HAZON FOOD CONFERENCE AUGUST 1-5, 2018 • ISABELLA FREEDMAN
Make your commitment to sustain the earth:
livingthechange.net #livingthechange Demonstrate on a global scale how your individual transportation, home energy use, and diet choices can make a difference.
Hazon is the leading Jewish partner in Living the Change – a worldwide, faith-driven, evidence-based initiative designed to address the growing environmental challenges for our shared home.
Table of Contents Welcome...........................................................................................3 Orientation Sheet..........................................................................4 About Hazon...................................................................................6 Jewish Food Movement Food Goals: Vision 2022.............8 Our Food Values at Isabella Freedman............................... 10 Higher Welfare Meat................................................................. 12 Upcoming Hazon Retreats and Programs......................... 13 Jewish Life at the Food Conference..................................... 14
Schedule Program Topics...................................................................... 16 Wednesday............................................................................. 17 Thursday.................................................................................. 18 Friday........................................................................................ 22 Saturday................................................................................... 26 Sunday...................................................................................... 29 Kids’ Food Conference.............................................................. 31 Meet the Food Conference Staff........................................... 34 Meet the Planning Team.......................................................... 35 Presenter Bios.............................................................................. 36 Thank You...................................................................................... 42
Honoring Native Land At Isabella Freedman, we cultivate the soil to grow food, we climb mountains to gain new perspectives, we mikvah in the lake to mark transitions, and we pray, learn, and engage with our tradition and with the forests and living waters. Long before we started applying our own stories and traditions to this land, it was the sacred home of the Mohican people. For more than five hundred years, Indigenous communities across the Americas have demonstrated resilience and resistance in the face of violent efforts to separate them from their land, culture, and community. Too often their history is erased. As Jews we have experienced exile and persecution, and as part of the larger process of decolonization and reconciliation, we honor the Indigenous People who have stewarded this land for thousands of years. Want to learn more about the history of Indigenous People where you live? Visit native-land.ca
Welcome to the Hazon Food Conference! Dear Friends, I am excited and honored to welcome you to the 13th annual Hazon Food Conference. Whether this is your first time at Isabella Freedman or your 30th (there are some!), I invite you to share, discuss, and absorb all the transformational programming, community, and nature this conference, and land, has to offer. The Hazon Food Conference brings together core aspects of Hazon’s mission: taking a wide lens on Jewish texts, traditions, and cultures – as diverse and multifaceted as possible – and then turning all of that outward, facing the wider world and engaging with important issues of broad concern and interest. There is so much that Judaism has to say about food – about how it is produced, consumed, interpreted, prepared, and so much more. How can this inform our relationship as humans and civil societies with culinary, agricultural, and social relationships with food? In what ways does the Hazon Food Conference function as part of Jewish life, culture, and observance today? How is it part of the burgeoning Jewish food movement and
the larger world of food today? This gathering exists to ask important questions like these and to have a good time finding meaningful answers within this remarkable community. What I love most about the conference is the sense of justice and tikkun olam that permeates every facet of the program. There is a underlying consciousness, whether it’s explicit (often) or implicit, that what this is really about is setting the table for a better and more sustainable world for our planet and everyone in it. This is a time for you to connect with old friends, build new communities, collaborate, exchange and explore new ideas, share passions, and find ways to start new projects and businesses. So let’s grow. Let’s grow this movement, let’s grow ourselves, let’s grow each other, and let’s grow the world. With gratitude,
Jess Berlin Director of Retreats Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
Goals of the Food Conference Think Encourage participants to think more deeply and broadly about their food choices, food systems – including issues of food access and affordability – and the connection of contemporary food issues to Jewish tradition and texts. Connect Build a Jewish community and a Jewish Food Movement by providing a model of a vibrant, joyful Jewish life that connects Jewish tradition, learning, and spirituality with sustainable, healthful food practices. Inspire Convey a sense of energy, importance, and enjoyment to inspire positive change around food issues and Jewish tradition so that participants who are more familiar with contemporary food issues see the Jewish connections, and Jewishly-knowledgeable participants explore contemporary food issues locally and nationally. Strengthen Build leadership capacity by supporting volunteers to help create change in their own communities. Act Create change agents to speed the velocity of best practices and action in Jewish homes, institutions, and communities, and the world as a whole. Dig in Join this powerful Jewish Food Movement that works to create healthy and sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond. #hazonfoodconference • 2018 Hazon Food Conference 3
WELCOME Welcome to Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. This beautiful campus has been touching people’s lives since the 1950s, and since 2014 has been the home of Hazon. The word “Hazon” is Hebrew for “vision.” We’re working to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community and a healthier and more sustainable world for all. We hope that your stay here will indeed inspire you to reflect, to learn, to celebrate, to recharge, and thus to return to your home and your community with a renewed sense of hope for our world and a renewed commitment to health and sustainability in your own life.
Please read upon arrival If you need anything during your stay, please contact the Retreat Manager on duty. EMERGENCY CALLS: In the event of a medical emergency, please call 9-1-1 from your cell phone, OR: 9-9-1-1 from any land line phone, located in the buildings throughout campus. Please familiarize yourself with the location of the nearest phone to your room. You must dial 9 before making any call on our land line phones. After making a 9-1-1 call, please contact a retreat manager at the IF Emergency #: Dial 860-453-3963 from a cell phone. Emergencies only, please. You must dial 9 before making any call on our land line phones. SECURITY: Isabella Freedman is an oasis in a troubled world. And, we are committed to vigilance and preparedness for the unfortunate realities of our society today. Two general guidelines provide the basis for our security program: Please wear your name tags at all times. Our staff need to be aware of who should be on our site. In the event of a campus-wide emergency, you will hear three one-second blasts of a very loud air horn, repeated multiple times. If you hear this, immediately evacuate to the decorative gate at Adamah farm located across the street from the main entrance and remain there until emergency services arrive. Do not use your cellphone or take time to look for others besides children. FIRST AID: First aid materials are located at Guest Services, in the Lounge, Yurts, Arts and Crafts Building, and Pool House. A defibrillator is located in the Lounge. FIRE SAFETY: Please only light candles at group candle lighting in the main building. Camp fires must be approved by the event coordinator in advance and are only allowed at the fire pit by the lake. Camp fires must be put out at the end of the activity. Please see a retreat manager for any questions.
SMOKING: Smoking is prohibited in all buildings, and throughout campus. You may smoke only at the fire pit by the lake. Please dispose of cigarette butts in the designated cigarette bin. PARKING: Driving and parking is not allowed on grassy areas. Please only park in the designated parking areas: the lot near the main entrance and the lot near the barnyard. KASHRUT: Our facility is strictly kosher. Please do not bring any outside food or beverages or personal drinking and eating vessels (including water bottles and travel mugs) into the main building without prior approval from one of our kosher supervisors. Mugs from our coffee bar can be used throughout the main building. Please do not take our dishes outside of the dining spaces. Food may be brought outside of the dining spaces in compostable to-go ware found at the coffee bar. Any supplemental food you wish to have at a meal must be brought (in original sealed packaging) to be checked by our kosher supervisor. BUSING TABLES: Please clear your table after finishing your meal. Bins for compost and dishware are located at the corner of the Dining Hall. CHECK OUT PROCEDURE: On check-out day, you MUST move out of your room by 10 am or a $50 late fee will be applied to your credit card. Kindly strip your bed and place all sheets and towels into the pillowcases. (Please leave mattress pads, blankets and comforters on the beds.)
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COMPOST & RECYCLING: Around campus you will see containers for compost (green), recycling (blue) and trash (black). Items that are compost: All food including bones, paper napkins, paper towels, to-go ware (hot/cold cups, lids, utensils, containers) tea bags, paper wrappers, corks, and wooden coffee stirrers. We use our compost to fertilize our Adamah Farm! GUEST FRIDGE: You may store personal food items in the fridge located in the Sunroom near Guest Services. (These items do not have to be kosher.) Please label your name on all items. POTABLE TAP WATER: ALL tap water on campus comes directly from a local well source and is potable and delicious! HOT WATER/COFFEE: Due to our kosher policies, on Shabbat we offer coffee and hot water until it runs out. Once Shabbat ends, our staff make fresh batches. We appreciate your understanding, and we strive to provide enough coffee and hot water through the holiday. CHILDREN: Please make sure that your children are supervised at all times, or are participating in children’s programming associated with your retreat.
GAMES, BOOKS AND MORE: We offer a variety of sport equipment, books, games and toys for your pleasure. Please see a retreat manager to borrow any of these items. Please do not use any bikes located on campus as these belong to Isabella Freedman staff. LAKE AND SWIMMING / BOATING: The pool is only open when a lifeguard is on duty. Use of the lake is at your own risk – life vests are located in the shed by the dock. Please return the vests and oars to the shed and the boats to the rack after use. HIKING: Please stay on Isabella Freedman trails when hiking. We advise telling a friend when you go out on a trail and when you return, carrying a cell phone and water bottle, and only hiking during daylight hours. Trail maps are located at Guest Services. TICKS AND LYME DISEASE: We recommend doing a tick check after spending time outdoors. We have tick removal information available at Guest Services. VISITING THE GOATS: Please only enter into fenced-in areas with an Isabella Freedman staff member present, and please respect any signage and/or directions given by staff members.
THERMOSTATS: The thermostats in your buildings/rooms are programmed to keep you comfortable. You may adjust the temperature by increasing or decreasing the thermostat one or two degrees.
We hope you enjoy your stay with us! It’s important to us to know both what you enjoyed and ways we could improve our work here. Please do fill out an evaluation form. If you do not receive one, please email evaluations@hazon.org.
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About Hazon
The word "hazon" means "vision." We're the Jewish lab for sustainability. We work to create a more sustainable Jewish community – and a healthier and more sustainable world for all. We do this through immersive multi-day programs like food conferences, retreats, and bike rides; through thought-leadership (writing, teaching and advocacy); and capacity-building – fostering new experiments in Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education, across the Jewish world.
“The Torah is a commentary on the world and the world is a commentary on the Torah.” Our theme quote reflects our belief that turning Jewish life outwards to address some of the greatest challenges of our time is good not only for the world, but also for the renewal of Jewish life itself.
Our programs are multi-generational and open to people of all religious backgrounds and none. We are based in New York, Detroit, Denver, Boulder, and at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in the Connecticut Berkshires.
Education We offer Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education (JOFEE), providing thought-leadership and immersive experiences for a spectrum of ages and interests. From institutions and individuals using our wide range of curricula and sourcebooks to kids at our Teva programs weighing their leftovers and young adults living in community and farming with Adamah, Hazon supports learning at the intersection of Jewish life and sustainability.
Action Hazon participants take action. We compost and pickle. We improve the energy profiles of our Jewish institutions, use our food dollars to support local farms, and meet thousands of our neighbors at regional Jewish Food Festivals. We raise environmental awareness while riding our bikes. We share sustainable Shabbat meals, create gardens at our Jewish institutions, plant seeds for future generations, build intentional communities in North America, and visit our partners in Israel’s environmental sector.
Advocacy And in settings from synagogues to community board meetings to global climate marches, we advocate on local and regional projects like bike lanes and family-owned farms, as well as on national issues like climate change and sustainable agriculture. Hazon provides rabbis with sermon materials on climate issues, and training and support for meetings with government representatives. Hazon participants speak up to help make the world we all share healthier and more sustainable for everyone.
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Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center: Organizational Retreats & Simchas With decades of retreat hosting experience, Isabella Freedman is the ideal setting for your organizational retreat or simcha. We offer a unique gathering place for meetings, workshops, and team-building, as well as weddings, b’nai mitzvah, milestone birthdays, and family reunions. Our event coordinators will work with you to design and curate an experience that is perfect for you and your guests. Enjoy a tour of the Adamah farm, Teva nature programs, farm-to-table food education, yoga, meditation, and other on-site amenities and activities. JOFEE Because Jewish life is short of acronyms, we’ve added a new one to summarize the fast-growing field that we’re catalyzing: JOFEE, which stands for Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education. Our range of programs has grown steadily since 2000. We offer retreats here at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, plus bike rides, food festivals, curricula resources, mini-grants, and capacity-building. Flagship programs include Adamah, Teva, JOFEE Fellowship, and the Hazon Seal of Sustainability. Seal of Sustainability Many Jewish institutions want to engage in healthier, more humane, and more sustainable behaviors, but don’t know where to start or how to keep up the momentum. Through the Hazon Seal of Sustainability, we are providing a solution – a roadmap to advance sustainability-related education, action, and advocacy in the Jewish community. The Hazon Seal will help you improve sustainability and strengthen your institution in three areas and through three audits: sustainable food and animal welfare, renewable energy and facilities, and ecosystems and health. Tap into our expertise, online resources (including our Food Audit), workshops, and field trips, for your Green Team to create a culture of sustainability through signage, educational programming, gardens, green kiddush, green roofs, composting, solar panels, and recycling. Sustainable Israel Tour Join community leaders on a one-of-a-kind mission highlighting developments in Israel towards more sustainable food production, healthy living, and social justice. Adamah Our flagship farming fellowship, based here at Isabella Freedman, is a three-month leadership training program for Jewish adults ages 20-35 that integrates organic agriculture, farm-to-table living, Jewish learning, community building, and spiritual practice. Adamah – a program of extraordinary impact – cultivates the soil and the soul to produce food, to build and transform identities, and to gather a community of people changing the world. We grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, goats, flowers, eggs, and more, using organic and sustainable methods. And we grow people by creating hands-on experiences with ecology, food systems, spiritual practice, a vibrant evolving Judaism, and intentional community. Adamah alumni are fanning out across the American Jewish landscape as educators, rabbis, activists, entrepreneurs – and farmers.
