What exactly is Clean Plates NYC, and who is it for? In this short video, founder and coauthor Jared Koch presents a simple description of how his restaurant and nutrition guide can serve as a helpful and accessible resource for New Yorkers and visitors alike.

Tickets are still available for the 10th Annual CSA in NYC Conference, hosted by Just Food this Sunday. The event is an opportunity for CSA members and farmers from around the city to come together for a day of workshops, discussion, and good food. Registration and more information is available online at http://tiny.cc/t6Jsq.

For updates on presenters, workshops and expo participants, please visit the Just Food website at www.justfood.org.

Just Food CSA in NYC Conference
Sunday, February 28, 2010
8:30 am – 6:00 pm
Teachers College, Columbia University

Foodprint NYC is the first in a series of international conversations about food and the city. From a cluster analysis of bodega inventories to the cultural impact of the ice-box, and from food deserts to peak phosphorus, panelists will examine the hidden corsetry that gives shape to urban foodscapes, and collaboratively speculate on how to feed New York in the future. The free afternoon program will include designers, policy-makers, flavor scientists, culinary historians, food retailers, and others, for a wide-ranging discussion of New York’s food systems, past and present, as well as opportunities to transform our edible landscape through technology, architecture, legislation, and education.

Speakers include:
• Joel Berg: Executive Director, New York City Coalition Against Hunger
• Makalé Faber Cullen: cultural anthropologist; former Program Director, Slow Food USA
• Stanley Fleishman: CEO, Jetro
• Thomas Forster: policy advisor, School Food FOCUS; co-chair, Food Systems Network of New York City
• Joseph Grima: Director, Storefront for Art and Architecture; co-architect, Landgrab City installation
• William Grimes: New York Times restaurant critic (1999-2003)
• Annie Hauck-Lawson: President, Association for the Study of Food and Society
• Natalie Jeremijenko: Director, xDesignEnvironmental Health Clinic, NYU
• Naa Oyo A. Kwate: Assistant Professor, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

Schedule:
Zoning Diet (1:00 – 1:55 pm)
Culinary Cartography (2:00 – 2:55 pm)
Edible Archaeology (3:30 – 4:25 pm)
Feast, Famine, and Other Scenarios (4:30 – 5:25 pm)

Foodprint NYC
Saturday, February 27, 2010
1:00 – 5:30 pm
Studio-X
180 Varick St., Suite 1610
New York, NY 10014
Free and open to the public

For more information, please visit www.foodprintproject.com.

Even in today’s snowstorm, a handful of farmers are braving the elements to sell their produce at the Greenmarket at Union Square! Bravo to the hardy souls.

Wondering what’s out there for fresh produce to be had? In frustration with being unable to find morel mushrooms at his local market on a particular day, Michael Horn put his irritation into action. He developed whatisfresh.com, an online resource to help hungry New Yorkers find the produce they were looking for, without having to first trek all over the city. His website is a fantastic and thorough guide to the Greenmarkets of NYC. Use it to find out what’s fresh, seasonal, and local – and feel inspired to cook something new!

“What’s On Your Plate is exactly the film we need now,” says author Michael Pollan of the new documentary by Catherine Gund. The film follows two eleven-year-old children exploring the food systems of New York City and their place in the bigger picture of food politics. The girls speak with food activists, storekeepers, farmers, and their families in their journey toward understanding what we eat and why we eat it.

Watch What’s On Your Plate? tonight on the Discovery Channel at 10 pm! Additional showtimes are on February 7 at 6 am and 2 pm, February 11 at 11 pm, and February 12 at 7 am and 3 pm. Learn more at www.whatsonyourplateproject.org.

Greetings, Clean Plates fans. We’ve had a big weekend here in New York City! Yesterday was the NYC Food & Climate Summit at NYU, which the Clean Plates team attended. A few highlights from the day:

–Opening remarks by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, whose office authored the NYC Food Pledge that we hope you’ll sign. He is a true advocate for a sustainable food movement in New York!

–Video address from Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

–An exciting and vibrant Twitter exchange all day among the 1,000 attendees (log in and search for #nycfoodclimate to read more – Clean Plates tweets under ‘jarkoch’)

–An inspiring video address by Vandana Shiva, founder of the seed-saving organization Navdanya

–Panelist Marion Nestle (author, educator, force of nature): “The same dietary advice that’s appropriate for people is appropriate for the planet!”

–Closing remarks by Mario Batali: Batali (whose Babbo is Clean Plates-approved!) spoke about the importance of taking a few extra moments to think each time we make a food decision – a way to choose better taste, better community, and better planet. Seek out producers, suppliers, and purveyors that align their values with yours, and support them!

It was inspiring to see so many people engaged in attempts to effect a more just, sustainable, and delicious food system. Many thanks to the folks who made the Summit possible. Visit their website for video and more information: www.nyu.edu/sustainability/foodandclimatesummit.

Hope to see you there next year!

TOMORROW: Join Clean Plates at The Village Green Show and Sustainable Business Network NYC Holiday Party!

The Village Green is an entertaining, informative and inspiring one-hour variety show focused on the issue of local and sustainable food in NYC. A sort of green version of A Prairie Home Companion, The Village Green will feature live music, comedy, and interviews with local policy makers and leaders in sustainable business. Following the event, stay for networking with the Sustainable Business Network.

Featuring:
Michael Hurwitz, GreenMarkets
Cynthia Yang, Great Performances
Ben Lingsley, President of Bright Farm Systems
Jared Koch, Clean Plates NYC
The Village Green Band
Special Musical Guest Seth Glier

Learn more and buy tickets at www.sbnyc.org/events/VillageGreen2009.html

The Village Green
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Village Green Show 7 – 8 pm
SBNYC Holiday Party 8 – 9:30 pm
WNYC’s Greene Space
44 Charlton Street (at Varick Street)
New York, NY 10014

New York food lovers, this event is for you!

Gastropolis

Join the folks at the James Beard Foundation for a discussion of the book Gastropolis: Food & New York City with editors and contributors Annie Hauck-Lawson, Jonathan Deutsch, and Mitchell Davis.

Gastropolis examines the history of food and its social, political, and economic impact on New York City, connecting the dots, through a series of essays, between dining, community, society, and iconic New York foods like the bagel and the knish.

Beard on Books: Gastropolis: Food & New York City
Wednesday, November 18, 12 – 1 pm
The James Beard House Dining Room
167 West 12th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues)
New York, NY 10011
Students: free; all others: suggested donation, $20
To register: 212-627-2308