The RAFT alliance to Renew America’s Food Traditions was founded in 2005 to restore America’s agricultural biodiversity and to develop a public understanding of place-based foods. Chefs Collaborative is proud to be part of this multidisciplinary project.
As part of the work to document, restore, and celebrate America’s food and agricultural traditions, Chefs Collaborative is coordinating a 2009 Grow-Out of heirloom vegetables regionally adapted to New England. Chefs and farmers in and around Portsmouth, NH; Boston, MA; and Providence, RI will be involved in our project for the 2009 growing season. In each area, growers will be raising 16 varieties of heirloom fruits and vegetables that have particular historical significance in New England. Chefs will be buying the produce to prepare and feature on their menus. We’re looking forward to a delicious symbiosis when heirloom seeds intersect with talented farmers and chefs! Check back soon for more information as the project progresses, including RAFT Grow-Out celebrations and events!
For more on other RAFT initiatives, visit the RAFT section of the Slow Food USA website.
Our RAFT work brings together our commitment to sustainable cuisine, collaboration, and community. Together, the RAFT partners and participants are working towards the conservation and restoration of place-based foods and foodways, and we look forward to a day when we can all raise a glass to America’s unique food traditions, renewed!
photo: Seattle RAFT picnickers, September 23, 2007. Photo by Robert Galvin.
