Emceed by Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm, Swoope, VA
With Chef Bryan Voltaggio of VOLT restaurant in Frederick, MD
With Chef Bryan Voltaggio of VOLT restaurant in Frederick, MD
Farm Food Voices (FFV) celebrates the abundance of the land and the fruits of our labors. An innovator in the meeting of politics and food, it is a feast that connects us with our legislators, giving a face and voice to “small farms” and “local foods.”
WHEN: March 16 2011, Capitol Hill, Washington DC
Farmers, this is an opportunity for you to highlight your farm’s production by bringing the beauty and bounty of your farm to the table.
Chefs, you get to work with the finest ingredients to create local food dishes while establishing relationships with local producers and legislators.
Please contact Liz Reitzig if you are interested in being a part of our amazing team of farmers and chefs for FFV 2011. We hope to see you there! 301-807-5063
Learn more about Farm Food Voices DC, how and why we hold this special annual event including information about past events. www.farmfoodvoicesdc.com
What is Farm Food Voices DC?
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
--Margaret Mead
Each spring, while farmers across the country plant seeds in the ground, Farm Food Voices DC plants seeds in the minds and hearts of legislators, seeds that lead to a bountiful harvest of freedom for farmers and consumers to provide for each other. As our farmers cultivate the land for a rich yield in the future, so must we build and cultivate relationships with our legislators.
The average consumer is experiencing a food renaissance. Consumers realize that the best ingredients come from local small, independent farms, and they strive to preserve access to these foods. Small-scale farmers are the new super heroes as they find ways to bring life back to the earth while cultivating amazing food. As our heroes encounter the regulatory and legislative burdens of selling to their consumers, they are speaking out. Consumers, listening to farmers, have joined voices with them.
Food unites us. It is a commonality we all share and relate to. Gathering around the table together builds on our sense of community and responsibility to each other. Led by the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, farmers, chefs, small business owners, non-profit organizations and consumers cooperate to bring the message of food freedom to Congress. At this national small farm and ranch grassroots lobby day and legislative reception, individuals and groups spend the day on Capitol Hill meeting with their legislators’ and staff. At the end of the day, we tangibly and artistically illustrate our message with a fabulous local foods feast for legislators, staff and grassroots lobbyists prepared by the region’s best chefs using ingredients donated by local farms.
See the link below for a write-up of Farm Food Voices 2010
http://hartkeisonline.com/2010/03/19/farm-food-voices-2010/
