Thursday, August 18, 2011
YOUNGSTOWN
Congregation Ohev Tzedek and Grow Youngstown will host a luncheon and discussion about the place of food in Jewish family and community life from noon to 2 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Jewish Community Center, 505 Gypsy Lane.
Cooks from the local Jewish community will prepare a free lunch featuring locally produced food, and Dr. Sherry Linkon, Youngstown State University professor of American studies and director of YSU’s Steel Valley Voices project, will lead a story-telling and the discussion.
The event will end with a tour of the JCC’s community garden.
The ties between family, ethnicity, local culture and healthful eating have brought together Ohev Tzedek members with Grow Youngstown’s urban gardens and community-supported agriculture projects. Ohev Tzedek’s rabbi, Daria Jacobs-Velde, sees food-growing and story-telling as central to Jewish life.
“At its roots, Judaism is a religion deeply in tune with the agricultural cycle and in touch with where our food comes from. We also love to tell stories, which connect us and create community,” she said.
Elsa Higby, director of Grow Youngstown believes sharing food and stories can contribute to creating a sustainable local food system.
“We will not build a green, environmentally friendly city or a local agricultural economy without connecting our values with the way we cook and eat,” she said.
The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Call or email the Ohev Tzedek office at 330-758-2321 (office@ohevtzedek.org) by Aug. 24. Donations will be accepted to support Grow Youngstown’s community garden and local agriculture projects.
For more information about the event or Grow Youngstown’s local projects, visit www.growyoungstown.org or contact Linkon at 330-941-2977.