Saturday evening, February 11th, The Hudson Valley Bounty, a program of the Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation (HVADC), will be presenting a free screening of The Big Table, in Olin Hall at Bard College. The Big Table is a six part documentary series about food, family and a way of life. The film won the audience award at the 2011 NYC Food Film Festival. This original documentary series is an intimate and compelling look at the lives of food producers.
The screening on February 11th will be the pilot episode, MILK. MILK features the Osofsky family, owners of Ronnybrook Farm and Hudson Valley Bounty Member. The Osofsky family have been milking in the Hudson Valley since the 1940’s. The episode offers a unique insight into the rewards along with the physical and emotional toll of life on a dairy farm that is struggling to survive in an industry that has been overtaken by giant corporations.
After the screening, viewers will hear from the The Big Table production team of Ben Niles, Molly Knight Raskin and Megan Wetherall along with Ronnybrook owners Ronny and Rick Osofsky; Jennifer Phillips, Bard Center for Environmental Policy; Chas Cerulli, Senior Director of Chartwells Dining Services at Bard College; Chef Noah Sheetz from the Chefs Consortium and editor of Edible Hudson Valley, Eric Steinman. Moderating the panel will be Todd Erling, Executive Director of HVADC, who will guide these experts through a discussion on how the simple choice to eat a product that is locally produced weaves a thread from you to the farmer. This critical linkage influences individual and family health, the economic sustainability of the farm and the quality of life within the farming communities of the Hudson Valley.
“We are very excited to be teaming with Bard College on this event,” says Kristin Roca, Program Director of the Hudson Valley Bounty. “Bard is focused on local sustainability and teaching this to their students. They are making them aware of these issues facing the community through these fantastic programs.” The Hudson Valley Bounty is proud to sponsor this event with The Bard Center for Civic Engagement, Bard Office of Sustainability, the Trustee Leader Scholars Program, The Office of Alumni/ae Affairs and Chartwells Dining Services at Bard College. All have been involved in bringing this to the Bard College Campus.
Environmental and Urban Studies chair Mark Lytle mentioned that the film “dovetails with increased student interest at Bard and nationwide in the sources of food, the conditions under which it is produced, local farming, and nutrition. We are enhancing our own curriculum in those areas and so are delighted to have the screening on campus.”
The screening the The Big Tables pilot episode of MILK will be held on Saturday, February, 11th. It will be held in Olin Hall at Bard College at 6:30pm with the panel discussion and Q&A to immediately follow.
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