By all accounts, the 2008 Local Food Festival and Field Day, held on May 17th, was educational, festive and fun. Approximately 1000 people came together in Albuquerque’s South Valley to celebrate local foods, to learn how to grow it, to buy it and best of all, to eat it.

The eatin’s good

Chefs Jennifer James, Bob Peterson (Savoy Grille) and Joe Schuster (Marcello’s Chop House) cooked up delicious local foods and provided free samples a-plenty, including seared lamb, chicken chorizo and cool raw vegetable soup. Steve Paternoster (Scalo) sold Paella with some of his own local, grass fed beef. Many local producers and processors sold and gave samples of their products which included pasta, jam, honey, cheese, in addition to fresh greens, garlic, spinach and radishes.

Field day seminars

Workshops covered a host of topics, such as pruning, permaculture, fruit tree and berry growing and soil amendments. Deborah Madison, noted cookbook author, talked about eating seasonally and buying and cooking with local foods, and then stayed and signed copies of her book of Local Flavors: Eating and Cooking from America’s Farmer’s Market. In addition, a number of organizations promoting farmers markets, kids cooking programs, and other food and agriculture programs were on hand to answer questions and engage the public.

Even the kids had fun

Activities, such as pecan shelling, seed spitting, and sac races for local peanuts, kept children engaged and aware of the local foods available in New Mexico. Of particular interest for the kids was the face painting by Bee Bee the Clown and the horse rides from Diego Gallegos.

Did we accomplish our goals?  Yes, in spades

One of the primary goals of the festival was to raise awareness about local foods. The results of the public survey showed that we accomplished that goal in spades! Many attendees stated that they were now more interested in purchasing local foods and including them as a part of their regular diet. Connecting the public with local growers and producers is crucial in sustaining local agriculture, and this event provided one step in helping to make those connections.

We look forward to organizing this event again next year. Let us know if you want to be a part of it.

Contact:  Ann Simon ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )