I am seeing some of the poorest counties in the U.S. as I travel through Kentucky and Virginia. There is a hard contrast from rolling estates surrounded by board fences to vinyl villages, double-wides, then run down trailers surrounded by mud filled yards, cemeteries and personal landfills. I find the scenery so different, strangely refreshing, not having been altered by gentrification!

I am stunned by the devastation of these precious mountains called the Appalachians.  The cause of devastation is mountain top removal (coal strip mining) which is taking place daily and executed by large coal companies.  The purpose of coal strip mining is to deliver us the cheap energy that coal offers.

As entire mountains are being removed, it is easy to understand the balance of perspective; we have the environmentalist on one side and on the other side are those who are dependent on coal mining as a way to eek out a living.

Coal mining in these mountains is almost all that exists here! I have seen Walmart in the larger towns, but otherwise only McDonald’s and Hardees.  A neon sign caught my attention:  “Catering-LIVE BAIT” (now, that may be something to consider!).

There are gas stations, super convenience stores. and an unnatural number of florist shops. The cemeteries are bright colors of flowers (they appear to be plastic). Folks die young and often, due in part to the alarmingly high cancer and respiratory disease rates caused by the coal dust.

Thousands of waterways have been buried as mountaintops have been removed throughout Appalachia.  The project leaves much to feel sad about and also a calling to consider how I contribute to this. This is an area of the world that needs preservation - there is something strangely charming in even the roadside sites giving the glimpse of a very different way of life.

In Breathitt County we stop to explore the best of the best of reclamation projects. Twenty years ago, there was a jagged peaked mountain providing a large water source that ran through the valley, until the top was blasted and scraped, coal was mined and the hollows and streams filled with toxic blasted rock. Once the valley was filled with millions of tons of blasted rock and sediment, the area was then deserted and left looking desolate.  Robinson Forest is a reclamation project funded by the University of Kentucky.  The project includes plantings of thousands of non-native trees and plants and a natural stream replicating the original one. Elk have been brought in and we see evidence of them everywhere we walk. The University of Kentucky is heavily subsidized by the coal companies.

It’s a hard and complicated issue at best.

Even if this system of reclamation proves to be an answer to restoring the mountaintops , the people of the region will continue to be covered with the black soot that covers their towns with every blasting.  Cancer rates and health issues related to coal mining run deep.  It is not uncommon for the toxins found in coal sludge to find their way into the aquifers of local drinking water.

This would not happen in the Berkshires.

Now that I know the devastation and ruin that is taking place all in an effort to bring me cheap power, I will think more carefully about turning on lights and will consider the alternatives. My husband and I have been looking at getting a wind turbine in our back yard. Until that happens, I am considering every place that we may possibly cut our power consumption.

Much like food, there is a need to consider our sources of energy. If they are coming from great distances, we should ensure that they are good and clean (coined from Slow Food), good for our environment and our health.  We should also ensure that these sources are safe  in that all those who are providing our sources are being treated fairly - a reassurance that “because of me, the environment is not suffering”.  This area/situation reminds me of the quote “let’s poison our children to feed them.”

This is a big environmental issue. Obama has taken it on and is feeling the heat from the coal debate. Of the 175 proposed mines to be blasted, the EPA has issued 48 permits to begin blasting. This has the environmentalists screaming that 48 is too much and the coal industry and coal mining families claiming loss of revenue and jobs.

This isn’t unlike farming and real estate development.

We have to carefully weigh what it brings to us, and at what cost.

Resources

www.ilovemountains.org

Visit above site and enter your information to see your direct connection to coal mining.

Coal Country

This documentary film tells of the dramatic struggle surrounding the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America.

*Image credit:  DzmitryParul

“Italy at Your Table”

Italian Dinner Experience Evenings in March

Wine, Culture and Lore with Filippo Bartolotta

We have invited Filippo Bartolotta, an Italian sommelier, to offer us a total of three evenings of unique entertainment surrounding the foods and wine of Italy.

