Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

Summer has finally arrived in Rhode Island and with it, flavorful rewards. Succulent peaches, juicy sweet corn and evenings spent enjoying the light breeze off the ocean. They all come together at our third annual Local Food Fest, which, hard for us to believe, is but a week away.

It’s an event inspired by Rhode Island’s rolling coastline, fertile inland soils and dedicated farmers who produce fine wines, succulent shellfish, plump fruits and delicate greens. In turn, these are the perfect ingredients for a cadre of inspired chefs who know how to craft the season’s bounty to thrill any palate.

Buy your ticket now and join us next Tuesday, August 4 at Castle Hill in Newport. Twelve talented chefs, paired with two dozen farmers and food producers will offer up a seasonal feast to benefit Farm Fresh RI. Each paired with a local farmer, they’ll offer a guided tour for the tongue that celebrates the harvest of the fields and waters of the Ocean State:

• Castle Hill – Jonathan Cambra
• Newport Restaurant Group – Casey Riley
• Blackstone Caterers – Derek Jolie
• Chez Pascal – Matt Gennuso
• DeWolf Tavern – Sai Viswanath
• Gracie’s – Joe Hefner
• Little Farm Catering – Twillia Glover
• Local 121 – Dave Johnson
• New Rivers – Bruce Tillinghast
• Nick’s on Broadway – Derek Wagner
• Persimmon – Champe Speidel
• Up River Café – Terrence Maul

The farms: Allen Farms • Arcadian Fields • Aquidneck Farms • Baby Greens • Bally Machree • Blackbird Farm • Four Town Farm • Heritage Farms • Ledge Ends Produce • Lydon Family Tomatoes • Matunuck Oyster Farm • Reynolds Barn • Red Planet Vegetables • Robin Hollow Farm • She Sells Seaweed • Sweet Berry Farm • Young Family Farm

The vineyards and breweries: Greenvale Vineyards • Langworthy Farm Winery • Newport Vineyards • Sakonnet Vineyards • Narragansett Brewing • Newport Storm • Trinity Brewhouse

The cheesemaker, roasters, bakers and jam-maker: Blue State Coffee • Cory’s Kitchen • Narragansett Creamery • New Harvest Coffee • Olga’s Cup and Saucer •  Seven Stars Bakery

Buy your ticket online for a flavorful evening at Castle Hill in Newport. Taste the bounty and wide-ranging flavors of summer in Rhode Island.

UPDATES: Food, Inc. is now only showing through Thursday 7/23. Congrats to the raffle drawing winners:
- TUESDAY 7/21 WINNERS: Craig O., Sam R., Lindsey G., Tina M., Sara K.
- MONDAY 7/20 WINNERS: Alex P., Elizabeth B., Kathy I.
- FRIDAY 7/17 WINNERS: Tifani M., Ivan M., Mary R.

“Don’t take another bite till you see Food, Inc., an essential, indelible documentary.” — Rolling Stone

See the RI premier of the new documentary Food Inc. this Friday 7/17 at the Avon Cinema in Providence. The movie takes a close look at the nation’s food industry and has been widely reviewed as a watershed moment for the sustainable food movement. The movie will run for 1 week, through Thursday 7/30 7/23, with showings every day at 6:30pm & 8:30pm and special weekend matinees at 2:15pm & 4:15pm.

We’re raffling 24 movie tickets thanks to the Avon, and all of the proceeds go to Farm Fresh’s efforts to grow a fresh and fair food system in RI.

Buy raffle tickets online for 2 for $1…or at any of our markets:

• Providence: Armory (Th), Downtown (Fr), Hope St (Sat), Broad St (Sat)
• Pawtucket (Sun)
• Woonsocket (Tu)

Every day at 4pm, starting Friday 7/17, we’ll be doing one or two drawings for a pair of tickets until tickets run out. We’ll post updates here. The sooner you buy raffle tickets, the more drawings you’ll be in. (If you can’t make it to Food, Inc., the tickets are still good for any show at the Avon.)

Two other ways to support Farm Fresh’s work towards a healthier, fresher food system:

• Bring family and friends to the Local Food Fest on August 4! A dozen farms, a dozen chefs, delicious food, an incredible evening at Castle Hill. We’ve already sold a third of the available tickets.
• Make a donation online now. Also, Farm Fresh is the featured charity on their register coupons at both Whole Foods in Providence during the month of July. Thanks!

… stop by the Beehive Café. They’ve planned their entire July 4 menu around local ingredients to honor and celebrate Independence Day with the delicious food that grown right here in Rhode Island. It was good timing; just this week we expanded Market Mobile farm-to-chef deliveries to include Newport. Jen and Eli at Beehive were insistent that we could stop by Bristol, too. Going through Bristol and on the Mount Hope Bridge is not exactly the fast lane to Newport from Providence, where our route starts. But we were so impressed by how the folks at Beehive spoke of the importance of supporting their local growers this Fourth of July. We changed our route and delivered to Bristol this week, and will every week going forward. It’s Rhode Islanders like Jen and Eli who are helping re-grow a local food economy in our state and you will certainly taste these community values – and the fresh ingredients. The enthusiastic response around the state to Market Mobile has truly been amazing.

If you’re in Newport on July 4, you can taste local ingredients sourced from the 15 Market Mobile farms and producers at: Castle Hill Inn & Resort • The Mooring Seafood Kitchen • Smokehouse Café • Blackstone Caterers

If you’re in Providence, you’ll find local food fresh from Market Mobile on the menu at: Blue State Coffee • Bluefin Grille • Brown Faculty Club • Chez Pascal • La Laiterie • Local 121 • My Little French Cottage • Napa Valley Grille • New Rivers • RISD • The Liberty Elm • Waterman Grille

We also have been lucky to work with Foodworks in Smithfield and Tastings Wine Bar & Bistro in Foxboro. Both go out of their way to pick up each week.

Thanks to the dedication of these chefs, the first 6 months of this crazy experiment to reweave our local food system (aka Market Mobile) have already resulted in $38,000 of local food going from farm to table. If you know of a Providence, East Bay or Aquidneck restaurant, grocer or school that would love to get more fresh, local food on the menu, talk to us.

Cheers to the people who grow our food. They sustain our environment, our health, our nation. Have a happy and flavorful July 4th!