Buy Fresh, Buy local

In Philadelphia’s effort to become a more “green” city, there has been a surge in the amount of urban farms and as a result an increase in the amount of farmer’s markets. According to Philadelphia’s Mill Creek Urban Farm website, “…urban farms make fresh, locally grown food more widely available and reduce the need for shipping and preservatives.

White Dog Community Enterprises, a community action group that grew out of the famed Philadelphia restaurant, has had a significant impact on the movement.

There are over 100 restaurants and grocery stores that now buy local and support the initiative. Those participating in the initiative are listed in the Local Food Guide which can be found at localfoodphilly.org .

“When we first started the local food guide, it was [composed] of every single business in the Philadelphia area that we knew bought local food,” Jessica Cronin-Connolly, Director of External Communications for White Dog Community Enterprises said. In order to be included in the food guide, restaurants need to have at least two locally grown ingredients on their menus.

The White Dog Cafe has been a leader in community action for over 20 years. Connolly attributes this to the fact that they see the bigger picture.

“If you are going to serve food at a restaurant, then you should make sure the food was sustainably raised and humanely treated,” Connolly said. “You should provide for the people supporting the business.”

White Dog Community Enterprises is based on the idea of the triple bottom line; people, planet and profit; in that order. While farmer’s markets don’t seem like the most practical place for college students to shop for groceries, Connolly points out that many have recently emerged in convenient areas of the city. She also warns college students of the ever popular organic foods.

“We need to be really careful about products that say organic. Just because it says organic on it, doesn’t mean that it has any nutritional value,” Connolly said.

For Philadelphians and college students, farmers markets have a reputation for being overpriced or more expensive than traditional grocery stores.

“If you are going to spend a little extra money, say 10 cents, the benefits of the local [food] outweigh the price difference. The more you support local food, the more common it will be, and the less farmers will have to charge,” Connolly said. Many shoppers do not realize how much energy is needed to get the vegetables from one region of the country, or the world, to their local grocery store.

“A lot of energy is spent on refrigerated trucks and preservation when you can get food that was grown 10-miles from your house,” she said.

In Philadelphia, local food is defined as anything grown within 150 miles of where you are eating it. There are many social and economic benefits of buying local. The money stays in the community, not overseas or across the country, added preservatives are not needed and the growers can give you advice on how to cook the food you are buying from them.

Economically speaking, local farmers need the support of the community in order to survive.

“If they are selling to a huge grocery store, or a chain, they only receive three cents to the dollar for their product,” Connolly said.

Supporting local farms can also decrease the risk of food borne illness and disease. For example, the current scare of salmonella tainted tomatoes originated out of large corporate farms in the mid-west.

“Salmonella is an animal born bacteria, usually from chicken. Some of the chickens may be sick, and the manure is being used to plant and grow tomatoes,” Connolly said. “It highlights how unregulated the system is.”

Despite its success, the Buy Fresh, Buy Local initiative still has some challenges to face. As the summer season ends, the fall and winter vegetables begin to appear at farmer’s markets. Since many people are unfamiliar with these vegetables, spending during the fall and early winter drops sharply.

Another challenge is the frequency that shoppers need to visit the markets. Since these vegetables do not have any preservatives on them, the life span is a few days shorter.

“[Shoppers] are used to going to the grocery store every two weeks, and living off whatever is in their refrigerators. But, it’s not hard to stop by the market on Tuesday and Friday and eat fresh,” Connolly said.

The dates for the 8th annual Buy Fresh, Buy Local week are expected to be announced this week. Events will be taking place at Reading Terminal Market and two new markets; Overbrook farms and North Hills. For a complete listing of events celebrating food in Southeastern Pennsylvania, visit localfoodphilly.org .

Modern Mexican

University City has just been infused with a bit of Latin spice and culture. The influx of Tapas restaurants to Philadelphia has been palpable over the last five years. The latest restaurant, Distrito, the brain child of restaurateur and executive chef Jose Garces, opened on Monday, July 21, 2008 at 3945 Chestnut Street.

Tapas, the Spanish word for a variety of appetizers, have made an incredibly successful basis for restaurants. Small plates generally equate to lower prices and allow for a range of dishes to be enjoyed by a group of friends. This fun yet tasteful experience seems to be a perfect match for University City.

The decor inside Distrito is bright and energetic. The ground floor of the two story restaurant features a tequila and juice bar. The ample dining room with small round tables beams with colors of pink, blue, orange and white. Bored by traditional seating? You can enjoy a few appetizers in the VW Beetle table toward the front of the restaurant. The doors to the beetle open and can accommodate up to four people.