Teva Teva works to fundamentally transform Jewish education through experiential learning that fosters Jewish, ecological, and food sustainability. Teva was founded in 1994 with the philosophy of immersing young people – children ages 2-17 years old and educators of children – in the natural world and providing structured activities to sensitize participants to nature’s rhythms, help them develop a more meaningful relationship with nature, and deepen their own connection to Jewish practices and traditions. Teva works with day schools, congregations, camps, JCCs, BJEs, youth groups, and other Jewish institutions that cover the spectrum of religious affiliation. Our Teva educators have been inspired by their experiences living and teaching in community to start initiatives that are making real impact in Jewish communities around the world. "Camp Teva" is available for children during most of our retreats at Isabella Freedman. Hakhel The word hakhel means "gather the people," or "to create a community.” (It’s from the same root word as kehillah, community.) Hakhel was founded on the premise that communal life is an irreplaceable component in maintaining Jewish identity, and yet existing community models do not resonate with increasing numbers of people. Through Hakhel, we are cultivating the emergence of a range of new experiments in Jewish community by providing matching mini-grants, free professional consulting, and learning trips to Israel for individual communities and community leaders; by networking communities through conferences, peer-learning, trainings and seminars; and by developing content and educational materials to further develop the field and the discourse of Jewish Intentional Communities. Bike Rides In 2000, we launched our first Jewish Environmental Bike Ride aimed at raising both environmental awareness and much needed funds to support greening initiatives in the Jewish community. What started as a singular program now includes several supported rides in cities across the United States, as well as a popular series of fun, free community events called Tribe Rides. Thousands of people have participated in our various bike rides which often serve as entry points to organized Jewish life for those who are excited about biking, sustainability, the environment, and/or the outdoors. Our two largest bike rides – the New York Ride & Retreat (which takes place over Labor Day Weekend here at Isabella Freedman) and the Israel Ride – are powerful immersive experiences, as well as important fundraisers for Hazon and the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies. Educational Curricula and Sourcebooks We have developed a diverse library of curricula and sourcebooks that can be used in the classroom, at home, or as experiential programs. Our tools are geared towards various age groups and are used in synagogues, day schools, JCCs, and camps around the world. Check the Hazon Bookstore here at Isabella Freedman for titles including Food for Thought: Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life, Tu B’Shvat Haggadah: The Hazon Seder & Sourcebook, Sustainable Shabbat Dinner, and more.
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Jewish Food Movement Food Goals: Vision 2022 The following goals were written and first published in September 2014. We continue to share them as a means to consider where we are, now that we are two years into this current shmita cycle, and to continue to encourage us to move forward with this work. These are some of the key framing questions: • How, by September 2022, will our relationship to food have helped to create a more sustainable world for all? • How will our relationship to food have strengthened Jewish life, or deepened the relationship between Israeli and diaspora Jews, or helped to build interfaith partnerships in this country? • Which existing ideas or projects need to be strengthened? • What new ideas or projects need to come to fruition? By 2022, we hope for – and intend to work for:
By 2022 there should be systemic work going on in and with colleges, day schools, and Hebrew schools. A clear majority of Jewish summer camps should be purchasing and serving local, fresh, ethically-raised food, growing food, and integrating that work into their core programs.
• An American Jewish community that is measurably healthier and more sustainable • An American Jewish community that is demonstrably playing a role in making the world healthier and more sustainable for all • An American Jewish community in which Jewish life has been strengthened and renewed by the work of the Jewish Food Movement
3. More Jewish farmers and more sharing of Jewish farming wisdom.
And these are some specific goals. Note that some of these represent building on what is clearly already underway, some represent new focus or inflection, and one or two are quite new. By 2022, we would like to see: 1. Clear recognition that JOFEE – Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education – is a vital discipline in strengthening Jewish life.
That in turn will involve a strong and growing network of JOFEE-certified educators and JOFEE program alumni, and mechanisms for JOFEE leaders to interact with each other and with other key Jewish institutional leaders. JOFEE leaders should have a significant voice at major annual or biennial gatherings of the American Jewish community.
2. JOFEE in schools and camps around the country.
There should be a growing number of JOFEE educators working with schools, synagogues, JCCs, and camps to integrate teachings about food in relation to health, ethics, Jewish tradition, and Jewish history. That in turn should lead to more synagogue gardens, taking students out of the classroom and into the forest, baking challah in Hebrew school, students conducting Food Audits at their synagogues, and so on. These activities should be seen not as niche programs but as core to how we transmit Jewish values into practice.
By 2022, Adamah, Urban Adamah, Pearlstone, Amir, Eden Village, the Jewish Farm School, Leichtag Commons in Encinitas, and other equivalent programs should continue to grow and strengthen – providing hands-on knowledge about food, farming, and Jewish tradition, and equipping young adults to move on to become leaders and role models within American Jewish life and in the wider Food Movement. We will support small farmer advocacy organizations in their work, and support small farms directly through thoughtful consumer choices.
4. Healthier choices becoming the easier choice in Jewish life.
By 2022 we should have started to take on sugar as a significant issue in Jewish life. By reducing the amount of sugar, processed food, and heavily packaged food that we serve during kiddush or at our organizations’ meetings, by removing bottles of soda and other sweetened beverages from our tables, and by increasing the selection of seasonal, fresh fruit and vegetables we serve at our functions, we should be making it easier for everyone to fuel their bodies and minds for health and wellness. We should consistently offer real options for vegetarian and vegan meals. Our motto should simply be, as Michael Pollan says, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” We will embrace and celebrate a holistic view of health and wellness as a focus for the Jewish community.
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5. American Jews consuming fewer animal products, and advocating for animal welfare standards.
As a community, we will consume less meat, eggs, and dairy. When we do choose to consume animal products, we will educate ourselves and seek out options from sources with high animal welfare standards, outside of industrial confined animal operations. Sales of ethical, local kosher meat should continue to grow as a proportion of kosher meat sales. Individuals will incorporate vegetarian and ethical sourcing considerations when shopping and eating at restaurants.
6. American Jews engaging seriously in issues of food security and hunger, and advocating for change.
The Jewish Working Group on the Farm Bill should become a platform for a wider and more sustained and intentional push for civic advocacy and formal lobbying efforts. As a community we should be supporting organizations like AJWS, Challah for Hunger, and Mazon, so that American Jews are raising and donating more dollars to help people directly in need. As a community we should be working with others to support those whose disadvantage is invisibly connected to our own food choices: low wage farm workers, processing/ packing house workers, truckers, hospitality/restaurant/ hotel workers, etc. Jewish people should also be participating in secular efforts to bring about a better food system nationally and locally through innovative programs and through changes in national, state, and local law. When helpful, key Jewish leaders should represent Hazon at the secular advocacy group table.
with ages, backgrounds, preferences, and abilities that are oftentimes marginalized. 9. Jewish Food Conferences and Festivals growing significantly.
10. Deeper and more extensive interfaith work. What we first conceived as “the Jewish Food Movement” has gradually taken its place in what may now be thought of as “the faith-based food movement.” The next seven years offer an opportunity to build relationships with other faith communities through the prism of food, both nationally and locally, with food strengthening the relationships between different faith and ethnic communities, and with faith communities strengthening food systems in this country. When helpful, key Jewish leaders should represent Hazon at the secular advocacy group table, even if we are not voting members. 11. Jewish organizations taking seriously the issue of climate change.
7. A return to the old rhythms of simplicity and feasting.
If we’re successful, we hope that American Jews will be a role model to other communities in celebrating Shabbat and holidays – Jewish and secular, national and personal – with great joy, gatherings, song, and wonderful feasts – and that during the other six days of the week we’ll eat more lightly and more simply.
8. An exemplification of celebration and inclusion in the movement.
We’ll do this work with joy, with good humor, and delight that people are different and legitimately make different choices in their lives. The Jewish Food Movement is about ethics, justice, and environmental sustainability. It’s also about family, memory, kashrut, culture, cooking, baking, davening, food-writing, food photography, Israel, education, holidays, Halacha… and the ancient rivalry of latkes and hamentaschen. We will make everyone feel they have a place in our movement and celebrations, and will celebrate those
These are significant and powerful events that enable local and national leaders within the Jewish Food Movement to inspire and to build relationships that will sustain this work throughout the year. By 2029 there should be an annual Jewish Food Festival in most American Jewish communities, and by 2022 we should be well on-track towards that goal. Legacy Jewish Food Festivals should be growing in size.
Serious thought will be given to dynamic causes, effects of, and responses to climate change, such as food waste, composting, food miles, and reducing our carbon footprint while maintaining Jewish infrastructure. Institutions will approach capital improvement projects with an eye to environmentally-conscious infrastructure development. Hazon will continue to serve as an ally in the climate justice movement, as embodied by our participation and leadership in the People’s Climate March, and our educational materials will incorporate climate change information.
12. Conscious preparations for the next shmita year 5782.
This next seven-year period in American Jewish life should be the first one in which a consciousness of shmita permeates all seven years of the cycle, and thus in which the period from 2015 to 2021 represents an extensive conversation and planning process for how the next shmita year – in 2021-22 – could or should be honored across the community. Key Jewish leaders should represent Hazon at the secular advocacy group table, even if we are not voting members.
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Our Food Values at Isabella Freedman How do we create an American Jewish community that is measurably healthier and more sustainable, demonstrably playing a role in making the world healthier and more sustainable for all? Our food choices impact the earth, animals, indigenous peoples, agricultural workers, local communities, factory workers, and food industry workers. Hazon is working to build connections and relationships between farmers, entrepreneurs, farm workers, consumers, distributors, rabbis, Jewish leaders, business leaders, and other faith leaders, among others. We are supporting farmers, building CSAs, inspiring farmers’ markets at our synagogues and JCCs, and helping to source local food at Jewish institutions. At Isabella Freedman, we are incredibly proud of our kosher farm to table kitchen, which we call Adamah Foods. We strive to achieve the highest standards of sustainability through food sourcing that is seasonal, local, organic, fair trade, and supports animal welfare. Following are some of our guiding principles. Sustainable Fish As worldwide demand for fish has increased, wild fish populations can't keep up with our appetites and find themselves threatened by overfishing. Certain fish farming practices have very little effect on the environment while others are devastating. We use the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list in determining how to serve ocean friendly fish. How can you make sure you are eating safe and sustainable fish at home? Get the Seafood Watch mobile app at seafoodwatch.org. Fair Trade When we buy foods grown far away, like chocolate, tea and coffee, we make sure they come from Fair Trade sources. We choose reputable certifiers like the worker cooperative Equal Exchange and the indigenous rights and environmental advocates Deans Beans. Our fair trade chocolate costs four times more than most brands, but it is our priority to nourish our guests with food produced in fair and sustainable ways. Craving chocolate? You can find ethically-sourced chocolate bars in the Hazon Bookstore! Want to avoid consuming foods produced by slave labor? Choose fair trade in all of your shopping! Taste the Forest Experience the liminal moment between winter slumber and spring vibrance in the maple syrup we serve. In late winter, when nights are below freezing but days are warm, trees move sap up to their branches and emerging leaf buds. Our neighbors Jude and Winter Mead siphon off a portion of the excess sap production of their maple trees each season, boil it down, and bottle it for us to serve throughout the year. 40 gallons of sap yield just one gallon of syrup, making this precious regional delicacy a real reminder to slow down and savor the sweetness of the world. Want to bring some home with you? We produce a small amount of maple syrup from the trees right here at Isabella Freedman by hand – schlepping buckets and boiling the sap down in an outdoor evaporator. Purchase your taste of the Isabella Freedman forest in the Hazon Bookstore!
Pickles of All Kinds The Adamah farmers harvest organic vegetables from our land for seven months of the year, but the bounty of their labor is available every day on our salad bar thanks to oldworld preservation techniques. After harvest, Adamah fellows submerge cucumbers, cabbage, and other fresh veggies in salt water brine. Over the course of a few days or even several months – depending on the vegetable, time of year, and desired result – nutrients inherent to the vegetable are preserved while delicious pickle flavors and additional nutrients are brought out. Eating fermented foods restores beneficial bacteria to your intestinal tract, which aids with digestion and absorption of nutrients. Can't imagine your post-Isabella Freedman meals without sauerkraut and kimchi? We have jars for sale in the Hazon Bookstore along with our small-batch jams and other Adamah products! You can also find a wide variety of lacto-fermented vegetables in your local market or CSA. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Michael Pollan's adage expresses our intentions for the Adamah Foods experience. We strive to nourish, accommodating all of our guests' different dietary needs. Please begin your meals with small portions, revisiting the buffet for second helpings so that not too much precious food ends up being wasted. In the interest of our community's health and the sustainability of our planet, we serve balanced meals that center on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes. During the spring and summer we grow and harvest the majority of our own produce at the Adamah Farm. This includes kale, collards, chard, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, scallions, garlic, salad greens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, turnips, radishes, kohlrabi, jalapeños, dill, parsley, cilantro, sorrel, watermelon, cantaloupe, summer squash, zucchini, winter squash (kabocha, jester, acorn, and delicata), radish, eggplant, cabbage, ginger, and watermelon radish. Interested in reducing your footprint on the environment and feeling healthy? Try eating more vegetables by joining a CSA program, increasing your whole grain and bean intake, and keeping fruit and nuts around for snack time.
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Meat All of the meat we serve is provided by Grow & Behold, a company started by alumni of the Adamah program and former Hazon staff. Grow & Behold's mission is to provide premium Glatt Kosher pastured meats raised on small family-run farms. Pasture-raised meats are better for the environment, for your health, and for the animals you eat. Turn the page to read more about how we are deepening our commitment to serving ethical, higher welfare kosher meat. Interested in finding kosher, pasture-raised meat in your area? Check out growandbehold.com or kolfoods.com for nationwide delivery and buying club options. Pri Ha’Gafen (Fruit of the Vine) The Twin Suns wine that we serve is produced with limited chemicals thanks to a farming system called Integrated Pest Management. The grape growers use beneficial insect habitats and predator perches to control insect infestations rather than spraying poisons. They also use a well-designed trellis system that aids production of phenolics and flavonoids – the good stuff in wine! Want to be eco-conscious when organic products aren't available? Look for the IPM label at the grocery store. IPM is a good alternative to organic when you are trying to minimize the amount of chemicals in your food. Grains & Beans All of the rice, beans, and other grains we serve are certified organic. We are particularly proud of the corn meal we get from Wild Hive Community Grain Project, a local mill using traditional stone grinding equipment, as well as our tofu which is handmade by a local company called The Bridge from organic soybeans grown in New York state. Does it really matter if I buy organic rather than conventional food? Whenever possible, it is best to know your farmer's growing practices. When you are faced in the grocery store with the decision between organic and unlabeled food, choosing organic is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment, keep your body free of dangerous toxins, and support safer conditions for workers who would otherwise be harmed by dangerous chemicals. No EGG-ceptions We buy and serve eggs consciously. Why care about higher welfare eggs? More than 90% of laying hens in the U.S. are packed into tiny cages on factory farms. Barely able to move,
they suffer injuries, disease, and extreme distress. Many others endure similar distress in large, overcrowded barns. To support systems where hens can walk, spread their wings, lay eggs in nesting spaces, dust bathe, and perform other natural behaviors, we must support farms that value higher welfare. There’s more we can do for hens, but buying higher welfare eggs is where we start! The eggs we use are Oliver’s organic, free range, pasturefed eggs. We are also very proud to be a founding member of buyingpoultry.com’s Leadership Circle which recognizes organizations for using higher animal welfare poultry and eggs. How can we switch to higher welfare eggs? • Choose products with labels from “Certified Humane,” “Certified
Humane + Pasture Raised,” or “Animal Welfare Approved.” These are some of the only labels on egg cartons that are truly meaningful for animal welfare. • Use BuyingPoultry.com to search a list of higher-welfare egg brands
and retailers. • Download the new Hazon Food Guide for more information about
higher-welfare products. • Contact Jewish Initiative for Animals for support in finding higher-
welfare eggs. Keeping it Kosher The question of what is fit to eat is at the root of our kosher tradition – and more relevant than ever in today’s word. At Isabella Freedman, keeping it kosher means following the letter and the spirit of the laws – creating a space where everyone can enjoy food that is truly fit to eat together. We also care very much about making sure that every kosher product we buy is aligned with our food values. At every meal you will find one of our mashgichim (kosher supervisors) in the dining area who will be available to answer your questions about kashrut. Thank you in advance for respecting our kashrut guidelines. Learn More Visit us online at hazon.org/jewish-food-movement or check the Hazon Bookstore for our resources on Jews, Food & Contemporary Issues, including sourcebooks, how-to guides, and curricula materials for adults, kids, and families. Please enjoy the abundance, ask lots of questions, demand answers, and challenge the ever-changing thoughts on what it means to eat responsibly. Thank you for being here; we are honored to feed you.
