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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.

June 20: Slow Hour at Golden Acres Organic Farm

Join us for a Slow Hour!

When: June 20th, 4 – 7 pm

Where: Golden Acres Organic Farm, 652 Peconic Bay Blvd., S. Jamesport

Bring the whole family, the strawberry fields are ripe and ready for picking! You’ll see the benefits of fruits harvested from pesticide-free healthy organic soils.

Your (adult) ticket includes:

  • Pick-your-own quart of organic heritage strawberries
  • Nibbles of “berry delicious” snacks provided by Main Road Biscuit Co
  • Taste of local wines from Long Island Wine Country Vineyards (over 21 only) in a collectable SFEE wine glass
  • Discount at the farm stand
  • A complimentary SFEE canvas tote bag to carry home all your farm goodies
  • Lawn games and lots of family fun

Reserve your tickets now!

Discounted kids and SFEE member pricing available.

Golden Acres continues to farm the land previously known as Golden Earthworm Organic Farm, in 1994 it was the very first USDA-Certified Organic vegetable farm on the North Fork. The new owners Kelly and Sean Brennan renamed the farm. Still, they continue to manage their soils organically with the same farm team and follow the same organic practices Golden Earthworm began 30 years ago, honoring the mission to grow food to feed our community while nourishing the soil for future generations.

Meet the new passionate farm team, enjoy picking heritage strawberries at the only organic you-pick farm on Long Island, taste delicious berry treats, and learn how to make them at home too.

This sweet, picturesque farm is at the end of a winding tree-lined road,  you’ll find us at the old dairy barn ready to celebrate summer with you!

Visit Golden Acres Organic Farm website HERE

Bonus treat – Wild Plum Poetry poet Kate Seward will be on site that evening offering personalized poems written in real time on a vintage typewriter for purchase.

Thanks for Coming To Slow Hour at Macari Vineyards

We hosted a Slow Hour last week at Macari Vineyards, and it exceeded all of our expectations… and our expectations are high! Slow Hour is our version of Happy Hour, but better. These events allow us to slow down, enjoy each other’s company, and some local wine. Thank you to our friends, the Macari family, whose vineyard is unbelievably gorgeous and has received recognition for its composting program. We couldn’t have asked for better hosts, a better venue, or better wine. Everyone enjoyed the nibbles of rustic pizza slices served up by Washington Squares Pizza, made with all New York State ingredients, including vegan and gluten-free options.

Mary Morgan, one of the founders of our Slow Food East End chapter, and an activist and influencer for food waste solutions, was on hand to share in the conversation that evening. We also owe a huge thank you to the Long Island Organics Council for joining us and sharing information about their new East End Countertop Recycling Pilot. This special pilot program is being launched this summer for households on the East End of Long Island to test a countertop recycler as a food waste solution for our region. Our members couldn’t wait to get their hands on these ground-breaking machines. The pilot, a partnership between the Long Island Organics Council and Food Cycle Science, begins August 1 and runs through December 31, 2023.

Join our East End Pilot: The community climate solution

  • Press start + turn green to soil gold
  • Lower your carbon footprint
  • Provide community data for our towns
  • Save with our pilot discount

Early Snail Special & School Bonus

You can join this composting pilot program early! While the East End pilot officially begins August 1, you can join as early as July 1 as part of an “early snail special” offered by Slow Food East End. Special bonus: for every 50 participants who join in July, our East End Chapter will earn a countertop FoodCycler for our Chefs in Schools program.

“We were delighted to offer this pilot as an ‘early snail special’ to our membership in our continuing effort to bring new ideas to the region. This can benefit our school program, as after 50 people join, we receive a FoodCycler, SFEE is able to donate a unit to local East End schools and food pantries in need,” said Maria McBride, Slow Food East End’s vice president, and a pilot advisor. 

Interested?

Find out more on the special East End Countertop Recycler Pilot – HERE.

Questions? 

Contact Mary Morgan, Pilot manager: EastEndCountertopRecyclerPilot@gmail.com

Join us! Let’s all recycle food scraps and regenerate our soils!

