Hunger Outreach Program’s Local Food Fair drew involved students, interested community members, and the Swinging Gates to The Loj last week for a fresh and delicious feast made entirely of food produced in the Hamilton area.
Liz Whitehurst ’08, community coordinator at The Loj, a college theme house dedicated to the environment, said students went shopping at the farmers market in Hamilton the weekend before and then worked together to prepare the food.
Several local vendors also donated to the Thursday night event, which was held during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Hamilton Whole Foods, Red Roof Maple and Produce, Stone Brother’s Farm and Greenhouse, and Heidelberg Baking Co. supplied desserts, drinks, appetizers, fresh produce, and bread.
“We wanted to show people what they can buy locally from the farmers market and from locally owned businesses,” said Whitehurst. “By keeping money in our community, we can battle the sorts of issues that are associated with hunger and homelessness, which often come when money is concentrated in corporations and at the top of the heap.”
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| students at The Loj, a college theme house on Broad Street, work on a special dinner prepared with local products. (Photo by Timothy D. Sofranko) |
Because the fair was held to foster awareness within our area, the Broad Street Community Council, whose mission it is to connect people within Broad Street houses who would not normally come together, also sponsored this event.
Susanne Farrington, a pottery vendor at the weekly farmers market on the Village Green, was happy to attend the event and enjoy both the food and company.
“I like the energy and I like to see how Liz is such a good team worker and organizer,” Farrington said. “Liz is a wonderful model for energizing the whole team and getting things done.”
Whitehurst, whose job it was to help in the kitchen and to make sure that things were staying hot and presentable, was glad to host such an event.
“It gives [the students and Hamilton residents] a reason to get together. If we have something to agree on, such as the fact that we all like local food, then we have a reason to talk and we have a reason to celebrate what we have.”