman, spending 9 days on the seas at a clip. He still holds a captain’s license.

He graduated from Johnson & Wales culinary school and cooked at a farm-to-table restaurant in Mt. Snow, Vermont, before joining Marriott four years ago.

When he talks to guests about the source of J. Porter’s seafood, sometimes they’re surprised that it comes from Long Island Sound. “We’ve gotten away, as a society, from understanding where our food comes from,” he says, “our industry relies on the waters around us.”

Next January, J. Porter’s will be remodeled to make the décor as fresh as the food. It will join four other Marriott restaurants in West Palm Beach, Dallas, Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio that have rebranded as farm-to-table restaurants. Molyneux is still discovering new sources for products, and has many plans. “We’re going to introduce a bar menu – steak tips, flat irons, maybe individual short ribs.” Already on tap at the bar is Ten Penny Ale, a micro brew from Olde Burnside Brewing Company in Hartford.

Molyneux says that he has relied on the staff (“we have a great team”) to help “translate the vision to the customers.”  The revelatory nature of farm fresh food is clear when Bonnie Caravaglia, the assistant general manager, talks.

“Remember those carrots?” she says, with a tone of amazed appreciation. What did they taste like? “They had a natural sweetness. They were meaty. They were fresh. They tasted like a real carrot.”

On Wednesday, June 1, the first Elite farmers’ market will open in the parking lot of the Danbury Fair Mall with over 38 farm and food vendors. Founders Tony and Melanie Lee want to open “many, many more” farmers’ markets in partnership with very large shopping centers and other high traffic locations so a greater number of people can access them. There’s no question that vendors were excited about the new concept. According to Tony “150 wanted to participate and we picked 50. This new concept is winning for the farmer and the consumer.”

Elite, determined to create a beautiful market with a country look and feel, is supplying all the tents and table coverings to their vendors. The market also boats numberous special features including lunch vendor Caroline’s Kitchen which makes fresh wraps drawing on local produce and supplies; seasonal canning, pickling and fermenting demonstrations using farm fresh products with Michaela Hayes (formerly a chef at New York’s Gramercy Tavern) each week under a tent sponsored by Ball Jar company; guest chef cooking demos (including award-winning sustainable Chef Bun Lai from Miya’s Sushi in New Haven); a children’s tent where kids can do arts & crafts and activities related to the environment and fresh food; and an area called the Greenius Barn (like the Genius Bar in the Apple store) where experts and authors on topics including composting and cooking with fresh food discuss and demo to educate the public in their area of specialty.

Elite @ Danbury Fair Mall will run each Wednesday and Saturday from 10-2 through the end of October. Most of the vendors are there both days. Special events: There will be live music in Saturday, June 3. Sat. For a complete vendor list, click here. No WIC or SNAP benefits accepted.

For vending and guest demo inquiries, please contact Tony Lee at tony@elitefarmersmarkets.com.

Elitefarmersmarkets.com

Danbury Fair Mall: 7 Backus Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810, (203) 743-3247

save the date

nine.ten.eleven

4pm – 7pm

The field

Ambler Farm. local + organic.

The farmer

Our own Ben Saunders.

The fork

Local + organic harvest fare prepared by local, award-winning chef

Tim LaBant of The Schoolhouse Restaurant in Wilton, Connecticut.

__________________________________________

Arrive to cocktails on the Farm. Supper served family-style in the Ambler fields.
Hard hat tours of the Raymond Ambler House will be guided by a Friend of Ambler Farm.

You will have the opportunity to ‘purchase’ a piece of the restoration of this Wilton gem with your generous donation.

Please save the date for this extraordinary local Wilton event.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

@ Ambler Farm, 257 Hurlbutt Street, Wilton Connecticut

Details and registration to follow

www.amblerfarm.org

Building on Paul Newman and Michel Nischan’s vision, the Westport Farmers’ Market has blossomed into its sixth year.  2010 proved to be very successful and fruitful for the Westport Farmers Market (WFM), earning it its third consecutive consumer vote as the Best Farmers’ Market in annual Best of the Gold Coast Awards.  With this success, and the ever-important need for local, healthy and sustainable food, WFM claims to have some of “the strictest guidelines in the state” to participate to ensure shoppers enjoy products of the highest quality.

Many of last year’s favorites, including lunch vendor Boxcar Cantina, Fort Hill Farm and Starlight Gardens, are back and have new offerings.  A few of WFM’s new and exciting vendors are Peace Tree Desserts, Thimble Island Oyster Company, and Speckled Rooster Farm.  A full list of the 2011 vendors appears below.

