Emily Fudakowski is a consultant for Grace.  Photos courtesy of Heather Heagney.

The season for eating outdoors is nearing an end in this neck of the woods. Folks living north of the 42^nd parallel are scrambling to soak up all the warmth, sunlight and outdoor gastronomical indulgences we can get to last through winter. Aside from the common corn roast barbecue, with friends, guitars and garden-fresh veggies galore, I can’t think of a better way to spend a waning summer evening or crisp fall day celebrating the harvest season than at the annual Feast of Fields.

With 25 teams of chefs and farmers from the Ottawa region, Canadian Organic Growers’ 5^th annual Feast of Fields hosted this tremendous gastronomical delight along the Rideau River in Vincent Massey Park.  In two quick hours of meeting farmer and chef teams from the region and sampling their creations, guests tasted some of the best the Ottawa Valley has to offer.

When the delectable temptations passing by became too much to endure, I left my post at the National Farmers Union and Food Secure Canada table and dashed across to The Piggy Market for a sausage. All by itself on my plate it looked delicious but lonely, so I waited in the fast-moving queue to get a grilled papadum filled with white bean mousse from the fantastic chefs from Ballygiblins in Carleton Place. My neighbors at the Whalesbone Oyster House and Catering table saved me a plate of organic chicken chowder that I paired with Mariposa Farms beet salad. For dessert I had a familiar treat: a chili-chocolate cookie, the best cookie known to cookie-lovers in Ottawa from the B Goods Mobile Bakery.  See some of the exquisite dishes and read about extraordinary chef/farmer teams at fellow foodie Heather’s blog After the Harvest.

Lucky foodies in Vancouver got their summer food on last Sunday at  Providence Farm on Vancouver Island’s 12th  annual Feast of Fields organized by Farm Folk/City Folk.  It may be too late to get to a Feast of Fields near you, but there are still harvest festivals aplenty yet to come. In the golden triangle of Southwestern Ontario, the Niagara Food Festival is not to be missed. A must for Maritimers is Prince Edward Island’s Fall Flavours festival. An equally scrumptious alternative is to get inspired with locally grown food and host your own outdoor feast this harvest season.

I would recommend to anyone who has a dream about changing the world or changing a single life to follow their dream, to be prepared to fail and to be unpopular, but to be tenacious and determined and committed, and to work very, very hard to make sure you are doing the best you can.  Surround yourself with good advisors and make sure that you hold onto your vision – many people will try to push you in different directions, but follow your gut, while being very practical.  Hold on to your vision.
- Bridget Sampson, Kitchens for Change

Some might call Galen and Bridget Sampson’s marriage a match made in social entrepreneurial heaven – he was a five-star chef with a desire to make a difference, and she a writer with a passion for social justice who had received an Open Society Institute Fellowship to bring a family literacy program to the Baltimore Women’s Detention Center.  In different contexts, Bridget wrote in an email, they had both witnessed firsthand the devastation addiction wreaks on individuals, the family, and the community, and felt called to do something to address this daunting social problem.  Together, they embarked on a journey to help people transform their lives.

In 2005, the Sampsons opened The Dogwood, a “neighborhood gourmet” restaurant serving new American food made from local, seasonal and organic ingredients whenever possible.  But the restaurant’s sustainability went beyond the environment – they embedded into their operations a training program for people recovering from homelessness, addiction and incarceration.  The following year, Galen was awarded his own Open Society Institute fellowship to grow that program.  Though many of their  former trainees are now employed in the Baltimore restaurant industry, the first years weren’t without their challenges.

The fact that the training program was originally so entirely integrated into the operations of The Dogwood was often confusing for Galen and Bridget, who managed the restaurant and the program, as well as for their patrons.  The sophisticated nature of the food threw another hurdle into the path of the program, since it meant that there were few entry-level jobs available, and it was difficult for Galen to produce the quality of food he wanted to without a more experienced staff.

“Certainly people were rooting for us because of our mission, but the food has to be good for people to come back,” Bridget wrote.