On the second floor, there is an open kitchen and expansive dining area with more creative seating. White swinging benches hang from the ceiling and rattan, semi-circle booths encompass larger parties of four or six. Seating along the outer edges of the room allows for excellent views of Market Street through large picture windows.

Distrito’s modern Mexican cuisine ranges in price from 4 dollars to 13 dollars. A tasting menu is also available for $40 with perfectly balanced selections by Garces himself.

You will not find many traditional dishes on this menu. Garces marries Mexican cuisine with influences from Spain, where he once worked, and Ecuador, the native country of his parents.

His non-traditional Mexican fare includes rich and creamy coconut lobster chowder, seared tuna and black bean tacos, and Serrano ham and prosciutto flat breads.

The traditional items on the menu are made more decadent by Garces’ creativity. The guacamole is served with lump crab meat and nachos are topped with skirt steak and refried beans. The signature enchilada dish is served with duck, poblano chilies, and four types of beans.

Distrito’s dessert menu is no less decadent; the two favorites, Tres Leches and Pastel de Chocolate are both tributes to Mexican chocolate. Tres Leches boasts a moist chocolate cake, with three types of chocolate ganache in the center. It is topped with meringue and tropical fruit. The Pastel de Chocolate features chocolate ice cream topped with spicy melted chocolate and citrus foam.

Distrito is the first restaurant of its kind to venture past the usual setting of center city or old city. Distrito is fun, vibrant, and deliciously overdone. For a moderate price students and residents of University City can experience Garces’ unique view of Mexico City and open their palates to something new.

Beach Ready Recipe

Escaping to the shore for the summer? Here are some fun and fresh ideas and recipes to keep you cool and satisfied at the beach.

Leave the lettuce behind

Romaine, arugula, and spinach are all main ingredients in traditional salads, but these leafy greens are not the best beach foods. Heat easily wilts lettuce. Its absorbent nature can make your salad wet and soggy instead of crisp and refreshing. Try fruit and pasta salads; they are good substitutes without sacrificing taste or nutrition.

Easy Recipe Idea: Combine strawberries, pineapple, peaches and plums. Cut them into bite sized pieces. Lightly dress with store bought raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing. Refrigerate or keep inside cooler until ready to eat.

Amp up traditional sandwiches

We’ve all had the standard ham, cheese and mayo sandwiches. While these have become a lunch-time staple; branch out and try something new and fun. Instead of regular sandwich bread, use thicker, more substantial bread like a French or Italian baguette. The crusty bread will keep all of your fixings on the sandwich and not on your lap. Skip the tomatoes. While they are a tasty addition, tomatoes can easily turn soggy if not eaten right away. Mayo can spoil easily if not refrigerated. For easy sandwiches at the beach try an oil based spread like pesto which can be eaten hot or cold.

Easy Recipe Idea: Sliced turkey, smoked mozzarella, and basil pesto on a French baguette.

Break the mold

Who would think to bring soup to the beach? Gazpacho, a cold soup that originated from Spain, is a different and refreshing way to enjoy lunch at the beach. This soup can be made the night before your trip and stays cool as long as it’s over ice in your cooler. If you have an especially long trip, freeze the soup the night before and it will defrost during the long drive. Gazpacho is convenient because it can be placed into small, individual containers for easy single servings.

Easy Recipe Idea: In a blender combine three diced tomatoes, one green pepper, one small onion, and < cup of vinegar. Pulse and slowly add < cup of olive oil. Refrigerate or keep in a cooler. Serve with left over French bread from the sandwiches.

Antipasti

These traditional Italian appetizers can make great snacks at the beach. They usually include cheese, marinated vegetables and cured meats. Cut and prepare vegetables ahead of time for an easy serving once on the beach. Pack dressings separately in well sealed containers to prevent soft vegetables and spills. Keep meats near the bottom of the cooler to ensure freshness.
Easy Recipe Idea: Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Cut fresh mozzarella into bite sized pieces. For easy, snack sized portions, place one halved tomato and one piece of mozzarella on a toothpick. Serve with balsamic vinegar.

Main Course

You may want a more substantial meal at the beach. In that case pasta dishes can make filling yet easy choices. Choose smaller pastas like orzo and macaroni which cook faster than other pastas. Pesto and simple marinara sauces travel well and taste great hot or cold. You can add depth to the dish by adding versatile foods like grilled chicken or shrimp. Buy frozen shrimp and defrost the night before.

Easy Recipe Idea: Toss orzo pasta with a cold spicy tomato sauce and top with shrimp cocktail.