________________________________________________

Park Corner Bistro | Sunday, March 7th | 6-9:30pm

Italian-Inspired Four Course Dinner Presented by Jesse Martin

first
PROSCIUTTO
with crispy parmigiano flatbread,
bocconcini & marinated olives
second
LOCAL BAY SCALLOP CRUDO
with organic blood orange & fennel
third
ORGANIC WINTER SQUASH GNOCCHI
sugar dumpling and butternut squash gnocchi with
wild chanterelle mushrooms, brown butter & sage
fourth
STEAK TAGLIATA WITH ROCKET SALAD
charred tri tip steak sliced with fresh olive oil, lemon & rosemary

~all dinner courses paired perfectly with the rare wines~

$100 p/p

________________________________________________

In addition, Filippo will be hosting an Italian Wine Tasting with Appetizers at Mediterranean Restaurant on Friday, March 5th - click here for more information about the wine tasting event.  An additional Italian Dinner Experience will be held at Saltwater Restaurant on Saturday, March 6th - click here for more information regarding event at Saltwater Restaurant.

Filippo will share his endless knowledge and stories about small traditionally-based organic wineries from all over Italy as he transports us to the Italian world.  Guests will taste a variety of rare and sought after wines.  Each night will include a “wine challenge”, creating a fun and entertaining way to learn about wines and their characters.

Special Offer from The Hob Knob Inn

March 5, 6, 7 | $125 per night

~ includes farm fresh breakfast & afternoon tea ~

Visit www.hobknob.com for reservations

________________________________________________

Why Italian wine and products?

Italy is a culture steeped in food traditions. Italians are intimately tied to the products not just of their country, but of their region or even more correctly of their home town. They take a special pride in the olive oil grown in the nearby countryside, the special fish found only in their bay or the grape varietal grown only on their hillsides. This special connection between food and culture is what has made movements like Slow Food resonate so deeply in Italy. It is why Italians still shop at the local open air market on Fridays or prefer to buy the prosciutto raised nearby to one trucked in from Spain.

Wine making in Italy in some ways has been modernized. There are some monocrops of vineyard or wineries producing over a million bottles… but on average, the landscape of Italy is still a patchwork of thousands of small family run vineyards, interspersed with olive oil crops, vegetables, and woodlands. The average vineyard in Italy is a mere 2 hectares, an entirely different scale than the mega-wineries in the “new world”. These small wineries have passed down wine making knowledge from generation to generation. Many never even transitioned to using chemicals, so they were “organic” before even knowing the buzz word existed (and still might not even bother to mention it on their label). Filippo is an ambassador of this wine world, and comes with endless knowledge of this patchwork of wineries all over Italy. He will transport you to the world of small producers, wine on the family table, special grape varietals and old and new wine-making techniques.

Filippo Bartolotta is a wine journalist, writing for major European and American wine publications such as Decanter and serving as the editor for the bestselling L’Espresso Italian Wine Guide (English version).  He also teaches about wine at the prestigious University of Siena and hosts countless wine events each year in Italy and abroad.  Filippo works with the winemakers association “Vini Veri” (“Real Wines”) a group of organic and biodynamic producers and he has attended their alternative to Vinitaly, a special wine expo of “natural” wines outside of Verona.  Filippo strives to connect participants at his events and visitors to Italy with a sense of place, the real Italy, through careful exploration of authentic tastes and towns.  He has developed a series of unique events with the Siena Tourism Board creating an emotional connection for participants between a specific Sienese wine, food, work of art and the territory of Siena.  Through their senses, participants experience the land and its products, both artistic and agricultural.  His unique, entertaining style and his incredible breadth of knowledge create the ideal environment for anyone to fall in love with wine and in the process to fall in love with Italy.

Visit Filippo’s Website

Read about “ITALY AT YOUR TABLE” in Washington D.C.

While other green teas are grown throughout the world, matcha is unique to Japan.  It is at the heart of the Japanese way of tea making and has been celebrated in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony for hundreds of years.

*Make Tea Smoothies and Kombucha*

*Cookies, Ice Cream and Sea Salt Matcha*

Matcha:  Properties of;  How to Find;  How to Cook with it

Friday, March 19th | 8:30 – 12:30 | $95

My dear friend and neighbor Helen died today.

Helen died at home surrounded by her family. I can list all the things about Helen that I admired and loved about her, but it is her family that I am touched by.  She has an amazing family of children, grandchildren and a remarkable, romantic husband.

Helen’s greatness is reflected in her family. Her family cared for her in her home during her last days.  The young adult grandchildren gathered around, climbed on her bed, talked, and told stories about their lives.

