GR Food Co-op Initiative at last Farmers’ Market tomorrow

Nov11
14853092_1244022365656665_1021203837394574796_oSaturday Nov. 12 is the last day of this year’s Southeast Area Farmers’ Market. The market is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at MLK Jr. Park, 900 Fuller Ave. SE. The Grand Rapids Food Co-op Initiative will be on hand to answer questions about their plans for increasing access to healthy foods in center-city Grand Rapids. Here’s how they describe their work:
“Grand Rapids is coming together to build a full-service grocery cooperative near downtown. We’re really excited to create a new place for community. Our space is intended to bring people in for more than groceries. We hope it will be a welcoming place for everyone in Grand Rapids. We hope people will spend their free time here. We want friends to meet for a sandwich from the deli, a coffee from the cafe, or some wine they bought off the store shelf. We want to have inviting common areas where people feel comfortable to just hang out and be. We want to gather the community for events like educational workshops on everything from healthy eating to sustainable food systems. Or maybe to watch and discuss a documentary. Or listen to some live music!
 
We want this place to represent Grand Rapids. We are a diverse city and we want our space to reflect that fully. We hope member-owners of every age, race, income and opinion will shop for healthy food, engage in conversations, and grow personally.”
 
For more information, visit their website or Facebook page. 

Thursday! Women of Color Cook, Eat & Talk

Nov9

cook-eat-talk-bannerWomen of Color
Cook, Eat & Talk
6 to 8 p.m. Thursday Nov. 3
Sherman Street Church kitchen
1000 Sherman St. SE 49506

Join us Thursday for week 6 of OKT’s free 8-week Cook, Eat & Talk series with phenomenal cooking coach, Anja Mast. Anja has scoured a host of African American cookbooks to come up with healthy, low-cost, easy-to-prepare dishes that reflect tradition and taste awesome. This week, we’ll be cooking a healthy dessert, Bread Pudding with Apples , and tasting Fruit Yogurt Cake with Walnut 7dcab3d3e79649cbb104eeff28ec2521Streusel and  Black Bean Brownies.

OKT had planned on hosting Shakara Taylor as facilitator
of a food justice dialogue. She has just informed us that she is unable to attend. Instead, OKT will facilitate a briefer dialogue on water justice and share ways to be in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as they continue to protect the water from the DAPL.

No cost. Good eats. Great ideas.

Southeast Area Farmers’ Market open Nov. 5 & 12

Nov4

SEAFM 6-17You have ony two more weeks to shop at the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market. Stop by between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday November 5 and 12 to experience a cornucopia of local, fresh produce! And, yes, the market vendors accept SNAP, EBT (Bridge Cards) and WIC!

On Nov. 5, community partner The Great Start Collaborative will be on hand to share resrouces and information. Great Start’s goal is: “Every young child in Kent County will enter kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.”

The market hopes to continue to offer monthly opportunity to purchase bulk whole foods, e.g. dry beans, whole grain flours, nuts and seeds, pasta, rice and more (SNAP/Bridge Card accepted for purchase). Items are ordered from Country Life Natural Foods, a supplier to Michigan food co-ops. View the entire PDF Catalog here. If you’d like to place an order, email it to SEAFM@OKTjustice.org by Dec. 5. Pay at the pick-up (date TBD) at Garfield Park Lodge, 334 Burton St. SE 49507.

Free healthy cooking class tonight!

Nov3

cook-eat-talk-bannerCook, Eat & Talk
6 to 8 p.m. Thursday Nov. 3
Sherman Street Church kitchen
1000 Sherman St. SE 49506

Join us tonight for week 5 of OKT’s new 8-week Cook, Eat & Talk series with phenomenal cooking coach, Anja Mast. Anja has scoured a host of African American cookbooks to come up with healthy, low-cost, easy-to-prepare dishes that reflect tradition and taste awesome. This evening, we’ll be cooking Slow Braised Mustard Greens (vegan) and  Classic Mixed Greens w/ Ham Hock as well as tasting Hoppin’ John w/ Collard Greens (crockpot recipe) and Dill Pickled Mustard Greens.

No cost. Good eats. Great ideas.