Perhaps the biggest challenge the Sampsons faced in the early years was being unable to provide the wide breadth of support services necessary for trainees to truly change their lives.  Bridget realized that program participants needed a “constellation of services,” including not only job training but also housing, recovery support, and life-skills counseling.  The couple’s vision evolved – “turning out well-trained line cooks,” she wrote, “is not our mission. Our mission is to transform lives one plate at a time.”  The kitchen, then, is a means, not an end — it’s a great metaphor for life, teaching self-sufficiency and responsibility, as well as team work.

Thus, building on their experience, the Sampsons expanded the scope of the  program to include both hands-on and classroom training, ongoing life skills counseling and case management, a community supportive of transition, and job placement and follow-up support services.  They’ve attained non-profit status for the training program, now known as Kitchens for Change, and have separated it from The Dogwood, opening instead a café and catering business that is owned and operated by the non-profit, Plates Café and Catering.  “It’s been a tough, life-changing journey,” Bridget wrote, “but now we feel as though we’re right where we want to be.”

“Eating locally and shopping at your local farmers’ market is the way to go,” stresses Carol Wasserman. A personal chef with a background in macrobiotics, and holistic nutritionist who helps people improve their lifestyle with whole, natural foods, Wasserman joined me to discuss the benefits of eating locally.

“It’s better for your health because you are getting all of the nutrients in your area and everything is fresh,” she said. For the same reasons, she urges her clients to shop at their local farmers’ market and support their local farmers.

In addition to working with clients on nutritional issues, Wasserman uses her cooking show,“Get Healthy With Carol,” to demonstrate how to cook locally grown, sustainably produced foods and add more vegetables to dishes.  When asked what she prefers to cook, she exclaimed, “I love cilantro!  I also make a lot of whole grain salads with barley and quinoa and I mix whatever vegetables I have in the salad with some toasted sesame oil to top it off.”  Yum!

Wasserman gets a lot of questions about how to eat well when pressed for time.  “I tell everyone to take one day a week and go to the farmers’ market.  Cook a big pot of a whole grain or beans and it should last all week.  Do what you can.  Take baby steps!”  She emphasized the exciting trend of more and more restaurants sourcing locally, and offered advice on eating locally while dining out.

“The key is to be aware and ask questions.  Ask if the food a restaurant serves is local or organic.  Eventually, the more people who inquire will give them the push to source locally,” she says.

Wasserman is working on a cookbook that will feature recipes based on whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables.  Moreover, she is trying “to get more people to eat their veggies” and stresses to everyone that they should “do whatever they can” to eat and shop locally.

In 1998 the Monahan’s founded Stone Gardens Farm in Shelton, Connecticut, not far from where Fred grew up. The success of their farm, farmers’ market, and most recently the farm’s Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA) resulted from their dedication and hard work, but also from a rise in demand for sustainable food.

In the past few years, as knowing where your food comes from became a rising national trend, Shelton, Connecticut became an ideal place for agritourism. Located 90 minutes from Manhattan, this scenic part of Fairfield country is home to many family run farms.  Agritourists come from New York City and around Connecticut to cut their own Christmas trees, visit local wineries, tour local farms and dine on fresh- picked produce.

That, however, wasn’t the case when the Monahan’s first began their tiny farm. They started out selling the food they produced from their tiny farm off a table at a nearby friend’s farm.

Local foodies fell in love with the Monahan’s sweet corn, and as the demand for locally grown food grew, so did Stone Gardens Farm. Today the Monahans operate over 20 acres of farmland, and sell at four farmers markets throughout Connecticut. Stone Gardens Farm produces fruits and vegetables from May to December. While not certified organic, the farm practices integrated pest management, which minimizes their use of pesticides.  When they do resort to pesticides, they use organic sprays to minimize the environmental impact. Chickens, turkeys, and cows raised on the farm are not only free of antibiotics and growth hormones, but every animal sold is born on the farm.

