Kendra Samuel
Journal Staff
The skies opened up and the rain cleared just in time for Boston’s Local Food Festival, which took Arranged in no particular order, the festival stretched across the Fort Point Channel, filled with small samplers and pamphlets galore. Each booth had a wide variety of things to offer, ranging from games for the kids to delicious products put on display. Waiting at each booth were volunteers or employees eager to talk all about their product, insisting upon trying everything they had available.
The fair had something for even the pickiest eaters, spotlighting every type of vendor imaginable. There were organic grocers offering people fresh fruit and veggie samplers. Delicious peanut butter and cranberry wraps were doled out by Maria and Ricardo’s Tortilla Factory. Bread and butter slices were provided by the nearby Au Bon Pain. Organic milk samplers served by Organic Valley Farms, joined several more samplers spread throughout the festival grounds. Though the samplers were nice treats, many of the more desired selections had a small price attached, but this hardly deterred the flocks of festival-goers from indulging in the yummy offerings that, in the end, supported local business with each purchase.
The fair was also surprisingly sensitive to those who lead vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. Although the barbeque and rib booths were slammed with customers demanding the savory meats, stations such as the Creative Chef drew fairly large crowds. Their “Tofettes”, tofu inspired dishes, had vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters lining up. Prana was yet another local group that was all about the organic, fresh vegan taste, grabbing the attention with their snack bags, sandwiches, and desserts. But it was the vegan empanadas from Norma’s Catering that were the hottest menu on the item for all, selling out only minutes after being freshly made every hour.
The main goal of the food festival was to encourage the people of Boston to support local vendors and farmers seeing the benefits of a healthy, sustainable diet. Mixed among the food booths were organizations prepared to educate the festival goers on how to stay healthy and leave a smaller carbon footprint. All around the festival grounds were places to recycle and throw out compost, promoting control over our waste.
Throughout the day, the event was swarming with masses of people eager to see what their city has to offer. The festival stretched from 11a.m. to 5p.m. allotting plenty of time to sample small bits of this and that and relax in the sun on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
