conference call
Farm to Table Conference organizers Erin Hart and
Liz Kanche gear up for the biggest-ever gathering of
the local farming community and its supporters.By Katie Mavrich
Photography By Megan Wylie ruffing
Photos Courtesy Erin Hart'

The Farm to Table Conference has continually and organically grown since its inception in 2006, adding more exhibitors and demonstrations each year. Conference organizers and sisters, Erin Hart and Liz Kanche, expect between 1,800 and 2,000 attendees this year — a record number — proof that support of the local food and farming community is growing, too. This year’s conference takes place March 25-26 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and will encompass 65 exhibitors, including Giant Eagle, Christian W. Klay Winery, PASA, Turner Dairy Farms, Pleasant Valley Farms, and Edible Allegheny Magazine. The event kicks off on Friday evening with a cooking demonstration featuring local chefs, caterers, farms, wineries, and breweries. Throughout the weekend, “there will be demonstrations on how to grow vegetables, herbs, and fruits — but a lot of it is cooking and food preparation,” says Hart. Health and wellness is also a component of the conference, with American Healthcare Group contributing to the mix. We get the details on the big event, appropriate for everyone from hardcore locavores to first-time farmers’ market shoppers, straight from the source.

What is your perception of the awareness of the local food and sustainable lifestyle in Western Pennsylvania?

Erin Hart: I think Western Pennsylvanians buy and eat food from local farms for many reasons. The Sierra Club ranked Pittsburgh “Most Unlikely Foodie Haven” because of the number of farmers markets and community gardens we have — we have the most per capita in the state. And, Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry is agriculture. Although some people are finding out about local food because it is trendy to be a locavore, most who shop at farmers’ markets and who buy locally do it because they like the quality, the convenience, and it’s part of their family culture.

Tell me about some of the most interesting people you have met since the beginning of Farm to Table.

EH : The Weston A. Price Foundation is the first organization that we worked with, and they promote eating a lot of animal fats. But, also, when you are talking about local food, a lot of people are vegan and vegetarian. So, there’s definitely a tension between people from the cattle farms and the people who are vegan and vegetarian. But we always include both.

In last year’s conference, for example, Kaayla Daniels [PhD, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, and author of The Whole Soy Story: the Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food] did a talk about dispelling the myths of vegetarian diets.  It was very confrontational. Over the years, even before we started working on Farm to Table, we’ve tried to support local businesses.  So we don’t want to alienate people that are vegan or people that eat meat, because we want to have everyone benefit from eating local food.

Liz Kanche: The people who come to the conference are teachers, farmers, Amish farmers, home cooks, chefs. So, we are getting all of these people together in the same room to talk about the same stuff, and it’s a really grounding aspect that we all have to eat, so what is the best way to do it? We’re lucky that we’re surrounded by farms.

What is the relationship between American Healthcare Group and the Farm to Table Conference?

EH: American Health Care Group does wellness programs — we offer them to community groups, corporations, school districts, and seniors. There are four pieces to these programs: nutrition, fitness, stress management, and smoking cessation. Farm to Table is part of our nutrition program — if everyone ate from local farms, we wouldn’t have the health problems that we have.  LK: A lot of our corporate clients will do a talk about bringing the family back to the family table and what that does.  The research that we have gotten out of that shows that it’s much more than just nutrition; it’s the whole community of your family. So, it’s more than just the nutrition part. A lot of us know that we are supposed to be doing this, but we forgot how to do it.

Obviously, eating local is easy to do during the warmer months. But, how can we do it during the winter?

EH : That is the theme of this year’s conference! Local meat, dairy, eggs, wine, and cheeses are available year-round. There are also greenhouses that grow year-round, and greens are always available. Winter CSA boxes are also available, and there are year-round farm stands. People can now go to the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District, and Giant Eagle — particularly the Market District stores — have local produce year-round. And, we will be talking about flash freezing and canning at this year’s conference, so that people can save their harvest and enjoy it during the winter.

For more information, visit www.farmtotablepa.com/conference