Photo: Chefs Collaborative

This September, Slow Food Seacoast is planning an exciting and elegant educational component to the Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner to demonstrate what RAFT really means and why it’s an important initiative. Our hope is that diners will take away from this fabulous fine-dining experience a full tummy, a contented smile, and an appreciation of not only what RAFT is but also what it means.

The goal is to bring each diner’s attention back from the plate to the chefs in the kitchen, to the farmers in the field, and to those who have come before as a way of connecting the dining experience to the significance of the “at-risk” produce varieties featured in the RAFT Alliance and, hence, on the Barn Dinner menu.

Diners approaching the barn at Meadow’s Mirth/Berry Hill Farm for the 4 pm cocktail hour will be greeted by tables displaying the very RAFT varieties that will grace their dinner plates an hour later. They can learn where those produce were grown and by whom, why those produce are historically interesting or significant, and who will be preparing that food for the dinner. RAFT seeds also will be available as give-aways to attendees, who can learn how to save the seeds from one year’s harvest for the next year’s planting—which is not only a frugal practice but also an essential step in preserving the best heirloom varieties.

In the barn, displays will illustrate the many connections underlying the dinner. They will feature photos of the 2010 RAFT Grow-Out farmers, chefs, and produce varieties, accompanied by relevant quotes (from farmers and chefs) as well as descriptions and the significance (historical, agricultural, and gastronomical) of the varieties to us New Englanders. In other words, why have people in New England bothered to save these seeds, grow these crops, eat these foods … then start the process all over again for generations? And in this so-called modern age, why should we continue to do so?

Slow Food Seacoast and co-organizers of the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner are excited to collaborate on this project and look forward to making the event successful in so many ways! Visit the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner page for event details and purchase your tickets.

Via Seacoast Eat Local:

The 3rd annual Barrington Farm Tour Day is tomorrow, June 27, 2010. Eight farms will be open to visitors from  10am to 4pm. Visit the Seacoast Eat Local blog to see who’s participating and download a map.

All aflutter at Yellow House Farm, Barrington, NH

Via Seacoast Eat Local:

Your Organic Vegetable Garden: Managing Pests & Diseases

Many home and community gardeners have taken up growing vegetables in recent years. This rewarding pursuit comes with its own set of challenges. Those vegetables we find so delicious can be equally attractive to a wide range of insects. Understanding the difference between beneficial insects and destructive pests is often difficult. In Your Organic Vegetable Garden: Managing Pests & Diseases, Eric Sideman, Organic Crop Specialist for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), will cover the identification of pests and diseases common to growing vegetables. He also will discuss organic methods of prevention and management, with a special focus on identifying and preventing Late Blight.

This event is free and open to the public. It is a collaboration of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), Seacoast Eat Local, and Seacoast Community Garden Network.

Space is limited. To RSVP or for more information, please email Debra Kam.

WHO: Eric Sideman, Organic Crop Specialist, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA)

WHERE: Portsmouth Public Library, Hilton Room, 175 Parrott Ave, Portsmouth, NH

WHEN: Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 6–7:30 pm

Some of you may already know Eric Sideman through his informative Pest Reports for MOFGA. Eric earned a B.S. in agriculture from Cornell University, an M.S. in biology from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of New Hampshire. He moved to Maine in 1982 to teach biology and ecology at Bates College. In 1986 he moved on to MOFGA to become what some call “the nation’s first Organic Extension Agent.” He provides technical support for farmers and gardeners, serves as staff scientist for MOFGA, plans and produces educational events for MOFGA and Cooperative Extension, and serves on various agricultural committees for the Maine Department of Agriculture and the University of Maine. From 1997 to 2002 Eric served a term on the National Organic Standards Board, an advisory board to the USDA National Organic Program. Eric has recently moved to New Hampshire, just over the border from Maine, and now MOFGA has a great opportunity to give support to farmers and gardeners a long way from Unity.

The first summer farmers’ markets of the season usually feature early spring greens and locally grown plants to decorate your flower beds, create a vegetable garden, and add color to your life after a long winter. Other food and nonfood products will be available, too. Come see what they have to offer.

