Tufts Farmers Market Thursday

Rain or shine, this Thursday October 1st from 11:00a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the Tufts Medford campus will host a farmers market. The market will be set-up outside the Mayer Campus Center. The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project will supply a variety of local sustainably grown seasonal fruits and vegetables. You can expect to see apples, pears, peppers, winter squash, potatoes, onions, and eggplant. Fresh apple cider by the glass and loaves of homemade pumpkin bread made with locally grown sugar pumpkin will be for sale.

If you're looking for some culinary inspiration to whip your fall vegetables into something amazing, check-out one of my favorite cooking blogs - 101 Cookbooks. (I'm sending directly to the roasted pumpkin salad recipe that looks amazing!)

Hungry world...

Recently, MSN money online published a series of pictures selected from the 2005 photographic book "Hungry Planet" by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Alusio.  A quick search found a Time magazine series with even more of these photos, really worth taking a look at. The book has an intro by Marion Nestle and essays by plenty of well-known writers and thinkers. 

The photos compare a week's worth of food for different families from all over the world, at every level of economic development.  The differences are astounding, and speak volumes to our national and global food crises.  

You can view the slideshow here, Part I and Part II.

Especially notable are the statistics below the photos that tell the viewer how much each family spends on the amount of food pictured. But as a whole, this group of photos delivers some pretty bad news about where developed nations are, and where developing nations are headed, with regard to industrialized eating habits and health outcomes.

On a happier note, the USDA has rolled out its new "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative. Watch Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack make the announcement on Youtube.  (I'd rather watch Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan make announcements though, no offense to Secretary Vilsack.)

 

Secretary Merrigan has launched the "Know Your Farmer" website, which is a monumental step in the right direction.  The website is clean, well-designed, and user-friendly, with links to different categories of resources and tools -- for rural community development, conservation, organic conversion and community nutrition programs, among others.  

It's a clearinghouse of information on grants and loans available to farmers and food entrepreneurs, and is also attempting to also foster a dialogue and virtual social space for people interested in continuing the conversation.

To that end, Deputy Secretary Merrigan will be hosting a Facebook chat this Thursday, October 1 from 3:45 - 4:15.  You can submit a question in advance, though the USDA's press release doesn't make it clear exactly how. It says that more details are available here, but that just seems like the link to the webchat. Anyway, you can become a fan of USDA on Facebook and leave comments or join in the discussion there.

We're excited to participate in this new national conversation! Slowly and steadily, we can affect positive change in our world.

Come on down to our potluck dinner!

This coming Thursday, September 17, we'll be hosting our first event of the school year at 60 Brookside Ave., Apt. 2 (map), the home of our gracious Administrative Officer, Jalal.  It's a potluck dinner from 6-9pm, and since it's a Slow Food event, we ask that you do your best to bring food &/or drink that is good, clean, and fair. 

What does this mean?  To us, it means that the food tastes good, is good for us, and, to the maximum extent possible, (1) is produced in a clean way that doesn't harm the health of humans, animals or the environment, and (2) that those whose work went into producing it are fully and fairly compensated.

We also ask that you remember to bring your own utensils and dishes to eat & drink from to minimize waste and lighten the load for our host.

We hope that you'll join us on Thursday evening -- it's sure to be a delicious time! If you'll be attending, please click here to RSVP.  (Follow the blue "edit this page" link at the bottom right to add yourself.)

Thanks -- we look forward to eating with you!

Welcome Back!

Happy September to all! Our first meeting will be held in Jaharis 156 on Tuesday, September 15 from 12-1 pm. Bring your lunch and please be ready to participate!

Slow Food Tufts was formed last year, out of the remnants of the former student group, FOOD.  We seek to be active in politics, agriculture, food systems, ecology and local cuisine, to defend biodiversity in our food supply, spread the education of taste, and link producers of excellent foods to consumers through events and initiatives.  And of course, to eat and drink together in the spirit of gastronomy and conviviality!

 On behalf of Slow Food Tufts, thanks for checking out our blog.  We'll be updating it more frequently this semester, and hope that some new members will be interested in writing as well. See you Tuesday!