Food Day is being celebrated across the country on Monday, Oct 24. Over 1,800 grassroots events have been planned to celebrate the day, including more than 25 in Connecticut.

Think of Food Day as Earth Day for Food. It’s a day for all members of our communities to come together to bring awareness to and spark ongoing dialog about issues surrounding food production and consumption in this country. It’s also an opportunity to learn how to make food choices that promote good health and are kind to the environment, farm workers, and animals.

Anyone who wants to observe Food Day can attend organized events in schools, libraries, nature centers, supermarkets, restaurants, art galleries, theaters and more throughout Connecticut, including:

• Film screenings & discussions
• Potluck and fundraiser dinners
• Cooking demonstrations and competitions
• Food drives with matching donations
• Workshops with sustainable food professionals

To find a scheduled Food Day event near you, visit www.FoodDay.org, and search by town or zip code.

I am excited to be organizing Food Day events on Monday in both Greenwich and Fairfield in partnership with Slow Food Metro North, a local chapter of Slow Food USA, a national Food Day partnering organization. Amy Kalafa and John Turenne, two nationally recognized sustainable food experts, will present “Overcoming Obstacles to Improving School Food”, a high-impact workshop that teaches successful approaches for overcoming obstacles to making school meals more healthful and sustainable.

John Turenne and Amy Kalafa are well versed in the challenges confronted by better school food advocates.  Amy is the author of Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health, and the producer/director of the acclaimed documentary film Two Angry Moms: Fighting for the Health of America’s Children. Lunch Wars is an invaluable handbook for better school food advocates and attendees can obtain a signed copy at these events. John Turenne, founder & President of Sustainable Food Systems of Wallingford, is a nationally recognized leader and innovator in sustainable food practices. Formerly Executive Chef at Yale University, he worked to create the Yale Sustainable Food Project and more recently led the behind-the-scenes team that made Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” work in the Huntington, West Virginia school system. http://angrymoms.org/, http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com/.

“Overcoming Obstacles to Improving School Food” is designed for all stakeholders in our children’s health and wellness- whether parents, administrators, food service professionals or public health officials. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

If you can’t attend an event, create your own Food Day event at home by eating real food. Real food is kind to the earth, animals and people and good for you. Visit a local farm stand or farmers’ market and take home nature’s bounty to prepare a nutritious meal that supports our community of farms. Take a family trip this weekend to an orchard for a memorable pick-your-own experience. While we don’t have organic orchards in CT, we do have family-owned operations using IPM (Integrated Pest Management) practices, which favor low impact ways to manage pests and plant diseases. Bishops Orchards in Guilford, Drazen Orchards in Cheshire, and High Hill Orchard in Meriden are among the local IPM orchards offering a pick-your-own experience.

6 Principles of Food Day (from the Food Day website)

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

Food Day is a project of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest with over 100 national organizations as partners including Slow Food USA. Everyone is welcome to participate. www.FoodDay.org

In Celebration of

Fairfield Green Food Guide & Slow Food Metro North Present:

Overcoming Obstacles to Improving School Food

With Nationally Recognized Experts Amy Kalafa and John Turenne

Join nationally recognized experts Amy Kalafa, author of Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health, and John Turenne, Founder & President of Sustainable Food Systems, for a high impact workshop that teaches attendees successful approaches for overcoming common obstacles to making school meals more healthful and sustainable. This workshop is designed for all stakeholders in our children’s health and wellness.

“We really cannot rely on the federal government to fix school food; the government provides a baseline and it is up to each individual school district to determine the quality of each school’s food environment. This is a grassroots issue and there are any number of local solutions. The solutions are found when members of the school community start paying attention and taking action.” – Amy Kalafa

“As long as school food is provided limited funding, cost will always be a factor.  However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t simple ways to overcome inadequate  food.  We can start by step by step substituting real, whole and fresh ingredients for processed.” – John Turenne

Choose from Two Sessions:

Greenwich at Audubon Greenwich, 12:00 noon-1:00 pm. $10 admission includes a Slow Food Metro North $5 Challenge lunch catered by Concierge Foods of Bedford Hills. RSVP required.

Fairfield at Pequot Library, 7:00-8:00 pm. $10 admission includes light refreshments. RSVP required.

Both events will be followed by a Q&A session and book sale and signing.

To RSVP:

Greenwich only:

Tickets must be purchased online in advance so we can obtain an accurate lunch count. This is a working lunch. Vegetarian and vegan lunch options are available. Walk-ins cannot be guaranteed a seat or lunch. Click here to register and pay online by October 23.

