Nov. 25, 2009 - Issue #736: Poster Boys
Meet the locals
Locals only: New festival celebrates local food, seasonality
Not so, says Planet Organic co-founder Diane Shaskin, who was instrumental in coordinating the market's first ever Meet the Locals Food Festival that is taking place at their Old Strathcona location. "It shows you that there is local food year round," Shaskin emphasizes.
Although Planet Organic stores in Edmonton stock nearly three dozen products from local companies, Shaskin realized that they had failed to communicate this supply to their patrons. "We've been getting a lot of comments from our customers about local products," shares Shaskin. "We knew that we were already carrying them, but we hadn't really told our customers. So the festival was a way for us to unite all of these great producers in the Edmonton area."
Meet the Locals provides a chance for consumers to interact first hand with food growers and manufacturers from Alberta. The producers represented include everything from meat, dairy, vegetables, grains and prepared goods, and from November 16 – 22, a handful of producers were on hand at the store to offer samples and information about their goods.
Emily McNairnay of Mighty Trio Organics was one such company. Mighty Trio is a small family-owned business located just outside of Redwater, which produces cold-pressed, unrefined hemp, flax seed and canola oils. The canola oil possessed a vibrant orange hue, was more viscous than conventionally-produced oil, and had a slightly floral aroma—it was easy to see and taste the high quality of the product. McNairnay says that while a farmers' market may provide a more consistent venue to meet consumers face to face, she thought the festival was a great initiative. "It's an opportunity to connect with people who shop at Planet Organic already," she explains.
In addition to the tasting tables, the festival also invites local chefs and caterers to the stage. "When you think of local food producers, you think of restaurants," says Shaskin. "We thought it would be great to see how a chef would use organic ingredients and present it in a cooking class format."
On November 19, about a dozen people attended the first of Blair Lebsack's two classes, held in a kitchen-equipped classroom of the south side store. Lebsack, executive chef of Madison's Grill, is a strong proponent of local food, and has close relationships with several area farmers. That night, he prepared a meal that featured no less than eight locally-sourced ingredients, including Sylvan Star grizzly aged gouda as part of an appetizer, Fairwinds Farm goat yogurt utilized in the salad dressing and bison sirloin from Olson's High Country Buffalo in the cassoulet. Lebsack also stressed the use of seasonal ingredients, including radishes and celery root, two vegetables he believes are too often overlooked.
The theme of seasonality permeates the festival, and explains why Meet the Locals is scheduled to take place for a week each month into the new year, continuing December 14 – 20, 2009 and then January 11 – 17, 2010 again with tasting tables and cooking demonstrations.
"We wanted to give people a dose here, there and another time," Shastin says. "December is really about food, as people are really thinking about holiday feasting. It is a great time to do cheeses, and there are some really fabulous local cheeses And then in January, we're all thinking about health, shedding those turkey pounds, cleansing and the foods related to that."
The three-month span allows the festival to showcase a spectrum of products, attuned to that particular time of year. "It ties into that seasonal aspect which is what local food production is about," declares Shaskin.
With 10 stores across Canada, from Victoria to Halifax, Shaskin is proud to say that Edmonton's Meet the Locals Festival is a pilot for Planet Organic. There are plans to eventually host a festival in every location, but Shaskin thinks it is quite fitting for the event to begin in Edmonton because the feeling of community is so strong in the city.
"I started the store on Whyte Avenue with my husband in 1993," tells Shaskin. "I was back in Edmonton this spring and it was like a family reunion. I saw so many of the same customers from when we had the one little store, and they were with their kids who have all grown up now."
More than that, many of Shaskin's links with food producers began in Edmonton. "Grainworks is an example," says Shaskin. "They're out of Vulcan and they supply us with tons of grains and flour and beans. I've been working with that supplier since the beginning."
So although local food advocates often tout the environmental benefits and greater quality of food purchased closer to home, it could also boil down to relationships. Shaskin imparts, "You get that feeling that you're connected to other people, and you're connected to the food." V
visit planetorganic.ca For information
on the upcoming Meet the Locals FOOD FESTIVAL events
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