The market opens for the season on May 26 and will run every Thursday from 10 am and 2pm through November 3 in the Imperial Avenue Commuter Parking Lot in Westport, located adjacent to the Women’s Club.

The market will host a local chef each week who is committed to sourcing fresh, seasonal ingredients from local farms, including some of those participating in the market. Each of these chefs will provide instruction on how to utilize the seasonal ingredients found at the market to make a delicious dish. Bill Taibe, chef/owner of the award-winning leFarm restaurant in Westport, Tim LaBant chef/owner of the award-winning restaurant Schoolhouse at Cannondale in Wilton, and chefs from local favorites including Barcelona, The Dressing Room, and Match will be showcasing and sharing their expertise with shoppers.

Each week one local artist will be featured at the market and onecommunity non-profit each week including Westport Library, Spin Odyssey, Earthplace.

MXenergy is a year-round sponsor of the WFM and Cohen & Wolf, Doris Ghitelman Realtor, Education Homestay and SavaTree are new supporters

Contact: Lori Cochran Dougall, Market Director, director@westportfarmersmarket.com, (307)690-1759

Visit the WFM online at http://www.westportfarmersmarket.com/ or join their Facebook page.

Vendors

Don’t miss the foodie event of the year on September 11, 2011!

Jacques Pepin reaching for a grilled cheese sandwich from the Caseus truck at the 2010 Celebration. Photo c/o Elizabeth Keyser.

The 11th Annual Celebration of Connecticut Farms will take place on Sunday, September 11 at Jones Family Farms in Shelton, CT.  Returning as honorary chairpersons of the Celebration are Tony Award winning actress Christine Baranski, WNPR’s Two Time Peabody Award winner Faith Middleton, and celebrity TV chef and author Jacques Pépin.

Tyler Anderson, Executive Chef of The Copper Beech Inn, puts the finishing touches on his dish at the 2010 Celebration. Photo c/o Elizabeth Keyser

Guests of the Celebration of Connecticut Farms can enjoy spectacular dishes featuring ingredients from over 50 farms across the state and prepared by chefs from 24 of Connecticut’s best restaurants including:  Metro Bis in Simsbury, It’s Only Natural in Middletown, The Dressing Room in Westport, The Suburban in Branford, Polytechnic ON20 in Hartford, and many more.  Attendees can also enjoy wine from 10 Connecticut wineries and vineyards and beer from Connecticut breweries.  Musical entertainment will be provided by the band, Bone Dry and paintings by members of the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society will be on display and for sale.

The Jones family is thrilled to welcome the Celebration of Connecticut Farms back to its farm.  The first event in 2001 brought together Connecticut residents, artists, farmers, and chefs resolved to protect Connecticut’s productive farmlands for future generations.  The generous food bounty of Connecticut was expressed through unforgettably delicious dishes created by farmers and chefs, working side by side in an idyllic setting.

Tony Award winning actress Christine Baranski and James Beard Award-winning Chef Michel Nischan at the 2010 Celebration. Photo c/o Elizabeth Keyser

Farm owner Terry Jones says, “what seemed so amazing in 2001, chefs partnering with farmers, has almost become commonplace today.  In only ten years, significant progress has occurred regarding citizen desire to protect farmland, as well as in the actual number of acres set aside for permanent protection.  But, the battle is far from over and there are new challenges ahead for all of us in preserving Connecticut’s agriculture.”

Jones Family Farms in Shelton produces Christmas trees, berries, pumpkins, grapes that supply the farm’s winery, and much more.  You can learn more about the farm and its products at JonesFamilyFarms.com.

Tickets to the Celebration are $150 each (with $75 of that being tax-deductible).  To purchase tickets or request an invitation, visit CelebrationofCTFarms.org, or call 860-247-0202. Proceeds from the Celebration are dedicated to Connecticut Farmland Trust’s mission to preserving our state’s working farmland.

Jones Family Farms owner Terry Jones walking through his fields with his grandson, Jackson. Photo c/o Jones Family Farm

Connecticut Farmland Trust is the only private statewide conservation organization dedicated solely to permanently protecting Connecticut’s farmland.  Established in 2002, CFT holds agricultural conservation easements that protect 2,096 acres of farmland on 26 farms around the state, has assisted partners in the preservation of 602 additional acres, and serves as a leading resource on conserving Connecticut’s working farmland.

Read about last year’s Celebration of Connecticut Farms.

Look for CTC&G at the usual drop sites and enjoy Sustainable Connecticut magazine starting on page 49. Sustainable Connecticut cover photo of Sustainable Farmer Annie Farrell of Millstone Farm by Doreen Birdsell of Doreen Birdsell Studios Photography and Video.

