The purpose of the 2009 Grow-Out is to celebrate and raise awareness of agricultural biodiversity, while promoting the development of markets for locally-raised, regionally-significant, heirloom produce in New England.
The Grow-Out project is run with a belief in the power of community building and celebration in growing and enhancing local food economies. Twenty-eight farmers and thirty-five chefs in Boston, MA; Portsmouth, NH and Providence, RI are participating in the Grow-Out this year. Each farmer is growing some of the sixteen varieties of regionally significant, heirloom vegetables chosen for the project. Seeds were donated to the project by Seed Savers Exchange, Fedco Seeds and Old Sturbridge Village. Farmers are “growing out” these seeds and participant chefs are buying the produce, featuring and celebrating it on their menus. To read more about the project, farmers and chefs, check out the Chefs Collaborative blog.
RAFT Grow-Out Celebrations:
Heirloom Harvest Week -
A Celebration of the New England RAFT Grow-Out
Heirloom Harvest Week is a celebration of New England’s agricultural heritage, biodiversity and farmer-chef connections. On October 12th – 18th, all the Grow-Out participant restaurants in Boston, Providence and Portsmouth will have one or more items on their menu highlighting and honoring locally grown vegetables from the project. Stop by to eat delicious food while supporting your local restaurants and farms and celebrating New England’s agricultural heritage.
Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner
Kicking off the Heirloom Harvest Week will be the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner on October 11th, 4pm, in the Berry Hill/Meadow’s Mirth Farm barn in Stratham, NH. $95/person. Come celebrate the bounty of the Seacoast region, our rich agricultural history and farmer-chef connections. For more information, visit the Barn Dinner ticket page.
About the RAFT alliance:
The Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) alliance is a coalition of many organizations focused on documenting, restoring and celebrating the regional foods and place-based food traditions that make our country’s foodsheds unique and diverse. The partners include Chefs Collaborative, Slow Food USA, and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, as well as founder and facilitator Gary Nabhan and many local partners. The RAFT Grow-Out run by Chefs Collaborative is just one project among many run by the partners.
For more information about the RAFT coalition, visit Slow Food USA’s RAFT page.
