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August 28, 2002 ‘Edible
Schoolyard’ pioneer to keynote Food for Thought Festival
Madison – Her restaurant was named the best in
America last year. She’s been called “the Mother of American
Cooking." She initiated her community's "Edible
Schoolyard" project, in which schoolchildren grow, prepare and
enjoy their own fruits and vegetables. And she’s coming to Madison this fall. This year’s Food for Thought Festival will
feature internationally acclaimed chef, author, and “Edible
Schoolyard” pioneer Alice Waters of Berkeley, Calif. The festival,
which will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21, is themed
“Nourishing the Future: Food and Our Children.” Saturday’s events, from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. on
Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. just off the Capitol Square, will include
Waters’ keynote speech, booksigning, and food presentation. Other
highlights include kids’ activities, musicians, informational booths,
a street theater performance, the Jolly Giants stiltwalkers, the “Look
Who’s Cooking” recipe contest, and much more. On Friday evening, Waters will give a lecture
titled “Nourishing the Future: Food, Schools, and Our Children” at
7:30 p.m. at Bascom Hall on the UW campus. A panel discussion will
follow, with panelists Jean Feraca of WHA radio and farmer, teacher
and school garden organizer Mark Voss of Voss Organics. UW English
professor Betsy Draine will moderate the discussion. All festival events are free and open to the public. “Alice Waters, with her international reputation, her commitment to local foods, and her interest in teaching children about gardening and preparing healthy meals, is perfectly suited to this year’s festival,” said festival organizer Chris Rietz. Along with her duties as executive chef and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, which was named Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine last year, Waters helped create the “Edible Schoolyard,” a garden at one of Berkeley’s middle schools. The project involves students directly in planting, gardening, harvesting, cooking, and eating their own fruits and vegetables. A group of interested parents and community members
are exploring the possibility of launching a similar project in Madison.
Their project, the Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch Project, is still in its
early stages, but it has been awarded a two-year grant from the USDA.
Project members will have a booth at Saturday’s festival so parents
and other interested festival-goers can learn more about it. “I'm excited
that this world-renowned chef and food activist, who's been able to
accomplish such amazing things for kids and adults alike, will be coming
here to Madison,” Rietz said. “People
in Madison will have access to her, her ideas and her experiences. I
think she’ll have insights into how we can do similar work here.” Waters will sign copies of her books from 8:30 to
10 a.m., then deliver the keynote address, “The Ethics of Eating,”
at 10:30 a.m. in the main tent. Other attractions include
the high-energy African drum, dance and song group
Dadawah, Irish band Leahy’s Luck, and
folk singer Joe Kimmel. The core of the festival will be the 50 or so
local vendors and organizations purveying information, food, and
food-related items. Booths providing information on children’s health,
community gardens, and other
food-related programs will be featured this year.
Another festival highlight is the announcement of
the Look Who’s Cooking recipe contest winners. This year’s contest
is for cooks of all ages who use farmers’ market products and other
Wisconsin-made ingredients in their favorite recipes. Local chefs Rafe
Montello of “We’re Cooking Now” and Paul Short of MATC’s
Culinary Trades will help prepare winning entries from the competition.
The grand prize winner will be awarded a $500 cash prize. Given this year’s theme, the kids’ area will be
expanded to two tents. The performance tent will feature kids’
entertainment, including musician Rich Baumann and a children’s street
theatre performance – accompanied by Dadawah – of an African
folktale called “Why is the Sky so Far Away?” The activity tent will
feature food-related activities, chickens on a leash, a mural, and much
more. “This year’s theme and Alice Waters’ message
are a great way to get people thinking about kids and healthy eating,”
Rietz said. “Whether people have kids of their own or not, we all
realize that children really are our future.” The festival is sponsored by REAP Food Group, a
group of people who are interested in the quality of the food we eat and
the social, environmental and economic implications of what and how we
eat. It is made possible by the generous support of organizations
including the Julian Price Family Foundation, L’Etoile Restaurant,
Williamson Street Grocery Cooperative, Madison Area Technical College,
the Dane County Farmers’ Market, UW Lectures, and the UW Center for
Integrated Agricultural Systems. For more festival information and the latest
listing of activities, locations and times, please see the festival web
site at www.reapfoodgroup.org/foodforthought. You may also contact: Lori Compas at lori@hartcreek.com or 608-238-1654 Chris Rietz at crietz@execpc.com
or 608-242-1841 ###
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The Food for
Thought Festival is coordinated by REAP. |
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