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

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

May 14: Flour Power Baker’s Workshop at St. Joseph Villa

May 8, 2024 | Blog, Events, Flour Power

We invite you to join Slow Food East End and St. Joseph Villa for an in-person Flour Power gathering.

WHAT: Slow Food East End Flour Power Baker’s Workshop

WHEN: Wednesday, May 14, 5:30 – 7:00pm

WHERE: St. Joseph Villa, 81 Lynn Avenue, Hampton Bays (Drive to end of driveway and Park in lot closest to Main House)

WHO: Everyone who has baked or has ever been interested in learning about becoming a Flour Power baker.

WHY: Food insecurity is a huge issue in our community and our community needs loaves.

We love getting our community together to talk all things Flour Power. We will gather at this beautiful venue on the Shinnecock bay, and our very own Bread Ambassador, Pennie Schwartz, will be there to discuss the finer points of the program.

RSVP for Flour Power Baker's Workshop

WE NEED MORE LOAVES..

If you signed up a while ago and have yet to get your hands in the dough, this evening is for you.

If you are already a baker (Thank you), we’d love for you to come mingle with your fellow bakers and share your expertise — the new bakers always love your experienced tips and tricks.

Bringing our expert baking community together with our novice bakers is always a beautiful thing. We love swapping stories and hearing your experiences, tips, and feedback about the program.

As we like to say, nothing says love more than a home-baked loaf of our deliciously nutritious bread. Flour Power has been SFEE’s community initiative of inspiring home bakers to join us as we continue our work to fight food insecurity on the East End. Since our launch during the pandemic, we have grown to provide loaves to 4 local pantries, 2 on each fork.

Here are some Highlights of our updated Flour Power program…

We have sturdy and secure Igloo coolers at each drop-off location so you can securely and easily drop your loaves.
We have updated the recipe (specifically the amount of flour) for those bakers who prefer to measure rather than weigh their flour.
We have begun distributing complimentary bread baking starter kits (4 metal loaf pans, some ingredients, recipe cards, bread bags…) in a sturdy canvas tote designed to make bread carrying to the drop-off locations easier. These kits will be available to ALL registered bakers, new and existing.
We have also added group dough-making workshops where we can all prep the recipe “together” to bake, so you are more confident in your technique when you take that solo plunge. The “together” is in quotes as these will be group Zoom bake classes so you won’t leave YOUR kitchen while baking. More details at the workshop.

We would love for ALL our current bakers to come to this workshop and pick up their kits and get the updated information.

Share this event info with your friends and neighbors, let’s grow our baking tribe. Come chat with us. And break bread with us (pun intended). The bread we bake is delicious and you will get to hear and sample for yourself why we created this recipe to help feed the forks.

Come prepared to learn, to laugh, and to connect with fellow like-minded community members.

#Slowtheforksdown – #FeedtheForks

RSVP for Flour Power Baker's Workshop

Watch Baking Demo

Did you know, we have a Flour Page on Facebook? It’s a great way for our FP community to stay connected. We invite you all to join, share baking tips and post pics!

SFEE Facebook Group for Bakers

February 28: Flour Power Baker’s Workshop at CAST

Feb 26, 2024 | Blog, Flour Power, Past Events

We invite you to join Slow Food East End and CAST for an in-person Flour Power gathering.

WHAT: Slow Food East End Flour Power Baker’s Workshop

WHEN: Wednesday, February 28, 5:30 – 7:00pm

WHERE: CAST – 53930 Main Road, Southold, NY11971

WHO: Everyone who has baked or has ever been interested in learning about becoming a Flour Power baker.

WHY: Food insecurity is a huge issue in our community and our community needs loaves.

RSVP for Flour Power Baker's Workshop

We need more bakers! We want you to share this event info with your friends and neighbors. Come chat and break bread with us (pun intended). The bread we bake is delicious and you will get to hear and sample for yourself why we created this recipe to help feed the forks.

Flour Power has been SFEE’s community initiative of inspiring home bakers to join us as we continue our work to fight food insecurity on the East End. Since our launch during the pandemic, we have grown to provide loaves to 4 local pantries, including CAST in Southold.

We are excited to share that we have made several important program updates for 2024 and are ready to Re-Launch the program after a brief winter pause.

