Over the weekend of October 23-24, the Local Food Project successfully exhibited at the D.C. Green Festival held at the Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Thousands of green-minded people attended the event and were able to check out hundreds of businesses and organizations that, at least on some level, care about the environment. As a bastion of sustainable agriculture and the local food movement, the Local Food Project held down TWO different exhibits at the festival!
At our exhibitors booth, some combination of Anna, Pablo, and I talked to passersby about our educational and demonstration programs as well as the power of local food in general. I talked to hundreds of people during the weekend and I was blown away by the level of excitement created by local, fresh, sustainably grown produce. Of course it was largely an eco-savvy crowd, but people loved hearing about the LFP's mission to promote locally grown food. They also loved the roasted butternut squash salad that the Airlie chefs were dishing out at our booth--free samples are simply transcendent.
In addition, Pablo set up a lush demo parking space garden smack in the middle of the convention center. This was a huge hit as it was filled with real, live plants from the LFP garden. People were drawn to the peppers, eggplant, basil, and zinnias, to name a few. The parking space garden demonstrated the great amount of food that can be produced in a small space, a perfect lesson for a crowd comprised mostly of urban residents. It was the perfect setting to...talk about agriculture.
The weekend was a huge success. I was encouraged by the number of people, from all different backgrounds and lifestyles, who understand that a sustainable food system is an important factor in a healthy future for themselves and the environment.
