Imagine for a moment the tastes of local harvest time, a local tomato or an ear of corn picked and on your plate the same day. Do you find yourself wishing that the Farmer’s Market was open year-round? That you’d like to do more to support local farmers but you don’t know how or where?
The benefits of local foods to you as an individual and to the county as a whole will be explored at the Wayne County Public Library through a series of programs called “Food for Thought.” The goal of the series is to connect local residents to information about local foods and local farming. The series will start on Saturday, February 9th and culminate on Saturday, March 15th (no program on February 16th), but you do not have to attend the whole series. You can attend any one or more of the programs you are interested in. Each program will include a blind taste test with a food produced locally and one mass-produced. Taste the differences for yourself!
Saturday, February 9, 11 a.m.: Jane Quinn of Essential Eating (www.essentialeating.com) will talk about the nutritional and health benefits of eating local foods. Jane has one book published and a new book to be released in March 2008.
Saturday, February 23, 11 a.m.: Greg Swartz of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (http://nofany.org/index.html) and Jo Clearwater of Clearwater Farm in Damascus (http://www.theclearwaterfarm.com/wordpress/ ) will explain subscription farming and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), how they work, and where you can find CSAs in the area.
Saturday, March 1, 11 a.m.: Roger Hill, farming and gardening consultant, and Master Gardener Judy Trudgen will share information about starting or improving your own garden – what grows well locally, how to prepare the soil, what to think about in designing your garden, and more.
Saturday, March 8, 11 a.m.: two local farming families, the Penn State Extension, and Delaware Highlands Conservancy will share their perspectives about why it is important to support local farms for our county’s economy and quality of life. Come chat with Jay and Emily Montgomery of Calkins Creamery (www.calkinsreamery.com ), Dolores and Fran Motichka, Dave Messersmith, and Sue Currier.
Saturday, March 15, 11 a.m.: group discussion of Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle in which the author describes the year her family moved to the family farm and committed themselves to eating home-grown and locally grown food. If you’d like a copy of this book, either to borrow from the library or to buy for yourself, please call the library to reserve your copy in time to read before the book discussion.
In order to plan for seating and space, registration for each program is requested. Please call the library at 253-1220 to register.
