Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden (pictured) will play
the role of co-chair at “Fertile Ground,” a benefit for Slow
Food USA in DUMBO.
The event, co-chaired by Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters, will honor
school nutrition consultant and author Ann Cooper, former executive chef
and director of wellness and nutrition at The Ross School in East Hampton.
Funds raised at the benefit, to be held Wednesday, May 25, at 7 pm, will
benefit “Slow Food in Schools,” a national education program
of garden-to-table projects that help children develop an appreciation
for real, wholesome food and an understanding of sustainable food practices
through cooking classes, school lunch initiatives and by cultivating school
gardens. (Funds raised will also provide seed money to local “Slow
Food in Schools” projects; the New York chapter of Slow Food is based
in DUMBO.)
Slow Food, a non-profit organization, was founded in Italy nearly two
decades ago as a response to the opening of a McDonald’s in Rome’s
Piazza di Spagna and has since grown into an international movement with
more than 80,000 members in 100 countries.
At “Fertile Ground,” to be held at 37 Main St. at Water Street
in DUMBO, a silent auction and hors d’oeuvres reception (featuring
a spring menu of slow foods) will be followed by a live auction. Tickets
are $150. The online auction is being held now through May 22 at www.slowfoodusa.org.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call Sara or Ragan at (718)
260-8000.
