A Slow Holiday Greeting

Last week Slow Food Seattle hosted its final 2009 event at Fare Start (see post below), and although the beans have not been counted, things are looking pretty good.  Slow Food Seattle has helped sponsor local youth participation at Terra Madre in Italy and at the Quillisascut Farm School in Rice, WA. Thank you to our members and friends who helped support our programs and initiatives to strengthen the local food community and advocate for good, clean and fair food for all.  We wish you all an exceptional and slow holiday season.

The Slow Food Seattle chapter is currently planning 2010 events and strategies for implementing Slow Food USA’s important mission locally. Good things are brewing, including:

* Annual membership meeting/meet and greet
* Italian olive oil presentation and dinner
* Foraging event
* After school food and nutrition classes at a local teen center
* Terra Madre 2010 fundraiser

Good Turkey

Thanks to our friends at Cascade Harvest Coalition, here is a list of places who may still have heritage turkeys available for your Thanksgiving feast.  If you don’t have any luck, remember that you can still take the pledge to Eat Local for Thanksgiving – by signing up online www.eatlocalforthanksgiving.org, you become eligible to win a free turkey (ordered in July from Stokesberry Sustainable Farm in Olympia).  The drawing is on Friday, November 20.

Listing:

Dog Mountain Farm in Carnation – 425-333-0833 or 425-417-3947  They have a wait list so it might be good to call and get more info.

EverRanch, Auburn, 253-939-7984

Meadowwood, Enumclaw, 360-802-3845

Engustment Farms, 425-788-6369

Also, call the Meat Shop in Pierce County.  They butcher and sell local turkeys.   253-537-4490

Home Acres Farms Seattle:  They grow in Whidbey and sell in Seattle: 206-940-4980

In Whatcom County:  Bernardo Frianeza  bafrianeza@comcast.net 360-296-4425 He still had birds available as of Friday, but not many.

Tall Trees Exotics Farm:  Snohomish – 360-862-8903 (they haven’t updated their website since January 2009)

 

Bringing Terra Madre Home, Part II- Event tickets on sale now!

On Thursday, November 5^th, Slow Food Seattle and FareStart will be hosting a special dinner to raise scholarship funds for the 2010 Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm School for the Domestic Art in Rice, Washington.

Guest Chef Karen Jurgensen of the Quillisascut Farm will prepare a three course meal of seasonally available ingredients with wine pairings to bring the taste of the Farm to the dinner guests in Seattle at FareStart. Featured will be the traditional farmstead goat cheeses from the Quillisascut Farm.

A slide show and presentation on the 2009 Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm will be presented by Danny Barksdale, Adriana Rose Taylor-Stanley and Amy Grondin.

What: The Slow Food Seattle Quillisascut Farm Student Scholarship Fundraiser

Where: FareStart, 7th & Virginia (downtown Seattle)

When: Thursday, November 5^th, 6pm

Cost: $50 per member (plus tax and gratuity) $60 non-members

Purchase tickets today!

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/86237

Slow Food Youth Workshop at Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts, August 6-12, 2009

By Amy Grondin

Nina in the garden

I was fortunate to have been invited by Lora Lea Misterly to assist her in leading the first Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm in the second week of August. Lora Lea and I met each other for the first time in October of 2008 at Terra Madre. Terra Madre is Slow Food International’s biennial meeting that brings together international food communities, cooks, academics and youth delegates for four days to work towards increasing small-scale, traditional, and sustainable food production. In Turino, Italy during the fourth week of October, the third edition of Terra Madre hosted representatives from over 150 countries. The guests together were human links in the food chain, supporting sustainable agriculture, fishing, and breeding with the goal of preserving taste and biodiversity. Once back home in Washington, Lora Lea’s idea to host the week long Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm was her way of sharing our experience at Terra Madre with young people who are interested in small scale and sustainable food systems. On the farm 13 youth had a chance to experience life on a working farm. While those attending were all considered youth, between the ages of 18 and 29, they were from varied backgrounds, communities and levels of education. The commonality that brought them all together was a passion for food, a desire to learn about how we produce what we eat and a willingness to open themselves to a completely new vision of what it meant to be part of a food community.

