Virginia Food Heritage Project

Food heritage books by local authors

vafoodheritage — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:04:51 +0000

These two outstanding books present different takes on “food heritage,” one from the woods of Virginia, the other from the bush of the Bahamas.

Bush Medicine of the Bahamas, by Jeff McCormack

“A sound ethnobotanical book with good coverage, pleasing format, written in an engaging style. The reader will especially enjoy, as did I, the interesting and colorful personal accounts of bush medicine. … The wondrous field of Ethnobotany grows and grows, thanks to great books like this.” — James A. Duke, Ph.D. author of the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, and The Green Pharmacy.

“… This book feels as though it has emerged from the field, and not from a lofty tower. The interviews have more than mere data in them: they have story. And what beautiful stories they are, some of them with healing power in their own right.”— from the Foreword by Gary Paul Nabhan, internationally-celebrated nature writer, and ethnobotanist

The Beginner’s Guide to Hunting Deer for Food, by Jackson Landers

“Hunting deer is the most inexpensive, environmentally friendly way to acquire organic, grass-fed meat. Even if you’ve never held a gun before, author Jackson Landers can show you how to supplement your food supply with venison taken near your home. He addresses everything a new hunter needs to know: how to choose the correct rifle and ammunition, how to hunt effectively and safely, and what to do if something goes wrong. He includes chapters on field dressing and butchering after the kill, recipes for using the meat, and a chapter on the politics and psychology of hunting. Whether you hunt to be more self-sufficient, to eat the safest and most nutritious meat possible, to protect the environment, or to save money, this book is the perfect guide.” – Amazon.com

Cooking in Early Virginia Indian Society

vafoodheritage — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:15:43 +0000

Early Virginia Indians hunted, fished, and collected wild grains and berries, which they prepared in various ways. Meats were roasted, while grains and tubers were pounded into ashcakes and then baked.

For many millennia, boiling water was difficult, but by the Late Woodland Period (AD 900–1600), technology had improved among the Powhatan Indians of Virginia such that a large ceramic stew pot became the focus of family eating.Roasted meats, shellfish, and wild berries were all added to the stew, which boiled throughout the day.

Open Roads blogs about VFHP

vafoodheritage — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:55:51 +0000

Becky Allen at “Open Roads” blog captures the vision and mission of the Virginia Food Heritage Project in this interview with Tanya Denckla Cobb. Read it here.

World-renowned food activist comes to UVa

vafoodheritage — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:40:02 +0000

UVa’s Brown College Welcomes

VANDANA SHIVA
Tuesday,March 20th, 5:30 PM
Auditoriumof the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collectiom

Part ofthe 2011-2012 Visiting Environmental Writers and Scholars (ViEWS) Series

Brown College is delightedto announce the final speaker in this year’s Visiting Environmental Writers and Scholars Series,Vandana Shiva. The winner of the 1993 Alternative Nobel Peace Prize (also known as the Right Livelihood Award), Dr. Shiva is a world-renowned environmental activist and one of the leading voices in the local food movement.

Based in New Delhi, India, Dr. Shiva is the Director of the Research Foundation on Science, Technology, a leader at the International Forum on Globalization and the author of over 20 books including Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development (2008), Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace (2005) and Water Wars: Pollution, Profits, and Privatization (2001). She is also the founder of Navdanya, an organization that promotes the conservation of diverse seed pools threatened by the spread of genetically-modified (GM) biota.

Dr. Shiva will provide a public lecture on Tuesday, March 20th at 5:30 PM in the Auditorium of the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections.

Visit our website or contact Bart Elmore (bje5d@virginia.edu; 434-924-7859) for more information.

Hearing from local growers

vafoodheritage — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:48:24 +0000

A Virginia Food Heritage Project volunteer talks with a local grower at the 2011 Heritage Harvest Festival.

Growing Up Cason: local farming family highlighted in the Virginia Film Festival

Megan — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:09:18 +0000

Director Doug Bari has documented a key part of Central Virginia’s Food Heritage in his film “Growing Up Cason,” a documentary about the Cason family of Charlottesville. The hardworking Casons and their 8 children farmed in the area through the Depression and the War, and four of the Cason sons helped found Charlottesville’s City Market.

The film will screen Saturday, November 5 at 1:00pm at Vinegar Hill Theater. You can purchase tickets online or at the door, and read more about the film in this review from the Daily Progress. Don’t miss it!

Reclaiming Our Food

vafoodheritage — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 03:25:14 +0000

All across the country, Americans are seeking more fresh, local foods – at home, in their schools, in restaurants, and at food markets. Grassroots community food projects from Boston to Nashville to Birmingham to Seattle are rising to meet this demand. Led by innovative, creative people from all walks of life, these projects are building community by creating valuable jobs, preserving cultural traditions, building local knowledge about growing food, and educating school-children.

Where others have made the case for the local food movement, Reclaiming Our Food shows how communities are actually making it happen. This book offers a wealth of information on how to make local food a practical and affordable part of everyone’s daily fare.

Saving our Seeds

Megan — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:46:45 +0000

Saving our Seeds is an educational website devoted to promoting sustainable, ecological, and organic vegetable seed production in the Mid-Atlantic (especially Virginia) and the South. Saving our Seeds offers free publications on seed saving, and other information and resources for gardeners, farmers, seed savers, and seed growers.

Our first Food Story is coming soon!

Megan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:16:58 +0000

Stay tuned..

Join the Conversation: What is your food heritage?

Megan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:14:38 +0000

What specific foods or food traditions are part of your Central Virginia heritage? Is there a unique plant that your family has always grown? Or a special food that you’ve never seen anywhere else?

We’d love to hear from you!

Feel free to leave a comment below if you have a food memory or food tradition you’d like to share with our community. Tell us about your food. What does it look, smell, and taste like? When do you eat it? How is it prepared and who prepares it?

If the comment box here just isn’t enough space, click over to the Get Involved page to find out how you can get in touch with us and schedule a time for a full interview with a volunteer.