Back to the Land in Bethesda

Despite a cold morning and icy sidewalks, over 70 county residents spent this past Saturday at Bethesda Green talking about increasing the amount of locally grown food in Montgomery County and watching a live stream of TEDx Manhattan’s ‘Changing the Way We Eat’. 

Organized by Bethesda Green, Full Plate Ventures, and Slow Food D.C., Full Plate Ventures principal Cheryl Kollin welcomed the group by saying, “This is the only viewing party organized in the entire D.C. metropolitan area.” 

It was a day to listen to speakers at the cutting edge of our national debate about local food, hear from individuals working to change the way we eat in the D.C. area, and meet others interested in and committed to local food.  Building on the , the day was a chance to visibly see progress made in the past year on both a national and local level.

The day opened with a breakfast of locally available foods – squash and ginger muffins, a salad of apples, pears and mint, and yogurt, cheese, and honey.   Kollin asked the group to name their favorite winter food as people sat down for the morning session, and attendees shared their love of soups, kale, butternut squash, chili and many other foods available during the winter months.

Viewing party attendees brought dishes of locally available foods to share for a group lunch.  A pasta salad made with beet greens picked that morning from a farmer’s field, au gratin potatoes, quinoa salad with vegetables and a Jordanian apple cake reflected the variety of cultures represented at the event. 

As the lunchtime session of speakers got underway, Kollin introduced Dave Feldman, executive director of Bethesda Green and Kathryn Warnes, president of Slow Food DC.  Starting with a viewing of a trailer for Growing Legacy on Metro’s Edge, , Kristina Bostick of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance spoke about the production of the documentary.

Claire Cummings also spoke about the newly formed Montgomery County Food Council which will hold its first public meeting on Feb. 15. The council has been formed to bring together all stakeholders in Montgomery County’s food supply – from farmers to purveyors to consumers – to evaluate the food supply chain in Montgomery County with a goal to create a robust, local, sustainable food system in the county.

With such an enthusiastic and large group attending this year’s TEDx ‘Changing the Way we Eat’ viewing party, interest in local food is clearly important to Bethesda. We look forward to hearing more from Saturday’s organizers, speakers and attendees in the coming year!