Group photo

For most people, food is what they purchase mindlessly from the counters of a grocery store, neatly wrapped, packaged and portioned. Little or no thought goes into where the food is from and how it came to be available to go home in the trunks of cars and find its way to dinner tables. The week on the Quillisascut Farm gave each student a chance to experience milking goats and then creating cheese from the milk in the buckets that were carried from the barn. Vegetables tended in garden were harvested in the morning, washed and chopped in the afternoon to be cooked lovingly for dinner that evening. On goes the list of food that was produced on the farm and prepared with all our hands to nourish us that week – eggs, chickens, apricots, honey, goat – all products of earth and hard work that rewarded each of us with full stomachs and the knowledge of how our meal made its way to the table.

This knowledge also reminded us of our role as members of a food community. We were reminded that as consumers we are not removed from but active participants in our food community. The more educated we are on where and how our food is produced, the more we can support all in our food community – the farmers, harvester, distributors, grocers and other consumers. By making informed purchases we can help to keep the greater communities we live in economically strong and environmentally healthy.

Learning on the farm

Each day on the farm offered not only education from working with our hands but also from daily discussions based on powerful words: sustainability, respect, biodiversity, community, grateful and enough. The hour long talks around the 15′ long common table in the Quillisascut Farm’s kitchen invited all to reflect and share how these words are used in our culture and how the meanings of these words could guide us as we develop our own value systems that will lead us through our lives. Each day brought the students greater trust in each other through the shared tasks of farm work. That trust was revealed daily as the students shared more freely of their thoughts during the morning meetings. By the end of the week the 13 strangers who had arrived on the farm had become a community of diverse individuals bound together through shared experiences. They understood that while community is often a place based thing, a community could also be formed by individuals who share common goals, work or ideals.

In an effort to continue to share the lessons learned on the Quillisascut Farm, plans are in the works for the students to make presentations for their local Slow Food chapters based on their experiences from the week. Local Slow Food chapters sponsored half of the tuitions for the students to attend. Reporting back to the local chapters will encourage more sponsorship for future Slow Food youth groups to travel to the Quillisascut Farm.

One such presentation will be led by Danny Barksdsale, a Seattle based chef/instructor at FareStart, and Adriana Rose Taylor-Stanley, a University of Washington student and member of the UW Farms Program. Both individuals were sponsored by Slow Food Seattle to attend the Slow Food Youth Workshop on the Quillisascut Farm. Their presentation will be part of the November dinner prepared by Chef Karen Jurgensen at the FareStart facility in Seattle. The dinner will be held to raise scholarship funds for the 2010 Slow Food Youth workshop. With slide show to offer images of farm life, Danny and Ariana will tell of their shared week on the farm and do their part to add two more youth’s names to the growing community of attendees to the Quillisascut Farm School for Domestic Arts. Additionally, Danny has proposed that he and I work on planning day trips to farms in the Seattle area for the students he teaches at FareStart. FareStart is a nonprofit that helps homeless and disadvantaged individuals achieve self-sufficiency through life skills, job training and employment in the food service industry. Danny wants to somehow share his Quillisascut experience with his Seattle students who most likely have never seen a farm.

Danny surrounded by abundance

I could go on for many more pages about the powerful time that was shared with the students who formed the first group attending the Slow Food Youth Workshop this past August at the Quillisascut Farm. Much more could be said about the beauty of the land and generosity of

Lora Lea and Rick Misterly in opening their home to strangers and for giving us a glance at what they have learned from 30 years of farming. But the best thing would be for Slow Food members to join Danny, Ariana and me at FareStart on November 5^th for dinner and conversation about our week on the Quillisascut Farm in Rice, Washington. We invite you to have dinner with us and learn more about the lessons learned on the farm that will help us support and form our own communities, from place based to food based and all in between.

Here are some links for further reading:

Terra Madre: http://www.terramadre.info

Quillisascut Farm: http://quillisascut.com

FareStart: http://farestart.org

UW Urban Farm: http://students.washington.edu/uwfarm

 

Slow Food September Membership Drive- LAST DAY!