A beautiful new magazine called Sustainable Connecticut has launched. This  special preview in the April issue of Connecticut Cottages & Gardens magazine (CTC&G) profiles local leaders of the sustainable food movement who are inspiring all of us to change. They are creating a wonderful ripple effect that can be felt throughout the state, and beyond. Perhaps you know some of them or they have touched your lives, or maybe even the food you eat.

Video from WTNH’s Good Morning Connecticut show introducing Sustainable Connecticut magazine on Saturday April 2 with Analiese Paik, Founder & Editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, and WTNH’s Steve Villanueva.

Sustainable Farmer Sustainable Connecticut magazine begins on page 49 of CTC&G with a beautiful photo of Master Farmer Annie Farrell of Millstone Farm in Wilton with one of their heritage breed hens.  Annie Farrell, the subject of the magazine’s cover story, has spent her life establishing sustainable farms and sharing her knowledge with others as a consultant. Millstone Farm was founded by Betsy and Jesse Fink and they hired Farrell to help them build “a sustainable farm whose mission it is to build a healthy local food system that enhances the natural and social environment” according to the article.

Betsy is an environmentalist and philanthropist and runs the 75-acre farm which has a small CSA and supplies the highest quality fresh produce to top farm-to-table restaurants including the Dressing Room and Le Farm in Westport, Schoolhouse at Cannondale in Wilton, the Boathouse at Saugatuck, and the Barcelona restaurant group. Millstone Farm regularly hosts teachers, students and educational events at the farm where participants can learn directly from Master Farmer Annie Farrell. If you’re a beginning gardener, don’t miss Millstone’s Backyard Workshop on April 16.

From left to right: Bill Taibe, Ryan Fibiger and seated, Alex Gunuey

Farm-to-Table Chefs & Whole Animal Butcher In the Locavore column “Staying Hungry”, I interviewed a few chefs who are leaders in the farm-to-table movement to share their latest news with readers. James Beard award-winning chef and sustainable food pioneer Michel Nischan presented at TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” and was recently elected to Ashoka’s global fellowship of leading social entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries in recognition of his work at Wholesome Wave.

Bill Taibe, chef/owner of LeFarm restaurant in Westport and a James Beard Foundation award semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast is finalizing his restaurant’s green certification process and is planning a second restaurant. Alex Gunuey caters farm-to-school meals at the Friends School in Wilton and started Bone A Part to provide discerning canines with gourmet, locavore dog food.

Fairfield County is welcoming two new sustainable food businesses – Mario Batali’s  Tarry Lodge Enoteca Pizzeria is due to open early summer in Westport and Ryan Fibiger, a graduate of Fleischer’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats in Kingston, NY, will be opening a sustainable butcher shop specializing in whole animal (aka nose-to-tail) butchery soon in either Westport or Fairfield. Naturally chef Gunuey will be buying trimmings from Fibiger for his dog food, thereby ensuring that no part of the animal goes to waste.

Lettuce is an excellent early spring crop and easy to care for, just avoid too much sun in high summer advises author Bill Duesing.

In “Spring Lettuce” author and farmer Bill Duesing encourages us to plant some lettuce soon since it’s an excellent early spring crop that likes cool weather. Duesing is Executive Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (CT NOFA) and recommends planting every 2-3 weeks so gardeners can enjoy lettuce through October. CT-NOFA is not just for farmers (I’m a member!) so please take a look at their upcoming workshops and events-one might be just right for you.

John Turenne, Founder & President of Sustainable Food Systems worked behind the scenes in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and is a founding member of Michelle Obama's "Chefs move to Schools" initiative, part of her "Let's Move" campaign to combat childhood obesity.

“The Great School Food Makeover” spotlights the success of The Unquowa School in Fairfield in making over their lunch menu to feature locally sourced foods from sustainable family farms. John Turenne, who helped create Yale’s sustainable dining program, left the university to found Sustainable Food Systems and took on the school as his first client. The Unquowa School has embraced Alice Waters’ edible schoolyard philosophy by not only putting in a school garden, but also by partnering with Sport Hill Farm in Easton to offer a summer farm camp that teach kids from early on where their food comes from and how to plant, cultivate and harvest it. Campers prepare a farm fresh lunch with school chef Peter Gorman on Fridays from food they picked that morning.

Pick up the magazine at the usual drop sites for CTC&G or visit the web site for a digital copy at sustainablethemagazine.com.

Enjoy the hard work of our farmers by seeking out the bounty of Connecticut Grown this spring. Foods that are special to the season like Spring parsnips, early lettuces, and fresh goat’s milk cheeses are a treat.

