News Archive

2006 Harvest Dinner Featuring Michael Pollan: A Great Party!

The SEEDS 3^rd Annual Harvest Dinner was a resounding success.  Over 250 people wined and dined in the beautiful American Tobacco Campus Bay 7.  The food was fabulous and was all grown by local farmers, many of whom were in attendance at the event:           

• Bob & Nancy Solberg from Green Hill Farms

• William and Diane Brinkley from Brinkley Farms

• Portia McKnight and Flo Hawley from Chapel Hill Creamery

• John Soehner from ECO Farms

• Ben Bergmann & Noah Ranells from Fickle Creek Farm

• Eliza McLean from Cane Creek Farm                                       

Each course was prepared by a different local chef:

• Appetizers by Andrea Reusing of Lantern

• First course by Drew Brown and Andy Magowan of Piedmont

• Main course by Scott Howell of Nana’s

• Dessert by Sara Fosters of Foster’s Market

The after-dinner treat was a talk by Michael Pollan, most recently author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  Mr. Pollan cited many reasons that to be responsible and healthy citizens, all of our meals should consist largely of locally grown food.   No one who heard Mr.  Pollan's address will ever look at food the same way again!

Dennis Clements, the silent auction's highest bidder, got to take home the  beautiful quilt donated by the Hill House Quilters.

SEEDS 10th Anniversary Gala  

On Saturday, October 9, 2004, over two hundred SEEDS supporters gathered to celebrate ten years of gardening, and to feast on a harvest of flavors prepared by local chefs. The food was local, seasonal, organic and grown in a sustainable way, then cooked by folk at Pop’s, Enoteca Vin, The Mad Hatter, Sage and Swift, Nana’s, Parizade, Foster’s and the Catering Company. In addition to this lovely repast, Annice Kenan, SEEDS first executive director received the inaugural “Open Hand” award. She was presented with a painting which was a miniature of the mural Kanae White painted in our garden. The event was brought together by an amazing team: Mary Hartman, Shannon Leskin, Peg Palmer, Jock Wick and Brenda Brodie.

The highlight of the evening was an inspiring message presented by Alice Waters, chef/owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California and founder of the Edible Schoolyard. Alice has started a delicious revolution, and wants lunch to be part of every school curriculum. Students would plant, harvest, cook, and then share a meal together.

Alice says, ”Instead of just fueling up so we can live our lives, food has to part of our lives, an enrichment of our lives that is connected to history and culture and time and place. And that must begin at the very earliest stage.” Waters never intended to be associated with a health project. “The project is associated with food, and the outcome is health,” she said. “Something changes when children participate in the ritual of eating, the ritual of the land. Food that economical and nutritious and delicious also gives another outcome, which is a nurtured human being.”

Our mission: SEEDS encourages respect for life, for earth and for each other.  We help individuals, neighborhoods and communities grow together through gardening, gathering and education.