Death was not wanted and there was great sadness in her departure, but there was a quiet acceptance as well. Her family members have different spiritual beliefs, but all with a solid bond of true love.

Being with a person who is about to cross over, or move on, or die, is an experience much like birth.  It’s intense, and deep, and a gift.

As I lay on Helen’s bed holding her hand and rubbing her hair, I noticed the moment:  the peacefulness of the cat at the foot of her bed, the chickadees at her window, and the timelessness.  My daily life is filled with struggles to live in the moment and to just be present.  There was no struggle as I sat on Helen’s bed just being with her.   Being with her life and surrounded by her belongings.

Helen died around 11:30 in the morning.  My husband sent a text message to me with the news.  It was expected, though not without sadness. It was a moment of letting go, a sadness of time going by, of life moving on, of memories that will never be real again.

The family washed and prepared her body for the funeral director coming to take her to the crematory.  There was no rush or urgency, only a life passing by with a family that was able to process their own grief in their own way.

Allowing the body to be with us at death, and stay with us for as long as we need, is a gift.  In this time of places to be and jobs to get done, it is rare that we are allowed moments like these.

My mother passed away 16 years ago of colon cancer.  It was expected and she died in our home. We did everything ourselves; my husband built her a box of creptomari.  My sister and I lined it with fabric and flowers she loved and we chose her favorite poetry and prayers.  We got a bagpipe player as she always loved the ballads.

We planned for and carried out my mother’s funeral entirely out of our home.  We kept her in our dining room overnight.  My son was only 3 years old, but he was curious about her in the box/coffin and wanted to look at her.  When my husband asked him if he wanted to take a look, he said “yes”, and was so curious and interested in “peeking”.  He, in his own way, was allowed to process what he needed to process about his grandmother’s death.  And then, we put her in the pick up truck and drove her to the Chilmark cemetery.

More than just about taking back traditions and ways of life that we once had as a society, there is an emotional healing that comes for those that care for their own dead.

Everywhere I look, life is more complicated and elaborate then in years before me, and once again, I ask myself - at what cost?

Here I am examining funerals, rites of passages, resources, and life and DEATH!

We don’t need lots of fanfare.  The use of unnecessary resources to pass on: coffins (made of god know what and shipped from god know where) and bodies filled with chemicals and more unnecessary resources.

(The chemicals that are used in embalming together constitute over 600 different products, all of which end up in our ground or atmosphere.)

This is about the natural way of going; meaningful, the way it used to be… heck we could even give it a buzz word of “green” or go into how local this is, but, it simply boils down to caring for those we love, experiencing intimacy at its greatest.  It’s NOT outsourcing the dying process to the professionals.

My dear friend Helen, died at home, simply, cared for by her family. It was organic and informal and filled with love.

Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land and their loyalty to high ideals ~ Attributed to William Gladstone British Prime Minister (1808-1898)

Yes, you can bury your own in most States.  Most States allow you to obtain your own burial certificate and you can do it all yourself, or you can choose to keep them home as long as you wish, and then opt for the simplest of options; direct cremation, with a car ride, 48 hour storage, and then a final ride to the crematory.

If you wish to check your State’s regulations regarding home burials, visit www.state.ma.us (substitute your own State’s abbreviations for MA) “Legislative” and burial.

Another great site for the consumer seeking information is www.funerals.org.

]]> http://kitchenporch.com/culinary-experiences/index.php/2010/02/local-death/feed/ http://kitchenporch.com/culinary-experiences/index.php/2010/01/nourishing-mind-body-healthy-eating-habits/ http://kitchenporch.com/culinary-experiences/index.php/2010/01/nourishing-mind-body-healthy-eating-habits/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:01:58 +0000 Jan http://kitchenporch.com/culinary-experiences/?p=1165 Mindfulness & Healthy Eating Habits

Breakfast, Yoga, Nutrition & Cooking Class

March 12th | 8am-12:30 pm | Island Cohousing Common House, West Tisbury

$100.00

Join Jan Buhrman and Gail O’Brien, M.D. for a morning of Yoga, setting of personal goals and intentions, and exploring healthy eating habits through mindful selection of foods which provide a nutritional balance to maximize energy levels, concentration and overall quality of life.

