Lots to see at Philly Farm & Food Fest
Many cool farm and restaurant people will give talks on Sunday, April 14.
Philly Farm & Food Fest, where attendees can shop, taste, learn and speak directly with farmers, food artisans and sustainable business owners, will present a full line-up of interactive educational programming on Sunday, April 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Annex.
General admission tickets, which include access to all the workshops, are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Children under 12 get in free. Local Libations Lounge tickets are an additional $15 and entitle a limited number of guests to guided tastings held every hour between 12 and 3 p.m.
Workshops are organized into two categories: Making & Doing and Sustainable Policy & Green Business.
Under "Making & Doing":
Don Shump, Founder of Philadelphia Bee Company will present, "An Introduction to Honey Bees," where novices can learn the basics of bee keeping. The Mayor's Office on Sustainability will introduce Philadelphia's Food Policy Advisory Council and the role it plays in influencing the regional food system.
Marisa McClellan, blogger and author of Food in Jars, will talk about making small batches of jams, canning safety, fitting preserving into busy lives, and how to can at home with no special equipment.
Experienced gardeners and those with a not-so-green thumb will enjoy Mark Brownlee's workshop on how to grow native seed crops with little effort or investment.
Cooking demos by acclaimed farm-to-table chefs Valerie Erwin, Chef and Owner of Geechee Girl Café; Yun Fuentes of JG Domestic; Josh Lawler of The Farm and Fisherman; and Lynn Buono of Feast Your Eyes Catering will be held every hour beginning at 11:30 a.m. and will feature sustainable, local seasonal ingredients and products.
Under "Sustainable Policy & Green Business":
"Putting the Attainable in Your Sustainable" is geared towards green entrepreneurs and tackles the financial aspects and marketing strategies for sustainable businesses, presented by MidAtlantic Farm Credit and the Farmers Union.
At "How Green is Your Café?" panel of local food and restaurant industry experts, including Nicole Marquis of HipCityVeg, chef Tia McDonald of Vetri Foundation, Angelo Anastasio from Greenable Green Building Design, Justin Rosenberg of Honeygrow, and Tim Noonan of Sweetgreen will discuss what chefs, restaurants, and cafés are doing to support the sustainable food movement and have a lighter impact on the Earth.
Amy Laura Cahn of the Garden Justice Legal Initiative at Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia will explore the legal, policy and informational barriers to accessing Philadelphia's 40,000 vacant lots for community-driven projects, and discuss how these challenges affect the stability of anchor community institutions and local food security.
Find out why cooperatives are an important part of Philadelphia's local food community from two leading Co-Op experts, Peggy Fogarty-Harnish, Keystone Development Center and Bob Noble, Weaver's Way Cooperative and Mid-Atlantic Food Cooperative Alliance, at "Lessons from Thriving Food Coops In and Around Philadelphia."