Inaugural Good Food Festival and Conference a Resounding Success!
Over 8,000 attendees joined us to experience the Good Food Movement first hand!
The kick-off Wednesday market on September 14, with all the farmers of the Arizona Ave market and Amelia Saltsman’s cooking demos was a fantastic taste for the festivities to come. Including a showing of powerful film The Harvest by Lisa Lucas Talbot, chapter leader of Slow Food Los Angeles and Slow Food USA’s regional governor for southern California.
To experience the Thursday, September 15 Opening Symposium and WPA Agricultural Art Opening was to go back in time to experience the struggles of the Great Depression and the enduring symbol of American agriculture. Followed by a discussion from national figures (too many to list!) at the forefront of the Good Food Movement, it was an inspiring and enlightening night.
Friday, September 16 we welcomed participants to our Conference and Trade Show activities, which were designed to support farmers, trade buyers and other stakeholders to grow their business and the good food community. Nationally significant speakers included Steve Ells, CEO and Founder of Chipotle Mexican Grill; Dr. Robert Ross of The California Endowment; and Laura Avery of the Santa Monica Farmers Markets.
The Localicious Gala on the beachfront at the Annenberg Community Beach House was a night to remember. With 30 chefs paired with 30 farmers, it was the perfect event to celebrate the achievements of the past 30 years of the Santa Monica Farmers Markets. The party showed us not only how fun food can be, but how important making the connections with our farmers and chefs is.
The Good Food Festival and Street Fair on Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18 were two exciting days filled with over 100 exhibitors and food trucks, gardening and preserving workshops, chef demos, a speaker series and more.
It was an opportunity to learn about our changing food system from national experts with panels in the Good Food for Thought Speaker Series like “Can Local and Organic Feed the World?” and “Fair Food: Can Good Food Be Available to Everyone?” For the budding urban homesteaders, our Grow Your Own and Preserve It workshops offered a host of presentations, including Pickling Early Fall Vegetables and an Introduction to Permaculture. It was truly a celebration of everything that makes us love food and the farmers, chefs and thought leaders that work to make it even better.
Throughout these five days we ate good food, viewed films, experienced amazing chefs, saw fabulous rediscovered art, learned from leading farmers and ranchers, saw gardening and food preservation demos, had a Gala on the ocean, and heard from many leaders in the Good Food Movement!
We could not have accomplished this without the help of so many people. Staff, board members, advisers, volunteers, speakers, chefs, farmers, and more all contributed to this effort. We are so grateful for their help.
Thank you!
A very special thanks to our sponsors, who made this event possible!