We have upgraded our bread drop bins to be sturdier Igloo coolers that are more weatherproof, and secure and added enhanced drop-off procedures.
We will be distributing complimentary bread baking starter kits (4 metal loaf pans, some ingredients, recipe cards, bread bags…) in a canvas tote designed to make bread carrying to the drop-off locations easier.
Who gets a kit? Oprah said it best – you get a kit and you get a kit and yes even you get a kit. All new and existing bakers, we want to make this easy for you. If you are signed up to be a baker, whether you’ve baked before or are new to the program, you are eligible for a starter kit.
Speaking of easy – we are also adding group dough-making workshops where we can all “prep the recipe together” to bake, so you are more confident in your technique when you take that solo plunge. Please note the “together” in quotes. To make it even easier, you won’t leave YOUR kitchen while you are baking. More details at the workshop.
Not a baker yet? Join us at CAST and hear from the inspiration behind Flour Power – our very own Bread Ambassador, Pennie Schwartz, as she discusses the program’s finer points. You’ll have an opportunity to sign up at the event, take home your starter kit, and join in the baking fun! From there, you’ll choose one of 4 food pantries to donate to based on your preference or ease of drop-off. We simply want you to bake, you choose which pantry to bake for and which baking session works for you.

Come prepared to learn, to laugh, and to connect with fellow like-minded community members.

#Slowtheforksdown — #FeedtheForks

RSVP for Flour Power Baker's Workshop

Did you know, we have a Flour Page on Facebook? It’s a great way for our FP community to stay connected. We invite you all to join, share baking tips and post pics!

SFEE Facebook Group for Bakers

April 19: Flour Power Baker’s Workshop at Heart of the Hamptons

Apr 15, 2023 | Flour Power, Past Events

We are so excited to announce that Flour Power is expanding to include Heart of the Hamptons in Southhampton.

Flour Power Baker’s Workshop at Heart of the Hamptons

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Heart of the Hamptons – 168 Hill St, Southampton, NY 11968

Join- the baking hands of our community and bake bread for Heart of the Hamptons! Be apart of this Baker’s Workshop from 5:30-7pm to learn more about the Flour Power Program and how you can volunteer and help provide freshly baked bread for families in need.

This event is free to attend – but please register by April 17th!

RSVP HERE!

How Does Flour Power Work?

Anyone can register to bake. Simply sign-up and Slow Food East End will send you the recipe designed for 4 loaves; each baker keeps one loaf and donates three. Baking dates and all of the necessary details are listed on the Slow Food East End website under the programs tab. In addition, you will be receiving reminders for each baking cycle via email. There will be a designated drop-off point at the Hearth of the Hamptons building in Southampton (when you register you will receive detailed instructions for the drop-off procedure).

We hope you’ll sign up and participate in as many baking cycles as you can. We understand how busy everyone is and all we ask is to bake when you can.

The workshop is designed to help you get started on your baking journey. Come meet the Slow Food team and learn more about the recipe we specifically created for this program, sample some bread, and find out how you can be a volunteer to help provide freshly baked bread for families in need.

This is a Slow Food East End and Heart of the Hamptons.

Learn more about SFEE Flour Power and Sign-up to be a Baker!

Bakers Workshop at CAST

Jan 31, 2023 | Blog, Flour Power, Past Events

Thank you to everyone who came to our Flour Power Baker’s Workshop at CAST! We had so much fun chatting with you all. The outpouring of support for our community is humbling. And, oh, all the loaves of bread we will donate! Grateful to everyone who came out to learn more about Slow Food East End’s Flour Power program… now, let’s get baking!

If you missed our event, don’t fret! Here are some important takeaways:

You do NOT need to be an experienced baker to sign up.
We will hold your hand throughout the process – we even give you a “hotline” number to call with questions.
Everyone loves the bread (yes, we ate a lot!).
We are always looking for more bakers.
While we hope you bake each cycle, we understand life gets in the way. So you can bake when you can and don’t worry about it when you have to skip a few weeks.

You can ALWAYS sign up to be a baker for Flour Power! Please don’t let the fact that you have a busy life stop you from signing up. The next baking cycle is February 13th, 2023, so there’s still plenty of time!

Once you sign up we’ll send you an email with a baking video, and drop-off procedure, and get you started in no time. We even have a Facebook group so that you can connect with other bakers in the community. Click below to sign-up and bake for any of the food pantries in our Flour Power Program. We can always use your helping hands!