Admission: $10 per person fee includes a  local farm-to-fork lunch which celebrates Slow Food Metro North’s $5 Challenge.

Time: 12:00 noon until 1:00, followed by a Q&A session, book sale and signing of Lunch Wars, and networking.

Important: Kindly arrive at 11:45 to register, pick up your lunch and beverage and be seated. This is a working lunch.

Location: Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, CT. Please call event organizer Analiese Paik at 203.520.3451 with any questions.

Fairfield only:

Admission: $10 per person fee includes the workshop and light refreshments.Click here to register and pay online by October 23.

Time: 7:00 to 8:00 pm, followed by a Q&A session, book sale and signing of Lunch Wars, and networking.

Important: Kindly arrive at 6:45 to register and be seated.

Location: Pequot Library, 720 Pequot Avenue, Southport, CT. Please call event organizer Analiese Paik at 203.520.3451 with any questions.

This event is organized by Fairfield Green Food Guide, LLC and Slow Food Metro North and made possible through the generous support of Audubon Greenwich, Pequot Library and Concierge Foods.

About Our Guest Presenters:

Amy Kalafa

Amy Kalafa has produced award-winning films and television programs, and has written magazine articles related to health education for more than twenty-five years. The producer/director of the acclaimed documentary film Two Angry Moms: Fighting for the Health of America’s Children, she has been featured on Good Morning America, Rachael Ray, and Fox News Live, and in USA Today and The New York Times. Kalafa lives with her family in Weston, Connecticut. http://angrymoms.org/

LUNCH WARS: How to Start A School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health (Tarcher/Penguin, August 2011) not only exposes the scary, hidden truth behind school lunches, but also gives parents the tools to do something about it. After author Amy Kalafa produced and directed the acclaimed documentary, Two Angry Moms, she was flooded with questions from parents who saw the film and wanted to know how to rid their own children’s schools of unhealthy—and sometimes dangerous—food. LUNCH WARS is Kalafa’s definitive response and an all-inclusive guide to help parents stage their own cafeteria coup.

LUNCH WARS is an invaluable reference. From First Lady Michelle Obama and her Let’s Move! campaign against childhood obesity to the average parent who’s struggling to instill good habits in their children, every American family has a stake in the book’s message. The next—and most crucial—step is to learn what LUNCH WARS teaches and integrate it into every school in America, on every day of the year.

John Turenne

John Turenne, founder and President of Sustainable Food Systems, is a nationally recognized leader and innovator in sustainable food practices. In his role as Executive Chef at Yale University and in the creation of the Yale Sustainable Food Project, John recognized the impact of food service decision-making on the world around us. His consulting company is on the cutting edge in developing best-practices tailored to benefit both the planet and the bottom line for clients. Turenne led the behind-the-scenes team that made Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” work in the Huntington, West Virginia school system.

John and his team at Sustainable Food Systems have worked with visionaries across the country who have had the desire to make positive changes to the way they do business. Sustainable Food Systems brings those ideas and desires to reality through careful assessment, planning, teaching and development.

Sustainable Food Systems’ client list includes The Culinary Institute of America; Yale University; Harvard Medical School; The East Harlem School; Jamie Oliver Ltd.; Cabell County, WV Public Schools;  St. Lukes Wood River Medical Center as well as multiple other public hospital and school systems.

John Turenne and Sustainable Food Systems were also instrumental in working with the Obama Administration in the development of the USDA’s Chefs Move to Schools initiative and continue to harvest national and international recognition. http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com/

Resources:

Amy Kalafa: http://angrymoms.org/, http://www.tarcherbooks.net/?tag=lunch-wars

John Turenne: http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com/

Fairfield Green Food Guide: http://fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com/

Slow Food Metro North: http://slowfoodmetronorth.org/

Food Day: http://foodday.org/

What is Food Day?

Aimed at promoting healthy, sustainable, affordable, and just food systems in America, Food Day is a national grassroots mobilization backed by some of the most prominent voices for energizing the food movement. On October 24, 2011, people will gather at events big and small and from coast to coast in homes, schools, colleges, churches, city halls, farmers’ markets, supermarkets, and elsewhere to raise awareness about food issues and advocate for change. Think of it as an Earth Day for food!

Spearheaded by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Day is organized around six main policy goals:

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

2. Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness

3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

4. Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms

5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids

6. Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers

Who is partnering with Food Day?

