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June 5: Slow Down on the North Fork with us at 8 Hands Farm

Slow Down on the North Fork with us at 8 Hands Farm!

Date: Thursday, June 5

Time: 5:30 – 7:30pm

Place: 8 Hands Farm – 4735 Cox Ln, Cutchogue, NY 11935

We are so honored that our first fundraiser this year will be hosted by 8 Hands Farm, a 28-acre family farm on the North Fork that has earned our Snail of Approval for their growing practices. Their work and journey have earned our admiration.  

Join us on Thursday, June 5 at the farm, 4735 Cox Lane, Cutchogue, NY from 5:30-7:30pm for a private behind-the-scenes tour, which includes a chance to meet their newest lambs too!  You’ll learn more about 8 Hands philosophy that informs all they do — and enjoy a farm-to-grill multi-course tasting menu of their provisions, chefs Max and John of Fyr & Salt. We’ll be serving Bedell Cellars wines and Doublespeak Craft cocktails.  Tickets are $150, and we have a limited number of early bird discounts for dues paying Slow Food East End members. 

Meet with us to learn more about why we love 8 Hands. Their origin story is moving:

“After viewing the documentary Food Inc., we learned much about the industrialized food system we didn’t know and didn’t like.  With the large-scale animal confinement operations that dominate the food industry today, our society has gotten so far from what is natural and normal.   Herbivores should graze pasture, chickens should scratch to uncover bugs and eat grass, and pigs should root and turn up the soil in search of food.  It is these natural behaviors that play a critical role in soil, animal health, our environment, and ultimately in the food we eat.  

We realized that real change in the food system would have to occur at the grassroots level. So with no experience in farming, but driven by a desire to make a difference within our own community we decided to start a farm. After much reading and research, and visits to other sustainably run farms, we decided to put our knowledge to practice and start farming. We rented some farmland and bought some sheep, and began our journey. Since that time,e we have been challenged with the realities of farming that no book can prepare you for. Still, with perseverance, our farm has grown to the diversified operation we had first envisioned, built with the support of the wonderful community that has encouraged us every step of the way. “ 

June 20: Slow Down on the South Fork for Summer Solstice at Share the Harvest Farm

Slow Down on the South Fork for Summer Solstice at Share the Harvest Farm!

Date: Friday, June 20

Time: 5:30 – 7:30pm

Place: Share the Harvest Farm – 55 Long Lane, East Hampton

Join us at sweet and mighty Share the Harvest Farm at 55 Long Lane, East Hampton on June 20 (rain date June 21) 5:30pm- 7:30pm, to meet our friends whose mission is to fight hunger with fresh, local produce. Come for a farm tour, get to know the farm team to learn more about their mission and growing practices and stay for fun, a beautiful sun set and great eats – enjoy the farm’s fresh produce with tastings by Boards by Jess and Aki’s Kitchen, freshly shucked oysters from Oysterponds Shellfish Company, wines by Channing Daughters and live music with Amber Roe. Your ticket purchase will support Share the Harvest’s efforts at a time when federal funding cuts are impacting social services and farms that support them.

Share the Harvest Farm earned a Snail of Approval for their amazing work. This non-profit farming organization grows and donates thousands of pounds of fresh, highly nutritious vegetables and herbs, serving numerous local organizations that feed hundreds of children, seniors, disabled people, and low-income working families in our community.

Share the Harvest started on a half acre in 2010, and now farms six acres at EECO Farm in East Hampton. Founded on the belief that everyone should have access to fresh, nutritious food, their mission is to grow highly nutritious and organic produce for donation to local food pantries and other charitable organizations, to increase food access for all in need, and to raise awareness about food insecurity on the East End. Fundamentally, the farm’s viewpoint is to give not what is left over or inferior in quality, but that which all would want to put on their own tables.

Organizations Share the Harvest’s services include:

– South Fork food pantries
– Affordable housing complexes
– The Retreat, women’s domestic violence shelter
– East Hampton Town Senior Citizens Nutrition Center
– Heart of the Hamptons
– Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE)

Share the Harvest employs organic methods to encourage a diverse and thriving soil ecosystem that provides a healthy environment for the crops. A focus on nutrient-rich vegetables and cold-tolerant staple crops provides much-needed produce in early spring and late fall, when many families in our community are struggling to make ends meet. Past generous donations allowed STH to build greenhouses that extend their growing season to allow the farm to continue delivering produce all year-round.

SFEE Annual Auction is LIVE!

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.

 

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

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.

Inviting All Bakers for our Thanksgiving Bake!

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!

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

#SlowTheForksDown #FeedTheForks

Thank You for a Wonderful Slow Food East End Annual Meeting

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.