Holiday Open House

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A Lighthouse Christmas

Grow Consumer Interest in Local Foods with Pot Luck Events

by Kimberly Hartke, Publicist, Weston A. Price Foundation

Today, I am posting some photos of our Holiday Open House held by the Northern Virginia Whole Foods Nutrition meetup group. This group has grown to over 675 members since its inception a few years ago. The holiday open house is now an annual event, for the past two years featuring guest speaker, Weston A. Price Foundation President, Sally Fallon Morell.

Crockpot with Bean Soup and Recipe Cards

Pot luck events are by far, the easiest way to throw together an event. And, they are the most popular.

Our meetup members bring crockpots filled with stews, soups and vegetable dishes. Crockpots are plugged in to keep the food warm, and are easily taken home after the event for cleaning.

We ask that our volunteers use local ingredients in the dishes they bring to share. Farm buying clubs and year-round farmers markets make it possible to source seasonal, fresh ingredients for the scrumptious offerings. Each cook brings their recipe on cards to share with the group. Having the recipe beside each dish allows those with allergies to choose from among the entrees and side dishes.

Meetup members who are not yet accomplished cooks bring the beverages.

Sally Fallon Morell Speaks in the Living Room

This year, our warm up speaker was Elaine Boland, a local farmer from Fields of Athenry Farm. She spoke of her quest to provide more nourishing foods for her family, when she learned of the serious health challenges faced by her daughter. A local chapter leader of Weston A. Price Foundation introduced her to Nourishing Traditions, the cookbook by Sally Fallon Morell and Mary Enig. Today, Elaine’s farm store and farm buying club is serving hundreds of families with farm fresh foods.

We have found that inviting a farmer to say a few words at each of our events helps the community to get to know the farmers and learn about their philosophies and production methods. An increase in farm sales inevitably follow such exposure.

Guests Sitting in the Foyer to Listen to Sally Fallon Morell

Next, I introduced Sally Fallon Morell, who shared the history of the Weston A. Price Foundation with the 60+ people who attended. After her talk, we enjoyed a fabulous feast and had plenty of social time to digest her message and make valuable connections with the others.

I presented our local foods “Queen” with a scepter appropriate to her mission, sourced from a local farmers market. Sally and I had a good laugh. She was delighted with the practicality of such a regal wand, and promised to cook brussel sprouts that night for her husband Geoffrey.

Kimberly Presents Sally with a Brussel Sprout Scepter

When I introduced Sally, I told the crowd of a farmer we once met, who credited the “Sally Fallonites” in a nearby town for enabling his tiny family farm to make a living. The farmer was a former automotive engineer, who longed to be home with his family, and to establish a family business. This is what the Weston A. Price Foundation means to so many small farmers, a chance not only for survival, but a chance to thrive.

This year, I invited a couple of health practitioners who were unfamiliar with the Weston A. Price Foundation. They left the event very impressed with not only what they learned, but the size and responsiveness of the crowd.

For Sally’s valiant, intrepid leadership she deserves this blog’s highest award. Sally Fallon Morell is a Hero of Sustainable Agriculture.

If you believe in her mission, you can support it by becoming a dues paying member of Weston A. Price Foundation. Here is a link to our Weston A. Price membership page. Members get a subscription to Wise Traditions –A Journal of Food, Farming and the Healing Arts. This journal is a valuable resource and represents the heart and soul of Sally’s commitment to the future health and wealth of America.

Kimberly Hartke is the publicist of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Please see Kimberly’s article on Cheeseslave blog on how to use Meetup.com to Organize Locavores and Support Small Farms.