Blog Archives - Slow Food East End

SFEE Annual Auction is LIVE!

Nov 13, 2024 | Blog, Events, Feed the Forks, In The News

Our annual fundraising online auction is LIVE!

We have a fantastic array of items and experiences up for bid. Whether you prefer a golf outing with friends at an exclusive club, restaurant gift cards to some of the East End’s most adored spots, or sipping local wine while getting behind-the-scenes tours from the winemaker — we’ve got you covered!

Your participation in this year’s auction not only supports our local businesses, but is essential to continuing to advance SFEE’s good, clean and fair food initiatives and educational programs. With your ongoing support, we have accomplished so much! As the most active Slow Food chapter in the country, we have much more to do! So be on the lookout for links to the auction.

Bidding for auction items ends Sunday, November 17th at 8 PM sharp.

START BIDDING NOVEMBER 13!

Taste the Forks, Two Chefs, Two Dinners, One Great Cause

Nov 3, 2024 | Blog, Events, In The News

Taste the Forks
Two Chefs, Two Dinners, One Great Cause

Chef Jason Weiner, Almond, Bridgehampton – Thursday, November 14th @ 6:30 pm
Chef Noah Schwartz, Noah’s Greenport – Friday, November 15th @ 6:30 pm

Taste the Forks is a culinary celebration to support Slow Food East End. Two Chefs. Two Dinners for one great cause will help raise money for Slow Food East End Feed the Forks initiatives and kick off their annual auction.

On the North Fork, Chef Noah Schwartz will cook it up at Noah’s in Greenport and on the South Fork, Chef Jason Weiner will cook it up at Almond’s in Bridgehampton.

Both chefs are renowned on the East End for their local sourcing, seasonal menus, and convivial spaces where everyone can count on a delicious night out. Their talents have established a vibrant foodie following, earning both local and international accolades, including the Slow Food Snail of Approval, given by local chapters to local leaders who receive global recognition for their work.

Slow Food, an international not-for-profit organization began in Italy in 1989 protesting fast food when McDonald’s was trying to open in Rome. Today we have members in 160 countries.

Around the world our chapters support good, clean, fair food for all. We work to create a food web of activists and believers in supporting our local chefs who source locally from growers who plant, fish, or raise livestock in good, healthy soils and waters.

Our East End chapter notably began with a few dinner meetings at the American Hotel in the early 2000s, like-minded friends gathered at the table to develop ideas for local engagement to support local growers, generational family farms, and burgeoning CSAs on the East End who paved the way for a new generation of inspired local chefs who trailblazed the farm to table movement.

Since its founding Slow Food East End’s notable accomplishments include:

Development of edible garden programs in over 30 schools on the East end
Flour Power, home bakers producing loaves for food pantries.
Educational celebrations and gathering of all sorts
Awarding local leaders in our field who have made a difference and established a legacy of valuing good clean fair food for all with an internationally recognized Snail of Approval.

Your ticket supports the continuation of Slow Food East End work and new Feed the Forks initiatives.

RSVP for Almond on November 14

RSVP for Noah's on November 15

Inviting All Bakers for our Thanksgiving Bake!

Oct 31, 2024 | Blog, Events, Flour Power, In The News

We’re evolving Flour Power to provide more impact on the East End

As many of you have probably heard, we are transitioning our Flour Power program from bi-weekly baking to quarterly bakes, delivered in partnership with local pantries. This quarter, we are thrilled to support CAST with its Thanksgiving initiative, aiming to deliver at least 150 loaves of our nutritious bread. Since 2020, CAST has been working with partners to provide turkeys, chickens, and all the fixings for Thanksgiving meals to hundreds of local families across the North Fork and Shelter Island. What better way to support our goal of combating food insecurity than by including our bread in these holiday meals!

Thanksgiving Bread Goals

We want our Flour Power breads to be part of each family’s Thanksgiving pickup—because let’s face it, what’s Thanksgiving without bread? Our plan is to deliver breads to CAST on Monday, November 25 for baskets that will be distributed on the following day. CAST expects to make 500 baskets this year!

Dropping off your bread to CAST

Address: CAST: 53930 Main Rd., Southold
Drop-Off Dates and Hours: November 25 from 9 AM to 2 PM
Our SFEE Flour Power cooler will be outside ready for your loaves.

Alternative drop-off for South Fork bakers

Bread can also be delivered to St. Joseph Villa on Monday, November 25 from 9 AM to 2 PM in the Flour Power cooler, 81 Lynn Ave, Hampton Bays.

Bake Ahead and Freeze

We know this time of year can get busy with your own Thanksgiving plans, so we encourage you to bake early and freeze your loaves. If you’re able, we’d love for you to bake more than once.

Here are instructions to guide you in freezing the bread so it stays fresh for our recipients.

To freeze your loaves:

Let your freshly baked loaves cool completely.
Once they are completely cooled, wrap them in aluminum foil and then put each wrapped loaf in a sealed zip-top plastic bag.
On the day of donation, remove the loaves from the freezer, unwrap them, and put them directly into our Flour Power bags (provided at drop-off locations) No thawing is necessary.

Alternative Drop-Off Location

If you have limited freezer space or can’t deliver on the scheduled CAST dates, we’ve arranged an alternative drop-off location, The Vine at North Fork United Methodist Church, which has a large freezer available.

