The SBN Local Food Committee is in the planning stages of producing the first Boston Local Food Festival in the fall of 2010! Go to the new website bostonlocalfoodfestival.com for full information or continue reading here for a summary view…
With the support of a grant from the USDA in combination with the MA Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), we will bring together local farmers, food businesses, organizations and families to celebrate and inspire the growing and eating of MA grown fruits and vegetables. The mission of the festival is to generate increased demand for local and sustainably produced food while facilitating collaborations between local food businesses and organizations. It will be a zero waste festival (essentially trying to compost or recycle everything) that reaches out to a broadly diverse population with numerous fun interactive ways to experience the healthy benefits of eating locally grown and produced foods.
The Boston Local Food Festival will be a new and innovative outdoor autumn celebration of the many virtues of locally grown and produced food. Held in Boston overlooking the historic Boston Harbor it will showcase and support a cornucopia of food grown and processed in and around greater Boston and stretching as far other New England states. The festival will also provide opportunities for local food- related businesses, initiatives, and nonprofits to share their products, services, and programs. Festival attendees will be able to eat great-tasting local food, learn about ways to grow sustainable food, take home food from farmers and vendors, and on top of all this have a lot of fun.
The Boston Local Food Festival offers people the chance to talk to food growers, see and taste local food products, and learn how farmers and entrepreneurs in greater Boston are bringing us local food. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to:
- Hear farmers speak about their seasonal offerings and the challenges and benefits of farming.
- Enjoy the recipes of well-known local chefs and cookbook authors with tastings featuring fresh local fruits, herbs and vegetables.
- See educational exhibits that provide information on farms and gardens, nutrition and health, urban food initiatives, composting, beekeeping, etc.
- Enjoy local music and art that celebrates the diversity of local food.
Festival Objectives:
- To generate increased demand and enhance the competitiveness for local and sustainably produced food, specifically vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs and other food products as defined as Specialty Crops by the USDA
- Help MA eaters of all ages, races, and socioeconomic levels see, appreciate and understand the connections between their health, the food they eat and the ways local food is grown, sourced, produced, distributed and provided to them
- Increase the awareness of the many local food opportunities and initiatives that currently exist in the metro Boston area
- To recruit new volunteers who will help the festival organizers and partners build all aspects of a local, sustainable food system. Mobilize eaters to become active in the local food movement and engage them in the process.
- To build network among food organizations, and other networks in Metro Boston and extending throughout MA and into New England through partnership on this project
- To have fun!
The Local Food Committee is seeking suggestions and enthusiastic support for these activities. Please consider being a sponsor or a vendor at Boston’s first Local Food Festival! Contact Fan Watkinson at fan@sbnboston.org.