Hilltown Families 
Community Harvest Supper of Local Food on 08/19/07
Be a Local Hero
The 3rd Annual Free Harvest Supper of Local Food will be happening on the Greenfield Town Common/Court Square on Sunday, August 19th from 5-7pm.
This open community event will feature:
Why a Free Harvest Supper?
- To encourage everyone to eat locally grown food
- To support local agriculture
- To raise money for Farmers Market coupons.
What are Farmers Market Coupons?
Local residents in need of food get coupons from the Food Pantry, use them to purchase locally grown food at the Greenfield Farmers Market, and then Food Pantry staff pay the farmers for the coupons they have accepted. It’s a win-win system.While the Supper is free to all, donations are accepted and are used for the coupons which help achieve the supper’s goals.
What is the Really, Really Free Market?
The Really, Really Free Market was a huge success at last year’s Free Harvest Supper. Again this year, gardeners and farmers are welcome to bring the overflow of extra produce they have to share with the community. The Really, Really Free Market is just like its name says: free. All are welcome to take home some of the donated produce. Last year’s Free Market included peaches, apples, eggs, tomatoes, squash, greens, flowers, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers and more. There is no need to sign up to donate to the Really, Really Free Market – just bring your produce to the supper from 4-5:30pm.
How to Volunteer
As with all great community events, many hands make light work. A core group of volunteer organizers is already at work planning the Free Harvest Supper and they need lots of volunteers to make it all happen. There are many ways to be involved, either with planning or on the day of the supper. To offer your help, contact info@freeharvestsupper.org or leave a message at 413-774-3150.
For more information, visit www.freeharvestsupper.org.
Another resource is the 2007 Farm Products Guide for our area.
Start with a tour of the 70-foot diameter organic school garden. The Hubbardston Center School’s garden program was developed using grant money, school and community involvement, and is student- maintained. Hear about the role the garden plays in hands-on learning at different grade levels and how the garden has provided nutritious snacks for the entire population of 480 students at this central Mass K-6 elementary school. Learn an introduction to organic gardening. Resources for beginners to learn more of the basics will be available.
For more info click HERE.
Local Hero event update for August
Friday, August 10
Yankee Candle Farmers Market
At the flagship store on Routes 5/10, S. Deerfield, 4-7 p.m.
Friday, August 17
Local Hero Day
Foster’s Supermarket, Greenfield
Meet Local Hero farmers, enjoy food samples. WRSI /The River on site from 4-6 p.m.
Saturday, August 25
7th Annual Red Fire Farm Tomato Festival
Red Fire Farm, Granby
Sample dozens of heirloom and hybrid tomato varieties. Workshops, demos, marketplace, live music, refreshments and more! http://www.redfirefarm.com
Sunday, August 26
PESTOPALOOZA!
Stockbridge Farm, South Deerfield
Free cooking with basil demos, many varieties of basil for sale. 1-4 p.m.
http://www.stockbridgeherbs.com
Sunday, August 26
Farmer’s Market & Local Vendor Festival
Whole Foods Hadley
Locally grown has been celebrated every day for over 20 years at Whole Foods Market, and we invite you to drop by and meet a few of our hundreds of local vendors and growers. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Very inspiring! I’m going to talk to my family about this.
In response to the question about olive oil, this does not adhere strictly to the guidelines of eating local, but there is a farm in Conway (Tuckaway Farm) that imports organic olive oil from a town in Italy where they used to live and grow olives. They also sell vegetables, eggs, bread, etc. So, tho they are importing, at least it is supporting a positive local business and a small olive grower in Italy.
Hello. Here is the menu for the Free Harvest Supper for those who are interested. Sorry about the All Caps.
TURKEY AND PEACH SALAD;
WHEATBERRY AND BLUEBERRY SALAD;
BEET AND CARROT SLAW WITH APPLES;
CUCUMBER AND RED ONION WITH YOGURT AND MINT;
HEIRLOOm TOMATOES WITH BASIL;
BRAISED GREENS WITH GARLIC;
ROASTED SUMMER SQUASH;
GREEN SALAD;
CABBAGE SHITTAKE SALAD WITH MISO;
ROASTED POTATO SALAD;
FRESH MELON, TOMATO, AND MINT;
ROASTED EGGPLANT, PEPPERS, AND TOMATOES;
ARTISAN BREAD;
CORN ON THE COB;
AND ICE CREAM
Also passed appetizers of FRESH CHEVRE ON BREAD and APPLES
Please bring your own place setting. Thank you!
