Foodstock—music, vegetarian eats and organic farmers

Last night, the husband and I went to 10A Alabama in Quezon City for Foodstock, a fundraising event from the good people of Good Food Community. There were musical performances , a (mostly) vegetarian spread, lovely homemade ginger beer, and a great reason to spend P250 (around 20 USD) as all proceeds were going straight to helping out the small organic farmers cooperative in Capas, Tarlac, for their greenhouse and irrigation needs in the next few months.

I first learned about Good Food Community from my sister who gets her bayong (basket) of organic veggies from the small farmers that the group supports within their Community-shared Agriculture program. Basically, you pledge to buy local vegetables for the week (for several weeks) from the farmers, who in turn are assured of a stable demand for an entire season. (Learn more about it here.) The group also regularly visits the farms, and shareholders (like my sister) get to meet the farmers who grow these veggies and sometimes help with the harvesting.

10A Alabama, which houses Resurrection Furniture and Found Objects Gallery, became the venue for Good Food Community’s Foodstock (Getting distracted by the pendant lamp, hee)

Meet Char, one of the folks behind Good Food Community. One of the coolest persons I’ve ever met (She also makes good ginger beer!)

Last night, the farmers were there. They along with GFC volunteers cooked a wide spread of vegetarian dishes–from a vegetable and tofu curry to tortang talong, a kind of sticky rice cake (somebody was not taking notes) and caramelized onion spread with crostinis, and bowls and plates of other vegetable dishes that were as varied as the music.

Performers had volunteered their time as well so while people ate and talked or went around the buffet table, there was music. When we arrived, a duo was singing Disney songs; once we sat down to eat, a group with a female singer sang original compositions that had a folksy, indie flavor; by the time we stood up, a trio of pretty girls in stockings and shorts went on stage and sang songs from Lady Gaga and other pop hits. It was an odd mix of performers, but there was a fun and open atmosphere in the evening…and there was ginger beer.

Around the dining table, guests get their fill of mostly vegetarian food. The serving plates and bowls were soon empty

And volunteers (like my sister here) got busy again in the kitchen

Line up for the homemade ginger beer

Some groups also donated food for the dinner

One of the performers included the Dutch volunteer in one of the farms, Revano Martodikromo (left), who learned to sing Filipino songs. Sweet!

If you also want to start knowing where your food comes from, you can start getting your vegetables from the organic farmers of Good Food in Capas Tarlac or you can volunteer here. There are also several weekend markets around Metro Manila that are typically a good source of some organic produce. In Sidcor Market in Centris in Quezon City, I go to the Green Daisy stall (their farm is in Isabela province) for some organic vegetables and red rice. In Salcedo Market in Makati, I get grass-fed beef when I can from the Down To Earth farm stall (their farm is in Bukidnon). There are a lot of choices for good food out there. Go and get them!