Thank to all the wonderful community members and amazing food advocates who joined us on a chilly, rainy Durham evening last Friday for the Bull City Food Exchange part deux. Thanks to our own fearless Education Director, Leanne, the BCFE2 was hosted at the Center for Documentary Studies. The evening seemed to be one of James-Beard-meets-the-home-cook with food folks from all over the community meeting in one place.

Justine from Real Good Food got us started with an impressive potluck, with amazing dishes cooked by Durhamites – from kale & carrot salads to honey pie to peach bread pudding – folks shared and exchanged, and at the end of the evening, had some choices to take goodies home.

The youth leaders of SEEDS NC brought fresh produce – beets and lettuce and sweet potatoes – from their gardens to barter. They also brought their awesome seed bombs, sharing with the community the amazing work they do downtown. Check out their site – they are currently renovating to expand on their operations, as the youth leaders continue to set the standard on what role models should be – certainly give hope for the future of food and the future of community.

Lucas DiGia of Rap for Food got the crowd up on their feet not only with raps about strawberries and such, but also an addictively catchy rendition of Carly Jae Jepsen’s song…only turned into one about eating vegetables, and managed to turn a Taylor Swift song into a wonderful call for an end to bad food! Check his site out for some of his music – we are excited to welcome him back in May.

Eliza and Reid from Sol Food Mobile Farm then screened their documentary featured on PBS following their unbelievable national tour, and followed up with a fascinating Q&A about their six months on the road. They had tremendous impact on many communities, sharing their love of community gardens as well as exploring the country (with some nail-biting adventures – imagine climbing up a steady winding mountainous incline in South Dakota with a giant schoolbus that runs on waste vegetable oil!)

As there are no coincidences, the evening was capped up with a separate documentary screening of the famous Chef & the Farmer, soon to be featured on PBS as well. We still had some great food & wine left over from the food swap, much to the delight (and confusion) of folks who came for the screening.

It was a fun evening with food folks from all over meeting at the crossroads of community. Til next time.

Bull City Food Exchange part deux from Zomppa on Vimeo.

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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.

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According to Justine, Food Swaps are taking the country by storm because they are a fun and delicious way to diversity the homemade foods in your own pantry while getting to know members of your local food company. She explains how a Food Swap works:

Easy answer: Basically just make a big batch of whatever it is that you love to cook, pack it up into a few portions and trade it for things you want.

Expanded answer: Participants are invited to bring a few individually wrapped portions of homemade food that they love and want to share. Participants label their items upon arrival and then explore delicacies that others have brought. The swap concludes with individuals making trades, e.g., a loaf of bread for a jar of pickles or a half-dozen backyard eggs.

Example: I made a cheese cake for the last Food Swap we hosted in Durham, sliced it into 8ths and wrapped them in wax paper. I ended up trading for a spicy pumpkin bisque, zucchini bread, roasted pepper tapenade and homemade coffee liquor. If you have the chance to bring some samples that always helps but it’s not necessary.

Cooking Up a Story did a great piece on Food Swap – see it in action!

We hope to see you Sunday!

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With over 35 years between them (and they both look like they’re 18) in the restaurant, cooking, nutrition business, they bring their passion for health and raw foods to the people with their mobile truck and by catering raw food meals. Come learn more about what a raw food diet can be like.

Don’t forget to bring a homecooked dish to share and swap for other treats!

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We hope to see many of you at our upcoming May 6th fun food fundraiser at Fullsteam, Durham, NC.

Please don’t forget to bring some of favorite food (chili? brownies?) so you swap up for something else. You can walk home with a week’s worth of dinners – different meal every night of the week! Real Good Food will show you how.

Bring your kids! They’ll get a chance to roll up their sleeves learning about a mystery country, cooking, a foreign language with Zompping for Food & Planet….and you’ll get a chance to see some food demos and tips! Of course, you can’t leave without touring the Sol Food Mobile Farm – it now has a live, green roof!

In addition to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle who will present doing some live cooking demos and sharing about their wonderful programs and events, two other local Piedmont food innovators will be there!

You may have seen Berenbaum’s at the Durham Farmer’s Market. Berenbaum’s specializes in all sorts of delicious breads, doughnuts, etc., and uniquely, it is an open-sourced, sliding-scale concept where you pay what your food is worth. Come find out more!

This & That Jam will also be on hand. Based in Chapel Hill, This & That has been spreading the word (no pun intended) about making fresh jams and preserves with local produce and about canning and preserving seasonal produce.

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They will be on hand to learn how you can help end hunger, as well as demo some great home-cooking tips!

We hope to see you there – please spread the word!

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