The Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets is pleased to invite area residents to celebrate local food in February through a film screening and book talk. On Feb 17th at 6pm (snow date Feb 24th) there will be a gathering at the Pittsfield Public Library to discuss Ben Hewitt’s book, The Town that Food Saved. The book is about a rural Vermont town and the agricultural entrepreneurs who helped revitalize its economy via food-based, sustainable economic development. Anyone with an interest in food or the changing economic environment for rural communities will find this book (available at the Pittsfield Public Library and many other libraries across Maine) fascinating. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments (local, of course!) will be served.
The next event will feature a screening of Maine Farmland Trust’s film, “Growing Local.” The evening begins at 6:00pm with a local foods fair in the auditorium of the First Universalist Church on Feb 19th (snow date Feb 26th). Enjoy samples of local foods, learn about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) options in the area, hear some lively banjo music, and pick up information about local food-related groups and organizations
all in the church auditorium and parlor. The film screening will start after 6:30pm, and will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with Mark Guzzi (Peacemeal Farm) and Mike Gold (Maine Farmland Trust). The local food fair will include:
Balfour Farm – samples and products for sale
Cornerstone Farm – samples & CSA shares for sale
OATs Any Time – samples & products for sale
Peter Felsenthal (author of New Growth) – book signing
Rollins Orchard – cider for sale
Snakeroot Organic Farm – CSA shares for sale
The Pittsfield Buying Club – learn about this local buying option
Sebasticook Valley Health – new programs in the community
Bud’s Shop ‘N Save – display of locally grown products
Live banjo music (Mark Horn – “Professor Smartypants“)
Plus prize drawings!
More about the “Growing Local” film:
“While “buying local” is on the rise, the stories in Growing Local make clear that small farms and access to locally produced food is not a sure thing. In the film, we meet the young farm couple Ben & Taryn, who, on risky sweat-equity, have revitalized a famously fertile piece of farmland into a thriving community food hub, artisanal butcher Ben who helps us better understand how healthier, thoughtful meat production can be supported and sustained, and Richard and Adam, father and son organic dairy farmers struggling to keep their family farm going and in the family. These poignant vignettes help us understand the interconnected fates of Maine’s small farms, consumers and the buy-local movement.”
Also, check out the film website for more about the documentary:
http://www.growinglocalfilms.org/
For more information, please contact:
Leigh Hallett
Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets
113 North Lancey St.
Pittsfield, ME 04967
(207) 487-7114
These events are sponsored by the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets, Maine Farmland Trust,
the Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit Union, and the Pittsfield Public Library.
