The RAFT coalition 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 planning for a 2009 Grow-Out of heirloom vegetables regionally adapted to New England. We are cultivating networks of growers and chefs in and around Portsmouth, NH; Boston, MA; and Providence, RI to get involved in our project for the 2009 growing season.
We plan to recruit at least five growers each in Portsmouth, Boston, and Providence to pair with five chefs from each respective city. Farmers will receive vegetable seeds provided by RAFT partners Seed Savers Exchange and other seed providers, then grow-out the vegetables for chefs who have agreed to purchase the heirloom produce and feature it on their menus.
We invite farmers throughout the Northeast to contact our office if you’re interested in receiving heirloom seeds for the 2009 growing season.
Spread the word! If you know any farmers or chefs in the areas we’ve mentioned, please direct them to our site or tell them to get in touch with Chefs Collaborative.
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.