The most recent addition to Stone Gardens’ business is their CSA Program. Started two years ago, the CSA costs $600 for a full share, and runs for 22 weeks from the first week in June to the last week of October. The farm quickly sold out of its 250 shares for the 2009 season, and hopes to expand the CSA for next year. Shareholders can arrange to pick up their weekly allotment of food at the farm, which they can also tour, or at a drop off location in Westport, Connecticut. In June, CSA members can expect to receive lettuce, scallions, herbs, peas, beets, collards, spinach, and greenhouse tomatoes in their weekly shares. In July, shares will include tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplants, and the sweet corn that first made the farm famous among Connecticut foodies. The fall brings leeks, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnip greens, turnips, kale, Brussel sprouts, radishes, lettuce, spinach, and winter squash. CSA members will also occasionally find eggs, as well as fresh peaches, plums and apples, when in season.

The best part of the CSA may be the weekly email Stacia sends members every Monday, complete with a description of the items in that week’s farm box, and recipes to go along with the food.

“I grew up cooking with my mom and in the summer we had a vegetable garden,” Ted McCormack notes, when asked for the origins of his interest in local food. “Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peppers made their way onto our plates quickly.”

While spending his high school years working part time as a dishwasher, pizza maker and prep cook, a chef supervising him suggested that McCormack attend culinary school. He took the advice, graduating from Johnson and Wales in 1991.

McCormack found his interest in local ingredients growing slowly, organically, and, well, locally.

“My wife and I have grown garden produce for many years. The taste and nutritional value of fresh food is better. We shopped at farmers markets for ourselves, and eventually I started buying something at the markets to run on special for the restaurant. I would also bring in some heirloom tomatoes which we grew just for the staff. This turned into an attempt to educate myself and share the fun.”

Interestingly, though, it was the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States that ignited McCormack’s current passion for local food.

“Working at a restaurant the week of and following September 11, 2001, we had shortages or back orders on food we had purchased. This is when I understood the concept of ‘just in time inventory.’ Shipping was delayed from all across the country, so I couldn’t get everything I needed right away from our purveyors, but I could go to the farmers’ market and buy food for my family. A regional food distribution system would improve our ability to sustain ourselves if a similar disaster recurs.”

Asked why he prioritizes local and sustainable products in his business today, McCormack explains that it’s become a way of life.

“I know the farmers and have been to many of their farms. I trust their farming practices are respectful of the soil and the animals. If I am to ask an animal to die for my consumption, then it deserves the full respect that it gets from feeding to slaughter to plate.

“A chef has to work hard to get customers to trust them. By means of repeat business, a customer starts a relationship with a restaurant, and if the restaurant is not valued by the customer he or she may not come back. But if the relationship becomes friendly and the customer is willing to trust the chef and the restaurant, then everyone wins. A chef will enjoy the culinary freedom more so if the customer appreciates and enjoys the food. It is a priority to have happy customers. It is also a priority to preserve our agricultural resources, all the while supporting our local economy.”

And, where, for a chef, is the balance between pleasing customers and educating them about sustainable food?

“My first objective is to create great tasting and looking food,” McCormack says. “If I can accomplish this with local ingredients, then all the better. Most people just want good food first – then the story. Food security, safety and nutrition are causes for everyone’s benefit, and are getting more attention in the national media. It is a grey area between celebrating a harvest and preaching a philosophy, but if the master chef is wholly and heartily invested, then the message is clear and believable. I find that some people are interested in asking questions about the food, and others are just happy to have had a nice meal. But at least they were exposed to some information. If they want more, they come back.”

Flag Hill is primarily a winery and distillery, located on land that has been a working farm for more than two centuries. The dining room offers cooking classes – most recently “eggs-cellent,” “pot luck sides,” and, this Friday, June 19th, Campfire Cooking, which will unveil the mysteries of grilling meat and fish over a live fire, as well as cooking vegetables and making roasted apples and Dutch oven cobbler – tent-side.

Flag Hill’s dining room offers monthly dinners – reservation only – featuring regional New England Cuisine, with the vast majority of ingredients coming from local farms and producers. For June’s dinner, on the 26th, choices will include beer battered squash blossoms, strawberry and spinach salad, bison sirloin steak, paella, and vegetarian black bean enchilada. More on the schedule and menu can be found on Flag Hill’s website.