Slow Food Seattle is part of a growing movement that needs you. On Labor Day, more than 20,000 people came together across the country to show their support for getting real food in school. You are helping us send a powerful message to decision makers that this is a movement of people who think it’s time to change what kids eat at the lunch table. Thank you to so many of you who already support us through your participation and membership.

To keep building momentum and change our food system, we are counting on you to be part of our local chapter. If you’re not yet a member, you can join the organization with a donation of any amount now through the end TODAY. Give more if you can and less if you can’t. The point is – we want you with us. Membership normally starts at $60, so please visit www.slowfoodusa.org/growthemovement so you can take advantage of this offer and join today.

Your support will help legislators take notice of our cause, and your involvement in our chapter will make a difference. Please join us.

 

Join Slow Food Seattle and Seattle Chefs Collaborative for Urban Picnic 2009

Sunday, September 20

1:00- 4:00 p.m.

Rainier Square Rooftop
1333 5th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101

Participating restaurants include Canlis, Lark, TASTE, Oliver’s Twist, Art of the Table, Poco Carretto, and special guest chef, Robin Leventhal of Top Chef Season 6. Beer, wine and live music too.

Notes This is an earth-friendly event–bring your own reusable plates, cutlery, napkins, etc. (glassware provided) and we’ll make sure they are filled!

A fundraiser for Quillisascut Farm School Scholarships. Tickets are $89 for Slow Food members and $99 for the general public. Members will be verified against current Slow Food USA membership list.  Members, please include your discount code for Slow Food members: Slow Chefs

Go to: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/78664 to purchase tickets through Brown Paper Tickets and find out more (or search for “Urban Picnic” from www.brownpapertickets.com).

 

There’s Still Time for Lunch! Attend an Eat In on Labor Day

In just three days, people in all 50 states will sit down to share a meal and bend the direction of history just a little bit. Together, we are publicly rejecting the notion that our schools can’t afford to feed kids anything but the bad food that makes them sick. And the way we’re making this statement is by bringing neighbors together in the spirit of good will and for the joy of sharing good food. That is the heart of our movement.

Attend an Eat-In on Labor Day! There are now 296 taking place in cities and towns across America. Let’s reach 300 and more!

This fall, the Child Nutrition Act, which is the bill that governs the National School Lunch Program, is up for reauthorization in Congress. By passing a Child Nutrition Act that works for children, our nation can support a future where children’s health and healthy food systems are prioritized.

It’s important that you sign this petition at:
www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch-share_it

If you missed the Orca School/Slow Food Seattle Eat In on September 3, plan to attend one of these on Labor Day!

Eat-In for North King/South Snohomish Potluck

When: 6:00 p.m.

Where: Marina Beach on Admiral Way South, Edmonds, WA

Contact: Mina Williams – foodwriter@earthlink.net

FREE!

Bring a dish and beverage to share, your reusable plate, cutlery and cup plus any comfort items – chair, blanket – you wish to enjoy the seaside park.

• Come to the panoramic Marina Beach on Admiral Way South for the northend/south county Eat-In.
• Enjoy the bounteous potluck with your neighbors as the sun sets on Puget Sound and the Olympics.
• Plenty of parking at the park, which is just north of the off leash dog park and just south of the dry dock area and the boat moorage at the Port of Edmonds.
• Bus service available through Community Transit servicing the Edmonds Ferry Terminal and Edmonds Station (Amtrak and Sounder). The closest stop is on Dayton with a few blocks to walk.

Slow Food Snoqualmie Valley Potluck

When: 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Where: The Grange Cafe in Duvall, WA

Contact: Alida Sullivan – alidasullivan@gmail.com

$15 per person (SF members $10) KIDS 12 AND UNDER FREE!

• A delicious meal by local foodies & chefs with local produce/meat
• Taste tests for kids ~ grilling demo ~ healthy lunch & snack ideas nutrition facts ~ updates on local farm-to-school programs
• Slow Food Membership Drive to get benefits and discounts with a donation amount of your choice
• Book-signing with Jill Richardson, author of Recipe for America ~  a vision of a sustainable food system

 

Eat In! Slow Food’s support of Child Nutrition Act

Give schools the resources to serve real food.