Farmer Dave's carrots, courtesy Seacoast Eat Local

• May 1 - Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 8 am–1  pm, 1 Junkins Ave., Portsmouth
• May 2 - Newburyport Farmers’ Market, Sundays, 9 am–1 pm, Tannery Marketplace, Newburyport, Mass.
• May 6 - Exeter Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 2:30–6 pm, Swazey Parkway, Exeter
• May 15 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 22 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 27 - Northwood Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 3–6:30 pm, Junction of Route 4 & Route 202A & 43, Northwood
• June 7 - Durham Farmers’ Market, Mondays, 2:15–5:30 pm, Pettee Brook Lane (Pettee Brook parking lot), Durham
• June 8 - Hampton Farmers’ Market, Tuesdays, 3–6 pm, 289 Lafayette Rd/Route 1 (Sacred Heart Church parking lot), Hampton, NH
• June 9 - Dover Farmers’ Market, Wednesdays, 2:15–6:00 pm, corner of Central Ave. and Sixth St. (parking lot of the new Dover Chamber of Commerce), Dover
• June 26 - Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 10 am–2 pm, 141 Rollins Road, Rollinsford (parking lot)

For More Information

Meadow's Mirth turnips, courtesy Seacoast Eat Local

Want to know which vendors are scheduled to be at the market, check a venue address, or get directions? Go straight to the source!

• Newburyport Farmers’ Market
• Newmarket Farmers’ Markets at Stone Church
• Northwood Farmers’ Market
• Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets
• Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Markets (Rollinsford)
• Rye Farmers’ Markets
• Seacoast Growers Association (Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hampton, and Portsmouth)

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It’s less than 2 months until the the first Seacoast Growers Association summer farmers’ market opens in Portsmouth, and the winter farmers’ markets in Newburyport, MA, and Northwood, NH, have finished for the season. But thanks to the efforts of local consumers, craftspeople, food producers—bakers, beekeepers, farmers, ranchers, vintners, and more—and the fabulous local organizations that bring us all together, we in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire are fortunate to have several more winter markets to get us there.

Final Winter Markets

Come check out what the vendors have to offer at the last indoor markets of the season.

• March 13 - Seacoast Eat Local Exeter Winter Farmers’ Market at Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter (GPS users, please use 315 Epping Road)
• March 20 - Rye Farmers’ Market - 10 am to 2 pm at Rye Junior High (note new location!), 501 Washington Road, Rye
• March 20 - Newmarket Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm at the Stone Church, 5 Granite Street, Newmarket
• March 27 - Seacoast Eat Local Rollinsford Winter Farmers’ Market at Wentworth Greenhouses, 141 Rollins Rd., Rollinsford
• April 10 - Seacoast Eat Local Exeter Winter Farmers’ Market at Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter (GPS users, please use 315 Epping Road)

Spring Markets

• April 17 -Newmarket Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm at the Stone Church, 5 Granite Street, Newmarket
• April 24 - Farmer’s Market at Heron’s Pond Farm, 299 Main Ave, South Hampton

Summer Markets Opening Soon!

The first summer farmers’ markets of the season usually feature early spring greens and locally grown plants to decorate your flower beds, create a vegetable garden, and add color to your life after a long winter. Other food and nonfood products will be available, too. Come see what they have to offer.

• May 1 - Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 8 am–1  pm, 1 Junkins Ave., Portsmouth
• May 2 - Newburyport Farmers’ Market, Sundays, 9 am–1 pm, Tannery Marketplace, Newburyport, Mass.
• May 6 - Exeter Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 2:30–6 pm, Swazey Parkway, Exeter
• May 15 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 22 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 27 - Northwood Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 3–6:30 pm, Junction of Route 4 & Route 202A & 43, Northwood
• June 7 - Durham Farmers’ Market, Mondays, 2:15–5:30 pm, Pettee Brook Lane (Pettee Brook parking lot), Durham
• June 8 - Hampton Farmers’ Market, Tuesdays, 3–6 pm, 289 Lafayette Rd/Route 1 (Sacred Heart Church parking lot), Hampton, NH
• June 9 - Dover Farmers’ Market, Wednesdays, 2:15–6:00 pm, corner of Central Ave. and Sixth St. (parking lot of the new Dover Chamber of Commerce), Dover
• June 26 - Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 10 am–2 pm, 141 Rollins Road, Rollinsford (parking lot)

For More Information

Want to know which vendors are scheduled to be at the market, check a venue address, or get directions? Go straight to the source!

• Newburyport Farmers’ Market
• Newmarket Farmers’ Markets at Stone Church
• Northwood Farmers’ Market
• Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets
• Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Markets (Rollinsford)
• Rye Farmers’ Markets
• Seacoast Growers Association (Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hampton, and Portsmouth)

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Nicola Twilley (founder and author of the blog Edible Geography) and Sarah Rich (a former senior editor of Dwell who writes about food, sustainability, and design) are collaborators on The Foodprint Project. They hosted Foodprint NYC— “the first in a series of international conversations about food and the city” —on February 27, 2010. In “Food and the Shape of Cities,” they talk about the perhaps surprising relationship between urban architecture and food systems. (Note: The article appears in Urban Omnibus, an online project of the Architectural League of New York. Thanks to Slow Food Seacoast’s Outreach Coordinator Amy Pollard for bringing the article to our attention!)

