Eating LA

EarthWE will host the inaugural event of EATING LA, with a joint “Artisanal Food Fare” and a Forum exploring how to grow a local food system in Los Angeles, on Sunday afternoon, December 15, in Bergamot Station, Santa Monica.

The local homemade food bazaar will take place in the Bergamot Courtyard and parking lot next to the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

The Forum will consist of two separate, mixed panels of food growers (backyard gardeners, school and community-based urban farmersand buyers representing caterers, chefs, restaurants, and homemade cottage food act purveyors. These moderator led Q&A discussions will take place at 1 pm and again at 3:30 pm with a new lineup of participants. 

Forum panelists will include many of Los Angeles' most visible food activists, project leaders and those passionate about local, sustainable food. Confirmed panelists are listed below. 

The Artisanal Food Fare brings together cottage food makers and crafters from across Los Angeles to share their culinary creations with “locavores,” foodies and anyone looking for special holiday gifts or treats for their own table. Over a dozen food crafters will be selling their wares. Jams, preserves, pickles, breads, etc. 

“Many people are not yet aware of the recently passed California law, AB1616, enabling normal people without a commercial kitchen license to prepare and sell their home-cooked food. in person or online. This new law was one of the catalyzing developments leading us to organize EATING LA as way to connect the dots between local producers of veggies and fruits, home kitchen chefs, and on the consumer side, local food banks, schools, consumers, CSAs, food trucks and restauranteurs. School, parkway, and backyard gardens are increasingly popular.  We all support local organic produce at farmers markets, but the reality is that much of that produce is shipped in from up to 200 miles away. There is a massive untapped potential for regional food production, with all kinds of benefits like creating local jobs, cutting food miles, air pollution, and connecting kids with agriculture.”

“Our project EATING LA says: let’s do more to connect the buyers with the growers!  While we're at it, why not take the idea of local food system a step further and collect and distribute excess food to LA food deserts and food banks, help LA close the loops, and move closer to a “circular economy”? This event is a first step in bringing together many of the stakeholders to jumpstart a more focused dialogue on what else we can do.

The Artisanal Food Fare will be free to the public, and open from noon – 5:00 pm, held in the Courtyard next to the Santa Monica Art Museum.

The Forum and the film screening will be held inside the EarthWE gallery and Juntobox Films screening room. Entrance to the Forum is first come, first served and  requires advanced RSVP due to limited seating.

Entrance to the advance sneak preview screening of "Growing Cities" will be on a donation basis. 

Meet the Panelists:

 

 

 

Screening in the EarthWE screening room at 5:30,

a very special sneak preview of "Growing Cities". 

A documentary on urban agriculture and growing food in America. 

Trailer here:

And in the EarthWE gallery, the beauitful photographs of Stephanie Kordan, from her blog The Sensual Foodie, and of Elliott Kuhn, one of our panelists and Founder of Reedley Street Farms

EATING LA is a joint effort by EarthWE, Homemade1616, Project Butterfly and Rhyzotek