Food From Family Farms Stars at Farm Aid 2013

Food From Family Farms Stars at Farm Aid 2013



Upstate New York Farmers, Businesses and Organizations Bring Local Flavors to All-Day Music Festival

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., Sept. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Farm Aid 2013 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on Sept. 21 will bring together an all-star lineup and more than 25,000 fans to shine a spotlight on the need for good food that family farms provide us all. From interactive, hands-on workshops in the HOMEGROWN Village to family farm food served at all concessions stands through Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Concessions(®).

Upstate New York farmers, businesses and nonprofit organizations are pitching in to make sure this year's Farm Aid benefit concert provides concertgoers with family farm experiences that are distinctly New York. Local farmers and companies will help Farm Aid bring family farm-sourced ingredients to HOMEGROWN Concessions(®). Local and regional farm groups will present interactive exhibits in the HOMEGROWN Village, engaging concertgoers in the work family farmers do to protect our communities, our environment and our health. Concertgoers can pitch in too, by supporting a food drive at Farm Aid 2013 to support those in need.

Information about the local flavor at Farm Aid 2013:


-- HOMEGROWN Concessions(®) at Farm Aid 2013 will bring family
farm-sourced foods to more than 25,000 concertgoers at SPAC. Concession
vendors include regular SPAC vendors and additional vendors brought on
specifically for the Farm Aid event. Menu items include burgers, hotdogs
and corndogs; grilled cheese with bacon and tomato, and pork chop
sandwiches; poutine with organic fries and homemade gravy; and Chipotle
Mexican Grill's beef barbacoa chili. Seasonal menu items include grilled
local corn; a garden green veggie wrap; and local, fresh fruit sold at
GrowNYC's HOMEGROWN Youthmarket. Dessert offerings include specialty
coffees, cider donuts, ice cream and maple cotton candy.
-- GrowNYC's HOMEGROWN Youthmarket will sell fresh fruit from local farms,
cider and baked goods. Sales at the stand will be conducted by youth
from NYC as well as local FFA youth.
-- A Taste NY tent will offer craft beer, wine and hard cider to showcase
products made in New York with New York ingredients.
-- Culinary students from Schenectady County Community College will work in
backstage catering.
-- Farm Aid is partnering with The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New
York to help meet the needs of the hungry across the region by
collecting non-perishable food items from concertgoers at the main
entrances to SPAC. Concertgoers can bring non-perishable food and
non-food items that are in boxes, cans or plastic bottles (no glass).
Suggested donation items include canned tuna and protein, canned fruits
and vegetables, cereal, hearty cold weather meals like stew and soup,
and peanut butter. Non-food items, such as personal hygiene products and
bathroom tissue, are also needed. The Regional Food Bank has excellent
support from farmers and producers throughout its 23-county service
area, and also operates its own vegetable farm through the Patroon Land
Foundation. Learn more at http://regionalfoodbank.net/.
-- Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village (from noon to 6:00 p.m.) will feature
hands-on activities that give concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, dig
in and learn about the ways family farmers are growing good food for all
of us. From soil enrichment, renewable energy, meet-and-greets with
local veterans-turned-farmers, to testing their knowledge about farming
and trying their luck on "Is the Price Right?," concertgoers can learn
more about the roots of their food and the people who raise it. This
year's HOMEGROWN stage will also feature two live bands, Will Dailey and
The Parlor.
-- In the HOMEGROWN Skills Tent, concert-goers can learn agrarian skills
such as curing bacon, growing mushrooms, making cheese, crafting
friendship bracelets from llama wool, and much more.
-- Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN foodservice promotes a least-waste food service
protocol. All compostable waste at the concert will be turned into
valuable agricultural material to improve the health of the soil. A
sizeable volunteer effort will be on hand to help concertgoers
differentiate between landfill-bound trash, recyclables like plastic,
and compostables, such as food waste and compostable foodservice-ware.
-- Local New York farmers will be featured on the video screen on the main
stage. While Farm Aid established the on-stage video screen in 2009, the
organization made huge strides this year to ensure that the photos
depicted on the screen throughout the day are mostly from farms and
farmers in NY. Farm Aid worked with a number of photographers to shoot
and obtain these photos to reflect the farmers and agriculture of
upstate New York.
Additional Farm Aid 2013 details for concertgoers and fans at home:


-- Farm Aid 2013 will feature performances by Willie Nelson, John
Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, in addition
to Jack Johnson, Amos Lee, Jamey Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Toad the Wet
Sprocket, Pegi Young & The Survivors, Carlene Carter, Lukas Nelson &
Promise of the Real, Bahamas, Sasha Dobson, Jesse Lenat, Insects vs.
Robots and The Blackwood Quartet.
-- The Farm Aid 2013 webcast, "Farm Aid 2013 Live Presented by Amy's
Kitchen," will air Saturday, Sept. 21, from 5 to 11 p.m. EDT at
farmaid.org. The webcast will feature artist performances and a
behind-the-scenes glimpse of Farm Aid 2013, including interviews with
artists, farmers and fans; demonstrations from the HOMEGROWN Village; a
look at Farm Aid's signature HOMEGROWN Concessions(®); and a peek
backstage, showcasing what it takes to produce this major music, food
and farming festival.
-- Willie Nelson's SiriusXM channel 56, Willie's Roadhouse, will air live
from Farm Aid 2013, beginning at 2 p.m. EDT. SiriusXM's Dallas Wayne
will host backstage interviews and behind-the-scenes coverage of the
event.
-- Farm Aid introduced the first-ever official festival app earlier this
month. The app is available for iPhone and Android devices. It allows
users to view the entire Farm Aid 2013 schedule, and add artists,
workshops, and artist briefings to make their own personal schedule for
the day. Users can find out where they're going with the festival map,
check out the HOMEGROWN food and drink offerings, read about the
interactive exhibits in the HOMEGROWN Village, and learn about our
Farmer Heroes. Users can even take and post photos, tweet and share
their Farm Aid experience with their friends.
-- Farm Aid's #Road2FarmAid social media campaign is off and running on
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Social media users are including the
#Road2FarmAid tag on social media posts to connect with people who are
celebrating family farm agriculture and growing the Good Food Movement.
The #Road2FarmAid is a journey that doesn't end on Sept. 21; it tells
the stories of all of the different people working toward a greater
vision for our farm and food system.
Farm Aid 2013 is sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, Amy's Kitchen, Farm Family Insurance, Horizon Organic, American Harvest, Rudi's Organic Bakery, Organic Valley Coop, Applegate, Greener Fields Together, Ecoscraps, PLOTSAVER, Taste NY and Dean's Beans.

For more information about the official Farm Aid app, visit farmaid.org/app.

For more information about joining the #Road2FarmAid, visit farmaid.org/Road2FarmAid.

For concert updates and other Farm Aid 2013 announcements, follow Farm Aid on Twitter (@farmaid), Facebook (facebook.com/farmaid), Instagram (instagram.com/farmaid) and visit farmaid.org/concert.

Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $43 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

SOURCE Farm Aid

Farm Aid

Web Site: http://www.farmaid.org


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