More resources:

“The Foodprint Project is a contextual exploration of food. From the cartography of food supply chains to the molecular anatomy of flavor, from the migration of ethnic recipes to the future of urban agronomy, foodprints look beyond the plate to the social, political, artistic and economic forces that shape the way we eat.”

“Foodprint NYC [was] the first in a series of international conversations about food and the city. From a cluster analysis of bodega inventories to the cultural impact of the ice-box, and from food deserts to peak phosphorus, panelists will examine the hidden corsetry that gives shape to urban foodscapes, and collaboratively speculate on how to feed New York in the future. The free afternoon program will include designers, policy-makers, flavor scientists, culinary historians, food retailers, and others, for a wide-ranging discussion of New York’s food systems, past and present, as well as opportunities to transform our edible landscape through technology, architecture, legislation, and education.”

The program schedule for this free public event included four thought-provoking panels:

• Zoning Diet (How do zoning, policy, and economics shape New York City’s food systems?)
• Culinary Cartography (What can we learn when we map New York City using food as the metric?)
• Edible Archaeology (How has today’s food culture in New York been shaped by social changes, economic fluctuations, and technological innovations throughout the city’s history?)
• Feast, Famine, and Other Scenarios (What are the opportunities and challenges of New York City’s possible food futures?)

Read the full story on the Seacoast Eat Local blog.

Summer CSA harvest

Seacoast Eat Local is sponsoring yet another great event to connect consumers and food producers in the Seacoast! They’ve planned a community-supported agriculture (CSA) and community-supported fisheries (CSF) event to coincide with the Winter Farmers’ Market to be held at Wentworth Greenhouses (141 Rollins Rd, Rollinsford, NH—a mile past Red’s Shoe Barn on Broadway in Dover), on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 10 am to 2 pm. (Similar events will take place at 12 locations in Maine and in Newburyport, Mass., on Sunday, Feb. 28.)

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about CSA and CSF, keep reading … then attend the event that’s local to you. Learn, ask questions, meet 15 participating farms and fisheries, make connections, and maybe sign up for your own 2010 share.

Learn more: Download the Choosing a CSA flyer (PDF) from Seacoast Eat Local.

Learn more: Read a comprehensive list of CSA farms in Rockingham, Strafford, and York Counties in Seacoast Harvest: A Local Food Guide.

Learn more: Get dates, times, and directions for all of the Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets.

From a Seacoast Eat Local press release:

Seacoast CSA + CSF Day Coming to Winter Farmers’ Market

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a partnership between consumers and farmers in which members buy shares of the farm’s harvest and receive regular allotments of food throughout the growing season. For farmers, this provides much needed cash flow for the beginning of the season, as well as a ready market and community of supporters. Shareholders join in the risks of the growing season but reap the benefits of the harvest.

Community Supported Fisheries, or CSFs (modeled after CSAs), are a way to buy seafood directly from fishermen and support our local fisheries by purchasing seasonal shares.

Each CSA and CSF has its own pricing structure and distribution schedule, and some farms have work requirements. Signups for CSA and CSF shares often begin in February by directly contacting the farm or sponsoring fishery.

Participating Farms & Fisheries:

Brookford Farm
Connolly’s Organics
Eastman’s Local Catch
Farmer Dave’s CSA
Heron Pond Farm
Meadow’s Mirth
New Roots Farm
Riverside Farm
Riverslea Farm
Stone Wall Farm / Osprey Cove Organic Farm
Touching Earth Farm
Two Toad Farm
Wake Robin Farm
Willow Pond Community Farm
Wolf Pine Farm CSA

Take a virtual tour of a Seacoast Winter Farmers’ Market in this story from Seacoast Online!

For some of us, the farmers’ market is the social event of the week … or fortnight, or month, as the case may be. So come to EXETER tomorrow (2/13) and ROLLINSFORD in 2 weeks  (2/27—also community-supported agriculture [CSA] day at the market) to get your goodies! See the full market calendar on the Seacoast Eat Local website.

Other markets will be held next Saturday (2/20) in RYE (info on Local Harvest) and NEWMARKET (info on Local Harvest).

See you at the market!

Via the Seacoast Eat Local blog:

Go Green, Go Healthy Fair - February 6th in Fremont
“This free, family-friendly event will also include massage, chiropractic care, natural cleaning ideas, nutrition ideas, energy conservation tools, stress reduction services, face painting, and healthy food samples.”