We had a blast, and we hope you’ll join us for our next Slow Hour. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the know.

July 11: Slow Hour at Macari Vineyards

Summer is here and we’re ready to celebrate! All are welcome to join us Tuesday, July 11, at 5:30pm at Macari Vineyards in Mattituck for “Slow Hour,” Slow Food East End’s version of happy hour.

Interested in knowing more about the benefits of composting and various methods for home composting?

In the five East End towns, nearly 60 tons of food scraps are generated daily, with much of it ending up as waste! Reducing food waste is crucial for reversing global overheating, nearly 40 percent of food in the U.S. becomes trash, emitting toxic methane when left in landfills. Did you know that households contribute to a staggering 70% of landfill food waste? Composting is a simple and efficient way to remove food waste from landfills and benefit the environment.   

The Long Island Organics Council has long encouraged reducing food waste and making compost as a beneficial lifestyle. We have invited LIOC, the Macari family (whose vineyard has received recognition for its composting program) and Mary Morgan, one of the founders of our Slow Food East End chapter (an expert on food waste solutions), to share in the conversation that evening.

The Macari Family’s waterfront farm, with sweeping views of the Long Island Sound, was established over 50 years ago. Since the first vines were planted in 1995, Macari Vineyards has been recognized as an industry leader in regenerative agriculture. The vineyard is home to a herd of cattle, used for composting, and grows grapes without the use of herbicides.

Although willing, many households are just not able to support a traditional compost system at their home. To help, counter compost units have been developed to dehydrate and grind food scraps to a small fraction of their original volume that is sterile, compact and usable as soil or compost amendments.   

FoodCycle Science is one company that manufactures counter composters, they are establishing pilot programs to encourage more home composting across the U.S. The East End is where their next pilot program will be launched. To help promote this effort our July Slow Hour will also feature a presentation about FoodCycle Science.  The goal of the pilot program is to track countertop-compost usage by households, the data will be used to encourage local municipalities to support food waste retention from our landfills.

The East End Countertop Recycler Pilot program is a partnership between the Long Island Organics Council and Food Cycle Science. The Pilot Program opens to the public on August 1, 2023. As a special partnership SFEE members are able to purchase a unit starting July 1st, 2023. During the “Early Snail Special” all members who purchase discounted FoodCycler units will also support Edible School Garden schools and food pantries. For every 50 participants who purchase a unit and take part in the trial survey, SFEE will donate a FoodCycler to a school or pantry.  For information contact: Mary Morgan, EastEndCountertopRecyclerPilot@gmail.com

“Slow Food East End has been actively supporting composting efforts for years now,” said Mary Morgan. “Our dream was to build an audience among our local food growers and makers, from farmers to fishers, beekeepers to bread bakers, which our SFEE local chapter has achieved so wonderfully. We all know delicious food is based on healthy soil. The composter program helps us all recycle food scraps and regenerate our soils.”  

To learn more, join us on July 11th at Macari Vineyards for our Slow Hour. Wine and snacks will be available for purchase, and joining the discussion is free.  

Together we can further Slow Food’s mission to seek good, clean, and fair food systems for all while supporting schools and food pantries and promoting policy change that encourages municipalities to establish compost drop-off centers for each town and eliminate food waste from our landfills. 

Photos from our Slow Hour at RGNY

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate a beautiful September evening with us at RGNY Wines. Our Slow Hour events are a time to slow down and enjoy each other’s company. It’s always a great opportunity to bring a friend and come on by to meet the Slow Food community, and chat with our volunteer board to learn more about Slow Food on the East End of Long Island. Plus, you get to support local businesses and enjoy a beautiful view!

Thank you to our friends at RGNY for hosting us in their beautiful space, and for the delicious wine.

We are grateful to everyone who attends our events. Your support allows us to help local farmers & food producers who support a healthy environment, good soils, and clean waters for all. We hope you’ll join us for our next Slow Hour, in the meantime, enjoy these photos from the event. Cheers!