They decided to start with a farmers’ market booth, and signed up for a handful of events last summer. Specializing in organic, grass-fed cheeseburgers and polenta cakes topped with a variety of signature sauces, they refused to compromise on the quality of their ingredients and built up a loyal clientele. They meticulously sourced biodegradable packaging and utensils, and offered discounts to customers bringing their own plates. Their three-year old son, Cypress, spent the day at the markets where they were vending, in the care of a babysitter but close to his parents.

When the market season ended they did a bit of catering and started thinking seriously about their next step. Through a series of fortuitous coincidences, they found themselves ready to act right about the same time that I had decided to close my own takeout restaurant. It was a small space, I’d been there for 4 years, and I was vending at so many farmers’ markets that it had become inconvenient to also operate a retail space.

This past February they took over my lease on the spot I like to call “the cutest building in the city” and Green Go found a permanent home. It’s a tiny brick building–about 400 square feet–that’s close to 100 years old; quite old for Seattle. It’s been a machine shop and a barber shop, and was a chili parlor during the Great Depression. During the past twenty years it’s been occupied by a variety of food businesses, with varying degrees of success. The spot has character and potential, and it’s close to the main streets in its neighborhood but a bit off the beaten path. I think their business will be an excellent fit for the location.

So far they’ve been getting on well with the neighborhood and tweaking their hours, expanding their lunch menu and starting to open some evenings for dinner as well. They cleared away an old walk-in freezer just outside the side door and have begun using that area for patio dining. Having a small child themselves, Dylan and Heidi especially interested in attracting parents of young children looking for a kid-friendly atmosphere, and accessible, healthy, reasonably priced food.

The couple continues to struggle with the challenge of charging affordable prices while sticking to high quality ingredients. I am confident that before long they’ll find a successful balance that involves staying true to their ideals without selling themselves short.

Okay, so the logic behind raising or eating beef as a means to reduce greenhouse gasses sounds flawed. Meat-eaters can get a lot of flack and finger-wagging for contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Grain-to-fork, the carbon footprint of a meat diet is quite staggering. The good news: eating pastured meat can make a big difference. 

Grass-fed livestock graze and perform natural behaviors while fertilizing the soil naturally. Farmers who raise them employ agricultural practices that maintain the health and integrity of the ecosystem. They make a livelihood feeding people by raising meat sustainably while fostering native habitat for birds, pollinators and natural grasslands. Check out the health benefits of grass-fed livestock at Eat Wild and meet some farmers leading the grass-fed movement at Manitoba Grass-Fed Association.

One Canadian rancher, Bryan Gilvesy, is busy keeping up with the demand for healthy, humanely raised, ecologically responsible beef. For over a decade, Gilvesy and his family have raised grass-fed Texas Longhorn cattle, pastured year round on 350 acres at their farm Y U Ranch in Norfolk County, Southwestern Ontario. Gilvesy saw the viability of his venture into farming from the business world when he noticed the shift in consumer interest towards leaner, sustainably-raised beef.

As a participant in an Alternative Land Use Serivce pilot project, Gilvesy receives recognition and financial credits for carbon sequestration and for using ecologically sustainable farming methods. Solar pumps provide fresh water for his herds and prevent the cattle from contaminating the watershed. One hundred acres of Carolinian woodlands and the watershed within are protected by fences. Atop posts are bird houses providing habitat for blue birds.

Grass-fed livestock are fundamental to supporting and protecting grassland ecosystems, and of great value to farmers wishing to offset carbon emissions. Fertilized and stimulated by grazers, native warm-season grasses (big blue-stem, Indian and switchgrass), with roots 12-16 feet in depth, are absorbing carbon and storing it in the soil. Gilvesy observes many species of birds and pollinators attracted to the hedgerows and grasses. They pick apart manure for grains and bugs.

Saskatchewan naturalist and author Trevor Herriot makes the argument for grass-fed beef farming as a means to protect and restore the ever vanishing prairie grasslands of Western Canada and the U.S. Midwest and the threatened and endangered song birds. In his highly acclaimed book Grass, Sky, Song: Promise and Peril in the Land of Grassland Birds, Herriot discusses how the western prairies are the most human-altered landscape in Canada. These grasslands also have the ability to sequester carbon in the soil to a degree greater than forests.

