REAP's Food for Thought Festival showcases variety of local food movement

 Metcalfe's Market provided samples of kale and apple salad and cherry almond oatmeal cookies, which were made with local and organic ingredients, at REAP's Food for Thought Festival on Saturday (Kait Vosswinkel/Madison Commons)

Pop quiz:

1. What’s the difference between butter from grass-fed cows and feed-fed cows?

2. What’s the main ingredient in kombucha?

3. How should you wield your blade when slicing tough veggies?

 

Crowds turned out to get answers to these questions and more at the annual Food for Thought Festival hosted by REAP Food Group on Martin Luther King Junior Blvd. off the Capitol Square Sept. 21.

REAP aims to promote a healthful, just and sustainable local food system in Madison and around southern Wisconsin by linking people to the land where their food comes from.

Saturday’s festival was the 15th annual event.  According to REAP Development Director Conor Moran, the Food for Thought festival grew out of a conversation about what was going on in local food in Madison.

Since then, the local food movement has grown.

“We started having to answer the question, ‘Why should I care about local food?’ and now weAnnemarie Spitznagle, baker and owner of Bloom Bake Shop, participates in a "Local Dishes" discussion panel at REAP's Food for Thought Festival on Saturday (Kait Vosswinkel/Madison Commons). answer the question, ‘How do I care about local food?’” Moran said.

This year’s festival played host to local food vendors and producers as well as experts who presented on topics ranging from beer brewing to composting.

Along with learning about cooking and food production, festival attendees could sample and purchase foods from local producers and grocery stores.

“Thinking about what you’re eating, where it’s coming from is so valuable, and it matters,” said Sara Marquez, who works for Quince and Apple, a preserves producer located in Madison. “Something like [Food for Thought] where you get to meet the people who are feeding you is essential.”

This year’s crowd turnout drew first-time attendees visiting Madison from out of town as well as Madison residents who had been to the festival multiple times in the past.

“It’s always so fun,” said Stephanie Ricketts, a Madison resident who had been to previous Food for Thought Festivals. “People wandering around eating. Getting to meet local vendors. It’s really exciting.”

According to REAP board president Peter Robertson, Food for Thought is one of the group’s main educational events.

“The more we spread the word, the more people start making small changes, and every small change adds up to a big change,” Robertson said.

Other upcoming events include Pie Palooza to be held Nov. 3 as well as local harvests where restaurants team up with nearby farms to cook dinner.