Bull City Food Exchange: It Takes a Village

As the saying goes, it takes a village….

On Sunday, Bull City came alive in only the unique way Durham, NC can – with community and heart. Despite a bit of rain in the morning, Fullsteam opened its doors to us, Sol Food Mobile Farm, and Real Good Food. Fullsteam is a local brewery that has become a community mainstay – a true community gathering place that is not your typical brewery (dogs and children welcome).

The three of us put together goodies for raffle ticket winners for those who donated – including mason jars, packets of seeds, bumper stickers and more! (If you want a Zomppa magnet or bumper sticker or set of postcards, let us know!).

While Sol Food parked the bus outside getting ready for visitors, Real Good Food prepped the tables for the food swap. Meanwhile, ZomppaPatty, ZomppaKat, and ZomppaKatherine, all of whom flew from all over the world to join, got the Zompping for Food and Planet workshop ready – featuring Italy!

Adults and children alike loved Sol Food Mobile Farm (hard not to!), and the incredible team shared about their upcoming national tour. They also shared with the community knowledge about running a bus on waste-oil, container gardening, and of course, their amazing rooftop garden (this is a photo of the roof…no joke!).

Meanwhile, Real Good Food got things going with a community swap. Folks brought their goodies and the different items were laid out. Folks then noted whether the food was organic, local, gluten-free, or vegan/vegetarian. Then folks walked around and bartered their goodies.

The list of food traded was impressive, including:

Lemon balm jelly with backyard honey
Chocolate Chip Quinoa cookies
Tomato Avocado Black Bean Salad
Strawberry Mini-cakes
Chewy Chocolate cookies
Homemade Dill Pickles
Triple Coconut cupcakes with dark chocolate chunks
Sourdough Starter
2 different Kombucha Scobys (starter)
Homegrown Arugula Pesto
Chocolate Peanutbutter-Graham Squares
Hazelnut Granola
Fresh Mozzarella and veggie Fusili pasta salad
Handpicked Strawberry Jam

I bartered my Avocado-Tomato-Corn-Black Bean salad for some real goodies, including Berenbaum’s amazing cookies, some ridiculously awesome chocolate peanut butter bars, and a jar of this incredible honey.

ZomppaKat led a few dynamic workshops on Italy – and the kids (and parents) were enthralled and fully engaged making their pasta jewelry, singing opera, and analyzing the Mona Lisa.

Of course, the kids also were fully engaging learning knife skills and making bruschetta. They could not get enough – who knew these little ones would appreciate a healthy, easy-to-make meal!

But the day was not just about us three. After all, it is a community.

We were fortunate and honored again to have the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle with us. They shared with folks about their various programs that aim to reduce hunger in North Carolina, from food recovery, to culinary training programs, to community gardens.

They had fresh produce, recovered of course, and encouraged folks to try black bean, vegetarian, lettuce wraps. We even saw a bunch of kids eager to try the vegetables!

We were also treated to learning more about how Triangle Raw Foods prepares 100 pounds of zucchini, and how This & That Jam packs so much flavor in those jars. Ari Berenbaum’s amazing homemade goods (his crusts and pastry shells are ridiculously beautiful) were available for everyone to taste and buy – paying what they felt was the right amount.

Folks seem to have a great time, with parents and children excited about our curriculum and wanting to see it at their children’s schools, folks of all ages thrilled at seeing the bus in action, and community members curious about when the next food swap would happen.

Additionally, we had the support of many local NC bloggers and friends spreading the word, including Carpe Durham, Durham Socialite, the indelible Jonathan Bloom of Wasted Food, Dirty Durham, Durham Foodie, and Green Eats Blog.

Having all these groups and organizations who care about local food and community, and connecting it with the global truly makes it clear that indeed, it takes a village.

Thank you.

You can check out more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.

Tags: Ari Berenbaum's, BCFE, Berenbaum's, Bull City Food Exchange, Carpe Durham, Dirty Durham, Durham, Durham Bulls, Durham Foodie, Featured, Fullsteam, Green Eats Blog, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Jonathan Bloom, North Carolina, Real Good Food, Sol Food Mobile Farm, This & That Jam, Triangle Raw Foods, Wasted Food, Zompping for Food and Planet

Category: BCFE Updates, Bull City Food Exchange, Communities, Featured, For Kids, Kids & Food, Piedmont NC, Pop-Up Classroom, Sol Food Mobile Farm