“If we could convert even a small percentage of the animal protein we consume in North America from grain-fed to grass-fed, there would be a correspondent increase in grassed land. That in turn can provide better habitat for birds that use grass to nest and forage and it helps reduce the amount of carbon that agriculture releases into the atmosphere.”

The modern-day land-grab culprit here is mechanized, industrial mono-cropping for agribusiness. The irony is that all this would-be grassland now cultivates grain – the primary ingredient in livestock diets.

The wicked step-sister of North American grassland is the feedlot.  Factory farms (which, in Canada, are dubbed intensive livestock operations, or ILOs) rely on synthetic, fertilizer-intensive mono-cropping for grain, using methods that are heavily reliant on fossil fuels. These feedlots are a danger to the animals they confine, the ecosystems they toxify, and the people their chemicals, hormones and pathogens poison. Communities and small-scale, sustainable farming also suffer where ILOs are present. Visit Beyond Factory Farming’s website for information on how you can build alternatives.

Reducing or eliminating meat intake can make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gases and mitigating climate change, but the choices we make when we do eat meat are even more significant. Supporting sustainably-raised, local grass-fed meats, dairy, and eggs make pastures greener for our health, livestock, ecosystem and communities they support.

(2007 floods in Centralia/Chehalis, photo courtesy of Nate Ritter)

There was widespread flooding throughout the Pacific Northwest last week, as dramatic rainstorms followed on the heels of the record snowfalls that closed out 2008. This is the third consecutive winter to bring major floods to the valleys holding much of the region’s agricultural land.

Fortunately, many farmers who suffered losses the past few years were able to escape unscathed this time around. The managers of the Ballard Farmers’ Market, Seattle’s largest winter market, reported that not a single farmers was absent this past Sunday because of the flooding. Willie Greens Farm, the CSA that I use, missed the last few weeks of 2008 because of ice and snow but they were able to deliver this week–several hours late–after waiting for flooded roadways to clear. They’d lost five of their greenhouses under the weight of recent snows, so this delivery felt like a small miracle.

The folks at Boistfort Valley Farm, near the Chehalis River, lost their house and much of their equipment during the 2007 floods. This time the river crested just twelve inches from their yard. At Full Circle Farm, near Carnation, the manager and several workers spent the night as the river rose, moving vulnerable stock and equipment to higher ground. They lost very little of their winter crop, which they mostly plant at a higher altitude. It helped that the weather reports were fairly accurate, and the conditions (heavy snow followed by heavy rain) were similar to the ones that unleashed the floods last winter, which were still fresh in everyone’s minds.

There’s nothing terribly surprising about flooding in an area that’s a designated flood plain. But the damage has been particularly dramatic during recent years due to increased residential development, and also because the weather events seem to be growing more severe, or at least more frequent. As of late 2007, King County implemented a policy allowing nature to take its course, as far as flooding is concerned. This means, among other things, restricting further development in flood plains and giving the rivers extra room to flood. It also means, on some level, accepting the fact that flooding is inevitable.

Historically, flooding has been an important factor in the development of agriculture. The ancient lands of Egypt and Mesopotamia gave rise to some of the earliest sophisticated civilizations in part because of their proximity to rivers that periodically flooded, leaving enough silt to create unusually fertile soil. But when modern rivers flood they leave unwanted residues, such as runoff from manure on neighboring fields, and toxins from heavy metals. Organic farmers run the risk of losing their certification if their land and crops are contaminated by substances in the water.

Food safety regulations forbid farmers from selling any crops that were in the ground when a field was flooded. We can at least be grateful that our peak flood season falls during the slower part of our agricultural year.

Devra Gartenstein is the owner of Seattle’s Patty Pan Grill and the author of two cookbooks, Local Bounty: Vegan Seasonal Produce and The Accidental Vegan. She also blogs at The Quirky Gourmet.

flooding, pacific northwest, farming

Though I have met quite a few farmers and even visited a few of their farms, my grade school perception of red barns, plaid shirts, and haystacks stubbornly occupies the spot in my mind labeled “farm.” Having paid a visit to Barry Koral’s Tropical Fruit Farm in Vista, CA this past month, I can wholeheartedly attest to my faulty perception.