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Deepening Our Commitment to Serving Ethical, Higher Welfare Kosher Meat In our society, all too often the readily available and familiar sources for our food prioritize uniform quality and economies of scale over taste, nutrition, environmental health, animal welfare, hospitality, and support for local communities. Hazon has developed a list of food values that we strive to reach when we are preparing food at all Hazon events, programs, and meetings. However, we often are asked to prioritize one (or more) of our food values over another. Hazon strives to take everything into account and prioritizes to bring you the best possible mix of foods and experiences, pushing both producers and consumers to make higher welfare foods available, and working within the realities of supply, budget, and our vision. Our food choices should not be reduced to a “this over that” mentality, but rather a holistic approach that we pursue with our vision clearly before us. As we work towards a healthier and more sustainable food system where we will be able to meet all of our food values all the time, we are making a new, deeper commitment to foster growth and demand for the highest welfare kosher meat available. Starting at the Hazon Food Conference, Isabella Freedman will increase the heritage chicken (as defined by the American Poultry Association) that Hazon sources each year by at least 5% and we will no longer serve any conventionally bred turkey. Over the next 7-year period, we intend to incrementally move towards improving the welfare of the chickens that produce our meat and eggs, with a vision toward eliminating all conventionally bred chicken from our menu. Working with Grow & Behold Foods and JIFA (Jewish Initiative for Animals) and other allies, we aim to shift the percentage of kosher chicken that is heritage, which is important for both public health, the long-term stability of the food supply, and animal welfare. The initial heritage chickens will hatch from eggs laid at Frank Reese’s farm, Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch. Frank focuses on animal welfare, breed conservancy, and environmental stewardship. We are also pleased to be able to support the important work that Frank is doing to safeguard genetic diversity and to preserve ways to raise poultry outside the currently dominant factory farm system.
In addition to our commitment to serving heritage chicken, and in an attempt to reduce meat consumption overall, we are developing new and creative plant-centered menus which can be augmented by flavorful preparations of meat. Some people are accustomed to always having meat at Shabbat or holiday meals. How do we take the Jewish sensibility of elevating holiday time with a particular food to enhance our understanding of, and commitment to, sustainability and gratitude? As we think about the food we use to sanctify our holiest of times, let’s make sure the food is a sanctification of life, the world, and all of our blessings. Using Michael Pollan’s approach of ‘The Third Plate’, we will be taking a ‘less meat, better meat’ approach to our meat consumption, including over Shabbat. We will also continue to purchase our eggs from Oliver’s Organic Pastured Eggs, who maintain NOFA-NY certified organic, free-range hens. We have also connected Oliver’s with Red Barn Produce, a local wholesaler who has started selling their eggs and expanding the market for higher welfare eggs in the Hudson Valley and the Berkshires. We encourage you to join us and help build the market for heritage poultry, higher welfare eggs, and less meat, better meat approaches to food purchasing.
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Upcoming Hazon Retreats & Programs All retreats take place at Isabella Freedman unless otherwise indicated. Visit hazon.org/calendar for more information. August 13 - 16
September 23 - October 3
ROMEMU YESHIVA
SUKKAHFEST
Embodied meditation, contemplation, study, and prayer with Rabbis David Ingber and Nancy Flam.
Perhaps the most joyous, and almost certainly the most diverse celebration of the holiday of Sukkot on planet Earth. Come for all or part of the 10-day festivities.
August 23 - 26
LET MY PEOPLE SING! Sing and share a wide array of Jewish song traditions, inclusive of the full range of Jewish ancestry and religious practices. Sunday, August 26 (Detroit, MI)
MICHIGAN JEWISH FOOD FESTIVAL Metro Detroit is at the forefront of the Jewish Food Movement. 5,000 people attended the first ever Michigan Jewish Food Festival in 2016 and approximately 6,500 attended the 2017 Festival. Join us for the third annual Festival! August 31 - September 3 (Labor Day Weekend)
NEW YORK RIDE & RETREAT Join the People of the Bike for our 18th annual ride! Enjoy a relaxing Shabbat retreat followed by two days of cycling around the beautiful Berkshires. This fully-supported ride, fundraiser, and community experience is for people of all cycling levels and ages. Let’s make the world healthier and more sustainable for all! September 7 - 9
October 11 - 14 (Tamarack Camps, MI)
JOFEE NETWORK GATHERING For anyone interested in bringing Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming, and Environmental Education (JOFEE) elements to your work and home communities. October 19 - 21
JEWISH MEN’S RETREAT Deepen your relationship with your father, sons, brothers, friends, and congregants by inviting them to join for the weekend. October 23 - 30 (in Israel)
ARAVA INSTITUTE & HAZON ISRAEL RIDE – SOLD OUT Cycle from Jerusalem to Eilat and broaden your understanding of the region as you meet Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians working towards peace, environmental sustainability, and regional cooperation. Sunday, November 11 (Philadelphia, PA)
HUNGRY FOR CHANGE: AMERICAN AND ISRAELI STRATEGIES ON FOOD SECURITY, RECOVERY, AND JUSTICE
Enjoy the last Shabbat of the month of Elul, and the year 5778 – prepare for Rosh Hashanah with spirited, diverse prayer and deep learning in a beautiful setting.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia invites all of our community members for one day of our international food conference, serving as an opportunity to learn about innovative food security initiatives currently in progress in Philadelphia and Israel.
September 9 - 12
December 23 - 30
ROSH HASHANAH
HAZON MEDITATION RETREAT
Orthodox and Traditional Egalitarian prayer services, deep teachings, immersion in a relaxing wooded venue, tashlich in our stream, community celebrations, and fabulous farm-to-table feasting.
Silent meditation with instruction, musical prayer services, and evening teachings that draw on Jewish, secular, and Buddhist sources.
SHABBAT ELUL
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Jewish Life at the Food Conference The Hazon Food Conference is for everyone interested in Jewish life, sustainability, and contemporary food issues. We welcome people from across the spectrum of Jewish practice and knowledge as well as people from other religious backgrounds. Our goal is to provide a nurturing and dynamic space for all to engage with Jewish culture and food issues. SHABBAT WITH HAZON Hazon strives to create an inclusive community throughout all of our events. As such, Shabbat can be a complicated time, since our participants come from all backgrounds and have a variety of personal customs. For some, this maybe their first time experiencing Shabbat; others may follow the letter of the law regarding Shabbat each week. In crafting our Shabbat schedule, we have tried to create programming that will be of interest to all, and have multiple minyanim (prayer services) to choose from. Feel free to participate in programs that you are accustomed to, or use this weekend to try something new! A DAY OF REST Shabbat is called a day of rest. The fourth of the Ten Commandments states, “For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath… you shall not do any work.” Aside from doing physical work, people traditionally abstain from many different things including using the telephone, turning on and off lights, cooking, using a computer, listening to or playing music, writing, and driving. SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING Like all Jewish holidays, Shabbat begins in the liminal “place in-between” as day moves into night. We light candles to mark the transition from the mundane workweek to the holiness of Shabbat. This ritual provides an opportunity to both reflect on the past week and enter the day of rest. FRIDAY NIGHT SERVICES Friday night services traditionally open with Kabbalat Shabbat (literally “receiving Shabbat”), a collection of joyful Psalms and poems that celebrate the holiness we see in the natural world. Afterwards, we continue with the special Shabbat Ma’ariv, the evening service.
FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER We begin dinner as a community by singing Shalom Aleichem, a song that imagines welcoming angels to our table to bring peace and joy. Next, we recite Kiddush, the blessing over wine that sanctifies the holiness of the day. Kiddush is followed by Hamotzi, the blessing over bread. Before making Hamotzi, many people will ritually wash their hands. It is customary not to talk between handwashing and the blessing over bread. Shabbat meals include songs, and we hope you will join us in singing or follow along in the benchers (songbooks) at your tables. The meal ends with a musical blessing, Birkat haMazon, the Grace after Meals.
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MORNING SERVICES The traditional Shabbat morning service includes Psalms to warm up the soul, the Shema, the Shacharit Amidah, Hallel, Torah reading, and Musaf. SHABBAT DAY To sanctify and make Shabbat special, we’ll make kiddush and enjoy some tasty snacks in the late morning. We will start Saturday lunch with the blessing over bread, done individually or by table. Because cooking is considered work on Shabbat, lunch includes cold food and cholent (a stew that is left on the stove to simmer throughout Shabbat.) HAVDALLAH Havdallah (literally “separation”) marks the end of Shabbat and the start of the new week. Havdallah is done as soon as three stars are visible in the sky. The rituals of Havdallah include blessings over drinking wine, smelling spices, seeing a flame of a candle, and a blessing on separation. Havdallah is intended to require a person to use all five senses: tasting wine, smelling spices, seeing fire and feeling its heat, and hearing blessings.
SERVICE OPTIONS Orthodox Sing and pray in an uplifting, traditional Hebrew morning service. There will be separate seating for men and women. Traditional Egalitarian In a synergy of traditional and progressive practice, people of all gender identities and expressions enjoy full participation in a complete service and Torah reading, and a good dose of great melodies. Trichitzah Minyan This is an Orthodox service with a trichitzah (separate seating options for women, men, and an egalitarian/mixed gender section). Alternative Prayer Options There are many modes in which to access prayer, including movement, yoga, text study, meditation and more. We strive to offer as many alternative options as possible to give everyone a space to feel comfortable.
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Program Topics JEWISH FOOD CULTURE AND TRADITIONS Wherever the Jewish people have landed, a love and respect for food has been present. Learn about Spain’s medieval Jewish community and its lasting influences on Sephardic cuisines of today, what makes food Jewish for someone who doesn’t keep kosher, and the surprising history of Jewish farmers. As we explore the evolution of Jewish eating over the past two millennia, we’ll gain further understanding about what makes this food movement Jewish. COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS AND HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS Every year we offer a new set of hands-on skills that you can take back to your home and community. From how to take your outdoor cooking game to the next level and beyond, to transforming simple dishes with robustly flavored condiments and sauces to preparing a seasonal and sustainable Rosh Hashanah menu, these sessions provide skills and strategies for you to reclaim your kitchen. Roll up your sleeves, and get ready to be inspired. FOOD JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABILITY We know our food system is deeply imperfect, but what would a just food system look like? And how do we get there? This year’s sessions will bring together movement leaders and shakers from both the Jewish Food Justice world and the broader Food Justice Movement, providing an up-close perspective on the consequences of our present food system and a big-picture look at opportunities for collaboration and allyship. In panels and workshops, sessions will ground participants in the historical and text-based Jewish obligation to work towards Food Justices. Participants will gain tools to bring back to their communities as they work towards building a more just food system. HEALTH AND WELLNESS What is the Jewish take on understanding our health? How can we make more informed choices given the myriad of information about health and nutrition? Learn about enzymes, probiotics and prebiotics and how to cook for digestive health, how to identify and utilize medicinal herbs growing in your backyard, and how to make your own all-natural plant-based makeup. Sessions in this track will guide participants in discovering new ways of thinking about the foods we put in our bodies. JEWISH AGRICULTURE Produced in partnership with Jewish Farmer Network Across the globe, Jews are reconnecting with their agricultural roots. In doing so, they are not only bringing ancient traditions to life, but are bringing new life into their families, synagogues, and communities. This track will feature some of the Jewish agricultural voices of today. How does food grow? These sessions will get you thinking about sustainable agriculture, seed saving, and the connection between food and the land. OUTDOOR EDUCATION (FAMILY FRIENDLY) Hazon recognizes Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education (JOFEE) as a vital discipline in strengthening Jewish life. JOFEE experiences connect people to Judaism, community, and the natural world through hands-on, thoughtful, and engaging Jewish programming across ages, backgrounds, and religious approaches.
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Wednesday, August 1 3:00–5:00 PM Check in, Snack 3:00–4:30 PM JOFEE Fair Great Hall Come to the Great Hall to sample many of the Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education (JOFEE) programs Hazon has to offer. Make bike blender smoothies on our stationary bike. It is the ultimate expression of human power. Also, plant your very own microgreens. Microgreens are mini versions of regular vegetables, and will be ready for consumption after 1-2 weeks of growth. Kidz Zone: Decorate your own apron with vegetable stamps. You can use this for all of our cooking activities throughout the conference! 4:45–5:00 PM Mandatory Parent/ Guardian Orientation to the Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Join the Kids’ Food Conference educators for a mandatory orientation to the program. Learn about the fun activities we have planned as well as important policies. 5:00–6:00 PM Opening Program: An In-Depth Guide to the 2018 Hazon Food Conference Library Take an interactive tour of the schedule, learn secret tricks that will ensure you have the best experience possible, and get to know your fellow participants and presenters. Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 31 for details. 6:00–7:15 PM Dinner Dining Tent 7:15–7:30 PM Maariv – Trichitzah Minyan Synagogue This is an Orthodox service with a trichitzah (separate seating for men, women, and an egalitarian/mixed gender section).
