Slow Food News

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Leaves to Greens

We have been collecting bags of leaves and raking-up cypress needles all around Faubourg St. John to enrich the soil in the Slow Food Garden and grow delicious seasonal greens. The garden has also produced a bounty of volunteer pepper grass, shown in the picture, that will be part of both the greens served at Nose-to-Tailgate and the salad at the Feast of the Epiphany.

The sustainable practice of collecting bagged leaves has huge environmental and economic benefits.   Bagged leaves and yard waste comprise nearly 30% of the garbage that makes its way to overburdened landfills.   Keeping this valuable organic matter out of the waste stream helps to alleviate this burden, in addition to creating rich soil for growing Good, Clean and Fair Food!
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Nose to Tailgate Whole Hog BBQ at the Sugar Bowl

sugarbowllogo Slow Food New Orleans is hosting Nose-to-Tailgate at the Little Gem Saloon on New Years Day from 2-8p. Chef Miles Prescott will prepare whole-hog BBQ and the New Years traditional black-eyed peas and greens. The George Family Farm in Eclectic, Alabama is donating two pigs raised on open-pollinated corn grownlittle-gem-logo on their farm.
The Little Gem Saloon is located at 445 S. Rampart on the corner of S. Rampart and Poydras, 2 blocks from the Super Dome. The entire upstairs of the Little Gem Saloon will be open to the public to tailgate (balcony-gate), enjoy a cash bar & watch the Rose Bowl (4p kick-off) on several HD flat screen TVs. BBQ plates will be sold with the proceeds going to benefit Slow Food New Orleans. Come enjoy some Good, Clean & Fair Food and be part of the inaugural College Football Playoff.
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2014jan5dinnerThe Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association is hosting a 5-course Feast of the Epiphany at Cafe Degas on January 5. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the neighborhood garden operated by Slow Food New Orleans and Parkway Partners.

The dinner will feature foods from the Slow Food Ark of Taste* and the Slow Food Garden.

The all-inclusive dinner includes: •Ark of Taste specialty cocktail
•Louisiana Mirliton* crab soup
•Slow Food Garden Green Salad with a Louisiana Satsuma* Vinaigrette
•BBQ Gulf Shrimp* and Grits
•Boeuf Bourguignon, made with Pineywoods Cattle* beef
•Galette du Rois with Creole Cream Cheese* and Louisiana Strawberry* Preserves & Limoncello made with Meyers Lemons*
Diners will have their choice of white &/or red wine during the meal.   For reservations, call Cafe Degas 504.945.5635 or 504.609.9670
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greens1The Slow Food New Orleans garden in Faubourg St. John is growing greens and citrus that is regularly featured on the menus of neighborhood restaurants Pagoda Cafe and 1,000 Figs. Revenue created by the sale of this fresh food will support the garden and eventually fund a Slow Food Garden in Africa. Please contact Gary Granata if you are interested in volunteering in the garden … and please visit Pagoda and 1,000 Figs for some Good, Clean & Fair Food.
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Slow Food Social Media Outlets

Slow Food NOLA now has more ways for you to follow and participate in the latest developments in the world of Good, Clean and Fair Food.   You have the options to follow us on our facebook page  & Twitter feed.  You can also interact with one another on our new facebook group and Google group.  Year II of Slow Food NOLA will see us developing programs and committees around the Slow Food Ark of Taste, the Snail of Approval program,  Food Communities and Gardens in Africa.   Please use these social media outlets to follow our progress in these areas and become involved in YOUR Slow Food NOLA chapter.
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Jan 5: Dinner at Degas

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The Feast of the Epiphany, January 5 at Cafe Degas features food from the Faubourg St. John community garden as well as locally sourced food that adheres to the Slow Food mission.

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Fritz Esker of the Mid-City Messenger attended December’s FSJNA meeting and reported the following info learned there:

Cafe Degas will host the Feast of the Epiphany Dinner on January 5th to benefit the Faubourg St. John Community Garden.

The dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $100 per person. Each dish will feature one ingredient from the Ark of Taste, a program created by the Slow Food Foundation to preserve indigenous foods from around the world.

The five-course meal will be prepared by chef Laurent Rochereux of Cafe Degas and Joseph Turley featuring local ingredients, including some grown in the Faubourg St. John Community Garden, located at the corner of North Dupre and St. Philip.