I arrived a little early for my interview with Barry, but waiting aimlessly for his arrival was simply not an option. His front yard was a visual playground, boasting an impressive collection of vintage knicknacks. It was obvious that the objects had not been haphazardly placed, as each piece contributed to the overall harmonious arrangement. No haystacks or overalls here, this place was arranged by an artist’s hands. Barry soon rolled into the driveway, sun-kissed and smiling and greeting me with a wave. As we got to chatting, he revealed himself to be much more than a farmer.

Originally a city boy from Chicago, Barry moved to California with a formal background in art and photography. It was his experiences in California which truly shaped his philosophy for sustainable living. He lived in San Francisco for three years, where he was first exposed to farming and sustainable agriculture. Lured by its enviable growing climate, Barry soon moved down to San Diego and saved up for a farm of his own. And that he did, and then some.

Barry currently leases five properties, including his personal orchard of 175 trees behind his home. He primarily grows and sells tree fruit, claiming that “money does grow on trees!” I visited his home orchard, a place he has deemed a “living museum.” Sprinkled among the persimmon and guava trees, Barry’s artistic accents complemented the beauty of the orchard. His art pieces were not only visually appealing, but functional as well. Rocks circled the bases of his trees, bringing nutrients to the soil and an added aesthetic to his “museum.” Old CDs and metal rings hung from strings on several trees, flashing beneath the sun as they swiveled in the wind. A trick to keep the birds away, he explained.

As if tending to his farms and creating art is not enough already, Barry is also a public speaker. He stressed the importance of giving back, learning and educating. He has the kind of energy that can fill up any room, but what struck me most was how he has been able to continually focus that energy to positively impact himself and others.

When asked what struggles he faces as a farmer, he answered: “The main struggle is educating the public to support it [farming]. Being a farmer is the most important yet least appreciated occupation. Could you imagine a world without farmers?”

I sure couldn’t. Here’s some tips from Barry himself on what you can do:

• Support farmer’s markets Connect with your community and know where your food comes from.

• Buy local Shop at your local co-operatives.

• Be in the spirit of organic, not necessarily labeled as such With its growing popularity, some organic foods are no longer produced sustainably (ie. organic monocropping). Don’t be quick to associate organic labels with sustainability.
• Be a conscious consumer.

The way you choose to eat your food is a powerful way to respond to the environment. It all starts with the fork!

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Fresh, locally-produced, pastured meat delivered right to your door? In New York City? It’s true! Our friends at Fleisher’s Grass-fed and Organic meats in the Hudson Valley are a home delivery service in early November to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City residents. If you are interested in participating, sign up on their website for more information.

Co-owner of Fleisher’s, Jessica Applestone, sent us this friendly letter with the details of their exciting new venture.

I’ve got some exciting news for you: Fleisher’s Grass-fed & Organic Meats is about to start a door-to-door, fresh meat delivery service to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City. Fleisher’s was recently named “one of the best butchers in the country” by Bon Appetit magazine but until now you have had to visit one their shops in Kingston, NY or Rhinebeck, NY to enjoy their products. That’s about to change.

Fleisher’s sources directly from local Hudson Valley farms and only sells meat that comes from well-treated, healthy, drug-free animals. Serious cooks and serious carnivores know it’s nearly impossible to find local pasture-raised, antibiotic and hormone-free meat in the City. And you don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never tried Fleisher’s intensely flavorful beef (including steaks, burgers and absurdly good hot dogs), the revelatory Berkshire pork, the 100% organic chicken (which will remind you why a simple roast chicken is one of life’s greatest pleasures) and the lamb? Fuhgeddabouddit!

So forget pounding the pavement for inferior product or standing in line at the green market for frozen meat. Fleisher’s will bring whatever it is you want right to your home or office. And everything that arrives on your doorstep is cut, ground and packaged the same day. If you are interested go to their website www.fleishers.com, click on the NYC Delivery tab, give them your information and they will keep you updated.

If you know someone else who would be interested please pass this email along. They are planning their delivery routes now and supplies are limited (it’s a cliché, but in this case it’s true) so do your friends a favor and make sure they don’t miss out.