Tennessee Local Food Summit Comes to Harpeth Hall
The school will host a weekend of discussions about sustainable food initiatives Chris Chamberlain Nov 11, 2019 9 AM
Keynote speaker Ellen PolishukThe guiding principle behind the annual Tennessee Local Food Summit has always been “Middle Tennessee farmland once fed Nashville, and it will again.” Organized by Jeff Poppen, the Barefoot Farmer, and a staff of volunteers, the gathering of minds brings together some of the nation’s top agricultural, sustainable community, food movement, health and wellness and farming experts to examine our local food movement and systems for this year’s event, titled "Celebrating & Growing the Local Food Movement."
The summit will be held Friday through Sunday, Dec. 6-8, at Harpeth Hall School and will feature nationally known speakers including keynote addresses from Ellen Polishuk, farm consultant and author of Start Your Farm, Mary Berry, founder and executive director of The Berry Center in New Castle, Ky., and Larry Kopald, founder and president of The Carbon Underground, based in Los Angeles.
There will also be smaller breakout sessions, or tracks, hosted by local heroes focusing on topics like:
Community with Laura Wilson and Tallu Schuyler Quinn; Economics with Kylee Thatcher and Alan Powell; Farming with Cliff Davis and Ian McSweeney; Health/Wellness with Dodd Galbreath and Jojo Jackson; Gardening with David Wells, Jeremy Lekich and Iruka Embry; School Gardens with local youth panel, Robin Fazio and Suzanna Fotopulos; a Local Food Authors session, presented by the Nashville Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, featuring Dame authors Anne Byrn, Louisa Shafia, Erin Byers Murray and Nancy Vienneau. (The tracks lineups are still evolving; check back here for updates.)
Some favorite Nashville chefs will also present cooking demos, including Hal Holden-Bache of Lockeland Table, Bobby Hodge of Oak Steakhouse and Trey Cioccia of The Farm House and Black Rabbit. Harpeth Hall is a new host this year, and the school is excited to have this talented assemblage visit campus.
“We are delighted to be hosting the Tennessee Local Food Summit at Harpeth Hall, and to support their work educating the local community about the benefits of the local food movement," says Harpeth Hall Head of School Jess Hill. "At Harpeth Hall, part of our mission is to prepare students to think critically about local and global issues and inequities," Hill continues. "We are also committed to multi-faceted sustainability initiatives and environmental stewardship and believe that we are charged with developing a generation of women leaders who have both the skills and the knowledge to affect meaningful change. We see Harpeth Hall's involvement in the Tennessee Local Food Summit as a natural and exciting outgrowth of our commitment to supporting our neighbors and stewarding our community's resources. We look forward to welcoming the event team and its attendees to our campus.”
Your ticket to the Tennessee Local Food Summit includes all presentations, workshops, chef-prepared meals and free parking. Tickets are available for $100 per person for the whole conference or $75 for a single-day pass. College students can purchase whole conference tickets for $50, and high school students can attend the conference for free with ID. Tickets can be purchased at the summit’s Eventbrite page. For a complete schedule, visit: tnlocalfood.com.
