Locally Carei: Springing back into farm-to-table
With the introduction of spring, a locavore’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of fresh eats. Note: A locavore is someone whose diet consists of mainly locally sourced foods. Our roller coaster of a winter with its high precipitation will hopefully produce a productive growing season. Here are a few ideas to prime your pump on your local (western pennsylvania) foods, trends and farm-to-table sensibilities.
It is no coincidence that the first week of spring will see the annual Farm-to-Table conference (farmtotablepa.com). If you want to get intimate about the farm-to-table movement, this will be the place to do it. This is a two day event that showcases the farm-to-table movement in western Pennsylvania. It can be your one stop shop for getting a full knowledge of all that goes into local food growing in western Pennsylvania. It will be held this Friday and Saturday, March 24-25, at the David L Lawrence Convention Center.
There will be a big local presence at the event. The Republic Food Enterprise Center is one of the major sponsors of the event. “We felt the opportunity at Pennsylvania’s biggest local food show was one we couldn’t pass up. The ability to promote our areas farm-to-table’s products, create partnerships with other entities and increase our visibility statewide is invaluable.” Said Bob Junk director of RFEC.
The conference is the consummate affair, which introduces one to the farm-to-table movement. There will be 150 vendors including; farmers, growing support, restaurants, distillers, co-ops and educators to help you navigate the farm-to-table movement. You can also learn that you can rent. Yes…I said; rent chickens!The Republic Food Enterprise Center will feature a lot of their products. “We are promoting our products, especially our new hummus line and goat cheese partnership with Firefly Farms.”
Also, the conference will be represented locally by Christian Klay Winery in Chalk Hill and Emerald Valley Artisans from Scenery Hill.
There will also be seminars and demonstrations on a continual basis. The speakers will cover all topics from using locally grown food to eating healthy, creating community gardens and understanding organic foods and food labeling. There will also be several cooking demonstrations and food to sample. “We will be sampling food at our display and we are sponsors for the cooking demos. So, we really have invested in this event to ensure everyone has a good time.” Said Junk
Stay the evening for two events. Friday night, there will be a farm-to-table tasting featuring locally produced foods, beer and wines. There will also be local live music. On Saturday, there will be a “farm to flask” mixology event that will feature local wines, beers and spirits. For information on the two day event, event schedule and ticket prices, go to farmtotablepa.com.
There are several other “local” primers.
Do a food tour. Pittsburgh offers two award winning food tours; Food Guy Adventure (foodguyadventures.com) and Bits and Bites Tours (burghfoodtour.com). Both focus on local foods in the Pittsburgh downtown and strip district. It is a fun way to see and taste Pittsburgh’s food history.
Although it may take a day trip, farm seminars are a fun way to connect with a grower and get healthy information. Sanaview Farms (sanaview.com) in Champion offers several informational seminars including a food wellness conference at Seton Hill University. You can also learn things like mushroom growing or soap making at Quiet Creek Herb Farm (quietcreekherbfarm.org) in Brookville.
Locally, take a winery tour at Christian Klay Winery (cwklaywinery.com) to learn about how grapes thrive in the terroir of Fayette County and taste the end result. Or make plans to attend Sandhill Berry Farms (sandhillberries.com) Spring Thaw Wine and Food Fest on April 22.
Take some Cooking Classes in Pittsburgh to get ready for your summer harvest or farmers market jewels. Crate (cratecook.com), Gaynor School of Cooking (gaynorsschoolofcooking.com) and Rania’s Catering (rania.com) all offer a regular menu of cooking classes.
No matter how you prime your spring, the joyous bounty of fresh produce and products is just around the corner. Hope you’re ready. Check out RFEC’s new website with products and information at republicfoodenterprisecenter.org