These easy summer recipes are healthy, satisfying and can withstand any day at the beach. Use your creativity to develop fun, new combinations of food or simply add your own twist to these recipes.

University City Renaissance

Over the last 10 years University City has developed into an incredibly diverse, progressive, and exciting area of the city. A part of University City’s growth is due, in part, to the restaurant scene.

University City is usually identified as the area between the Schuylkill River and 52nd street. This small section of Philadelphia holds Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, University of the Sciences, The Restaurant School and University City Science Center.

In the past two years alone, there has been a significant amount of growth. Three new apartment buildings, Domus, The Hub, and Radian Apartments opened. Jean Madeline, a salon and beauty school debuted in University City and the restaurant scene continues to explode.

An unprecedented restaurant, Distrito, opened in July of 2008 featuring unique and modern Mexican creations from executive chef Jose Garces. Gourmet chocolatier Naked Chocolate Café is opening its second location on 34th and walnut in University City.

“[People] know a good investment when they see it. They are seizing an opportunity,” said Mark Christman, Marketing and Communications Director for University City District.

University City District is an economic development organization. They organize programs to maintain cleanliness, help with basic infrastructural upkeep, and plan social events for the community to participate in.

The number of restaurants in an area may seem insignificant, but it can have a noticeable effect.

“I think it’s really key to a revitalization of an area. Especially if there are a lot of locals being employed and [restaurants] are using resources that are local, “Christman said.

Given the amount of universities and college students in this area of Philadelphia, it may seem that University City should have always been thriving. Unfortunately, University City is still shaking the stigma of an unsafe area.

“The potential wasn’t always prevalent. There are challenges to putting yourself along a corridor where there isn’t a lot of foot traffic,” he said.

Many students are leery of venturing pas the 40th street divide. According to the Pennsylvania Gazette, the University of Pennsylvania magazine, 40th street had become “an invisible campus boundary.”

“It’s a perception that carries on from many years ago and that perception, at this point, is way out of line with the current statistics,” Christman said. “One doesn’t need to be anymore cautious at 45th and Spruce than you need to be on campus.”

Restaurants and cafés typically seen in center city and old city are finally making their way into University City. Distrito and Naked Chocolate Café are just two examples of this.

“We’ve really been trying to attract other Philadelphians. Crossing over the river after 5:00 p.m. is acceptable and worth their while,” he said.

Christman hints of some new retail stores on 40th street, but can’t reveal what they are just yet. He does admit that there are plans for two more apartment buildings.

“The folks who brought us The Hub, are bringing a Hub two and three,” he said.

University City is not a typical college town. Unlike most, it is not flooded with bars and cheap hangouts. Instead, there are reasonably priced restaurants, socially conscious cafés, and of course a few cheap eats.

“I think it has a lot to do with young student’s savyness in 2009. [People] are interested in a more sophisticated experience, whether it’s from a restaurant or movie theater. Christman explains.

“There is healthy competition here; there are going to be more and more opportunities for people to explore the area.

Access to Healthy Food in Philadelphia (2nd Investigative Story)

Philadelphia residents are struggling to provide their families with nutritious food and the economy is not solely to blame.

While Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the nation, it has the second lowest number of supermarkets per capita.

According to The Food Trust, a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, low-income, minority adults and children struggle to maintain a healthy diet due to limited access to healthy food in their neighborhoods.

The Food Trust is dedicated to insuring all residents have access to affordable and nutritious food through several of their programs including the Pennsylvania Fresh Financing Initiative (FFFI), the Supermarket Campaign, the Corner Store Initiative and the Farmer’s Market Program.

The lack of supermarkets in the Philadelphia area is due in part to the growth of the suburbs and in part to retail disinvestment from urban communities.

Many supermarkets left the cities to follow the population growth in the suburbs. Supermarket developers are unsure that building in low-income areas is a profitable business investment.

“I don’t think it’s a conscious decision and in no way an evil decision. I think it’s just a business decision,” said April White, communications coordinator for the Food Trust.

“For example, is there a well trained workforce in the neighborhood that they can work with? In under served, low income areas, they tend to believe the answer is no. We have found that is not really the case,” she said.

Prior to her role as communications coordinator, White was the food editor at Philadelphia magazine for eight years. She also co-authored a cookbook with famed chef and restaurateur, Jose Garces.

The Food Trust’s FFFI serves the financing needs of supermarket operators that plan to operate in under served communities. Frequently, traditional financial institutions and banks will not provide the loans and credit necessary to proceed with this type of project.

“That is one of the most important points of the initiative … this gap financing allows supermarket developers to look at this as a great business decision in addition to being helpful in other ways to the community,” White said.