Displayed on the Ch. 8 set are the following CT Grown foods purchased on closing day of the Westport Winter Farmers’ Market:

• Fresh Spring goat’s milk cheese (chevre) and yogurt from Beltane Farm
• Soft ripened goat’s milk cheese from Beltane Farm called Danse de la Lune
• Cow’s milk and yogurt from Ladies of Levita Road dairy farm
• Certified Organic kale, mesclun greens (mixed salad greens), and flowering tarragon from 2 Guys from Woodbridge farm
• Certified Organic Spring parsnips, carrots, heirloom tomato sauce and bread and butter pickles from Riverbank Farm
• Certified Organic mixed baby greens and spinach from Star Light Gardens farm
• Loin lamb chops and lamb Bolognese sauce from Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm

Please come back and let us know how you like Sustainable Connecticut magazine and what spring foods you’re enjoying now. Planting a garden? Share your garden photos with us on Facebook.

Fuel for Learning Partnership (FFLP), a PTA Council Standing Committee, will sponsor the second annual Food for Thought Expo with this year’s theme ‘Make Every Meal Count.’ Scheduled for Saturday, March 26^th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, the expo will take place at Fairfield Warde High School, in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Michel Nischan, Founder & CEO of Wholesome Wave and a James Beard Award-Winning Chef/Author

The expo is free and open to the public and will feature cooking demonstrations, including an appearance at 11 am by Michel Nischan, owner and founder of Westport’s Dressing Room restaurant, President and CEO of Wholesome Wave Foundation, and author of the bestselling cookbooks Sustainably Delicious and Homegrown: Pure and Simple, as well as a wide variety of vendors ready to help area residents make the best possible choices in local produce, meats, groceries, and ready-made foods.

Cooking Demonstrations:

11 am  Michel Nischan, James Beard award-winning chef and author, presents  Nourishing Families

12 noon  Amie Guyette Hall,  cooking coach and owner of From Your Inside Out presents Super Simple, Family Friendly

1 pm  Sue Cadwell,  chef/owner Health in a Hurry presents Easy, Health Supportive Cuisine

2 pm  Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress from Big Girls, Small Kitchen present  Take-Out at Home

3 pm  Linda Soper Kolton,  chef/owner of GreenGourmettoGo, presents Make Desserts Count, Too!

Over thirty exhibitors will showcase their products and services that will help visitors make “every meal count.”  Events to be held throughout the day include movies, children’s activities, and cooking demonstrations using whole foods by Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress from Big Girls, Small Kitchen; Linda Soper-Kolton from Green Gourmet to Go; Sue Cadwell of Health in a Hurry; and Amie Hall, CHHC, AADP, of From Your Inside Out.  Participating businesses and organizations include Black Rock Farmstand, Borders Books, Fairfield Cheese Company, Fairfield Public Library, Farmer’s Cow, Sport Hill Farm, Stone Gardens Farm, CT Farm Fresh Express, Southport CSA, Project Hope Garden, Robek’s Juice, Wave Hill Breads, Jeff Borofsky’s Portable Pizza Oven, and the Fairfield Green Food Guide.

Guests will be treated to samples from Fairfield's award-winning organic, vegetarian restaurant, Health in a Hurry and other area restaurants that support healthy eating.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming back exhibitors from last year, as well as introducing visitors to new businesses” said Michelle McCabe, Chairperson of the Fuel for Learning Partnership. “This year’s theme, ‘Make Every Meal Count’, is inspired by the belief that every meal counts, either as a source of energy to contribute to a productive day at school or work, or a contribution to good health, or a way to support the environment, or way to support local farms, or a way to connect with family members.”

Beekeepers are farmers too and they provide a critical service by ensuring that our bee populations thrive. Without them, we'd have to hand pollinate. Marina Marchese of Red Bee Honey in Weston will be sharing her bee wisdom and tastes of her single nectar source honeys along with signing her book, Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper. Marchese is President of the Back Yard Beekeepers Association.

The FFLP encourages Fairfield County parents, students, teachers, food service staff, and Board of Education members to jointly pursue the common goal of serving safe, high quality, nutritional meals to the students of Fairfield.  FFLP seeks to affect positive change in how we eat by coming together as a community to broadly educate and change eating habits through the endorsement of sustainable eating practices.

The FFLP is hosting the  Food for Thought Expo: ‘Make Every Meal Count’ as part of an on-going effort to help educate people about how their approach to eating can overcome many of the health challenges our community faces today.  “We’re all on a journey toward changing the way we eat,” Ms. McCabe said.  “That comes with a learning curve, and our focus is to help people take ownership of their health, and the health of their children.”

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.

Linda Soper-Kolton, chef/owner of GreenGourmettoGo, recently expanded the business to adjacent space to better serve her customers.

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)