Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Michael Paul Williams column

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.儲存Oct. 25--Lorraine Cavell, a Creighton Court resident who prepared a delicious stew of turkey sausage and locally grown vegetables, is a walking advertisement for sustainability.Cavell is a participant in the Prescription Produce Plan, a pilot program by Shalom Farms that connects individuals with a nurse practitioner who writes a weekly "prescription" of fresh produce, which is "filled" at an on-site Shalom farm stand."They bring us our vegetables every Monday," Cavell, 65, said during Thursday's Food Day dinner party on the grounds of the large garden behind William Byrd Community House in Oregon Hill.She also attends the program's monthly class on healthy cooking and eating. "I love the zucchinis. I never ate them before. But I love them now."Cavell, who suffered an aneurism three years ago and had struggled to control her blood sugar, said she has lost nearly 30 pounds in about two months. Consider the health-care cost implications of Cavell's experience before you dismiss the notion that locally grown and consumed foods can enhance our health, our environment and our economy.About 100 people convened on a brisk fall afternoon to enjoy a diverse and appetizing outdoor spread of locally sourced food, with the aim of promoting a more sustainable and equitable food system.Hanging nearby on soccer goals was an exhibition, "The Lexicon of Sustainability," 24 posters aimed at demystifying the sustainability movement and increasing the understanding of the benefits of local food and farming.Last year's Food Day event was held at Pasture restaurant on East Grace Street. This year's event cast a wider net, with the goal of growing even larger next year."There's different ways to coalesce around these issues than having a big festival," said Stacy Luks, chapter chair of Slow Food RVa. "Were going to be eating and strategizing."Slow Food RVa hosted one of nine tables at the event, serving food provided by Innsbrook's Silver Diner, part of a chain "that a lot of people don't realize is very intentional about sourcing (food) locally," Luks said.Ana Edwards, manager of the Byrd House Market, had the idea of hosting the dinner in the farm-harvest setting by the Byrd House Farmlet and organized the event with Luks and Kate Ruby of the Farmer's Market @ St. Stephen's Church. Other tables were hosted by Tricycle Gardens, Open High School, Renew Richmond, Faces of H.O.P.E., , Sub Rosa Bakery and Shalom Farms in partnership with the Greater Richmond Coalition for Healthy Children.The guests were some of the usual constituents of the local sustainability movement and other people th迷你倉 sustainability movement wishes to bring into the fold in moving Richmond and its food system forward.Evrim Dogu, who co-owns Sub Rosa with his sister Evin, cooked at an open pit for the guests of the Church Hill bakery, which hopes to reopen sometime during the holiday season. His fare included kofte -- spiced meatballs made of beef and lamb from Tuckahoe Lamb & Cattle Co. in Cartersville -- and saj, a wood-fired wheat flatbread cooked on a metal dome."I love cooking with wood," Dogu said. "It's so exciting. It limits what you can do to some extent, but it's so much fun."Joining the saj and kofte at the Sub Rosa table were stewed green beans with dill, fried turnips, stewed chard with fermented pepper and other Turkish dishes using locally grown produce and wheat.Students from the AP Environmental Science class at nearby Open High School ate a bean salad prepared with peppers from a Mechanicsville farm and created posters on healthy, nutritious and low-cost eating, as well as a map showing where food deserts -- urban areas with a dearth of affordable fresh food -- are prevalent.The Shalom Farms/Greater Richmond Coalition for Healthy Children table was decorated with sunflowers and rainbow Swiss chard and featured a chocolate zucchini cake in addition to the stew.Renew Richmond -- which has established gardens in Swansboro and at Richmond's G.H. Reid Elementary and George Wythe High schools -- served dishes made with locally grown potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beets and butternut squash.This year's Food Day even was about meeting and greeting and bringing new people into the fold, said John Lewis of Renew Richmond. "Next year, it won't be a meeting of the minds, but a meeting to address issues."Farm-to-table has been embraced by Richmond's trendiest restaurants, backyard chicken-raising is on the rise, farmer's markets are booming and the recommendations of the Mayor's Food Policy Task Force await implementation. Yet this is still a nascent and fragile movement.Small-scale sustainable farming is still a difficult go. Too many residents lack access to fresh and affordable food. "I still feel like it's very much an upper-middle class demographic regionally," Luks said.In other words, our engagement in this movement needs to grow beyond consumption to contribution. Richmond cannot hope to address the ills of poverty without a prescription that includes healthy food for all.mwilliams@timesdispatch.com; (804) 649-6815Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) Visit the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) at .timesdispatch.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存倉