Support changes in this year’s Child Nutrition Act

1. Sign the petition:
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch

2. Then attend one or all Eat In potluck gatherings (open to members and non-members)

Thursday, September 3

Eat In for Slow Food Seattle and Orca K-8 (BBQ and Potluck)

When: 6:00 p.m.
Where: Orca School Garden, 5215 46th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118
Bring a dish and beverage
Contact Gerry at info@slowfoodseattle.org

Join Slow Food Seattle & the parents at Orca K-8 for a potluck or “Eat-In” to raise awareness to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act this September. Slow Food USA’s Time for Lunch Campaign has rallied close to 250 Eat-Ins across the states to send a strong message to congress. Spread the word, bring a politician or two and sign the petition at

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch

This is a FREE potluck event. Bring a dish to share, your own beverage and a place setting.

******
This fall, the Child Nutrition Act, which is the bill that governs the National School Lunch Program, is up for reauthorization in Congress. By passing a Child Nutrition Act that works for children, our nation can support a future where children’s health and healthy food systems are prioritized.

Monday, September 7

Eat-In for North King/South Snohomish Potluck

When: 6:00 p.m.
Where: Marina Beach on Admiral Way South, Edmonds, WA
Bring a dish and beverage
Contact Mina Williams foodwriter@earthlink.net

Bring a dish and beverage to share, your reusable plate, cutlery and cup plus any comfort items – chair, blanket – you wish to enjoy the seaside park.
Come to the panoramic Marina Beach on Admiral Way South for the northend/south county Eat-In. Enjoy the bounteous potluck with your neighbors as the sun sets on Puget Sound and the Olympics. There is plenty of parking at the park, which is just north of the off leash dog park and just south of the dry dock area and the boat moorage at the Port of Edmonds. Bus service is available through Community Transit servicing the Edmonds Ferry Terminal and Edmonds Station (Amtrak and Sounder). The closest stop is on Dayton with a few blocks to walk.

Slow Food Snoqualmie Valley Potluck

When: 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Where: The Grange Cafe in Duvall, WA

• A delicious meal by local foodies & chefs with local produce/meat $15 per person (SF members $10) KIDS 12 AND UNDER FREE!
• Taste tests for kids ~ grilling demo ~ healthy lunch & snack ideas nutrition facts ~ updates on local farm-to-school programs
• Slow Food Membership Drive to get benefits and discounts with a donation amount of your choice
• Book-signing with Jill Richardson, author of Recipe for America ~  a vision of a sustainable food system
• Contact Alida Sullivan alidasullivan@gmail.com

 

Bringing Terra Madre Home: Slow Food Youth at Quillisascut Farm School

Youth Workshop at Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts

August 6-12, 2009

Posted by Amy Grondin, Slow Food Seattle Board and Sustainable Seafood Consultant

Terra Madre, mother Earth. The place we all live yet often we take our Mother for granted. Terra Madre is also the name chosen by Slow Food International for their biennial meeting that brings together international food communities, cooks, academics and youth delegates for four days to work towards increasing small-scale, traditional, and sustainable food production. In Turino, Italy during the fourth week of October 2008, the third edition of Terra Madre hosted representatives from over 150 countries. The guests together were human links in the food chain, supporting sustainable agriculture, fishing, and breeding with the goal of preserving taste and biodiversity. If you were lucky enough to attend Terra Madre, you left the meeting and Italy with a renewed appreciation of what is under your feet and all around you, inspired by the of sustainable foods and rich traditions of every smiling person who shared the experience with you, all 6,300 of them.

Assembly at Terra Madre 2008 in Turin

I was lucky enough to attend Terra Madre this past October, representing the fleet of hook and line salmon fishermen I work side by side with on the water in Southeast Alaska. As in the past (I also attended Terra Madre in 2004 and 2006!) I had no idea who I would meet, what I would learn or how the experience would forever make me smile while recalling the experience to others.