Food Day’s advisory board is co-chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and includes such members as Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, Marion Nestle, David Kessler, and Professor Walter Willett. Partners include the American Dietetic Association, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, UNITE Here, Humane Society of the U.S., Sierra Club, and Slow Food USA. A full list of advisors and partner organizations can be found at www.FoodDay.org.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

CT NOFA will celebrate its 10th Annual TASTE! Organic Connecticut festival on September 19th at Manchester Community College, Great Path Road, Manchester, CT from 10 am to 4pm.

This year’s TASTE will highlight local and organic food as always but with a new twist by showcasing local celebrity chefs known for their work with local and organic food. Chef John Turenne, president of Sustainable Food Systems, and fresh from his recent TV appearance with “The Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver, will be designing this year’s NOFA food-booth menu. Seen Lippert, who was a chef at Chez Panisse for 11 years, will be working with John Turenne to create a diverse menu of Connecticut-grown foods, and will also host a workshop on using the abundance of your summer garden. New Haven celebrity chef Bun Lai, owner of Miya Sushi will teach a workshop and share his insights after his restaurant was named one of the top-ten sustainable restaurants in America.

There will be an opportunity to meet and greet the dynamic Severine von Tscharner Fleming, the founder of The Greenhorns, and see a sneak-peek screening of her new documentary, “The Greenhorns” about young farmers in America, as well as an archival film compilation of rare agricultural footage.

See:

www.thegreenhorns.net

www.serveyourcountryfood.net

www.youngfarmers.org

www.thegreenhorns.wordpress.com

Music will be by The Whiskey Boys, Trainwreck Jerry and Deborah Simmons throughout the day.

Attendees can shop at the Farmers’ Market and visit vendors of all kinds. Among the many activities there will be a Children’s Area with crafts, storytellers, games, pony rides and last year’s favorite – hoop dancing. There will be enchanting Environmental Theater by ART FARM for all ages at noon. Visit farm animals; go for a Bio-diesel tractor ride; see a state of the art “chicken tractor” that will make you want one. Choose to attend numerous free workshops and weed walks. Bid on a raffle of local products, services and much more.

Join us! And help support CT NOFA.

All this for a fee of $7 ($5 for NOFA members & MCC students and faculty).Children under 12 are FREE. More information at www.ctnofa.org, 203-888-5146 or contact Teresa@ctnofa.org

June 20, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Teresa Mucci

CT NOFA Event Coordinator

Email: Teresa@ctnofa.org

Phone: 203-888-5146

CONNECTICUT NOFA CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNUAL TASTE! ORGANIC FESTIVAL

CT NOFA will celebrate its 10th Annual TASTE! Organic Connecticut festival on September 19th at Manchester Community College, Great Path Road, Manchester, CT from 10 am to 4pm.

This year’s TASTE will highlight local and organic food as always but with a new twist by showcasing local celebrity chefs known for their work with local and organic food. Chef John Turenne, president of Sustainable Food Systems, and fresh from his recent TV appearance with “The Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver, will be designing this year’s NOFA food-booth menu. Seen Lippert, who was a chef at Chez Panisse for 11 years, will be working with John Turenne to create a diverse menu of Connecticut-grown foods, and will also host a workshop on using the abundance of your summer garden. New Haven celebrity chef Bun Lai, owner of Miya Sushi will teach a workshop and share his insights after his restaurant was named one of the top-ten sustainable restaurants in America.

There will be an opportunity to meet and greet the dynamic Severine von Tscharner Fleming, the founder of The Greenhorns, and see a sneak-peek screening of her new documentary, “The Greenhorns” about young farmers in America, as well as an archival film compilation of rare agricultural footage.

See:

www.thegreenhorns.net

www.serveyourcountryfood.net

www.youngfarmers.org

www.thegreenhorns.wordpress.com

Music will be by The Whiskey Boys, Trainwreck Jerry and Deborah Simmons throughout the day.

Attendees can shop at the Farmers’ Market and visit vendors of all kinds. Among the many activities there will be a Children’s Area with crafts, storytellers, games, pony rides and last year’s favorite – hoop dancing. There will be enchanting Environmental Theater by ART FARM for all ages at noon. Visit farm animals; go for a Bio-diesel tractor ride; see a state of the art “chicken tractor” that will make you want one. Choose to attend numerous free workshops and weed walks. Bid on a raffle of local products, services and much more.

Join us! And help support CT NOFA.

All this for a fee of $7 ($5 for NOFA members & MCC students and faculty).Children under 12 are FREE. More information at www.ctnofa.org, 203-888-5146 or contact Teresa@ctnofa.org