Dropping off your bread early at United Methodist Church

Address: United Methodist Church: 43960 CR 48, Southold, NY
Drop-Off Dates and Hours: November 11, 14, 18 and 21 from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Please deliver your bread wrapped in aluminum foil. When we transfer the frozen loaves to CAST, we will put them into our traditional Flour Power paper bags with labels. If you have any issues in delivering to the church, please contact Becky Chidester at bachidester@gmail.com

Please register at the button below for planning purposes.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to sharing the love of baking with our community. Together, we can make this Thanksgiving special for many families.

Happy Baking!

Register for Thanksgiving Bake

Bread Recipe

Watch Baking Demo Here

Let’s nourish our connections and connect our food ways together.

#SlowTheForksDown #FeedTheForks

Thank You for a Wonderful Slow Food East End Annual Meeting

Oct 14, 2024 | Blog, In The News, Past Events

Dear Slow Food East End Community,

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us for our potluck dinner in the field at Golden Acres Organic Farms! To gather at a common table with so many of our followers on a gorgeous fall day with a view of the farm and old dairy barn to reflect on a year of our work was truly gratifying. Our buffet was bountiful, with a wide variety of delicious dishes of fall flavors that everyone contributed to showcasing the incredible spirit and passions of our community.

Once a year the board of Slow Food East End publically reports about our efforts to promote good, clean, and fair food for all. We work to connect local farmers with consumers, we aim to educate our community about sustainable systems to promote healthy food which begins with good soil and water practices. We honor leaders who do this work every day. We advocate for food equity. The East End is a unique region, we are gifted with an incredible agricultural heritage and work to find ways to ensure it endures and aim to make it more accessible to all.

A huge shout out to my entire Slow Food East End team for their hard work in pulling this event together. Your dedication and effort made the day a success. During dinner every board member took time to share news about their work and personal passions. High points included our Earth Day celebration, our Snail of Approval program which this year included awards to farms, wineries and restaurants but also to food insecurity advocates and a hospital with exceptional culinary practices. Our awards bring well-deserved international recognition to all. We shared news about our ongoing engagement with educational programs and funding to help provide summer access to farms for disadvantaged families and thanked our community for three years of support for Flour Power and outlined new Feed the Forks initiatives to come.

The sunny fields of Golden Acres Organic Farm were ideal for our dinner meeting. Awarded a Snail of Approval this year for their commitment to sustainable farming practices and community engagement aligns perfectly with our mission at Slow Food East End. If you haven’t visited yet, they have an amazing farmstand in a historic dairy barn down a scenic tree-lined private lane in Jamesport, be sure to check out their many event offerings at goldenacresorganicfarm.com. This sweet farm is available for private events.

Our partnership with Long Island Wine Country was on full display at our dinner celebration. The North and South Forks are home to over 50 wineries. Since the 1970s winemakers have transformed our local agricultural community and have received national and international acclaim. We are proud to pour LIWC wines for all our events and encourage our community to support our vintners and do the same.

Feasting with friends allows us to share our mission and connect with one another. Never underestimate the importance of community and the power of our collective efforts. Your support is invaluable to our mission. Through your engagement, we can continue promoting good, clean, and fair food for all. Each of you plays a crucial role in our efforts, whether through volunteer work, participation in events, or simply spreading the word about our initiatives. Your commitment makes all that we do possible, and we are truly grateful for your dedication to building a sustainable food community together. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey!

Grateful to all who help us slow our forks down,

Maria

Thank you Eduardo Amorim who helped us capture beautiful memories of the day.

October 6: Annual Public Board Meeting & Potluck

Sep 25, 2024 | Blog, Events, In The News

All welcome are welcome to attend our Annual Public Board Meeting and potluck gathering!

Date: Sunday, October 6, 2024

Time: 3:30 – 5:30pm

Place: Golden Acres Organic Farm – 652 Peconic Bay Blvd, Jamesport, NY

Bring a potluck dish to share, we’ll supply the rest! Join us for a casual afternoon gathering. SFEE invites you to attend our annual public board meeting — Slow Food style! We look forward to slowing down together as we share news about our year and upcoming plans. Come meet the current board, connect with other Slow Food members, tour the farm and meet the farmers too, awarded a 2024 Snail of Approval award. Learn how you can be more involved in the work we do.

This is not your average “meeting” — it’s an afternoon of fun: tasting and sharing, laughing and learning. We will be pouring Long Island Wine County wines. Our board members are planning to bring delicious bites from our kitchens too. We hope that you’ll also bring a homemade taste to share, 8+ servings please.

Please do RSVP below so we have plenty of chairs.

RSVP for Annual Meeting Potluck

September 18: Flour Power Turns 3 at CAST

Sep 9, 2024 | Blog, Flour Power, In The News

Slow Food is very proud of our ongoing support of CAST North Fork for their work in combatting food insecurity and developing programs to help our neighbors. 🎉

Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Time: 5:30 – 7:30pm

Place: CAST – 53930 Main Road, Southold

For the past three years, Slow Food has partnered with CAST through our Flower Power program to tackle food insecurity on the East End. We developed a healthy, shelf-stable bread recipe, trained bakers, provided starter kits, and mobilized home bakers to supply food pantries with nutritious, homemade breads. Our collaborative efforts have led to significant progress, and we’re excited to celebrate our achievements, share updates, and discuss future plans to continue addressing food insecurity and improving nutrition in our community.

In recognition of CAST’s accomplishments, SFEE will also present CAST with a Snail of Approval award for their outstanding efforts in addressing food insecurity.

So much to celebrate and we hope that you all will join us at CAST in Southold on Wednesday, September 18 at 5:30 pm.

RSVP for Flour Power Celebration