Who I met was Kim Bast, a former chef and current goat farmer from Lopez Island, and Lora Lea Misterly, owner and cheese maker at the Quillisascut Farm School of Domestic Arts in Rice, Washington. It is incredible to me that we had to travel half way around the world to meet each other but somehow I can’t imagine a more powerful way to form a bond with likeminded individuals, never mind that I catch salmon and they make cheese. That is the underlying theme and rich beauty of Terra Madre. People from different countries with different cultures, traditions, religions and language are all so happy to be together in our goal of sustainable food production. It is our differences that make us unique and our common goal of sustainability that makes us one, farmer or fisher, no matter if you gather medicinal herbs in the Kalahari Desert or bob around on waves in Alaska, wishing for fish.

In the way of travelers, a fast and fun camaraderie was struck between Kim, Lora Lea and me. We each had our own sense of wonder to share at what we saw. Each of us had a different passion of the palette to explore so we all learned to appreciate tastes that might have been passed by if we had been on our own. It was the same with the people we were drawn to in conversation while attending the sessions at Terra Madre. A magnet for all, Kim had a way of drawing people to her and a knack for drawing their story out of them. She laughed when she said she inherited this trait from her grandmother. It was the thing that used caused simple trips to the market with her Gran to take hours.

It's all about Good, Clean and Fair

I swear we were channeling the energy of our much younger selves as not much sleep was had. There were too many conversations to be had while sipping sharp Italian espresso with other food producers from other countries or later in the day over glasses of Barolo. Meals never tasted better than when shared with those who appreciate the simple pleasures of the table and equally care about how the food we were eating got there.

A few weeks after returning from Terra Madre to our lives that spread us out over Washington State, Lora Lea emailed Kim and me with a thought. In Italy, Josh Viertel, President of Slow Food USA, suggested during the meeting of the US Delegates that we each bringing home the message of Terra Madre. He also asked us to consider how we could support the Slow Food Youth Movement.

What Lora Lea suggested was that Kim and I come to Rice, Washington to assist in a week long class on the Quillisascut Farm that would bring the message of Terra Madre home to Washington State. We would share the lessons we have learned as Slow Food members who are sustainable food producers with others who are starting on their own path towards sustainable food production. As at Terra Madre, while at the Slow Food Youth Workshop we would share what we knew about our own work and learn from others in the process.

It was decided that week long Slow Food Youth Workshop at Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts would be offered in the second week of August. While at Quillisascut Farm, the participants of the Slow Food Youth Workshop would be immersed in a working farm experience that includes caring for goats, poultry and honeybees. Students would learn about gardening with a focus on species recognized by RAFT and the Slow Food Ark of Taste. They would participate in cheese making with farm fresh goat milk. All at the farm would together cook meals using the fruits, vegetables and meat raised on the farm and harvested with their hands.

There would be daily discussions with all on the farm to help each participant build their own value system based on Slow Food’s principle that food should be “good, clean and fair”. Why are GMOs a risk to the biodiversity that is needed to maintain sustainable food systems? This too will be part of the discussion. First hand observation of nature’s operating systems and time spent in a rural farm community would demonstrate the value of organic farming and orcharding.

The Slow Food Youth Workshop at Quillisascut is set to host 12 participants. Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 29 to qualify as a youth. It was decided that the students need not be Slow Food members as they would most likely be inspired to join by the end of the week!

In planning the event, Lora Lea sought keep the expenses of attending the week to a manageable level. With youth often comes the tight purse strings that we all experienced as we set out to find our own path in life. In a supportive and generous gesture, the DeVlieg Family Foundation donated half of funds for the Slow Food Youth Workshop at Quillisascut.

A letter and fact sheet was sent out to the eleven Slow Food Chapters in Washington to request that they help to sponsor the other half of the cost for the week. They were invited to send a member of their own community out to the Quillisascut Farm for the Slow Food Youth Workshop. This would assure that the message of Terra Madre spread across our State, back to the Slow Food Chapters via the scholarship recipients they sponsored.