7:30–8:30 PM DIY Fair and Vendor Shuk Great Hall and Library DIY enthusiasts and vendors will showcase their skills and businesses. Learn how to make all-natural deodorant, salve, and pickles. Find out about interesting initiatives, meet local farmers, and purchase books and have them signed by the authors. 8:30–10:00 PM Kosher/Soul?: Black Jewish Identity Cooking (Demo) Lakeview Room Michael Twitty Being African American and Jewish is a combination that many can’t wrap their heads around. However, for thousands of Jews of color who have heritage, faith, and family in both Diasporas – African and Jewish – these many intersections result in creating meaningful ways of interweaving identities and histories. Blacks and Jews have mediated otherness and oppression using what they eat, highlighting the important global stories that lie within diasporic foodways. Join Michael Twitty – food blogger, Judaics teacher, and writer on Jewish cultural issues – for a discussion and demo featuring his famous Black Eyed Pea Hummus. 9:00–11:00 PM Dough (Film) Synagogue Curmudgeonly widower Nat Dayan clings to his way of life as a kosher bakery shop owner in London’s East End. Understaffed, Nat reluctantly enlists the help of teenager Ayyash, who has a secret side gig selling marijuana to help his immigrant mother make ends meet. When Ayyash accidentally drops his stash into the mixing dough, the challah starts flying off the shelves and an unlikely friendship forms between the old Jewish baker and his young Muslim apprentice. Dough is a warmhearted and humorous story about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places. 9:30 PM Snack Lakeview
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Thursday, August 2 7:00–8:00 AM Capriccinos/Goat Milking Observation Meet at Goat Barn Adamah Farmers Up early? Come watch our Adamahniks milk the goats at the Barnyard. Bring your cup of coffee and get some delicious fresh goat milk in it! Morning Nature Meditation: Water Meet Outside the Synagogue Elizabeth Yaari Experience water’s subtle soothing effects and the way it transports us to a sense of well being. 7:30–8:30 AM Shacharit Morning service with Torah reading Traditional Egalitarian Library Orthodox Synagogue Yoga (Open Level) Red Yurt Eliza McCabe 8:00–9:00 AM Breakfast Dining Tent 9:00 AM–12:00 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 32 for details.
9:00–10:15 AM PROGRAM BLOCK 1 Tahini For Days! How to use Israel’s Most Versatile Staple Library Adeena Sussman and Shelby Zitelman From perfect tahini sauce for dipping with pita to desserts and main courses, you can say “open sesame” to more creative cooking with this nutritious and delicious staple from Soom co-founder Shelby Zitelman and Tahini author Adeena Sussman. Mandala Creation Red Yurt Elizabeth Yaari The conference has just begun so, let’s get in touch with our surroundings and start our creative juices flowing. It is said that humans are not part of nature; we are nature. Using food, our bodies, and other natural elements, we will recreate nature’s patterns in a large collaborative mandala. A mandala is an organized pattern around a unifying center. Together we will get in touch with ourselves as part of the whole and uncover the natural beauty within all of creation. 9:00–10:15 AM Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Community Discussion around Social Inequities Synagogue Sera Deva All people deserve to participate in a truly thriving food system; in order to assist in creating one, we must work to understand the intersectionality of oppressions people face within our current system. Our food system is in fact not “broken,” rather it is inherently unjust because it was built to benefit a few at the expense of many. Come tell your story and help design systems of accountability and action that we can use in our communities for the betterment of all.
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Thursday, August 2 10:30–11:45 AM PROGRAM BLOCK 2 Fermented Sour Cream, Cultured Butter, and Cream Cheese: An Old World Approach to Preserving and Culturing Dairy Lakeview Room Jeffrey Yoskowitz “And her face always looked strained and worried, as if her shipload of sour cream had just sunk,” wrote Yiddish author I.L. Peretz. Indeed, the sour cream, butter, and cream cheese of generations past was so much more flavorful since it was all made from local dairy that was cultured and fermented to last in an age before refrigeration. What’s more, the sour cream, butter, and cream cheese were far healthier when full of cultures and good bacteria (and easier to digest). Come learn how to make butter, sour cream, and cream cheese using fermentation techniques and learn the role these foods played in east European Jewish culture with Jewish food expert Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-founder of The Gefilteria and co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto cookbook. A People of the Land: The History & Future of Jewish Farming Library Jewish Farmer Network co-founders, Sarah Seldin and Shani Mink Travel through time as we honor the past, explore the present, and map the future of Jewish agriculture. Participants are welcome to join the Jewish farmer tabletalk over lunch. 10:30–11:45 AM Boost your Social Media Game Synagogue Anna Hanau, Shannon Sarna, Adeena Sussman Moderated by Liz Rueven Join us in discussion as three distinctive voices in the Jewish food world share strategies and tips on how they’ve built their social media presences. Learn to enhance your social game across the most widely used platforms as these experts discuss what works (and doesn’t) as they post and share with their thousands of followers.
1:00–6:00 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 32 for details. 1:15–2:45 PM Keynote Panel: You Can Do Anything But You Can’t Do Everything Synagogue Keynote panelists: Jane E. Best, ChFC®, RFC®, AIF® – entrepreneur, financial educator, co-founder of God’s Love We Deliver Gary Oppenheimer – hunger-food waste innovator, founder of AmpleHarvest.org Susan Barocas – filmmaker, writer, and chef and founding director of Jewish Food Experience Janna Siller, Adamah Farm Director, activist, educator Moderator: Nigel Savage, Hazon CEO There is no hard and fast method to grow and heal today’s food landscape; it requires an approach as diverse as the people within it. Each of our panelists has made different commitments to doing well by doing good. They will share stories about the motivations behind their work and how they matched their personal strengths with a recognized need. Learn from and engage in a conversation with key visionaries who are guiding the growth of the food movement both within and beyond the borders of the Jewish community. There will be a Q&A at the end. 2:45–3:15 PM Community Connect Use this time to make connections and collaborate. See sign-up board in the Great Hall for details.
12:00–1:00 PM Lunch Dining Tent Farmer Table-Talk Meet your fellow Jewish farmers over lunch! Grab your food and sit with Jewish Farmer Network co-founders Shani Mink and Sarah Julia Seldin, while we nosh and get to know each other. Mandatory for recipients of the Jewish Farmer Network Scholarship. Jewish Food Culture & Traditions Cooking Demos & Hands-On
Food Justice & Sustainability Health & Wellness
Jewish Agriculture 2018 Hazon Food Conference 19 Outdoor Education
Thursday, August 2 3:15–4:30 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 3
4:45–6:00 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 4
Farm and Tasting Tour Meet Outside Arts and Crafts Adamah Farmers Heirloom vegetables, permaculture orchard, compost & chickens – the Kaplan Family Farm is just a short walk from the Isabella Freedman campus. On this tour participants will get a chance to harvest fresh produce to munch on. Sturdy, closed-toed shoes and water bottle required.
Food and Torah in the Age of Antibiotic Resistance
This Technology Behind Bitcoin Could Revolutionize the Food Industry Synagogue Dan Pelberg Widely misunderstood, the technology behind Bitcoin, known as “blockchain”, has the potential to help create a more efficient, less wasteful, and safer food system across the globe. We will learn about this new technology and examine case studies which display the potential it has to change the food business for the better. Bread from the Earth (Part 1) Red Yurt Eli Rogosa After long years of exile from our Land, Jews are rediscovering forgotten teachings and traditions of holy Jewish farming. This workshop will explore the evolution of Jewish farming from the beliefs and farming practices of the first farmers of the Land of Israel, known as Natufians, and explore the farming and food traditions of ancient Israelites. We will meet the forgotten Hebrew Goddess, study teachings of the Sacred Embrace, agricultural teachings in the first book of the Mishnah, Seder Zariim, and Moreh Nevuchim by Maimonides–and their relevance for today. Discover the little-known authentic five species of grains used in Eretz Israel for matzah. Learn how to plant, tend, and harvest heritage wheat at your synagogue, farm, or garden.
Synagogue Daisy Freund and Melissa Hoffman In the U.S. we sell four times as many antibiotics for use in factory-farmed animals as we do in people, and we’ve reached a critical tipping point in the race against drugresistant bacteria. Which Jewish teachings help us to understand the existential threat of – and our obligation to do something about – antibiotic resistance? Join a conversation about the shared human quest to understand and combat the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in industrial agriculture, and learn how our Jewish communities can support the creation of a better food system and a safer world. 4:45–6:00 PM Writing Workshop: Storytelling Through Food Beige Yurt Beth Kanter Food – and what happens when people gather around it – makes for rich, layered storytelling. We will explore the idea of food-inspired narrative writing, mining our own experiences for the seeds of stories that need telling. And, then we will begin to write them. Challah Cover Workshop Red Yurt Elizabeth Yaari We will begin with a meditation that will ground our creative process as we play with form, color, texture, and depth. Each participant will make a challah cover to take home.
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Thursday, August 2 6:00-8:30 OUTDOOR FOOD FESTIVAL/DINNER Outside and inside dining tent One of the joys of summer is cooking and eating in the great outdoors. We connect with our friends, family, and neighbors in a different way at barbecues and picnics, in the shade of trees and with expansive views before us. In the height of the summer, the ingredients can shine given simple seasoning and the magic of fire. Explore, taste, and enjoy – knowing that the way that we eat can grow the community and the future that we know is possible. Visit a variety of food and beverage stations featuring food made by our featured guest chefs. There will also be music throughout the evening by keyboard maestro Jamie Saft and his trio. Grow & Behold Meats with Anna and Naf Hanau Grilled Pita with Shannon Sarna Summer Sodas Straight out of the Jewish Deli with Jeffrey Yoskowtiz Seven Species Tabbouleh and Morir Soñando (a Dominican fruit drink) with Bubbie’s Kitchen Sephardic Chickpeas and Pomegranates with Susan Barocas Farm Creation with an Old World Twist with Sara Gardner Seasonal Salatim with Adeena Sussman Noodles and Tahini with Shelby Zeitleman Local Brewed Kegs of Beer Bike Blender Margaritas with Adamah Farming Fellows Adamah Farms Tomato and Basil Tasting with Adamah Farming Fellows Seasonal Desserts And more!
7:30 PM Mincha/Maariv – Trichitzah Minyan Library This is an Orthodox service with a trichitzah (separate seating for men, women, and an egalitarian/mixed gender section).
8:30–10:00 PM Songs Around the Fire Fire Pit Sit back and relax around the fire and sing songs. Bring your instruments! This is sure to be a lively experience!
8:30–9:45 PM Hummus! The Movie Synagogue Travel around the world, across religious and cultural divides, to discover the origins of the nutritious chickpea dish, and meet a diverse group of hummus disciples, including those vying for the title of “World’s Largest Serving of Hummus.”
Jewish Food Culture & Traditions Cooking Demos & Hands-On
Food Justice & Sustainability Health & Wellness
Jewish Agriculture 2018 Hazon Food Conference 21 Outdoor Education
Friday, August 3 7:00–8:00 AM Capriccinos/Goat Milking Observation Meet at Goat Barn Adamah Farmers Up early? Come watch our Adamahniks milk the goats at the Barnyard. Bring your cup of coffee and get some delicious fresh goat milk in it! 7:00–8:00 AM Avodat Lev Fire Pit Anna Hanau Avodat Lev, meaning ”Service of the Heart,” is a contemplative and songful collective practice that was born at Isabella Freedman, where we gather to sing, reflect, be together, and welcome the new day. The session will follow the traditional arc of Jewish morning liturgy, moving from gratitude to praise to love to oneness through song, chant, poetry, light movement, and other practices of grounding and connection. Shacharit Synagogue Orthodox morning service Meditation: What is this? Beige Yurt Dan Pelberg Easily caught up in our own stories about how the world works, we come to learn to ask the essential question of, “What is this?” in every moment. Yoga (Open Level) Red Yurt Eliza McCabe 8:00-9:00 Breakfast Dining Tent 9:00 AM–12:00 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 32 for details.
9:00 AM–12:00 PM Had v’Halak: A Live Kosher Slaughter Demonstration Beige Yurt Naftali Hanau Whether you eat meat regularly, occasionally, or never at all, the processes of actually making kosher meat are largely invisible to those who consume it. Join certified shochet Naftali Hanau to learn about, watch, and participate in a kosher shechita (slaughter) of several chickens. Channel your inner Polish grandmother as you try your hand at removing the feathers. Then, during the 1.5 hour kashering process, we’ll learn about laws of kosher slaughter, the training process to become a shochet, and ethical and environmental issues related to meat production and consumption. Please come on time at the start of the session; after a brief introduction, the shechita happens very early on. In order to maintain the focus and integrity of the session, we ask that you do not enter the session part-way through. Please dress appropriately for being outside. Photography is not permitted. 9:00–10:15 AM PROGRAM BLOCK 1 Bread from the Earth (Part 2): Baking with Einkorn, a Forgotten Grain of Ancient Israel Lakeview Room Eli Rogosa Join us to renew the meaning of ‘bread from the earth’ that is holy to the Jewish people. Learn how to bake sourdough sprouted einkorn bread. Bread was at the heart of Ancient Israeli foodways, comprising 50% of the traditional diet. However, today our challahs are baked with modern wheat, bred for uniformity in agrochemical-soaked fields, with high gluten that causes wheat allergies. Macro Photography Library Elizabeth Yaari Using the power of an ordinary cell phone camera, we will explore the art of macro-photography. Learn how to transform the seemingly mundane into a stunning work of art.
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Friday, August 3 9:00–10:15 AM So You Want to Be Your Own Boss! Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry Synagogue Daniel Berlin, Anna Hanau, Donna Simons, Shelby Zitelman Moderated by Susan Barocas The food world offers many varied opportunities for designing, launching, and running new businesses. We’ll talk with and learn from four food entrepreneurs who have each taken the leap (or many leaps) into running their own food-related business. Among the questions we’ll discuss: What drove them to become entrepreneurs? What skills are most important in running their businesses? What have been their greatest challenges and achievements? Are there more/less/unique pathways to entrepreneurship in the food industry for women, minorities, and immigrants? Does entrepreneurship look different in the Jewish food world? There will be time for questions and discussion as well.
10:30–11:45 AM Make Your Own Healthy Cosmetics Lakeview Room Kate Re The world of beauty and cosmetics includes many natural skin care and body care options, but synthetic and chemical-free makeup is still expensive and relatively hard to find. Learn to make natural, inexpensive, healthy cosmetics that truly nourish your skin. We’ll explore mineral and food-based recipes, and Kate, a former professional fine artist, will demonstrate how to mix pigments to achieve a match for your personal skin tone. Emphasis will be on creating cream-based foundation and lip-to-cheek color which participants will make and take home.
10:30–11:45 AM PROGRAM BLOCK 2
1:00–5:00 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 32 for details.
The Cooking Gene: Tracing My African American Story Through Food Synagogue Michael Twitty For African American culinary historian Michael W. Twitty, there was a giant hole in the story of American cooking as big as the one in the story of most African American families. Putting the microscope on himself, Twitty decided to fully trace out his family history through the story of Southern and American food. Using genetic research, historic interpretation, nature study, heirloom gardening, and interviews with contemporary voices in food, his journey led him back to his family’s origins in West and Central Africa and a front row seat in the debate over race and food in American life. Thinking Differently: Three Short Talks on Efficiency, Scaling, and Metrics Library Gary Oppenheimer In this session, we will explore how to be a proactive problem solver. We will take a brief look at three examples of impactful solutions including making food drives more efficient, scaling programs, and innovative metrics for innovative solutions. There will be time to workshop problem areas you’re currently thinking about/working on and see if we can think differently to make a difference.