Nourishing Mind and Body Class Format

8:00 - 8:45  Yoga and Intentions

9:00 - 10:00   Cooking Demonstration and Snack

10:15 -11:30  Lecture:  A Path to Healthy Eating

11:30 -12:30  Cooking Demonstration

12:30 - 1:30   Discussion Mindfulness over Lunch

Mindfulness, Yoga, and setting our intentions is the focus of the early morning. The cooking class will explore the preparation and benefits of  heat greens, grains and quick soups.  Cooking temperatures using healthy oils and how to determine which oil for correct cooking application will also be discussed.

Guests will participate in a joint discussion of mindfulness over lunch which will include a general overview of the principles of mindful eating - slowing down, sitting down for meals, healthy selection cooking, avoiding prepared and processed boxed foods, as well as maintaining a healthy overall balance of foods in an everyday sustainable diet.

March 12th  8am-12:30pm

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Gail O’Brien has been a practicing primary care internal medicine physician for over 15 years, most recently on Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod.  When meeting with patients, she is questioned daily about lifestyle choices and diets for better health.  Noting this continued desire for advice, and knowing that eating nutritious foods has a direct and positive influence on health, Dr. O’Brien established Vineyard Vitality to help counsel and assist individuals and families to enrich their nutritional knowledge, eating behaviors, and lifestyle.  Dr. O’Brien is a former medical school professor at Brown University.  She has also undertaken additional training in nutrition, healthy cooking, lifestyle and mind/body medicine.

The mission of Vineyard Vitality is simple:  To provide patients with the highest quality, scientifically accurate nutritional information and guidance on a very personal, individualized basis. The goal is to help you eat well, feel well, and age well.

Jan Buhrman, M.S. Ed., has been cooking delicious, locally sourced meals on Martha’s Vineyard for over twenty five years.  She combines her passion for food with a love of teaching to enhance people’s understanding of their food through farm tours, cooking classes, and nutritional workshops.  All programs are designed to connect people with local food systems. Jan recently collaborated with John Bagnulo MPH, PhD, for a two-day workshop “Cooking for the Heart & Soul” in Washington D.C.

Bring your sweetheart to a special Valentine’s dinner ~

Join us as we bring in the YEAR OF THE TIGER at our Chinese New Year celebration and fundraiser at The Nutrition Center! This is a collaborative evening with The Nutrition Center, chef Jan Buhrman and Sharon Gregory.

Our ten course Asian inspired menu will include ingredients, flavors and dishes from the Far East.

Chinese New Year Dinner at The Nutrition Center
94 West Avenue, Great Barrington, MA

Please contact The Nutrition Center to sign up.

413-429-8110 |  info@thenutritioncenter.org

Special Offer:  $60 p/p if registered BEFORE FEBRUARY 6th for parties of 4 or more.

Breakfast, Yoga, Nutrition & Cooking Class

April 2nd | 8am-12:30 pm | Island Cohousing Common House, West Tisbury

$100.00

Join Jan Buhrman and Gail O’Brien, MD. for a morning of Yoga, setting of personal goals and intentions, and exploring healthy eating habits through mindful selection of foods which provide a nutritional balance to maximize energy levels, concentration and overall quality of life.  In particular, we will discuss the mixed messages regarding carbohydrates and how these foods can be incorporated into our daily diets in a healthy way.

Nourishing Mind and Body Class Format

8:00 - 8:45   Yoga and Intentions

9:00 - 10:00  Cooking Demonstration and Snack

10:15 -11:30  Lecture:  A Path to Healthy Eating

11:30 -12:30  Cooking Demonstration

12:30 - 1:30   Discussion of Beneficial Carbs over Lunch

Yoga, and setting our intentions is the focus of the early morning. The cooking class will explore the preparation and benefits of complex carbohydrates and the foods which contain them.

Guests will participate in a joint discussion of mindfulness regarding carbs over lunch which will include a general overview of mixed messages out there regarding carbs.  In addition, we will discuss how to choose nutritious, energy-enhancing carbohydrate-based foods such as whole grains, versus the loss of nutritional value and downfalls when cooking and consuming processed food products.  We will fully explore how to most beneficially incorporate the carbs we enjoy eating into our diets as well as the carbs to avoid.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Gail O’Brien has been a practicing primary care internal medicine physician for over 15 years, most recently on Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod.  When meeting with patients, she is questioned daily about lifestyle choices and diets for better health.  Noting this continued desire for advice, and knowing that eating nutritious foods has a direct and positive influence on health, Dr. O’Brien established Vineyard Vitality to help counsel and assist individuals and families to enrich their nutritional knowledge, eating behaviors, and lifestyle.  Dr. O’Brien is a former medical school professor at Brown University.  She has also undertaken additional training in nutrition, healthy cooking, lifestyle and mind/body medicine.