Slow Food Seattle responded to the call for sponsorship with not one but two student scholarships! Attending from Seattle will be Danny Barksdale, a chef and instructor at FareStart, and Ariana Rose Taylor-Stanley, a UW Urban Farm member. As part of the agreement, when Danny and Ariana accepted the scholarships, they were asked to make a presentation about their experience on the farm for the Slow Food Seattle membership. The message of Terra Madre would spread even further, from Turino, Italy to Rice, Washington and on to Seattle, Washington.

So here we are, just one week until the Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm for the Domestic Arts!  Danny is working daily in the kitchen at FareStart and Ariana is apprenticing with a farm on Bainbridge Island while I am on a 46 foot fishing boat just north to Alaska fishing for wild salmon. Our work places are different but our calendars all are marked for the day we drop out sauté pans, shovels and fishing lines to carpool out to Rice, Washington. As our hands are at work, our thoughts are mulling over what we will learn, see and do on the farm. Much anticipation is in the air to get to the Quillisascut Farm and feel the heat and dust of summer in Eastern Washington.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Here are some links for further reading:

Terra Madre: www.terramadre.info
Quillisascut Farm: quillisascut.com
FareStart: farestart.org
UW Urban Farm: students.washington.edu/uwfarm

STAY TUNED!

Planning is underway for an community event presentation featuring slides from the Slow Food Youth Workshop and a delicious seasonal meal prepared by Chef Karen Jurgensen from the Quillisascut Farm. Watch for future updates about the presentation that Danny, Ariana and Amy will make in November at FareStart in Seattle. Proceeds from the event will go towards scholarships for the 2010 Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm School for the Domestic Arts.

 

“Eat In” Update

Step up and be counted!  As of July 16, there were 157 Eat-Ins in 43 states signed up for the National Day of Action on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009, and new organizers are joining everyday.

Slow Food members and friends are organizing a National Eat-In for Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009.  On that day, people across America will gather with their neighbors for public potlucks that send our nation’s leaders a clear message: It’s time to provide our children with real food at school.

Visit this link to get started:

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch

The Slow Food USA campaign web site will guide you through the process, and our campaign team is here to provide support. We’ll give you everything you need to get involved, starting today.

Please be sure to communicate with Slow Food Seattle leadership at info@slowfoodseattle.org and let us know if you need help promoting your event.  If nothing else, please tell us about your plans.  We want Seattle to come to the table on this one!

Last week, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee announced that Congress is extending its deadline for reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act.  Leaders in the House and the Senate both say the bill is a top priority but given the current focus on energy and health care, the committees won’t begin marking up the bill until October or November.

Next week, Slow Food USA will be sending all members a guide to inviting legislators and a sample letter to send them, along with more specifics around the communications and publicity efforts leading up to and beyond the National Day of Action.

 

It’s Time for Lunch in Seattle

Dear Slow Food Seattle Members and Supporters of Slow Food USA,

Remember this date: September 7, 2009. We’ll look back on that day as the moment when people across America took a stand about the food our children eat at school.

As you know, children who grow up enjoying food that is both delicious and good for them learn healthy eating habits that last throughout their lives. Those habits can start at school – but only if we give schools the resources to serve real food instead of the overly processed fast food that endangers their health.

To make that happen, our leaders in Congress need to hear that when it comes to our children, change can’t wait.

That’s why we’re organizing a National Eat-In for Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009. On that day, people across America will gather with their neighbors for public potlucks that send our nation’s leaders a clear message: It’s time to provide our children with real food at school.

To get Congress’ attention, we’re going to need the help of all kinds of people: parents, teachers, community leaders, kids and people who’ve never done anything like this before. We’re going to need everyone to pitch in.

A toddler visits the Orca K-8 school garden in South Seattle

But the people we need most are Slow Food members and supporters. You’re the front line of the food movement, and we’re counting on you to tell your friends, to contact your legislators and to organize Eat-Ins for Sept. 7.

Please be sure to communicate with Slow Food Seattle leadership at info@slowfoodseattle.org and let us know if you need help promoting your event.  If nothing else, please tell us about your plans.  We want Seattle to come to the table on this one! 