Jewish Food Culture & Traditions Cooking Demos & Hands-On
Food Justice & Sustainability Health & Wellness
12:00–1:00 PM Lunch Dining Tent
1:00–2:00 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 3 Farm Work Session Meet Outside Arts and Crafts Adamah Farmers Come work like a farmer! Help out with our Adamah farm and connect to the Earth like you never have before. Wear clothes that can get dirty. Sturdy closed toe shoes and a water bottle are required. Hike Meet Outside Gazebo Isabella Freedman Educator Breathtaking views await! Hike our Red Trail to the Overlook and you’ll be rewarded with the best view from Isabella Freedman. A beautiful steep hike leads to an incredible experience. Sturdy closed-toe shoes are required. Colorado Scholarship Recipients and Residents Meetup Group Red Yurt This session is mandatory for all recipients of the Colorado scholarship and open to all folks from the state.
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Friday, August 3 1:00–2:00 PM Southerner Scholarship Recipients and Residents Meetup Group Beige Yurt The Jewish Farmer Network Calling all Jewish folks from the southern states! Let’s talk about who we are and how we can bring the best of the Food Conference back down to our communities. This meetup is mandatory for all Jewish Southerner Scholarship recipients. Michael Twitty Book Signing Sunroom (outside bookstore) Michael Twitty 2:15–3:30 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 4 Flower Harvest Meet Outside Arts and Crafts Adamah Farmers We grow the most beautiful flowers here at Isabella Freedman! Join us as we pick and arrange them to welcome in Shabbat with fragrance and color. Savory, Seasonal Rugelach Library Shannon Sarna You can find sweet rugelach in bakeries across America. But savory rugelach are a wonderful variation with endless possibilities. Come learn the basics and have fun mixing your own unique flavors. Understanding the 2018 Farm Bill Synagogue Janna Siller At this very moment on Capitol Hill legislators are trying to compromise on a version of the farm bill that will dictate how our food system functions for years to come. This huge piece of legislation includes funding for food stamps, mega-farm subsidies, conservation, crop insurance, research into the future of food and farming, and much more. In this timely session we will discuss the basics of what the farm bill is, how current political realities will affect food and farming for years to come, and how you can join thousands of people advocating for healthy food from healthy soil.
3:45–5:00 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 5 Savoring Spain Through Stories and Flavors: The Dishes of the Reform Jewish Community of Madrid Lakeview Room Sara Gardner The Reform Jewish Community of Madrid is a congregation that brings together people, cultures, and foods from all over the world. In this session, Sara Gardner, a community member and the recipe editor for the forthcoming cookbook The Rosh Hashanah Seder: Stories and Recipes from the Reform Jewish Community of Madrid, will bring Spain to the Hazon Conference by sharing selected recipes from the cookbook and stories of the Jewish community in Spain. How to Use Money as a Tool for Personal and Social Transformation Synagogue Jane E. Best Jane had a question early in life: what are the right attitudes and practices to have about money if you want to live an enlightened life? She has focused on the exploration of this question for the last 40 years. Jane will share the principles she has learned throughout her career as a financial advisor, as co-founder of God’s Love We Deliver, a non-profit that delivers over 1.7 million nutritious, free meals per year to people who are too sick to shop or cook for themselves, and as an organic community farm volunteer. Questions welcome. 3:45–5:00 PM Untangling the Godzilla Weed: Understanding Where Our Seeds Come From and What We Can Do to Create a More Just Seed System Library CR Lawn Whomever controls the seed controls our food supply. For thousands of years, through observation, selection, and breeding, farmers developed our varieties and controlled our seed system. All that changed in the past couple of centuries at an increasingly accelerated pace. Today if you purchase seeds for your farm or garden you probably don’t know who grew them, where they were grown, what chemicals were used to grow and store them, or who wholesaled them to your seed source. When you open that seed packet, you likely don’t even own those seeds but instead are only renting them for a one-time use. Control of the seed system has passed out of the hands of farmers and now rests on the support system of an
24 2018 Hazon Food Conference • Please wear your name badge throughout the Conference!
Friday, August 3 intertwined three-legged stool: biotechnology, corporate concentration, and intellectual property rights. What was once a shared commons has now been almost entirely privatized. How might we end users regain at least some of that control? What values might help us in the quest for a more equitable seed system? 5:00–6:00 PM Kids’ Dinner Dining Tent Dinner will be late, enjoy your Shabbat evening meal early. Snack Great Hall 5:15–6:15 PM Yoga (Open Level) Red Yurt Eliza McCabe 5:00–6:30 Community Connect Use this time to make connections and collaborate. See sign-up board in the Great Hall for details. Mikvah Dock Immerse in the living waters of Lake Miriam on your own or in a group, as a way to prepare for Shabbat and the experiences ahead. Please respect times reserved. Bathing suits optional. 5:00–5:20 Gender Nonconforming
6:45–8:15 PM Mincha, Kabbalat Shabbat, Maariv Traditional Egalitarian Library Orthodox Synagogue Alternative Prayer Practice Red Yurt Elizabeth Yaari Gently ease into Shabbat with communal reflective prayers and chanting. Our ancestral peacemakers will be invited into our circle to guide and support us as we lift our voices in song. There is no Jewish prayer experience needed: this is a service that is open and accessible to all. It is an experimental prayer space that values heart and spirit-based experience. 8:30–10:00 PM Festive Shabbat Dinner with D’var Torah (Words of Torah) Dining Tent 10:00 PM Dessert Great Hall 10:00–11:15 PM Night Hike Meet Outside Arts and Crafts 10:00 PM–12:00 AM Tisch Library The singing of songs has a central place in Jewish ritual. Gather around to sing, learn, and share songs from all over the Jewish world, some well-known and some obscure. No prior experience necessary.
5:30–5:50 Women 6:00–6:20 Men 6:40 PM Communally Light Shabbat Candles (official candle lighting time 7:51 PM) 6:45–8:30 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 33 for details.
Jewish Food Culture & Traditions Cooking Demos & Hands-On
Food Justice & Sustainability Health & Wellness
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Saturday, August 4 7:30–8:00 AM Goat Milking Observation Meet at Goat Barn Adamah Farmers Up early? Come watch our Adamahniks milk the goats at the Barnyard. 8:00–9:00 AM Yoga (Open Level) Red Yurt Eliza McCabe 8:00–9:30 AM Breakfast Dining Tent 9:00 AM–12:00 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 33 for details. 9:00 AM–12:00 PM Shacharit Morning service with Torah reading Traditional Egalitarian Library Orthodox Synagogue 9:00–10:30 AM Meditative Shabbat Practice Red Yurt Dan Pelberg and Susan Barocas The theme of gratitude is constant throughout Jewish liturgy and scripture. In this alternative Shabbat morning gathering, we will combine meditation with singing, Torah study, and discussion. We will take a look at various texts to see what Judaism has to teach us about cultivating a sense of gratitude in every aspect of life, developing our own sense of gratitude for in our lives. Discussion will focus on how we can integrate the insights from Torah into our every day lives. Everyone is welcome. No meditation experience needed to share this open, accessible Shabbat experience.
10:30 AM–12:00 PM Birkat Hamazon: How Often Do We Really Read It? Beige Yurt Rabbi Jeremy Sher We abbreviate it, we blaze through it at 90 miles an hour, we skip it, we print it up in little books to distribute at weddings and b’nai mitzvah. But how often do we actually study the text of Birkat Hamazon? There are some gems of Jewish faith in this prayer, and in this session we’ll dive deep into the faith of the Rabbis who assembled this text… and the faith of the 2000 years of Jewish people who have recited it, “difficult” passages and all. 12:00–1:30 PM Lunch Dining Tent 1:30–6:00 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 33 for details. 1:00–1:30 PM Mincha/Maariv – Trichitzah Minyan Library This is an Orthodox service with a trichitzah (separate seating for men, women, and an egalitarian/mixed gender section). 1:45-2:45 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 1 Farm Tour Meet Outside Arts and Crafts Adamah Farmers Heirloom vegetables, permaculture orchard, compost & chickens – the Kaplan Family Farm is just a short walk from the Isabella Freedman campus. As you tour our organic fruit orchards, berry hedgerows, vegetable fields, and compost-yard chickens, you will see how we are bringing the commandments in Genesis to life as we “till and tend” the land in ways that enable it to flourish for generations to come. Sturdy, closed-toed shoes required. Visioning Isabella Freedman Synagogue Nigel Savage, Hazon CEO An introduction to our master plan, and a walk around campus.
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Saturday, August 4 1:45-2:45 PM Hike Gazebo Isabella Freedman Educator Breathtaking views await! Hike our Red Trail to the Overlook and you’ll be rewarded with the best view from Isabella Freedman. A beautiful steep hike leads to an incredible experience. Sturdy closed-toe shoes are required. 3:00-4:15 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 2 Yoga (Open Level) Red Yurt Eliza McCabe Taking the Calories Out of the Jewish Comfort Food You Love Lakeview Room Paula Shoyer We all need comfort food, and no one really wants to give up their favorite recipes that we know are unhealthy for us. Paula Shoyer will explain how she learned to take cherished traditional Jewish food recipes and lighten them up while preserving the integrity of their taste and connection to your family’s food story. She will demonstrate how to prepare her Mango Coleslaw, made with mango puree rather than mayonnaise, as an example of how to healthy up Jewish foods. Demonstrating Jewish Values Through International Cooking Classes at Your Jewish Agency Library Barbara Fenig Curating a cooking class program at your Jewish agency can be a challenge. This session will provide you with inspiration for creating an engaging cooking class series for all ages that celebrates kosher cuisine, creates community connections, and sprinkles in some tikkun olam. Barbara Fenig, from the Tucson Jewish Community Center, launched a robust cooking class program taught by refugees from Syria, Somalia, and Iraq from the local chapter of the International Rescue Committee; Parisian transplants by way of the Alliance Francaise; salad experts from the Tucson CSA; expert dumpling chefs from the Chinese Cultural Center; and many more engaging community partners. Learn how to spice up your agency’s kitchen through community outreach that starts at the cutting board. We will learn to make a Syrian fattoush salad together.
Jewish Food Culture & Traditions Cooking Demos & Hands-On
Food Justice & Sustainability Health & Wellness
3:00-4:15 PM Migrant Workers and the Meat We Eat: A Jewish Conversation about Immigration, Labor, and Factory Farming Synagogue Adrienne Krone Did you know that a large portion of the meat on U.S. grocery store shelves is processed by migrant workers, many of whom are undocumented? Have you ever thought about factory farming as a human rights issue? Amidst the growing national conversation around immigration, we’ll delve into Jewish sources to understand Jewish teachings and traditions about both immigration and labor rights. As we explore the connections between animal agriculture, immigration, and labor, we’ll think about how we can work towards a food system that is more just for all living beings. 4:30–5:45 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 3 Summer Shabbat Lunch-Challenge with Deep Roots Lakeview Room Liz Rueven Join us to create a vibrant three-course Shabbat lunch that celebrates peak of summer ingredients while keeping your kitchen as cool as the cook. Liz will demo three vegan and gluten-free dishes that feature the bounty of the season. On the menu: Zucchini Noodles with No-Cook Tomato Sauce, Susan’s Dilly Fennel Salad, and Summer Plums in Minty Cardamom Vinaigrette. Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer – The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History Library Jon Greenberg On Shabbat afternoon, enjoy some wine, sample a variety of cold beers, and balance your drinks with some light snacks as we learn about their significance in Torah and Jewish history. Find out why many archaeologists now think that civilization began as a way to make beer, why it matters that Joseph’s pharaoh favored wine over beer but Moses’ did not, the true story behind the legend of King Midas and his golden touch (He was buried with his beer mug!), and how ancient Israelites, Greeks, and Phoenicians each expressed their own cultural values through the way they used the plants of the parsley family.
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Saturday, August 4 4:30–5:45 PM Ask Jane: An Open Coaching Session Synagogue Jane E. Best This is an open forum for participants to ask questions relating to Jane’s experience as an entrepreneur, life and financial coach, co-founder of God’s Love We Deliver, Inc., advocate for food as medicine, and a committed meditator. 6:00–7:15 PM Dinner/Seudah Shlishit Dining Tent 7:15–9:00 PM Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Please see page 33 for details. 7:30–8:45 PM PROGRAM BLOCK 4 Tales From Jewish Food History Lakeview Room Jon Greenberg Starting with the Isabella Freedman-grown foods that we’ve been eating, we’ll learn some of the lore behind these plants and foods, and how the history of food and agriculture can help us to better understand and appreciate their physical and symbolic importance in Torah and Jewish history.
7:30–8:45 PM Green your Organization: Lessons from the Hazon Seal of Sustainability Library Jeremy Kranowitz How can you take what you’ve learned at the Food Conference and make your Jewish organization healthier and more sustainable? Where would you begin? How can you overcome common hurdles? Jeremy Kranowitz will talk about Hazon’s Seal of Sustainability, a certification for Jewish institutions that marks them as good stewards in regards to climate change, animal welfare, and the environment. Find out how to join the next cohort of the Seal, and create a plan to improve your organization’s sustainability. Sustainability beginners and experts welcome! 8:45–9:00 PM Maariv – Trichitzah Minyan Library 9:00–9:30 PM Havdallah (Shabbat ends at 8:55 PM) Great Hall 9:30 PM Making a Difference Together Library The conference is almost over; let’s convert our inspiration into action together. Details to be announced. Special drinks and nibbles will be served.
Is Food Enough? Food, Culture and Jewish Connections Synagogue Conversation with Susan Barocas, Paula Shoyer, and Liz Rueven Many Jews today identify mostly or solely through cultural connections, and food is at the top of the cultural list with new restaurants and bakeries, websites, blogs, classes, cookbooks and more part of a contemporary Jewish food renaissance. Join us for a lively conversation about the role of food in building Jewish identity, community, and connections to family, history, traditions, rituals, and religious observance. What messages are we food professionals putting out into the world about Judaism? Do we have any responsibility in building identity, community, and connections? What about ritual and observance? What can or should we be doing? In the end, is food enough to maintain connections to Judaism?
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Sunday, August 5 7:00–8:00 AM Capriccinos/Goat Milking Observation Meet at Goat Barn Adamah Farmers Up early? Come watch our Adamahniks milk the goats at the Barnyard. Bring your cup of coffee and get some delicious fresh goat milk in it! 8:00–10:00 AM Breakfast/Brunch Dining Tent
10:00 AM Check Out of Rooms We are so happy you joined us at Isabella Freedman for the Food Conference. Please be sure that you and all of your belongings are out of your room by 10am or a $50 late fee will be applied to your credit card. 9:00–11:00 AM Bookstore Open Great Hall 9:15 AM Shuttle/Goodbye! (Train at 10:15 AM) Meet Outside Arts and Crafts
7:30–8:30 AM Yoga (Open Level) Red Yurt Eliza McCabe
eat different. coaching
cooking for a cause curriculum creation
integrative culinary arts education teacher training
.com
Jewish Food Culture & Traditions Cooking Demos & Hands-On
Food Justice & Sustainability Health & Wellness
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Get social! Share your pictures on social media with
#hazonfoodconference and help grow the Jewish Food Movement! This is a unique opportunity to share the work we’re collectively doing, and continue connecting after the conference. We encourage you to post pictures, videos, and content while you're here.