Hi Cynthia,
You could try just cooking in local butter as a replacement, or just allow yourself a luxury item.
Good luck. Our family has been trying to eat that way as well, as often as possible.
Lauren
Last night we went grocery shopping at Whole Foods and went on a discovery of their “local” choices of produce, dairy, meat and sundries. Most of their local choices are labeled, including the farm, town or region they were made or grown. We were able to purchase corn and green beans grown in Sunderland; peaches from Hadley; organic tomatoes and edamane beans from Amherst; jam from Jamacia Plains; pickles from Montague; and salad dressing from Brocton. I noticed they had fish from the MA coast, and even had a cheese section of local cheeses.
Your guidelines are very useful Tony. I found myself battling over the choice of organic from CA or local from MA. I guess it’s a matter of weighing out the pros and cons of which choice and seeing where your commitments lay. We chose local.
I’d prefer to get my produce from a farmer’s market since we don’t have a garden this year, but it was nice to see a healthy local produce selection at Whole Foods. If anyone is looking for a local Farmer’s Market in their area, there is a link at the top of every Suggested Events post here on Hilltown Families.
I like to idea of locally made butter over olive oil. Thanks again!
Sienna
Hi Cynthia,
Please keep us posted on how you do………
Olive oil that is a tough one……cooking with butter? Easy to make butter at home.
Here are the guidelines that help me when I am confronted with a food that I cannot seem to be able to get locally or made myself:
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic. This is one of the most readily available alternatives in the market and making this choice protects the environment and your body from harsh chemicals and hormones.
If not ORGANIC, then Family farm.
If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business. Basics like coffee and bread make buying local difficult.
If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Terroir, which means ‘Taste of the Earth’.
Purchase foods famous for the region they are grown in and support the agriculture that produces your favorite non-local foods such as Brie cheese from Brie, France or parmesan cheese from Parma, Italy.
Good luck! – t
My 10 year old daughter wants to eat just from our own produce, we are going to try that for a week!
We plan on continuing the experience by eating locally, any ideas where to get a replacement for olive oil?
Thanks, Cynthia
Hey Tony(a),
I 100% support this idea! Being a nutritionist and activist myself I feel having local resources accessible in one space is essential to supporting a healthy environment, community and family wellness. Over the past few years I’ve heard many friends with families wish there was such a forum and list that has been compiled by families and community members.
Sienna
Hello friends,
For years now I have been on a mission to live in a gentle and sustainable way on our planet. Over the years my commitment has been stronger at times and I have lapsed. It has not always been the easy route, life sometimes gets in the way and I have made choices that have given me the break. Having read a collection of books/blogs this summer on eating local, and sustainable lifestyles** my household (which consists of myself and Zoe and the Gregory Family) have decided to start small………….. For the month of September we will be eating only local foods (food that has been grown within 100 miles of our home here in Ashfield. At the same time we are assessing all our lifestyle choices, energy use, reliance on fossil fuels, water use , spending etc.
I am compiling list of local sources/recipes and ideas, such as, did you know Bread Euphoria sells a 100% locally grown bread fresh on Tuesdays and Saturdays (they sell out early, using Red Wheat Berries!!) Amy and Paul not only sell fabulous “yummy” milk (according to Zoe there is mama milk, cow milk and yummy milk) but also cream (to make butter, creamy yogurt and ice cream) There is no shortage of local nourishment. Wouldn’t it be great to have a forum (Elmer’s? Hilltown Families?) to share resources? and ask questions? Does anyone know a local producer of sunflower seeds?
**MOTIVATING BOOKS AND BLOGS
I have links galore on my blog at http://theherbalway.blogspot.com
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life Barbara Kingsglover
Living the Good Life: How One Family Changed Their World from Their Own Backyard by Linda Cockburn
Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smit , J.B. Mackinnon
Guerrilla Gardening: A Manualfesto
Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century
Sounds fun doesn’t it. Join us? Play along? Send me an email and let’s begin having some sustainable fun!
We can do it!
– Tony(a) Lemos