9th Annual “Feast on This!” Film Festival

Presented by Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition and the Monadnock Food Co-op

The Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition (MFCC) and the Monadnock Food Co-op, have teamed up to present the 9th Annual “Feast on This!” Film Festival, an event to educate the community about the diverse issues affecting national, regional and local food and agricultural systems.

“We are genuinely excited by the variety of themes of this year’s lineup and look forward to the array of conversations that will ensue thanks to great panel discussions, moderators and guest appearances”, notes Roe-Ann Tasoulas, director of the MFCC; a coalition of 89 member-organizations that are working together to improve the local food system in the Monadnock Region. The film festival is sponsored by: Belletete’s, C & S Wholesale Grocers, Yankee Farm Credit, Savings Bank of Walpole, W. S. Badger, Archway Farm, NBT Bank, Stonewall Farm, Edward Jones/Allen Mendelsohn, Monadnock Conservancy, The Hungry Diner and The Works Café.

This year’s featured film, “Farmers For America” is gaining media attention thanks to its timely exploration of the changing American farm scene and changing consumer trends. Narrated by “ Dirty Jobs” star, Mike Rowe, the film answers the question: As the average age of US farmers is pushing 60 years old, who will grow our food?

The film explores the delicate issue of transferring land from one farmer or farm family to the next. Hosting the film is MFCC member, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), who will moderate a 20-minute panel discussion following the film, peppered with local experts in farm transition who will share how they work to keep land in farming. “Farmers For America” will be shown at Stonewall Farm on Friday, November 9, 2018 at 6:30pm. Pisgah Farm will provide hors d’oeuvres.

MFCC is bringing back a new roster of short films from the Real Food Media’s POPup Film Festival on Saturday, November 10, 2018, 7pm – 9pm, at The Hive at Hannah Grimes Center. Ten, 4-minute award winning shorts feature real food heroes whose innovation in farming is changing the way the world eats. From former gang members turned urban farmers, to the sustainable farms of Kinkala, Africa, farmers are striving to meet the food needs of tomorrow.

This year, MFCC honors “Farmers Helping Farmers” a farm share program connecting people and farms by subsidizing the cost of summer CSA shares. Jack Rixey, farm manager of Tracies Community Farm, is one of the members. “We are a group of farmers who gather regularly to talk about the joys and challenges of farming here among other things,” shares Rixey. “We want farming to be a viable and valued occupation and the high quality food we grow to be accessible to more familiies. That is why we started the farmshare program.” Hors d’oeuvres by CC & D’s Market Café, a cash bar, and a makeover of The Hive by Machina Arts, sets the tone for a night of celebrating the creativity, vision, and hard work of local farmers.

Kicking off the Festival this year is “Fed Up!” a documentary produced by Katie Couric and Laurie David (producer of An Inconvenient Truth). Hosted by Monadnock Understands Childhood Hunger (MUCH) on Thursday, November 8th at 6:30pm at Franklin School, “Fed Up” argues “everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong,” according to the film’s synopsis. MUCH members will share how they work to get healthy food onto the plates of our region’s food insecure children.

Local beekeepers will join Community Garden Connections for a matinee screening of “More Than Honey” on Saturday, November 10^th at 1pm at Antioch University New England. This documentary investigates the cause of bee colony collapse disorder and illuminates how activists work to keep local bee populations viable. Popcorn grown by Community Garden Connections will be served during the film.

There is a suggested donation of $10 at each venue. $30 all-film festival passes will be for sell at each venue at film screenings. In honor of National Hunger Week, donations of food are welcomed at each venue and will be distributed to area food pantries.

For information, descriptions of films and updates on the Feast on This! Film Festival; visit the event page, http://www.mfcommunitycoalition.org/feastonthis

FILM SCHEDULE AND SYNOPSIS:

Thursday, November 8, 2018, 6:30pm-8:30pm

Franklin Elementary School cafeteria, hosted by Monadnock Understands Childhood Hunger

Fed Up!

Everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) and director Stephanie Soechtig, FED UP will change the way you eat forever.

Friday, November 9, 2018, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Stonewall Farm, hosted by National Center for Appropriate Technology
Farmers For America, narrated by Mike Rowe
With the average age of the U.S. farmer pushing 60, and with young people unable to afford farmland and equipment, who will grow our food? Farmers For America explores the challenges our farmers are facing and the reasons why agriculture is facing a looming skills gap unlike anything we’ve ever encountered.

Hors d’oeuvres by CC&D’s Kitchen Market

Saturday, November 10, 2018,
1pm – 3pm
Antioch University New England, hosted by Community Garden Connections
More Than Honey

Over the past 15 years, numbers of colonies of bees have been decimated throughout the world but the causes of this disaster remain unknown. In the latest estimates, 1.5 million (out of 2.4 million total beehives) have disappeared across 27 states in the U.S.

Homegrown popcorn served.

7pm – 9pm
The Hive at Hannah Grimes Center

Brews + Bites + Real Food Media POPup Film Festival at The Hive at Hannah Grimes Center, a collaboration with Machina Arts!
Ten, 4-minute award-winning shorts feature real Food Heroes who are changing the way the world eats.
SHORTS: “Kelly Street Garden”, “At Needlepoint”, “Harmony Gardens”, “Under the Wall”, “Dictionary of a Food Hero”, “Edible Jungle”, “Homegirl”, “Mama Adrienne”, “Bread”, “Our Work is Life”
Cash bar and hors d’oeuvres by Pisgah Farm
Honoring Farmers Helping Farmers, a group of local farmers seeking to connect people and farms by subsidizing summer CSA shares.

ABOUT MONADNOCK FARM AND COMMUNITY COALITION

Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition is a regional coalition who mission is to support a sustainable food system by cultivating community action and building collaborations to implement effective programs, projects and policies. We bring together our 89 member organizations and individual stakeholders regularly, in quarterly forums and in working group meetings to assure our collective work is on-going and efficient.
http://www.mfcommunitycoalition.org

ABOUT MONADNOCK FOOD COOP
The Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene, NH is cooperatively owned and operated by people in our community, and exists to meet our community’s need for: