arts&life
fairs & festivals / on the cover
Food, Glorious Food
The third annual
Michigan Jewish
Food Festival
gears up to be
the best yet.
ROB STREIT JN INTERN
details
The Michigan Jewish Food
Festival takes place 11 a.m.-4
p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, at the
Eastern Market in Sheds 5
and 6. For more about the
festival, and for those looking
to volunteer at the festival, visit
Hazon’s website at hazon.org.
34
August 16 • 2018
E
verybody eats. Food is the
common denominator that
brings people together — from
the dinner table to restaurants and
occasionally to food festivals. People
gather wherever good food is to be
found.
There will likely be good food in
abundance at the Michigan Jewish
Food Festival. The festival is orga-
nized by the nonprofit Hazon and
will take place at Eastern Market on
Sunday, Aug. 26, from 11 a.m. until 4
p.m. in sheds 5 and 6. This is the fes-
tival’s third year, and Hazon expects
it to draw more than last year’s 6,500
attendees.
“Every year it becomes a challenge
because more and more people want
to become involved,” says festival
manager Marla Schloss. “It’s very
exciting.”
This year, Hazon has brought
together 30 vendors, nine prepared
food vendors, four food trucks, 61
Jewish organizations, 18 food justice
organizations and five musical acts
to make the festival exceed expecta-
tions. There will also be a kids’ tent,
three guest chef demos and speakers
giving 10-minute presentations in
the TED Talk style.
Hazon came to Detroit three years
ago, bringing with it the ethos of
environmentalism and sustainability
as seen through a Jewish lens. The
organization’s tagline is the “Jewish
jn
lab for sustainability,” and Hazon
places a strong emphasis on food.
“Hazon founder Nigel Savage real-
ized that the Torah really is a docu-
ment of food and food production,”
says Sue Salinger, director of Hazon
in Detroit. “All the holidays focus
around Earth-based, agriculture-
based events.”
Hazon is working closely with all
the festival’s partners to carry this
message of sustainability forward.
Vendors and tables are asked to cut
out plastic products, reduce any
type of packaging, and provide com-
postable or recyclable plates and
utensils. Water bottles will not be
sold. Instead, attendees are encour-
aged to bring water containers to fill
at one of the festival’s water stations.
“In terms of the food itself and
what’s on offer, we have a food
policy,” Salinger says. “All of the
vendors are encouraged to share a
vision around food sustainability,
so we are asking people to source
locally where they can, and to show
the provenance of the food and the
products that go into the food.”
The festival has also partnered
with advocacy groups that share its
vision. Moms Across America is a
nonprofit organization that focuses
on changing the way kids eat. They
also strive to reduce children’s expo-
sure to toxic chemicals found in the
environment and food systems.
TOP TO BOTTOM: Participants last year; a diminutive taster of cheese, courtesy
of cheesemonger (and Hazon board member) Zach Berg of Provisions; Festival
manager Marla Schloss with committee member Carol Trowell.