Hi All,

Before I forget, I want to share with you the link to the Brian Lehrer show on NPR from last Wednesday. I was a guest on the show, along with Daniel Giusti, former head chef of Noma and founder of Brigaid, to talk about the School Lunch Program, and whether it is possible to make a healthy school lunch taste good. I can tell you it is possible, because I have done it, but it requires cooking from scratch, which many schools are not equipped to do. If you missed the show, it is worth a listen!

Last night, following our Slow Food meeting at the Cinema Arts Centre, I sat in on the documentary film, Disturbing the Peace, about the struggle for peace in the Middle East. Disturbing The Peace is a true story of how Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters, join together to challenge the status quo and say “enough.” These soldiers, who were committed to armed battle, and Palestinian fighters who grew up in an occupied land with no freedom, transform their hatred into nonviolent peace activists: Combatants for Peace. It was such an emotional film, and gave the audience a much better understanding of both sides of the battle. It was made very clear, that depending on which side of the fence you grew up on, your view would be skewed by what you saw, heard and experienced. It was easy to transfer the same understanding to our current social dilemma, and use the film as an opportunity to develop more empathy, compassion and understanding to those folks in our own country, who watch different news stations then we do, who live in food insecure neighborhoods, who grew up in a coal mining town or factory town and have no work. The reality from those shoes looks very different then the reality from my shoes, here on the north shore of Long Island. The film’s director, Stephen Apkon, was there to lead a Q & A. He talked about the name of the film, Disturbing the Peace. He said it was not about Disturbing the Peace in the Middle East, but that is was about disturbing the peace of everyday people, and inspiring them to take action. Once you see the injustices going on, are you able to go back to ignoring it and back to your peaceful life, or are you moved to do something about it? That is the question we all need to look at, and that is what the film was trying to do.

Slow Food North Shore is headed to Denver for Slow Food Nation, July 14th-16th! “Slow Food Nations is a national Slow Food event that will gather leaders and eaters, farmers and chefs, educators and families for a weekend of tastings, tours and talks. Inspired by Slow Food International’s biennial Terra Madre gathering in Turin, Italy, Slow Food Nations will combine the energy of a street food festival, rigor of an academic conference, and inspiration of a cultural exchange. The event will feature producers, organizations and prominent food figures from across North America, such as Alice Waters, Deborah Madison, and Steven Satterfield, giving attendees a taste of the Slow Food movement as it occurs in different regions. Admission is free. Ticketed events, including select lectures and workshops, are now available for purchase. Please check out the Slow Food Nations website for events calendar and details.”

Our Slow Food Chapter has 2 really great events coming up! Friday, June 16th is a Tour of the Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm, followed by a tour and wine tasting at Rooftop Reds, a sustainable rooftop vineyard, also at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We’ll finish the evening off with a rooftop gourmet pizza party, overlooking the Manhattan Skyline.

Then on Saturday, June 17th, we will be celebrating our Annual Summer Solstice Party at Restoration Farm in Old Bethpage. This is a casual pot luck dinner, with great food, great music, and great conversation. New this year, Rising Tide Natural Market, our Slow Food Snail of Approval market, will be providing all of the appetizers for the cocktail hour! This is an event you don’t want to miss!

My guest this week on the Progressive Radio Network is Mary Jo Dudley, the Director of the Cornell Farmworker Program, which is dedicated to improving the living and working conditions of farmworkers and their families. As the Director, Mary Jo advocates for Farmworkers to receive equal protection under the law, earn a living wage, live in comfortable housing, are safe and healthy, receive due respect as workers and as individuals, and participate fully in their communities. The current administration’s deportation policy is putting a real strain on farming communities around the country, and that will ultimately effect our country’s food supply. Please join me on Thursday, as we learn more from Mary Jo Dudley about the work of the Cornell Farmworker Program.

Remember, my show is recorded live, every Thursday, from 10-11 am, EST.  To tune in, navigate to PRN.fm and click the “Listen Live” button on the left. Also try downloading the PRN mobile app, and take the station with you wherever you go! If you want to call in during the show with any questions for me or my guest, the call in number is 888-874-4888.

If you can’t tune in at that time, you can listen to the show in the PRN archives, or through a direct phone line to my archives. Just dial 1-701-719-0880, and you can listen to the past 5 weeks of shows! Of course you can also access the shows through my website, or through iTunes. Please “like” iEat Green’s Facebook page and feel free to rate the show and leave comments on iTunes and on my website. Thank you all for your support.

With love and gratitude,

Bhavani