by Erin Sullivan
This Sunday April 14th is the 2nd Annual Farm and Food Fest at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Annex. The Fest will be held from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. and feature many local vendors. The fest is a project of Fair Food and PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture) who are dedicated to supporting local vendors and educating attendees about the importance of being green and using local organic produce. Make sure you come hungry, because you can taste samples of food and attend workshops. The following are just a few of the workshops that will be presented Sunday.
Don Shump, the founder of Philadelphia Bee Company, will present his workshop. An Interactive Introduction to Managing Honey Bees will show you how to be a successful beekeeper and he’ll answer your hive and honey questions.
Teacher and the author of Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round Marissa McClellan will make a presentation entitled Introduction to Super Small Batch Canning teaching you how to can jams and butters safely and efficiently at home.
There will be various Farm to Table cooking demonstrations and presentations on how to run a “green” business. Such as How Green is Your Cafe? will be presented by Clean Currents Wind Energy. This will show you what local restaurants in Philadelphia are doing to support local and sustainable agriculture and cooking with organic food.
Along with the local food make sure to check out Philly Cow Share’s meat market. They’ll be selling cuts of grass-fed beef and pastured pork from local farms. The first line of their Our Story section reads, “We challenge the consumer to eat meat more mindfully. Eat healthy meat, Eat less meat, Eat all the cuts not just the high end steaks.” The company partners with six local Philadelphia farmers who are known for their grass fed cattle. The animals are able to roam, eat grasses and the meat the consumers eat is healthier. You and a group of friends and family can buy a cow or pig share and if you gather eight people who are interested, you can buy an 1/8 of a cow or pig. At the fest you can purchase individual cuts of steaks, bacon and pork chops and you can pre-order if you’re interested.
They have kids in mind as well. Not only do children under 12 get in free, but the staff from the Please Touch Museum will entertain children with games, exhibits and the opportunity to meet a friendly farmer. Thanks to Chipotle Mexican Grill kids will have a chance to design organic cotton t-shirts.
General admission tickets are still on sale on the website. They include access to all the workshops and are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Children under 12 get in free. Please take a moment to check out this great event and learn about locally grown produce to make you’re life healthier.
http://www.phillycowshare.com
https://www.facebook.com/PhillyFarmFest
http://phillyfarmfest.org