The mission of Vineyard Vitality is simple:  To provide patients with the highest quality, scientifically accurate nutritional information and guidance on a very personal, individualized basis. The goal is to help you eat well, feel well, and age well.

Jan Buhrman, M.S. Ed., has been cooking delicious, locally sourced meals on Martha’s Vineyard for over twenty five years.  She combines her passion for food with a love of teaching to enhance people’s understanding of their food through farm tours, cooking classes, and nutritional workshops.  All programs are designed to connect people with local food systems. Jan recently collaborated with John Bagnulo MPH, PhD, for a two-day workshop “Cooking for the Heart & Soul” in Washington D.C.

February 28   3-4:30 PM  $30.

What happens in the winter months on Martha’s Vineyard?

Beer and Cheese

Not necessarily in that order….

Rose Willette of Fiddlehead Farm has created an evening of fun and learning to take place at Offshore Ale in Oak Bluffs.
Fiddlehead Farm and Offshore Ale have joined together to present an afternoon of Beer and Cheese Tasting to sample a selection of artisanal and farmstead cheeses paired with a diverse selection of handcrafted locally brewed beer. Brewery tours will also be available as well as an additional tasting of your favorite beer and cheese.

A donation from the proceeds will be made to the Island Food Pantry. Call Offshore Ale and reserve your seat!
508-693-2626
$30, all inclusive

The White House rolled out the red carpet for our chef's tour

We were not allowed to bring backpacks, bags, or purses of any kind.  Luckily, a camera was permitted…

I have to admit that I did not go to the White House with any real expectations. I was curious about the garden, and perhaps, the kitchen.

I was thrilled to be a part of a tour of the White House led by White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, and Bill Yosses, the Head Pastry Chef.  I attended the tour along with other chefs taking part in the week of festivities surrounding food in Washington D.C.

Bill Yosses led us on the tour. While showing us the interiors and grounds, he shared his own stories of a typical day working in the White House - a world of finely coordinated meals and setting tables.

I was somewhat taken aback by the size of the White House garden - surprisingly small.  Sam Kass, Head Assistant White House Chef, met us in the garden. He seemed quite out of place wearing his very shiny shoes, stepping on damp muddy grounds. He was proud of the garden and told us that the garden produces thousands of vegetables.

I wondered - how is that possible?

The White House winter garden

The answer: three Reemay fabric hoops covering the very young plants providing frost protection.  In addition to the garden, there are also bees.  It is hopeful that the two colonies of parasite-resistant honey bees will pollinate the White House garden and thrive in their new-found home.

I spoke with Chef Kass and expressed my thoughts to him about the importance of sharing with America exactly what is coming out of the White House garden and how he is preparing and cooking it for the Obamas.

Here I am with Alice Waters and Filippo Bartolotta presenting Seedless Kishu Mandarins that Alice brought for the Obama's from Ojai, California (only Alice...)

Americans are paying attention to the Obamas, what they are doing - how they are living their lives. If America looks to the Obamas, sees firsthand that they are growing a garden and their personal experience with their garden, a result is that more American families will be growing gardens.

Next, they need to know what to do with the produce. We discussed how our communities need to hear the stories behind the bounties of the White House garden.

• What are Sasha and Malia are eating for dinner?
• What types of meals are being prepared for guests?
• Does all or most of the produce they use come from the White House garden?  Local resources?

Sam Kass discussing kid's menus on our White House garden tour

Another discussion with Sam Kass centered around restaurant kid’s menus.  Is it possible to phase out these types of menus from America’s restaurants?

What would eating out be like without the option of chicken fingers? (containing chicken, we think, though we don’t know where it is from - as well as containing lots of other things we don’t really want to think about).

What about roasted root vegetables instead of French fries?

Obviously, kid’s menus and what they represent for children and our communities as a whole need further exploration.