@hazonvision
@hazon
@hazon.org @foodconference @isabellafreedman
How will the Food Conference change you? If you are not on social media but would still like to share your pictures, email photos to pr@hazon.org.
30 2018 Hazon Food Conference • Please wear your name badge throughout the Conference!
While adults and teens are participating in the Hazon Food Conference, the home of the Jewish Food Movement, kids ages 5-12 will be having their own memorable experience at the Kids’ Food Conference! Children will engage with field experts in dynamic and age-appropriate ways on the same topics as the adult programming, including cooking skills, nutrition, food justice, and environmental responsibility. Hazon – meaning “vision” – works to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community, and a healthier and more sustainable world for all. In order for this work to succeed, we need young people to become involved in the movement towards a healthier food system. Youth have the power to take our society in a new direction and rethink the world into which they have been born.
It is up to us to make healthy food choices for ourselves, but in many ways our society puts us at a disadvantage. Youth do not have the buying power of adults, yet food advertisements are filled with exciting images of junk food. How do we ingrain the knowledge of healthy snacking into our minds so it is an easy choice to go for carrots and peanut butter instead of potato chips? How do we change the larger system so school food is healthy and tastes good? How can we grow food in our homes and communities? The Kids’ Food Conference will address these issues and more in a dynamic, engaging, age-appropriate way. All children must be in a Kids’ Food Conference activity or supervised by a responsible adult. All activities meet in Arts and Crafts, unless otherwise noted. If you have any questions, please direct them to Arielle Aronoff, Director of Teva.
Kids’ Food Conference Schedule WEDNESDAY 3:00-4:30 PM Kids’ Zone at the JOFEE Fair Great Hall Make your own apron with vegetable stamps. You can use this for all of our cooking activities throughout the conference! 4:45-5:00 PM Mandatory Parent/ Guardian Orientation to the Kids’ Food Conference Arts and Crafts Join the Kids’ Food Conference Educators for a mandatory orientation to the program. Learn about the fun activities we have planned as well as important policies.
5:00-6:00 PM Natural Tie Dye Kids’ Food Conference Tent Did you know you can use plants to create dye? Bring your extra shirts, socks, pillowcases, or anything else you have to create beautiful designs using natural materials. 7:30-8:30 PM DIY Fair and Shuk Great Hall There is something for all ages at the fair. Make your own healing salve, add some flair to your hair with beautiful heritage breed chicken feather clips. Come over to the Great Hall to see what else the fair has in store for you.
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Kids’ Food Conference Schedule THURSDAY 9:00-10:00 AM Farm Scavenger Hunt and Harvest Arts and Crafts Explore the Adamah farm with all of your senses. See what insects and animals call the farm home. Taste the fresh fruits and vegetables. Smell the herbs and flowers. Feel the textures of plants. Hear the song of the grasses, chickens and bees.
2:30-3:30 PM Hunger in Our Midst – How Can We Help? Arts and Crafts (Ages 9+) Hunger isn’t just in developing countries; food insecurity exists all around us. Learn about how it feels to be hungry, explore ways you can help, share your ideas, and learn from others through experiential games and discussion.
10:00-10:45 AM Farm Harvest, Bike Blended Smoothies Arts and Crafts Use your human power to make a smoothie on the Bike Blender with the fruits and veggies we harvested on the farm.
2:30-3:30 PM The Story of My Snack Kids’ Food Conference Tent Tell the story of your snack from farm to table and back again. This will be a fun interactive session of learning the story of where our food comes from and how it travels.
10:45 AM-12:00 PM Cookies for the Food Festival Arts and Crafts The Outdoor Food Festival is tonight! There will be so many delicious things to try. Among them, dessert. We will make sugar cookies and icing using natural dyes to decorate and give out at the food festival. Let’s show the adults our baking skills. 1:00-2:30 PM Seed Balls and Guerilla Gardening Arts and Crafts Make clay and soil balls filled with native wildflowers. Take some home to plant in your garden to attract beneficial insects. The bees, butterflies, and other pollinators will LOVE you!
3:30-5:00 PM Challah Baking with Bubbie’s Kitchen Arts and Crafts Mix and knead challah dough for Shabbat! We will braid it together in the morning. 5:00-6:00 PM Wild Tea Arts and Crafts (Ages 9+) The plants that grow all around us have wonderful healing powers. Let’s learn about them and make tea to sip in the summer sun while singing a favorite song. “Why don’t you make me a nice cup of tea in the morning…” 5:00-6:00 PM Where the Wild Greens Are Arts and Crafts Some say they are weeds, some say they are delicious! Make that decision for yourself as we go around campus to find out what we can eat and what we definitely shouldn’t!
FRIDAY 9:00-9:30 AM Kids’ Food Conference Banner Arts and Crafts We will create a piece of art to show the whole conference what we have been up to at the Kids’ Food Conference. Wake up and get those creative juices flowing!
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Challah Braiding Arts and Crafts The challah we mixed yesterday afternoon has been rising in the fridge overnight. Now is the time to braid it so we can enjoy our creation for Shabbat dinner tonight!
9:30–11:00 AM Vamos a Cocinar con Bubbie! Arts and Crafts Cyndi Rand will teach aBubbie’s Kitchen class in which we’ll travel to Cuba, explore the country, and cook a typical yellow rice and black beans dish. In the process we’ll learn to speak a little Cubano. “Arroz con frijoles negros, anyone?”
1:00-2:00 PM Insect Hotels Kids’ Food Conference Tent Ever wondered where bugs like to live? Did you know that you can help create the perfect home for bugs in your very own backyard or garden? Come build your very own “Insect Hotel” and learn about all the bugs that help make your garden grow! Insect Hotels are mini habitats for beneficial insects made from goodies found in your very own garden. You will be able to take home your very own mini-hotel at this workshop.
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FRIDAY 2:00-3:30 PM Besseha! A Taste of Morocco Arts and Crafts Nancy Wolfson-Moche will teach aBubbie’s Kitchen class in which we’ll visit Morocco, exploring North African Jewish life through cooking and tasting a unique Moroccan bread and a typical carrot salad. We’ll imagine sitting in a “mellah” as we sip Moroccan mint tea. “Besseha!” (“Bon appetit!”) 3:30-5:00 PM Theater 101 Arts and Crafts Do you like to act? Write? Direct? Make props? Every person has a role in the Kids’ Food Conference production of________. You get to fill in the blank and create a play or song (or both) to perform Saturday night.
4:00–5:00 PM Slime Time Live Kids’ Food Conference Tent Is it a liquid or a solid or just lots of fun? Come read about how a young boy saves his town from a mysterious glopity gluck that starts to fall from the sky (and learn how to make the slime too!) 5:00-6:00 PM Kids’ Dinner Dining Tent Dinner will be late, come enjoy your Shabbat meal early. 6:45-8:30 PM Welcoming Shabbat Arts and Crafts Join us in song and dance to welcome the Shabbat Queen.
SATURDAY 9:00-10:00 AM Good Morning Shabbat Arts and Crafts Song, dance, prayer. Lets wake up our bodies for a joyful Shabbat morning.
3:30-4:00 PM Story Time Arts and Crafts Come relax on our cozy rug as you are transported through time and space into story.
9:00 AM-12:00 PM Good Morning Shabbat Hike Meet at Arts and Crafts (Ages 9+) Have you ever heard of Hitbodedut? It is a radical form of meditative prayer in the forest. This will be a combination of hiking and prayer.
3:30-6:00 PM GaGa and Field Games Arts and Crafts (Ages 9+) The best camp game ever created. Whether you’ve never played gaga before or played 100 times. It doesn’t get old.
10:00 AM-12:00 PM Goats and Forest Exploration Arts and Crafts Say hay to the goats and explore the forest. Maybe we’ll meet some animals and find out what they like to eat.
4:00-6:00 PM Games Galore! Arts and Crafts Board games, field games, card games, block games, improv games. We’ve got ideas for all the games and we’re sure you do too!
1:30-2:30 PM Can We Eat What the Birds Eat? Bird Watching Arts and Crafts Explore the forest and fields for birds. Take note of what they are eating and compare that to what we eat. Can we eat the same foods the birds are eating?
7:15–9:00 PM Theater 102 Arts and Crafts Come to practice our skit and song so we’ll be ready to perform at Havdallah.
2:30-3:30 PM Salad Bar Fixins Arts and Crafts Become prep cooks in the Kids’ Food Conference Kitchen. Make scrumptious dressings and jazzy salads for our Shabbat afternoon snack.
SUNDAY Please note, there will be no kids’ programming this morning. Thank you for participating in the Kids’ Food Conference! #hazonfoodconference • 2018 Hazon Food Conference 33
Meet the Hazon Food Conference Staff Jess Berlin is the Director of Retreats & Food Conference Lead Staff. She is a strong believer in the power of multi-day immersive experiences as a tool for creating long-lasting positive change in a person’s life. She has a lifelong passion for Judaism and spirituality, having spent four years studying and teaching in Israel as well as several months studying meditation in India. After graduating from Queens College with a degree in Urban Planning, she served as a key administrator at AJWS and AVODAH and a farm educator at Eden Village Camp. Jess enjoys being part of two meditation communities, practicing and teaching visualization techniques, rockhounding, and caring for her cast iron cookware.
Jeremy Kranowitz is Hazon’s Managing Director for Sustainability. He leads Hazon’s work to weave sustainability into the fabric of American Jewish institutions and American Jewish life. Previously, he was the CEO of Sustainable America and he also worked at the Keystone Policy Center. He has an MPA from NYU, and a Masters in Environmental Science from Johns Hopkins, where he also earned his undergrad degree. Jeremy and his wife and three children love walking the beach near their home in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Arielle Aronoff is the Director of Teva & Kids’ Food Conference Lead Staff. She came to Hazon first as a Teva educator. She found a place in this community and did not want to leave. After spending the fall and winter at Isabella Freedman, she took a seasonal outdoor education position for the spring and quickly returned to manage Camp Teva prior to her current role. Previously, Arielle worked as a farmer, baker, and healthy school food advocate/educator. Arielle spends her time hiking, baking sourdough bread, and foraging for berries and mushrooms.
Isaiah Rothstein serves as the Rabbiin-residence for Hazon. Growing up in a multi-racial-Chabad-family in Monsey, NY, Isaiah is pulled towards building platforms for Jews of all backgrounds to celebrate their identities and affinities–together–with the rest of community. Isaiah received rabbinic ordination and master of social work from Yeshiva University’s RIETS and Wurzweiler School of Social Work. During his spare time, Isaiah enjoys bringing movement to strings, things, and people. Isaiah currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Nigel Savage founded Hazon in 2000. In 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has twice been named a member of the Forward 50, the annual list of the 50 most influential Jewish people in the United States. He is a recipient of the Bernard Reisman Award, and has given Commencement speeches at Wagner (NYU, in 2011) and at Hornstein (Brandeis, in 2014). Before founding Hazon, Nigel was a professional fund manager in London. He has an MA in History from Georgetown, and has learned at Pardes, Yakar, and the Hebrew University. He was a founder of Limmud NY, and serves on the board of Romemu. He is believed to be the first English Jew to have cycled across South Dakota on a recumbent bike. Saturday 1:45-2:45 PM Visioning Isabella Freedman
Synagogue
Thursday 1:15-2:45 PM You Can Do Anything But You Can’t Do Everything Synagogue
Saturday, 7:30–8:45 PM Green your Organization: Lessons from the Hazon Seal of Sustainability
Library
Jacob Weiss is a retreat coordinator at Isabella Freedman working with the retreats team to produce over 70 programs a year. He was born and raised in the great city of Cleveland, Ohio, and has spent the better part of the past six years living in New York City. Jacob studied Political Science and Fine Arts at Yeshiva University, and then went on to receive his Chef’s training at the Natural Gourmet Institute. He has spent his time since then cooking at various restaurants in New York, as well as taking time away from the kitchen, to work on farms around the country. With his free time, Jacob loves to cook for friends and family, get lost in the woods, take long bike rides, and climb on things. Eliezer Weinbach is a Retreat Coordinator at Isabella Freedman. Prior to joining Hazon, he worked as a Research Associate for Haskins Laboratories, a research institution affiliated with Yale University. He attended Yeshiva University where he studied Psychology. In his spare time Eli enjoys reading, listening to music, and adventuring.
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Meet the Hazon Food Conference Planning Team The Hazon Food Conference would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment from this amazing group of volunteers. They went above and beyond sharing countless hours and resources over the last many months – and with so much joy and passion! We can’t thank these people enough! Susan Barocas, Co-Chair is a writer, culinary instructor, speaker, caterer, traveler, and healthy food lover who is passionate about all things Sephardic. The founding director of the Jewish Food Experience, she was honored to serve as the guest chef for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 White House Passover Seders. When not in a kitchen, Susan writes and produces documentary film and consults with film festivals. Liz Rueven, Co-Chair is Founding Editor of Kosher Like Me, a food blog and resource for those who love to cook seasonally. Liz has made numerous appearances on WTNH TV, sharing her passion for all things local and Jewish. In 2017, she received the Gil Marks Memorial Award, a peer nominated recognition of her as a mentor and a support for others in the Jewish culinary world. She is a board member of the Westport Farmers Market, a passionate cooking instructor and irrepressible locavore. Jeff Gabel is the Founder of Kitchen Kibitz, a popup dining experience focused on modern Jewish cuisine. Created out of a passion for Jewish food and childhood memories of cooking, he teams up with Boston chefs to highlight classic flavors of the old world and elevate the techniques with a modern spin. Each popup dinner is unique with a set theme and pops up at different locations throughout the area . He has a passion for storytelling, Jewish food, and getting lost in an Israeli shuk. As a thought leader in Jewish food, he has been listed as Zagat 30 under 30 as well as recognized as Boston Magazine’s Best Popup in 2016.