What you can expect:
Specialty Ark ot Taste* cocktail

Louisiana Mirliton* crab soup

FSJ Garden Fresh Salad with a Louisiana Satsuma* vinaigrette

BBQ Gulf Shrimp* & Grits

Boeuf Bourguignon, made with Pineywoods Cattle* beef

Galette du Rois with Creole Cream Cheese* and Louisiana Strawberry* preserves

Limoncello made with Meyers Lemons*

Diners will have their choice of red or white wine with the dinner.

The Slow Food Ark of Taste* is an international list of heritage foods that are at risk of extinction. 

The garden is owned by Parkway Partners, a non-profit dedicated to establishing community gardens. Slow Food New Orleans, an organization whose goal is to provide healthy, environmentally friendly food for all, handles daily operations.

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Garden Up

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photos by Charlie London
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Lots of helpful neighbors turned out to
help renew the Faubourg St. John Community Garden!


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Garden-Up-March23rd

Click on the flyer by Michael Cohn for a PDF.

Please join your neighbors at the Faubourg St. John Community Garden at the corner of St. Philip and North Dupre for a clean up day on Saturday, March 23rd from 9 to noon.

There will be tasks for all ages and abilities, including weeding, raking, mowing, painting, general carpentry repair along with general clean up of the site.

Channel your inner gardener while giving back to the community.

Free coffee, snacks and fun. Please bring a rake, broom, shove or basic repair tools to help give the garden a fresh start!

See you March 23rd from 9 a.m. until noon.

Pictured above is Faubourg St. John’s Community Garden
at St. Philip and North Dupre.

Community Gardens

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Pictured above is Faubourg St. John’s
current Community Garden.



Faubourg St. John will soon have another
Community Garden at 2720 Dumaine Street.

Parkway Partners’ Urban Gardening Program includes Urban Farms, Community Gardens and Orchards, and some gardens may incorporate all of the above. The type of garden that is created is up to the community of people who are working the land.

Whether a garden is strictly a Community Garden or an Urban Farm that produces food that is sold at market, each of our gardens is positively affecting the community around it through food production, food desert eradication, community building and beautification.

Parkway Partners does emphasize “community first” in our work with urban gardens. Thus, in order to become an affiliated Parkway Partners Garden you must first demonstrate that the community wants, and will support the proposed garden. All gardens are a lot of work and we want to make sure that the land is going to be cared for.

Our Urban Gardens Program offers support for starting and maintaining a garden. This support includes: Guiding the garden founders through the process of approvals, landowner agreements, getting neighborhood support, garden design, soil assessments, etc.

The use of our greenhouse to start seeds, which includes the use of any seeds we may have on hand, trays and pots, and soil. We ask in return that you donate a percentage of your starts for us to circulate to our Schoolyard Gardens or Second Saturday programs.

Tools for borrowing: from wheel barrows to tillers and shovels, we loan our tools to affiliated Parkway Partners Urban and Schoolyard Gardens. We provide checkout guidelines.
Assistance rounding up volunteers- ranging from large groups to individuals
Connections to suppliers – we often receive calls from people with extra mulch, chicken feed, plants, etc., and we link that resource to our gardeners

Grant writing partnerships | Acting as your fiduciary agent
Promotion of any upcoming events on our website, newsletter and facebook page
We are a grant and donation funded non-profit organization. There are no fees whatsoever to become a Parkway Partners Garden. If you are an existing Parkway Partners Garden, please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. We are better able to support you if we know your needs.

While we encourage sustainable methods of fertilization, pest control, rainwater harvesting, composting and soil building, it is up to the individual farms and gardens as to what they grow, and how they grow it.

Please let Parkway Partners know if you are interested in starting an Urban Garden. They are happy to speak with you and help you begin the process.

You can contact Susannah Burley, Program Director of Urban Gardens, Schoolyard Gardens and ReLeaf at: sburley@parkwaypartnersnola.org or 504 620 2224, ext 4.

Gardeners – Please consider sending your extra garden produce to Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH). Contact Thomas Ecker at teckerhch@gmail.com for more information. See link below: http://www.nola.gov/RESIDENTS/Health-Department/Homeless-Healthcare/