Dale Haney, the White House gardener, spoke with us at the site of the new vegetable garden planted on the South Lawn.  During the discussion, we talked about the garden and the political and environmental symbolism which has been associated with it.  The Obamas were lobbied for months by advocates who believe that growing more food locally and organically can lead to more healthful eating and reduce reliance on huge industrial farms that then use more oil for transportation, as well as chemicals for fertilizer.

Overall, the power of Michelle Obama and the White House garden can create a very positive and effective message about eating delicious, healthy, and nutritious food. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this could translate into real change in American communities.

The expectations of a vegetable garden at the White House are many.  The Obamas and their garden have a lot to live up to with regard to the current local food movements sweeping through our communities.  Of course, this is all more ‘food for thought’ regarding the First Family, their garden and the multitude of inspiration they could impart to our communities.

More tid-bits of interest:

• The White House currently has a Soda Room.  This room is stacked floor to ceiling with soda.
• There is a Wine Room which was surprisingly small.
• The White House has a ‘no smoking’ rule

BLOG ADDENDUM:

After publishing this entry, and several days after my return home to Martha’s Vineyard, Michelle Obama began a national campaign against child obesity.  Although I would like to say the inquisitiveness of our group the week before may have had some influence on her crusade, the First Lady’s campaign is framed around her personal experience with her daughters and their need to reduce sugary foods and beverages based on advice from the family pediatrician.

Michelle’s campaign is further encouragement from the White House - Do we dare to dream?

• Will the White House Soda Room become a Kombucha Room?
• What about composting toilets in the White House?
• A White House gray water system?  Why not?

Nick and I in the kitchen

Last night I participated in Sunday Night Suppers, a Washington D.C. event which raised over $100,000 to benefit both Martha’s Table and D.C. Central Kitchen - two organizations whose efforts work to fight poverty and hunger in the city.

Nick Stefanelli of Bibiana restaurant and I partnered our efforts to prepare one of several Sunday Supper meals.  I use the word “partner” lightly. He cooked, I drooled.

What a privilege.

Sunday Night Suppers began last year in celebration of President Obama’s inauguration when Americans were asked to step forward and volunteer.

The result of this calling:

“Art.Food.Hope.”

The project was created last year by Alice Waters, Joan Nathan and Cathy Sulzburger.  This year, Jose Andres joined the team and “Art.Food.Hope.” was reborn as “Sunday Night Suppers”.

Here’s how it works:

Participants pay $500 to enjoy dinner in the private homes of Washington D.C.’s  glitterati, while celebrity chefs, donating time and resources, prepare their meal using locally sourced ingredients. Around twenty guests per home are treated to their dinner amongst lively conversation in an elegant setting prepared specifically for guest’s full enjoyment of good food and company.

Of course, the logistics of planning such an event are nothing short of remarkable.

Wine staging for Sunday Suppers

We assigned Joan Nathan’s home as headquarters for distribution and overall problem-solving.  In order for this event to be successful, volunteers needed to have a place to park laptops, congregate and, of course - eat!  Joan’s kitchen became ‘Volunteer Central’, filled with food to graze on and the general buzz of directions and coordination.

The garage became a staging area of boxes and deliveries which included:

• 500 bottles of wine from Italy’s finest
• foies gras
• black truffles
• cow girl creamery cheese
• Jammison lamb

First Course: Burrata with Caviar

Such richness of food and drink! All utilized as a way to raise money to be given to the homeless and hungry.  I am honored to be apart of this effort;  each of us donating our time and skills.

Yet, I question my role.

Is this the best way for me to help the tired, the hungry, and homeless?  Our society creates a place for these types of events and we do good to help, but are we really teaching them to fish?

Referring to quote:

“Give a Man a Fish, Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man to Fish, Feed Him for a Lifetime.”                                                                                               ~Lao Tzu

Standing in the kitchen cooking greens and poached eggs for some of the chefs on the Sunday morning before the event, I learn of D.C. Central Kitchen’s commissary which they have opened to process local food. It had occurred to them that they were bringing in tomatoes from Italy and wanted to consider local sources and therefore needed a central place to process and distribute all of the local  produce and food products they are able to provide.

I am reassured by the efforts of D.C. Central Kitchen and by the ongoing efforts of other similar organizations. The programs they provide which utilize as many local resources as possible are a testament to how we can make a difference in our communities from within using our own  skills and resources, while continuing to educate our communities along the way.