Sarah Julia Seldin is a first generation farmer and co-founder of the Jewish Farmer Network, a grassroots nonprofit connecting 550+ Jewish farmers and growers around the world. She is currently driving across North America to interview, work with, and learn from Jewish farmers. When not on the road, Sarah grows food in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Nancy Wolfson-Moche, CHHC, RYT is the founder of you are because you eat. She crafts and teaches integrative culinary arts programs in Jewish and secular settings. She writes curricula (Bubbie’s Kitchen) and is a certified macrobiotic counselor. Formerly an editor and writer on lifestyle magazines including Glamour and Seventeen, Nancy is also a Torah Yoga teacher and an emerging Kohenet. youarebecauseyoueat.com Jeffrey Yoskowitz is a food entrepreneur and writer who co-founded The Gefilteria, a culinary venture reimagining Old World Jewish foods best known for manufacturing its renowned artisanal gefilte fish, producing high quality dining events around the world, and offering engaging Jewish cooking classes and workshops. Jeffrey co-authored The Gefilte Manifesto cookbook (Flatiron Books, 2016), which was named a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and a top cookbook of the year by USA Today and Epicurious. As a thought leader in food, Jeffrey’s writings on food and culture appear in major publications, such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, among others. He has cooked as a guest chef at the esteemed James Beard House kitchen and was named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 list in Food and Wine, as well as the The Forward 50.
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Presenter Bios Susan Barocas see bio on page 35 Thursday 1:15–2:45 PM You Can Do Anything But You Can’t Do Everything Synagogue Friday 9:00–10:15 AM So You Want to Be Your Own Boss! Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry Synagogue Saturday 9:00–10:30 AM Meditative Shabbat Practice
Red Yurt
Saturday 7:30–8:45 PM Is Food Enough? Food, Culture and Jewish Connections Synagogue Daniel Berlin is founder and president of the Dyna-Sea Group and Sushi Metsuyan restaurant franchise. DynaSea Group introduced sushi to the kosher consumer for the first time as pioneers of the first ever kosher certified surimi (imitation crab) seafood, a staple for kosher sushi and numerous sushi related products over 20 years ago. Friday 9:00–10:15 AM So You Want to Be Your Own Boss! Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry Synagogue Jane E. Best, ChFC®, RFC®, AIF® is an independent financial consultant and educator with a unique perspective on managing money as a spiritual practice. She co-founded “God’s Love We Deliver” a NYC non-profit organization that is currently delivering over 1.7 million nutritious, free meals per year to people who are homebound. Jane created the first B.A. in Holistic Healthcare. She is a volunteer at Coastal Roots Farm and is an advocate of food as medicine. A longtime meditator, she knows the power of spending time in stillness. Thursday 1:15–2:45 PM You Can Do Anything But You Can’t Do Everything Synagogue Friday 3:45–5:00 PM How to Use Money as a Tool for Personal and Social Transformation Synagogue Saturday 4:30–5:45 PM Ask Jane: An Open Coaching Session
Sera Deva has a B.S. in Microbiology & Agroecology from The Evergreen State College. She has spent the last three years working for The Organic Growers School, a non-profit based in WNC as their Conference Curriculum Coordinator and with their Farmer Programs. She has a deep love for growing, cooking, and sharing food and believes it to be the medicine that will solve all of the world’s problems. Thursday 9:00–10:15 AM Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Community Discussion around Social Inequities Synagogue Barbara Fenig most recently served as the Director of Arts & Culture at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. She is beginning her MSW at the University of Pennsylvania. Fenig has worked in arts administration for the bell hooks Institute in Berea, Kentucky; Columbia University; Wesleyan University, Blue Flower Arts; and at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas. Saturday 3:00-4:15 PM Demonstrating Jewish Values Through International Cooking Classes at Your Jewish Agency Library Daisy Freund is the Director of the ASPCA’s Farm Animal Welfare program, overseeing the organization’s efforts to improve the lives of farm animals and build a more compassionate food system through public education, corporate engagement, and public policy reform. Daisy has focused on increasing the availability of more humane alternatives to confinement-based agriculture, and connecting farm animal treatment to the other core issues of the good food movement. Daisy launched the ASPCA’s consumer education program, Shop With Your Heart, which equips shoppers with the resources they need to understand labels and find higher-welfare food; the Good Groceries Guide, a digital resource created in partnership with environmental, labor and public health groups; and Open The Barns, a social media movement of farmers and animal lovers. Thursday 4:45–6:00 PM Food and Torah in the Age of Antibiotic Resistance Synagogue
Synagogue
36 2018 Hazon Food Conference • Please wear your name badge throughout the Conference!
Dr. Jon Greenberg received his bachelor’s degree with honors in biology from Brown University and his Master’s and Doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University. He has also studied with Rabbi Chaim Brovender at Israel’s Yeshivat Hamivtar and conducted research on corn, alfalfa, and soybeans at Cornell, the US Department of Agriculture, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cancer Research. Previously on the faculty of Yeshivas Ohr Yosef, the School of Education at Indiana University, and the University of Phoenix, he has taught at the Heschel School since 2008. Saturday 4:30–5:45 PM Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer – The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History Library Saturday 7:30–8:45 PM Tales From Jewish Food History
Lakeview Room
Anna Hanau is CMO at Grow & Behold, the kosher pastured meat company she founded with her husband, Naftali Hanau, in 2010. Anna was involved for many years in the Jewish environmental movement at Hazon and Adamah, where she co-authored Food For Thought: Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food and Contemporary Life, grew the Jewish CSA and Food Movements (including the Hazon Food Conference), and managed the Adamah farm. She has a BA from the Jewish Theological Seminary’s List College in Bible Studies, and from Barnard College in Urban Studies and Environmental Science. Anna lives in Brooklyn and is a mother of three. She keeps a flock of chickens (for eggs) in her backyard. Thursday 10:30–11:45 AM Boost your Social Media Game Friday 7:00–8:00 AM Avodat Lev
Synagogue Fire Pit
Friday 9:00–10:15 AM So You Want to Be Your Own Boss! Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry Synagogue
Naftali Hanau is the CEO of Grow & Behold, the Brooklynbased purveyor of fine kosher pastured meats raised on family farms with no hormones or antibiotics. He works with farmers to produce the finest beef, rose veal, lamb and poultry on the kosher market, and has developed an exquisite line of provisions using his own spice blends. A shochet and menaker, Naftali has learned with experts at butcher shops and slaughterhouses across the country. A pioneer in the field of educational schechita over the last decade, Naftali is frequently sought out to consult on and conduct educational kosher slaughter. He has been a judge for Masbia’s ChopHunger (2015) and Jamie Geller’s KosherMasters (2016). Naftali has degrees from NYU and the New York Botanical Garden School of Professional Horticulture, and has worked at Adamah. He lives in Brooklyn with his family and a flock of chickens in the backyard. Friday 9:00 AM–12:00 PM Had v’Halak: A Live Kosher Slaughter Demonstration Beige Yurt Melissa Hoffman directs the Jewish Initiative for Animals (JIFA), a leading Jewish sustainable food and animal welfare initiative. In her role, she consults with Jewish organizations and communities across the country to develop and implement ethical food practices, as well as curriculum and programs that foster compassion for all living beings through the lens of Jewish values. She has an M.S. in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University. Melissa has also worked extensively as a cantorial soloist and Jewish educator. Based in Los Angeles, she spends a chunk of her weekends helping to rehabilitate and release injured and orphaned seabirds. Thursday 4:45–6:00 PM Food and Torah in the Age of Antibiotic Resistance Synagogue
Beth Kanter is the author of numerous books including the soon-to-be-released Great Food Finds Washington DC (on September 1) and No Access Washington DC (on December 1) – both from Globe Pequot Press. Beth’s essays and articles have appeared in a range of national newspapers, magazines, and online publications. She earned her MSJ from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and has been leading the popular Boot Camp for Writers at the The Writer’s Center for almost ten years. In her writing workshops, Beth strives to create a community where writers feel safe and supported so they can share their work – and their feedback – with one another. Thursday 4:45–6:00 PM Writing Workshop: Storytelling Through Food Beige Yurt #hazonfoodconference • 2018 Hazon Food Conference 37
Presenter Bios Adrienne Krone is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Jewish Life at Allegheny College. Her research focuses on food and farming practices in North American religious communities. Her current project is an ethnographic and historical study of the Jewish community farming movement in North America funded by a grant from Farm Forward and the Leichtag Foundation.
Thursday 10:30–11:45 AM A People of the Land: The History & Future of Jewish Farming Library
Saturday 3:00-4:15 PM Migrant Workers and the Meat We Eat: A Jewish Conversation about Immigration, Labor, and Factory Farming Synagogue
Gary Oppenheimer, a CNN Hero, World Food Prize nominee, lecturer and speaker (including two TED presentations) at a Google Tech Talk, 2013 Purpose Prize Fellow, Points of Light Tribute winner, Huffington Post’s “Greatest Person of the Day” and “2011 Game Changer“, member of the James Beard Foundation Food Waste Advisory Board, winner of the Russell Berrie Foundation’s “Making A Difference” award, winner of the Glynwood 2011 “Wave of the Future” award, winner of the 2012 Elfenworks “In Harmony With Hope” award, Echoing Green semifinalist, and founder of AmpleHarvest.org now makes his home in the mountains of northern New Jersey after having lived on a boat on the Hudson River in Manhattan since 1978. He is also a Master Gardener, Rutgers Environmental Steward, former community garden director, Environmental Commissioner in northern New Jersey, an avid gardener, and long distance cyclist.
CR Lawn founded Fedco Seeds, the garden and farm co-operative, in 1978, and spent 40 years as one of its managers, writing much of its annual seed catalog and serving as CFO. He recently retired. He’s written extensively on creating an ethical seed system, on labeling genetically engineered foods and on other issues of interest to the organic community. He served on the Board of Directors of the Maine Organic Farming and Gardening Assn. from 1993 to 2009, and is currently on the Board of the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI). Friday 3:45–5:00 PM Untangling the Godzilla Weed: Understanding Where Our Seeds Come From and What We Can Do to Create a More Just Seed System Library Eliza McCabe is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and offers classes to children and adults in the local community. Her classes are gentle and accessible to all, as she focuses on core strength and hip stability. Each class incorporates meditation and breath work throughout, creating a truly mindful experience. Yoga (Open Level) Thursday 7:30–8:30 AM Friday 7:30–8:30 AM, 5:15–6:15 PM Saturday 8:00–9:00 AM, 3:00-4:15 PM Sunday 7:30–8:30 AM
Red Yurt
Shani Mink is a farmer at the Pearlstone Center, a freelance Jewish educator in Baltimore City, and a Kohenet-in-training. She is proud to have co-founded Jewish Farmer Network, a grassroots non-profit connecting 550+ Jewish farmers and growers around the world. Shani finds balance in running, practicing yoga, and baking challah she can’t eat.
Friday 1:00–2:00 PM Southerner Scholarship Recipients and Residents Meetup Group Beige Yurt
Thursday 1:15–2:45 PM You Can Do Anything But You Can’t Do Everything Synagogue Friday 10:30–11:45 AM Thinking Differently: Three Short Talks on Efficiency, Scaling, and Metrics Library Dan Pelberg is a freelance blockchain and cryptocurrency writer with a background in technology and finance. Additionally, he is a meditation practitioner and teacher, having spent significant time on retreat and learning from teachers in Israel, India, and the US. Thursday 3:15–4:30 PM This Technology Behind Bitcoin Could Revolutionize the Food Industry Synagogue Friday 7:30–8:30 AM Meditation: What is this? Saturday 9:00–10:30 AM Meditative Shabbat Practice
38 2018 Hazon Food Conference • Please wear your name badge throughout the Conference!
Beige Yurt Red Yurt
Cyndi Rand is a Jewish educator, songleader, community activist, actress, recipe developer, cookbook author and editor, creator/founder of Bubbie’s Kitchen, as well as having a background in sales and marketing. She is also pursuing a degree in social work. Cyndi lives in Nassau County with her husband and five children. Kate Re stumbled into the world of healthy, skinrevitalizing cosmetics when she became ill at the age of 25 and had to re-think what she was putting both in and on her body. Her background as a fine-artist combined with her passion for natural and sustainable living came together to help her create her own set of nourishing make-up. She loves sharing and exchanging recipes for healthful living with others. Friday 10:30–11:45 AM Make Your Own Healthy Cosmetics
Lakeview Room
Eli Rogosa is an Israeli farmer, artisan baker, and anthropologist. She founded and managed the Jerusalem Cityfarm for seven years, worked in the West Bank as an extension for ecological water management and organic farming, and worked with the Israeli gene bank, Machon Volcani, to collect the almost-extinct ancient grains of Eretz Israel. She was funded by the European Union for 5 years to collect rare seeds in Europe with gene banks. Eli is author of Restoring Heritage Grains: The Culture, Biodiversity, Resilience, and Cuisine of Ancient Wheats published by Chelsea Green, and manages the Heritage Grain Conservancy on her biodiversity farm in Western Massachusetts with her husband Cr Lawn. She bakes amazing sourdough einkorn bread from the einkorn seeds that she collected in Israel and now grows on her biodiversity farm. Thursday 3:15–4:30 PM Bread from the Earth (Part 1)
Red Yurt
Friday 9:00–10:15 AM Bread from the Earth (Part 2): Baking with Einkorn, a Forgotten Grain of Ancient Israel Lakeview Room Liz Rueven see bio on page 35 Thursday 10:30–11:45 AM Boost your Social Media Game
Synagogue
Jamie Saft is a world-renowned keyboardist, composer, sound engineer, and producer living in Upstate New York. As a longtime collaborator of John Zorn and boundarypushing composer in his own right, Saft made his mark in the Downtown Radical Jewish Culture movement over the last 25 years. Additionally, Saft has performed and recorded with the likes of Bobby Previte, Bad Brains, and Iggy Pop, among many others. Most recently Jamie released his first solo piano album recorded live in Genova, Italy to great critical acclaim. Jamie’s group New Zion Trio brings together Roots Reggae, Dub, Doom, and Jazz styles in an extra mellow acoustic ensemble – perfect for spaced out head bobbing to full-on dance parties. Shannon Sarna is the Founding Editor of The Nosher and a contributing writer to kveller.com, both part of 70 Faces Media. Shannon grew up in upstate New York surrounded by diverse culinary experiences: her SicilianAmerican mother loved to bake, her Ashkenazi-Jewish father loved to experiment, and her grandfather was a food chemist who patented Tang among other products. Her writing and recipes have been featured in Bake from Scratch Magazine, Parade Magazine, Tablet Magazine, and other publications. She graduated from Smith College with a degree in Comparative Government and Spanish Language and Literature. She lives in South Orange, NJ with her husband, daughters, and rescue dogs. Her first cookbook, Modern Jewish Baker: Challah, Babka, Bagels and More, was released in September 2017 by Countryman Press. Follow her on all the platforms @shasarna. Thursday 10:30–11:45 AM Boost your Social Media Game Friday 2:15–3:30 PM Savory, Seasonal Rugelach
Synagogue Library
Sarah Julia Seldin see bio on page 35 Thursday 10:30–11:45 AM A People of the Land: The History & Future of Jewish Farming Library Friday 1:00–2:00 PM Southerner Scholarship Recipients and Residents Meetup Group Beige Yurt
Saturday 4:30–5:45 PM Summer Shabbat Lunch-Challenge with Deep Roots Lakeview Room Saturday 7:30–8:45 PM Is Food Enough? Food, Culture and Jewish Connections Synagogue
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Presenter Bios Rabbi Jeremy D. Sher, M.Div., was ordained in 2016. Rabbi Jeremy is the first and only rabbi ever to be ordained at Harvard University, where he earned his Master of Divinity degree in 2016. He is a Jewish Renewal rabbi, and is also a professional chaplain with a focus area in mental health. Last year he completed his residency as a chaplain at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center and Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute; he is now providing professional chaplaincy care to unhoused neighbors in Oakland and San Francisco as part of his donationfunded Mind & Soul Chaplaincy project. Rabbi Jeremy is passionate about Birkat Hamazon and loves to share the deep spiritual gems that are waiting for us in this prayer. Saturday 10:00–11:30 AM Birkat Hamazon: How Often Do We Really Read It? Beige Yurt Paula Shoyer, “the kosher baker,” is the author of The Healthy Jewish Kitchen (2017), The New Passover Menu (2015), The Holiday Kosher Baker (2013), and The Kosher Baker (2010). Paula has a pastry degree from the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, and does cooking and baking demos around the world. She focuses on strategies to lighten up traditional recipes. She is a freelance writer for several publications. Paula competed on Food Network’s Sweet Genius and has appeared on TV over 30 times. In 2015, Paula was honored by Jewish Women International as a “Woman to Watch” and in 2016 as a “kosher food pioneer” by the kosher food bloggers community. Paula lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Saturday 3:00-4:15 PM Taking the Calories Out of the Jewish Comfort Food You Love Lakeview Room Saturday 7:30–8:45 PM Is Food Enough? Food, Culture and Jewish Connections Synagogue
Thursday 1:15-2:45 PM You Can Do Anything But You Can’t Do Everything Synagogue Friday 2:15-3:30 PM Understanding the 2018 Farm Bill
Synagogue
Donna Simons is an entrepreneur, artist, chef, educator, and Slow Food leader. She owns and operates a highly accredited heritage poultry farm and organic food CoOp. She will be a US delegate to Terra Madre in Italy this September where she will address issues of farm animal welfare, and work with Chefs For Peace to bring Christians, Jews, and Arabs together around food. Friday 9:00–10:15 AM So You Want to Be Your Own Boss! Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry Synagogue Adeena Sussman is an almost full-time resident of Tel Aviv. Her Israeli cookbook, Sababa: Fresh Cooking From My Tel Aviv Kitchen, will be released by Penguin books in Spring 2019. Also the solo author of Short Stack Editions’ Tahini, Adeena has co-authored eleven cookbooks. Her last two collaborations, Cravings with Chrissy Teigen and The Sprinkles Baking Book with Candace Nelson, were New York Times best sellers. Adeena has written about Jewish and Israeli cooking and food culture for Food And Wine, The Wall Street Journal, Epicurious, Gourmet (may she rest in peace), Hadassah, The Forward, and many others. For a slice of her Israeli cooking life, check her out on Instagram at @adeenasussman. Thursday 9:00–10:15 AM Tahini For Days! How to use Israel’s Most Versatile Staple Library Thursday 10:30–11:45 AM Boost your Social Media Game
Janna Siller leads the Adamah crew in growing organic vegetables for CSA distribution, value-added production, Isabella Freedman food service, and donations, while maintaining the fields as resonant learning space for fellows and visitors. She teaches classes on practical farming and gardening skills as well as classes that explore the big picture systems, policies, and issues that shape what we eat and how it is grown. Janna lives in Falls Village, CT with her daughter Tzuf and their cats.