One of the under served areas is in North Philadelphia, usually defined by locals as north of Girard Avenue. This is also the home of Temple University.

Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania have had major impacts on the landscape of University City and West Philadelphia. In the last five years, three new apartment complexes opened and the restaurant scene continues to expand featuring a new Mexican restaurant by Jose Garces.

In University City, there are two grocery stores within three blocks of one another; the Fresh Grocer on 40^th and Walnut Street and a Thriftway on 43^rd and Walnut Street.

Despite the purchasing power of thousands of Temple University students, the same development has not occurred in North Philadelphia.

“When Amy Guttman came in at Penn, she had a very clear vision for expanding Penn beyond its boundaries. They made a really big push to embrace that neighborhood … you see less of that from Temple,” White said.

But Temple University students and North Philadelphia residents have been promised a grocery store is coming to their neighborhood. A Fresh Grocer, to be located in the historic shopping center, Progress Plaza. This project has been postponed on numerous occasions, often for years at a time. The most recent completion date, January, 2009 was missed and is now expected to open in January, 2010.

Progress Plaza was the first black owned and developed shopping center in the nation. It initially opened in 1968.

Progress Plaza is located on North Broad Street between Jefferson and Oxford Streets. This community has been without a grocery store since the Super Fresh, also located in Progress Plaza, closed 10 years ago.

“Progress on Progress Plaza’s development has been halted and delayed so often, the jokes playing on the center’s name stopped being funny a while ago,” said the Editorial Board of Temple-News Online.

The Temple Student Government is combating these delays by providing a shuttle service for students that will run from the main campus to a shopping center in South Philadelphia that contains retailers like Super Fresh and Target.

While North Philadelphians continue to anticipate a grocery store in Progress Plaza, the Food Trust stresses that grocery stores and large supermarkets are not the only remedy to the problem of access to healthy food.

“The size of the access that you put in is not necessarily important,” said White.

As a part of the Food Trust’s Corner Store Initiative, they have succeeded in providing residents with fresh, healthy options in the community’s corner stores.

“We put in fresh fruit salads and helped with marketing. We also introduced a brand of water; both financially competitive with other things you can buy in the store,” she said.

This initiative educates students in the classroom and also works with corner stores that surround the schools. The plan is that students will buy healthier items when they come and go to class. The fruit salad is $1.00 and the water is 75 cents.

“The classic, enormous, supermarket model is very difficult [to implement] in the city … but that’s not the only solution,” she said.

The Food Trust also operates 29 farmer’s markets in the Philadelphia region. Some of the most popular are the Clark Park and Headhouse farmer’s markets.

“We accept access cards and food stamps at all of our farmer’s markets. We also do a lot with outreach to inform people about their options with food stamps,” White said.

Some Philadelphians argue that new supermarkets and grocery stores will not solve the deep seeded issues of low-income, under served communities.

“The problems of lower income (urban and rural) neighborhoods are very complex. Food is a basic essential, and children who are healthy and well nourished have better opportunities,” she said.

White also noted that increased access to healthy food can curb epidemics like childhood obesity which can manifest into diabetes and other dangerous, expensive health issues.

Supermarkets act as economic engines. They employ people within in the community and often serve as the anchor store for the development of other stores. White points out that an area that has higher employment, typically has less crime.

White explained: “It’s not going to solve every problem, but it’s a positive on a lot of fronts.”

A Miracle Fruit?

Have you ever taken a bite out of a raw onion or eaten a lemon, unfazed by the bitterness? These are just some of the things that the miracle fruit makes possible.

The miracle fruit originates from West Africa and contains a glycoprotein called Miraculin. Miraculin bonds to the mouth’s taste buds causing sour and bitter foods to taste sweet. While the berry is from West Africa, it is grown in Florida by Curtis Mozie, better known as the “miracle fruit man.”

Mozie first came across the berry by accident when he went to a nursery to look for a fruit he remembers eating as a child. It was called a hog plum tree. The nursery did not have that plant, but instead introduced him to the miracle fruit.

Mozie has been growing the miracle fruit for 12 years on over 10 acres of land in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Everyone is involved; my children, my grandkids, even my neighbor who doesn’t speak to me,” Mozie said.

Due to increased media attention, the popularity of the miracle fruit has grown significantly since early 2007 when the Wall Street Journal first reported on the fruit. In May of 2008, The New York Times published an article called “A Tiny Fruit That Tricks the Tongue.” The article created so much buzz the fruit was back ordered for three months in June of last year.

“Before the New York Times article, I had been selling the fruit online for a year,” Mozie said.
The day after the article was published, Mozie noticed a staggering change.

