by Clare Hyre, WWCP Farm Educator at Henry Got Crops! CSA
On Saturday October 5, two Saul students and I had the pleasure to attend the 70x7 Mural Arts “The Meal” dinner on the Thomas Paine Plaza across from City Hall. It was a beautiful gathering of around 900 people who came together to celebrate Heirloom vegetables (plants bred before the 1950’s, before the rise of genetically modified plants) and talk about what heirloom means to us. Isaiah Nelson, Jada May, and I all really enjoyed the food and company. We each got our very own handmade dish from France to take home that highlighted varieties of vegetables that are going extinct. When the meal began we ate Fennel & Parmesan Gratin, Butternut Squash Caponata, Bagna Cauda with Heirloom Vegetables, and Red Thumb Fingerling Potato salad. Our dessert was a crispy Granny Smith apple from a local orchard. Chef Marc Vetri created the menu for the meal and the food came from Lancaster Farm Fresh, Green Meadow Farm, and Heritage Farm. Volunteers who then joined us for the meal served it to us and joined our discussion about the work we were each doing in the arts or farm related world. Although the event was short it was very meaningful to each of us and we owe Lisa Mosca from the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society a big THANK YOU for allowing us to be there. This event made me want to go home and take my CSA vegetables and make a huge meal for my friends and family. It made me want to talk about heirloom and what that means to me. It made me want to learn more about GMO’s and Monsanto and loss of diversity in our eco-systems. Thank you Mural Arts Program and Lucy + Jorge Ota (artists from Paris) who made such a lovely and tasty meal and creating a great conversation starter.
So… what does heirloom mean to you?
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