Free healthy cooking classes meet at two times this Thursday

Oct25

Thursday marks the fourth week of OKT’s new 8-week Cook, Eat & Talk series with phenomenal cooking coach, Anja Mast. Anja has scoured a host of African American cookbooks to come up with healthy, low-cost, easy-to-prepare dishes that reflect tradition and taste awesome. This week, we’ll be cooking Jamaican Red Bean Soup and Sweet Potato, Kale & Black-Eyed Pea Soup as well as tasting Savory Jamaican Beans and Aloo Gobi.

Feel free to attend either the morning or evening session! No cost. Good eats. Great ideas.

cook-eat-talk-fall-series

Greens Cook-off a winning time for everyone

Oct4

first-placeDespite the threat of rainy weather, the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market Greens Cook-off and Green Tomato Festival brought out some great cooks and delicious tastes. Chef Lewis Williams and , manager of the Linc Up Soul Food Cafe, brought two, huge pots of cooked collards — his Mama’s secret recipe — for market patrons to sample.

The event’s judges awarded prizes to the three greens dishes gathering the most tallied points. Points were given for taste, nutritional value, presentation and wow factor.

  • First Prize: Andy Geelhoed, greens made in ham-bone broth. Andy won a $75 gift certificate to our market cake vendor. He plans on using it for his mother’s upcoming birthday.
  • Second Prize: Alita Kelly, spicy vegan greens. Alita won a $50 gist certificate for Country Life Natural Foods. Alita was thrilled as she already had a Country Life Order in mind.
  • Third Prize: Darlene Gibbons, kale and collards. Darlene received a gift certificate to LINC UP Soul Food Cafe. Darlene can’t wait to go enjoy delicious soul food without having to cook it herself.

Thank you judges, Anthony King and Anja Mast, who also brought some amazing green tomato chow chow for all to enjoy. And, a very  BIG THANK YOU to LINC UP Soul Food Cafe for co-sponsoring the event!

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Three chefs! Free eats! Great prizes! Greens Cook-off & Green Tomato Festival is Saturday

Sep27

greens-cook-off-2016-1-4LINC UP Soul Food Café partnering in Greens Cook-off at Southeast Area Farmers’ Market!

The Southeast Area Farmers’ Market hosts its annual “Greens Cook-off & Green Tomato Festival” during market hours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 1 at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 900 Fuller Ave. SE 49506.  This year, LINC UP Soul Food Café is joining the fun! Chef Lewis Williams, LINC UP Café Manager, will preside and cook up his mama’s secret lincstaff-lr-8717greens recipe for sampling and sharing—that’s right, he is going to share copies of his mama’s recipe!

“It’s all about Mind Body and GREENS,” Williams says.

Community members can enter the cook-off by simply bringing their prepared greens or green tomato dish to the market between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., when judging will commence. Prizes will include gift certificates to LINC UP Soul Food Café, a $50 Country Life Natural Foods gift certificate and a gift baskets full of products and produce provided by market vendors.

chef-o-oliver-haleGrand Rapids celebrity chef, Chef O (Chef Oliver Hale) will judge the competition. An award-winning chef, tennis champion, transplant survivor, TV host and community volunteer, Chef O received a kidney transplant on January 29, 1985 as the result of kidney failure and a massive heart attack. He credits healthy cooking and eating for his longevity and success as a chef and an athlete.

In addition, Grand Rapids cooking coach, Anja Mast, will demonstrate and share samples of green tomato recipes. All market patrons will enjoy taste-testing fried green tomatoes and Green Tomato Recipe Bookgo home with a free, 30-page Green Tomato Cookbook developed by the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market, Kent County Health Department and Grand Rapids Food Systems Council. The cook book features, by permission, celebrity chef Bryant Terry’s recipe for Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes as well as everything from appetizers to desserts.

 

OKT hosts Leighton Watson at community event Tuesday

Sep25
wMr. Leighton Watson, Former Howard University Student Body President and Advisor to President Barack Obama in the wake of the Ferguson, MO crisis, will meet with community for dialogue at:
 Baxter Community Center,
935 Baxter St SE,
Grand Rapids, MI 49506,
4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 26.
This free event i open to all and co-sponsored by Our Kitchen Table, Baxter Community Center and GVSU Community Service Learning Center.
Watson is also presenting on 7-9 p.m. Monday Sept. 25 at GVSU Cook Dewitt Center. This student program is also open to the public.