“The first few hours, we received about 8,000 dollars worth of orders. We had 20,000 dollars by the end of the day and 60,000 dollars in the next two days,” Mozie said.

In the 1970’s an attempt was made to commercialize Miraculin, but the FDA would not approve products containing the protein. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, many people including Robert Harvey, founder of The Miralin Company, a major producer of miraculin based products believe that the sugar industry played a role in the FDA’s denial.

“[Miraculin] would have probably replaced 50 percent of the sugar industry,” Mozie said.

Despite the FDA’s denial, people were and still are fascinated by the berry. Parties called “flavor tripping” parties have emerged as a way to let people taste and experience the berry. The effects on the taste buds vary on the size of an individual’s mouth, but usually last from 30 minutes to three hours.

“You need to eat the skin and juice. In order to get the full effect, remove the seeds after you first bite into it,” Mozie said.

In the scientific community, there has been discussion about its benefits for diabetics and cancer patients.

“As far as diabetics, if you are not supposed to have sugar and you want something sweet; you can take some water and lemonade, eat a miracle fruit and it will satisfy your craving for sweetness,” Mozie said.

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy routinely experience side effects. One of those is a metallic taste in the mouth. The miracle berry may be able to eliminate this taste and stimulate appetite for these cancer patients. There is no conclusive evidence of this at this time.

“There is a cancer research in Tampa, Fla. I sent them some of the fruit; some of [the patients] stated that it helped, some of them stated that it did not,” Mozie explained.

The miracle fruit takes three years to grow from seed to harvest in the United States and bears fruit all year round. In Africa, it takes five years and only bears fruit twice a year because there are only two rainy seasons.

While its origins are in Africa and its harvester in Florida, anyone can grow the miracle fruit.

“You can put it in a container and grow it, and it makes a great container plant,” Mozie said. “I guess God wanted everyone to have one.”

The Drexel Sierra Club

Transparency of the Drexel University endowment, a revolving loan fund and a written commitment to university-wide carbon reduction; these are just a few of the policies that the Drexel Sierra Club is asking for in its petition.

The Drexel Sierra Club is a student organization for the environmentally conscious who are interested in creating a more sustainable environment at Drexel University and around the community. While Drexel University is making environmental progress, the Sierra Club would like the administration to put their commitment to environmental sustainability in writing.

“Presidents around the country are signing the Presidents Climate Commitment. We’ve asked them to sign it several times, but they have declined. We want a written commitment, even if they draft their own,” said Catherine Burtness-Adams, president of the Sierra Club.

The Presidents Climate Commitment brings together presidents and chancellors of American universities to initiate the development of a plan to achieve climate neutrality, initiate tangible actions to reduce greenhouse gases while the initial plan is being developed and make the plan and progress reports publically available.

Despite the administration’s resistance to signing the commitment, they have been supportive to the Sierra Club in other ways.

“We’ve been in communication a lot with the administration. They actually sent us to the Power-shift conference in D.C. We got to meet other students, we also got 90 signatures for our petition,” Adams said.

The petition also asks for an Office of Sustainability that would oversee the specifics of the written commitment.

“We want to have at least one position on campus that is committed to sustainability. It would be one full time position so that they don’t have to split their attention with other obligations,” Adams said.

The most controversial part of the petition is the request for endowment transparency and a one percent investment of the 2009 endowment into a revolving loan fund for environmental efficiency projects on campus.

“[The revolving loan fund is] when money is put into a big pot all at once, and is lent out in grant funds over time. There are high upfront costs, but also long term cost benefits,” she said.

Adams wants to make it clear that the money would be paid back into the fund and would allow for a renewable financial resource to further environmental projects. One example would be replacing all of the shower heads on campus with low-flow shower heads that conserve water. There would be a high up front cost for the purchase of these items, but a long term cost benefit of lower water bills campus-wide.

In celebration of Earth Week 2009 and to promote the Sierra Club petition, Adams and other active members hosted a few events around the Drexel Campus. There was a clothing swap in front of North Hall, tree planting at Malcolm X Park in University City and a day dedicated to informing students and faculty about waste, bottled water and the global water crisis.

Adams stressed that individuals can do a lot to help the environment by committing themselves to small actions like turning down the thermostat, turning off your car engine while stuck in traffic, turning off unnecessary lights and not buying bottled water.

“To produce meat, uses a lot more energy than vegetables. Choosing to eat meat one time less per week, can significantly reduce your carbon footprint,” she said.

Overall Adams is optimistic about Drexel’s progress. There is more recycling on campus as well as new solar trash compactors.

“Just the fact that [the administration] is talking about the issues is a big step.”