Edible Ed Course Focuses On Local Agriculture

East End residents now have the opportunity to learn more about the culture of our locally produced foods. Stony Brook University at Southampton is hosting a hands-on, non-credit Edible Education course that will be open to the public.

Taught in eight classes with two supplemental gardening intensives by Edible East End founding editor Brian Halweil, the new course begins on Thursday, October 25 and runs through December 20. All participants must register by October 22.

The course is designed around the concept of building food skills, community, and knowledge. The new course will demonstrate why agriculture and food are the most influential ways in which humans interact with the planet. Finally, the course will examine the impacts of the new American food culture with topics such as school lunch reform, food safety, animal welfare, genetically modified organisms, CRISPR genome editing, farm bill reform, Long Island wines, and more.

Each class will include a 30-minute food skill lesson, including cooking, gardening, and food preservation skills. Students will go to South Fork kitchens and the campus staff garden for these lessons. The two gardening intensives will be held on campus as well.

When asked who the course hopes to attract, Halweil said, “The course is for teachers, health care providers, food entrepreneurs, parents, or anyone interested in making food a bigger part of their career and life. When we understand food and drink more, we can enjoy it more.”

The Edible Education Course will meet on Thursdays, from 5:20 to 8:10 PM, from October 25 to December 20. The classes will be Chancellors Hall room 237, and the two gardening intensives are from 9 AM to noon on two Saturdays, November 10 and November 17. The course costs a total of $985, with registration and additional information available at www.stonybrook.edu or by emailing SouthamptonArts@stonybrook.edu.

justin@indyeastend.com