40 2018 Hazon Food Conference • Please wear your name badge throughout the Conference!
Synagogue
Michael W. Twitty is a culinary and cultural historian, Judaics teacher, and the creator of Afroculinaria, the first blog devoted to African American historic foodways and their legacy. He has appeared on NPR’s The Splendid Table and Morning Edition and has written for The Forward, The Guardian, Ebony, Local Palate, and the Washington Post. He is a Smith Fellow with the Southern Foodways Alliance and a TED fellow and speaker, he was the recipient of Taste talks first Culinary Pioneer Award and a readers choice and editors choice award from Saveur for best food and culture blog. He is also the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s first Revolutionary in Residence. HarperCollins released Twitty’s The Cooking Gene in 2017, tracing his ancestry through from Africa to America and from slavery to freedom. It was named a finalist for The Kirkus Prize in nonfiction and The Art of Eating Prize and was a third place winner of Barnes & Noble’s Discover New Writer’s Awards in Nonfiction. It won the 2018 James Beard Award for best writing and book of the year. Wednesday 8:30–10:00 PM Kosher/Soul?: Black Jewish Identity Cooking (Demo) Lakeview Room Friday 10:30–11:45 AM The Cooking Gene: Tracing My African American Story Through Food Synagogue Friday 1:00–2:00 PM Book Signing
Sunroom (outside bookstore)
Nancy Wolfson-Moche see bio on page 35 Rabbi Ezra Weinberg is a wearer of many hats. He’s a community builder, camp professional, teacher of multifaith education, and innovator of Jewish ritual. Ezra lives and works in Washington Heights with his wife and two children, and is looking to transform the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood where he serves as the Jewish Life and Enrichment Manager. Ordained through the Reconstructionist movement, Ezra is at home in a variety of Jewish settings, from traditional to secular. He is currently a Fellow at the UJA’s Ruskay Leadership Institute. He is a longtime Hazon ambassador as an alum of the New York Ride, the Israel Ride, and Sukkahfest.
Elizabeth Yaari is an artist and co-founder of ExploraTorah. For the last 11 years, she has used Bibliodrama and art to engage workshop participants in authentic storytelling, self-expression, co-creativity, and deep mutual understanding of themselves, the Bible, and nature. She is a graduate of The Institute of Circlework. Thursday 7:00–8:00 AM Morning Nature Meditation: Water Meet Outside Synagogue Thursday 9:00–10:15 AM Mandala Creation Red Yurt Thursday 4:45–6:00 PM Challah Cover Workshop Meet Outside Arts and Crafts Friday 9:00–10:15 AM Macro Photography Library Friday 6:45–8:15 PM Alternative Prayer Practice Red Yurt Jeffrey Yoskowitz see bio on page 35 Thursday 10:30–11:45 AM Fermented Sour Cream, Cultured Butter, and Cream Cheese: An Old World Approach to Preserving and Culturing Dairy Lakeview Room Shelby Zitelman is the CEO & Co-Founder of Soom Foods, and is the oldest of the three Soom Sisters. Inspired by her entrepreneurial family, Shelby graduated from the Wharton School with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Management, and has applied this degree to all of her jobs since. She is responsible for developing her company’s strategy, managing the finances and accounting, managing the team, and overseeing contractor relationships. Shelby spends her down time exploring kid-friendly Philadelphia with her husband, Dan, and their two sons, Malcolm and Julius. She loves drinking beer, working out, and avoiding doing the laundry. Thursday 9:00–10:15 AM Tahini For Days! How to use Israel’s Most Versatile Staple Library Friday 9:00–10:15 AM So You Want to Be Your Own Boss! Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry Synagogue
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Thank You! To our co-sponsors: The Jewish Farmer Network (JFN) was birthed at the 2016 Conference! Building a global network of Jewish farmers, the JFN made a generous contribution which made it possible for 20 Jewish farmers and southerners to attend. Their passion is also what fueled the Jewish Agriculture track and we are so proud and grateful for their contribution and partnership. Bubbie’s Kitchen, created by the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, and generously supported by a grant from the Covenant Foundation, for partnering with the Hazon Food Conference to train ten fellows to teach their premier global cooking curriculum. Farm Forward and the Jewish Initiative for Animals, for being a sponsor of this conference and teaching two classes on animal agriculture and animal welfare. Their work is advancing the Jewish Food Movement in significant ways and we are enthusiastic about our partnership. With their support we have also adopted higher standards for our egg sourcing all year long. Grow & Behold Foods, who produced the heritage chicken for Friday night and the pastured beef and lamb for the Food Festival, as well as being Isabella Freedman’s year-round source for excellent quality meat that aligns with our values. As a company founded and operated by alumni of our Adamah Farm Fellowship, we are very proud of this partnership. To the following companies who donated their product for the swag bag or cooking demos: • Heritage Grain Conservancy • Made in Nature
• Moment Magazine • Svelte
• Tasty Bite • Thrive Market
Special thanks to our volunteers and teachers! • Hazon Food Conference co-chairs, Liz Rueven and Susan Barocas for their generous spirit and tremendous investment of time and energy, going above and beyond to help vision and plan every aspect of the conference. • Hazon Food Conference Planning Committee Sarah Seldin, Jeffrey Yoskowitz, Nancy Wolfson-Moche, and Jeff Gabel who played a critical role in helping shape and create this conference. • Ezra Weinberg for coordinating the traditional egalitarian prayer service and creating Bubbie’s Kitchen and launching its premier training program at the Hazon Food Conference with the help of Nancy Wolfson-Moche and Cyndi Rand. • All of the teachers and prayer leaders at the conference who are bringing their talent and insights to help us create community and dig deeper into the Jewish Food Movement. • All volunteers, both before and during the conference, for helping with tasks large and small. Gratitude for our Hazon staff • To all of the Hazon staff who go above and beyond the call of duty every single day
• Isaiah Rothstein for coordinating and leading the orthodox prayer service
• Jess Berlin for her vision and leadership in producing her third Hazon Food Conference. She put it all together with style, grace, and incredible hard work from start to finish
• Elsie Moche, Isabella Freedman Intern, for helping secure the swag and always being ready to dig in wherever needed
• Arielle Aronoff for masterfully creating the Kids’ Food Conference and leading the incredible team of Teva educators • Jacob Weiss and Eliezer Weinbach who played a critical role in the planning process • Jaclyn Schwanemann, Simone Stallman, and Amber Schrantz who made the registration incredibly smooth and friendly for all our guests • The Isabella Freedman Operations staff, led by Adam Sher, Mike Davino, Mordy Shram, and Tonia Moody whose teams are the people who make this place run
• Lisa Kaplan for creating this beautiful program book and all of the graphics, as well as taking the lead on swag • Amy Hannes for overseeing all of the marketing and outreach and Hannah Elovitz for running our social media campaign • Jesse Beller for making sure the Hazon Bookstore is well stocked with all the books authored by Food Conference teachers • The Adamah staff: Shamu Sadeh, Janna Siller, and Rebecca Bloomfield and the current Adamahniks for integrating the farm into the conference and supporting the conference throughout
42 2018 Hazon Food Conference • Please wear your name badge throughout the Conference!
Thank You! Special thanks to the following funders: • The Lisa Anne Botnick Teen Scholarship Fund – for support of teenage participants • Rose Community Foundation, 18 Pomegranates, and Oreg Foundation – for support of scholarships for Colorado participants • Tamar Fund – for scholarships for those who share her vision of a sustainable future and need financial support for attending the conference • The William Davidson Foundation and D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation – for support of scholarships for the Michigan cohort • Emanuel J. Friedman Philanthropies – for support of the Hazon Seal of Sustainability • UJA-Federation of New York – for their support of all our programs
The Lisa Anne Botnick Scholarship Fund Lisa was a vegetarian from the age of four, in a family who were not. An extraordinary person, and a gifted artist and clarinet player… she is dearly missed.
The Tamar Fund is in loving memory of Tamar Bittelman z”l who attended the Food Conference in Davis, California in 2011. Torah, Jewish community, ecology, and DIY food were values that Tamar held dear in her own life, and she very much appreciated the intersection of these values at the Hazon Food Conference. Sharing a meal with Tamar, particularly a Shabbat or Chag meal, was an experience filled with kedushah, where one was effortlessly and joyfully escorted to “a different place.”
We deeply appreciate the support of all of the Hazon and Isabella Freedman funders. For a complete list of donors to all of Hazon’s programs, please visit hazon.org/supporters
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you make it possible. THE TAMAR FUND Retreats have the power to change lives. At Isabella Freedman, we have a commitment to making Jewish retreats financially accessible. Hazon works to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community, and a healthier and more sustainable world for all. Retreats are at the heart of what we do best. Each year we offer thousands of people the opportunity to immerse themselves in a vibrant and inclusive Jewish community. Through food, the outdoors, and the environment, we reframe and renew Jewish life; we inspire those who are already Jewishly involved and bring new people through the door; and we strengthen institutions and communities. It costs about $150 per person per day for most of our retreats at Isabella Freedman. For some members of our community, especially young adults, that fee can be a barrier to participating in a program that could change their lives. A $180 scholarship from the Tamar Fund is often enough to make a $450 retreat affordable. Even a small gift goes a long way. We are committed to making our programs accessible to all interested people to the greatest extent possible, regardless of their ability to pay. Towards that vision, Hazon awards over $110,000 in financial aid each year, much of it unfunded. The Tamar Fund provides need-based financial aid to ensure that people from across the spectrum of the Jewish community have access to retreat experiences at Isabella Freedman.
"Throughout my young 20s, as I was exploring the world, Judaism and the expanses of my own identity, Isabella Freedman retreats were my steady anchors. Here, I could let go of the outside world and be present in beautiful land with beautiful people, a place where I could simply be and connect. Isabella Freedman's generous scholarships made these experiences possible. I thank Isabella Freedman with my full heart."
Natalie
The Tamar Fund is in loving memory of Tamar Bittelman, z”l who attended the Food Conference in 2011. Torah, Jewish community, ecology, and DIY food were values that Tamar held dear in her own life, and she very much appreciated the intersection of these values at the Hazon Food Conference. Sharing a meal with Tamar, particularly a Shabbat or Chag meal, was an experience filled with kedushah, where one was effortlessly and joyfully escorted to “a different place.” Your gift to the Tamar Fund makes it possible for everyone to take part. Please contact Gina Schmeling, Director of Development at 646.781.7571 or gina.schmeling@hazon.org to discuss giving opportunities. You can also visit the donation box outside of the bookstore. Thank you!
donate today. thank you!
Notes
#hazonfoodconference • 2018 Hazon Food Conference 45
Dining Tent
Emergencies only, please. You must dial 9 before making any call on our land line phones.
Isabella Freedman Emergency #: 860-453-3963
GROW & BEHOLD Kosher Pastured Meats
As the exclusive meat purveyor to Isabella Freedman, we are very proud to support Hazon’s important work of creating a healthier & more sustainble world.
We look forward to feeding you soon! - Naf & Anna Hanau, Grow & Behold founders and Adamah alumni
www.growandbehold.com | 888-790-5781
Hazon is making a difference and so can you. JIFA helps institutions align food practices with Jewish values. JEWISHINITIATIVEFORANIMALS.ORG