Digging In!

I’m back from Burlington, VT where I attended the National School to Cafeteria conference, Digging In! The conference was wonderful and flavorful as well. Some high points were the slew of inspirational speakers: Anupama Joshi, Senator Bernie Sanders, Diane Imbre, Gail Christopher, Chellie Pingree, and Debra Eschmeyer, to name a few. I got jazzed by the workshop given by the Slow Food Denver See-to-Table folks (http://www.sfdseedtotable.org), Gigia Kolouch and Andrew Nowak, on Learner Driven Cooking Classes. The trip out to Shelburne Farms on Friday night was spectacular. Shelburne Farms has an array of educational programs (http://www.shelburnefarms.org/educationprograms/index.shtml) as well as an amazing infrastructure. On the grounds were the two largest barns I have ever seen in my entire life! With mountains to both the west and the east at sunset, and fields that stretch for miles in every direction, it was a memorable evening, not to mention a great meal provided by numerous cooking programs showcasing their abilities. I also loved meeting artist Bonnie Acker. I added some carrots to one of the six group created panels made on Saturday by conference attendees. I plan to write more at length on issues raised at the conference and about programs I became acquainted with at the conference in the future!

Art panel created under the direction of Bonnie Acker.