The EARTH Center is cooking

Elijah’s Promise culinary school to host first Farm to Table event

By: Paul Koepp
   People hungry for a way to help local farmers and the environment at the same time can find their meal ticket Monday at Davidsons Mill Pond Park on Riva Avenue.
   The Elijah’s Promise culinary school of New Brunswick will host its first Farm to Table event, featuring fresh produce from the more than 12,000-square-foot vegetable garden in the park. The garden is part of the Middlesex County EARTH Center.
   Students from the culinary school, which provides nutritious meals to low-income people in Central Jersey, will prepare dishes with cucumbers, Swiss chard, onions, and okra picked from the garden this weekend, said Elijah’s Promise chef Abby Hoffman.
   "The idea is to help the general public learn about sustainable activities that can preserve the environment and farmland," she said. "We also want to support local growers and farmers markets."
   Locally grown produce cuts down on pollution because it does not have to be shipped over long distances, Ms. Hoffman said. The Farm to Table event will encourage local growers to continue farming instead of selling their open space to developers, she said.
   "If we don’t use local farmers’ fresh produce and poultry, the farms will disappear," she said, adding that event organizers will also encourage local restaurants to use locally grown ingredients.
   After a tour of the garden starting at 6:30 p.m., participants will learn how to prepare several seasonal crops and recipes will be distributed, Ms. Hoffman said. There will also be a tomato tasting, herbal ice cream and sorbet, and samplings of different varieties of olive.
   There is a $10 suggested donation for attending and registration is required by today (Thursday). Register by calling (732) 545-9002 ext. 110. The Center donates some of the vegetables and herbs grown on the premises to Elijah’s Promise.