Program | Families and Kids | Food and Kashrut | Shabbat | Food Professionals

Program

The 2011 Israel Sustainable Food Tour will begin at 11:00am on Wednesday, November 2nd at Kvutzat Schiller, a farm near Rehovot. Participants will be able to meet the group at Ben Gurion Airport at 9:30am and travel together to Rehovot.

On the 2011 Food Tour, we will visit some of these impressive projects, as well as explore key issues, meet central players in the sustainable food scene, and more:

• Glean surplus produce from fields, participating in one of the many inspiring food rescue projects of the Leket / Table to Table non-profit (also featured on the Jew and the Carrot),
• Learn about “bio-falcha” (combination of modern ecological with traditional growing methods for field crops) at the sustainability education center and farm, Hava Ve’adam in Modi’in.
• Take an insider’s tour of Machaneh Yehuda, the storied open air shuk in Jerusalem – where rugelach and kibbe, arak and espresso live side by side – and see and taste things you will never find there, in a behind-the-scenes look at the newly founded farmer’s markets of Tel Aviv/Jaffa.
• Imbibe some new-old wisdom, through Talia Schneider’s unique brand of kabbalistic permaculture.
• Visit Israel’s leading organic dairy, Harduf, which also is an outstanding social venture, by employing youth at risk. (P.S. they also have a fantastic vegan restaurant).
• Sample some of the spice and spirit of the Galilee, meeting visionary Avi Zithershpieler, and his Derech Hatavlinim, the sense-boggling Herb and Spice Farm
• Tour Kibbutz Lochamei Ha-Ghetta’ot, home of mega-food manufacturer, Tivall Products, exploring the implications of processed soy meat alternatives.

We are still developing the schedule for the 2011 Israel Sustainable Food Tour. For more ideas about the kinds of places we might visit, view the entire 2009 Israel Sustainable Food Tour Schedule [PDF].

Families and Kids

The Tour is designed for food leaders, activists and people who will be coming to learn in order to apply these ideas and practices at home. There will be no special programming or age-appropriate activities for kids.

Food and Kashrut

On the Food Tour we will enjoy a variety of delicious menus related to the places we visit and people we connected to during the Tour. Kosher meals – under the Rabanut hashgacha – are provided three times a day in hotels and restaurants. In addition, during the tour, participants will travel to a variety of different farms, food businesses, and food companies, many of which do not have a hecksher. Some of these places will offer food samples and it will be at the participants’ discretion to partake.

Shabbat

Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath, is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community, and will provide us with time for deeper learning, relaxation, and prayer. We do our best to offer a variety of ways to connect with Jewish ritual and traditions for our diverse participants.  Spending Shabbat together on the Food Tour offers the opportunity for rest and reflection with a diverse, pluralistic community. During Shabbat we will celebrate Jewish tradition in a warm and inclusive environment with prayer, candle lighting, singing, exploring the surrounding beauty, yoga and delicious communal meals.

Whether you’ve never celebrated Shabbat or you observe it every week, there’s a place for you to experience the beauty and wonder of this Day of Rest.

Do I have to be a food professional to come to on the tour?

The Israel Sustainable Food Tour is not only for professionals in the field of food and environment, but also for those who are lay leaders. A participant’s serious involvement in the area of food and environmental work is desired.  Participants will be expected to be active, and continue to be active, in the field upon their return.