Visit this link to get started:
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch

The Slow Food USA campaign web site will guide you through the process, and our campaign team is here to provide support. We’ll give you everything you need to get involved, starting today.

And we mean today—because with the President calling for health care reform and the First Lady teaching kids to grow food on the White House Lawn, we’ve got an opening to pass legislation that gives kids the opportunity to grow up healthy.

This fall, Congress will be debating whether to update the Child Nutrition Act, which is the law that determines what kind of food kids eat at school. By giving schools the resources to serve real food, we can make sure that the legacy we’re leaving our children is a future filled with opportunity, security and good health.

We can only do it if we act now. It’s time to get real food into schools!

For more information, and to join our campaign, go to www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch

 

Spring with Sea Breeze Farm

On Saturday, May 29, Slow Food Seattle held it’s second spring farm event for chapter members on Vashon Island.  Guests first met at La Boucherie, the showcase restaurant for Sea Breeze Farm products such as eggs, dairy and meat, and enjoyed a leisurely four-course lunch.  Every course featured local, seasonal products including the memorable fromage de tete (head cheese) and house-made butter, Bill’s bread, whole milk ricotta and herbs, savory egg tart over incredible garden greens, pork and lamb leg accompanied by braised vegetables, and last but not least, the chocolate mint gelato, made from fresh milk and mint, and frozen that morning.  Sea Breeze Farm is a diverse, multi-species, “beyond organic”, grass-based animal farm.  Produced with a high level of care and respect for the land and animals, our lunch was both delicious and satisfying.

Lunch at La Boucherie

Following lunch, we formed a caravan and drove to a small U-pick farm.  The fruit wasn’t quite ready, but we stood and listened to farmer George Page talked about the egg operation in the orchard next to an old hen house. The chickens outside busily feeding on worms and other tidbits hiding in the green grass.  We headed downhill by trail towards a fenced off, half-shady patch where about twenty young pigs were playing and eating together.  As we approached, they all seemed to greet us from the other side of the fence.  Amiable little beings, it was nice to see pigs living comfortably but protected from the hot sun.  A little further down the path, we came to where the older pigs were kept.  Similar situation, but these pigs were more interested in each other and lying around in cool mud to pay us much attention.

Busy hens

Some pig!

We headed back to our cars and followed each other to the main farm about 6 miles away.  Overlooking the Puget Sound, the farm operates a small-scale dairy and wine cellar.  George explained how the farm was primarily an egg and dairy farm, and meat was a by-product of production.  As with many small farms,  animals such as chickens, pigs and cows are part of a healthy cycle of production: cows provide milk, and chickens provide eggs but they also give fertilizer and help break down the cow patties.  Pigs are excellent recyclers who feed on lots of scraps.  A question was raised about what is done with male calfs since cow’s must give birth in order to produce milk.  Like most dairy operations, males have few opportunities for usefulness since they do not provide milk but they drink it.  Sea Breeze does use males whenever breeding is necessary, and the farm offers a grass-fed veal, or “rose veal” which is red in color because it feeds on grass vs. the white flesh of confined, milk fed veal.  No milk-fed veal is produced at Sea Breeze Farm, so the young male calfs experience some quality of life, however brief, before they are slaughtered.  It is common on other farms that males are sold or left for feedlots if the farm cannot support their care.  Eating dairy products directly provides products for the meat industry so choosing the most humanely raised dairy and meat as possible is not only good, clean and fair, but it is a responsible action.

A "slow" trek up to visit cows in the pasture at Sea Breeze Farm

Outside all day, many of us left with a little too much sun exposure.  We departed well-fed and inspired towards the ferry back to West Seattle.  We’ve had lovely warm weather two years in a row for our spring farm events, so please note for next spring:  bring sunscreen or at least a wide brimmed hat!

A young dairy cow at Sea Breeze Farm. Her mom stood only yards away.

We thank George Page for hosting Slow Food Seattle this year and we can’t wait to get back.

www.seabreezefarm.net