By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
Jews have always had a complicated relationship with food.
Kashrut dictates that certain foods should never be eaten together. Others must be avoided at certain times of the year. Others still must be avoided at all times. Every seventh year, Israeli fields must be left fallow. The food grown in the corners of fields must be designated for the poor.
Many holidays have their own dietary restrictions while others seem to exist, at least in the secular mind, almost exclusively for the creation and consumption of favorite treats. No matter what time of year it is, or whatever the occasion, food is foremost in the Jewish consciousness.
So it may come as no surprise that, in the wake of last spring’s Agriprocessors kosher meat scandal, and as concerns about pesticide use, genetic modification and the fuel used to transport foods great distances increase, many Jews are reassessing the sources of their food.
In January, the Orthodox Union designated the Organic National & International Certifiers of Lincolnwood, Ill. as its officially sanctioned organic certification body, an acknowledgment that for many kosher consumers, the hechsher alone is no longer enough to ensure quality.
In December, more than 500 Jewish educators, activists, farmers, gardeners and foodies from across the country gathered in Monterey, Calif. for the annual Hazon Food Conference. Hazon, a Jewish environmental advocacy organization, has been sponsoring conferences dedicated to healthy eating, healthy growing and feeding those who can’t feed themselves for the past four years. The event focused primarily on agricultural education in a Jewish context, including Hazon’s own Tuv Ha’aretz program, which encourages groups of Jews to join together to buy weekly produce boxes from local farms, commonly called Community Supported Agriculture shares.
“At its heart, the Jewish tradition has always been a land-based tradition, an agrarian tradition. But most Jews today are very disconnected from natural cycles and the source of our food,” said Rabbi Jacob Fine, assistant director for Hillel at the University of Washington who, along with several JConnect members, attended the Hazon conference. “Taking part in a CSA is an easy step back toward that tradition.”
In that vein, both the Kavana Cooperative and Hillel UW are partnering with Hazon to begin their own CSA programs this summer.
Fine, who worked for Hazon while in rabbinical school, said that bringing a CSA to Hillel has been a longtime goal for him. He described sustainable agriculture as “a huge personal passion” and a subject he sees as having a natural tie-in for those seeking to strengthen their connection to Judaism.
“By virtue of having a deeper connection with the source of our food, we really see — I’ve personally seen — the way people deepen their relationship with Judaism,” Fine said. “Take Sukkot for example: The harvest festival becomes much more significant for people when they are actually participating in a harvest.”
The CSA program, named JHarvest, is just one part of an initiative launched by Hillel in 2008 called “Jews and Food.” Under this banner, Hillel has also hosted a number of cooking classes in conjunction with Whole Foods Market as well as a discussion at the Ravenna Kibbutz about the interconnectedness of Judaism and food as represented in literature.
JHarvest CSA participants will receive boxes of vegetables once a week between June and October. The boxes are intended to provide produce for four omnivores or two vegetarians. The estimated cost is $600 for the season, with an extra $20 to help Hillel buy extra shares for a local soup kitchen or food bank.
“There’s definitely a social justice component to this as well,” Fine said. “We want to be feeding the hungry at the same time we’re feeding ourselves.”
Fine noted that Hillel hopes to expand its project beyond just the CSA with the addition of a kosher meat source. He added that while he anticipates most of those who sign up for JHarvest will be JConnect members, the CSA is open to anyone, Jewish or not, in the local community.
All of the produce will come from Oxbow Farm in Duvall. Fine said that Hillel looked at a number of local farms before finally settling on Oxbow, whose staff has expressed enthusiasm not only about providing CSA boxes but also for taking an active role in the curriculum Hillel plans to build around JHarvest.
“We wanted a farm that really gets what we’re trying to do. One of our goals is certainly educational. We want to be able to bring people out and be somewhat hands on,” Fine said.
Kate Koester, a member of Kavana’s social justice committee, told a similar story about the evolution of Kavana’ CSA program.
“One of our members suggested it and we in the social justice committee thought it would be good project to take on — because food really is a social justice issue,” Koester said.
Like Hillel, Kavana also sent a delegation of members to the Hazon conference. She said the project has already generated a lot of interest among the Kavana membership.
“It’s just a nice way to do community building,” she said.
Kavana will also be getting produce from Oxbow Farm. While the two programs are technically independent of one another, Koester noted that there are tentative plans for Kavana to partner with Hillel on certain food- and farm-related events, such as a film series on agricultural issues and trips to the Oxbow property. While the cost for Kavana’s CSA will be the same as Hillel’s, Kavana’s drop-off point will be at the Queen Anne Christian Church in Queen Anne, where Kavana hosts services and other events.
Kavana and Hillel UW are two of 32 Jewish organizations around the country that will sponsor CSAs this summer through Hazon’s Tuv Ha’aretz program.
“There are people who are doing this all over the United States,” Koester said. “Of course, in other places, people have to explain what a CSA is, where as, here in Seattle so many already know. We can just get them excited about the Jewish connection.”
Based on the energy and enthusiasm he saw at the Hazon conference as well as increasing concerns about food issues throughout the Jewish world, Fine is confident that it won’t take long for the rest of the country to catch up.
“This is part of a national movement,” he said. “We are not alone here.”
Anyone interested in learning more about Hillel’s JHarvest CSA should contact [email protected]. For information about Kavana’s CSA, contact [email protected].