20 | OCTOBER 17 • 2024 J
N

O

neTable and The Well 
joined forces last month 
to host a special Shabbat 
on the Farm at the Michigan 
State University-Detroit 
Partnership for Food, Learning 
and Innovation urban agricul-
ture center located in Northwest 
Detroit. 
The event’s 23 participants 
began the evening with a stroll-
ing farm tour of the facility’s 
3.5 acres led by Stathis Paul, 
site manager and programs 
coordinator. The grounds are 
mostly devoted to hardy peren-
nials including fruit and nut 
trees, but also feature other flora 
and fauna, including annuals, 
community garden beds, and a 
pollinator garden that is part of 
Detroit Hives’ Bee the Change 
program. 
The tour was followed by sam-
pling pizzas made in the farm’s 

outdoor pizza oven, including 
toppings from vegetables grown 
on the farm and honey produced 
by the farm’s bees.
The group then made their 
way inside for Shabbat blessings 
followed by dinner. The menu, 
catered by Chef Dominique 
Black of Plated Catering, includ-
ed challah, Shirazi salad, saffron 
roasted chicken, lemon herbed 
whitefish, stuffed peppers, rice 
and beans, collard greens and 
chocolate cake. The meal incor-
porated themes of sustainability 
by using some seasonal produce 
as well as compostable plates, 
utensils and cups.
During dinner, Rabbi Jeff 
Stombaugh, executive director of 
The Well, led the group in a dis-
cussion around the intersection 
between food waste and Judaism. 
He emphasized the importance 
of small individual actions for 

making a bigger collective differ-
ence and connected these ideas 
to the High Holidays, which 
are traditionally associated with 
introspection and taking action 
toward self-improvement. 
Paul Green, a longtime out-
door educator and food waste 
expert, continued the conversa-
tion, emphasizing the magnitude 
of food that is wasted each year. 
According to Feeding America, 
in the United States, 92 billion 
pounds of food is wasted annu-
ally, which corresponds to 145 
billion meals and 38% of all the 
food in the country.
Green presented ways to be 
more conscious of food con-
sumption including buying from 
local farms, buying less, repur-
posing scraps and leftovers, pre-
serving, sharing excess food with 
neighbors and those in need, and 
composting. 

STEFAN PETRMICHL, ASHTEWAN.COM, @ASHTEWAN

OneTable and The Well Host tour of MSU agriculture center in Detroit.
Shabbat on the Farm

JOELLE ABRAMOWITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Participants mingle 
and sample freshly 
made pizzas.

OneTable 
resources and 
swag provided 
to participants.

