Live, from Providence, ‘Saturday Night Flavor’

On Nov. 18, the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island is hosting a tasty evening of local foods and study for the Rhode Island community. “Saturday Night Flavor” will feature workshops on everything from eco-kashrut to the spiritual dimensions of eating, as well as a marketplace that includes dozens of local food producers and farmers. There will also be a cash bar with local Rhode Island beer and whiskey, and a coffee bar with locally roasted java. 

The rabbis, along with co-sponsors Hope & Main, the R.I. Community Food Bank, Farm Fresh Rhode Island and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, are seeking to highlight the many ways that food is central to our lives, and to the growing R.I. food economy. Workshops will be moderated by area rabbis and will feature local experts, including Kathleen Gorman, of the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America; Mark Huang, economic development director for the City of Providence; Mike Araujo, of Jobs for Justice; and Rob Yaffe, of Garden Grill.

Workshop topics are:

Rituals of Dinner: Food as hospitality, community builder, culture-shaper, and conveyer of hospitality; blessings for food.

Just Food: Food access, food as a political weapon and food banks.

Growing Rhode Island’s Economy: How local farmers and local food businesses can help revive the state’s economy.

Food Justice: Eco-kashrut and certification, agribusiness, treatment of workers and environmental concerns.

Connecting to the Source: Local food movements and resources, spiritual dimensions of agriculture, food preparation and eating.

Eating Vegetarian: Is this God’s Ideal?

Vendors will include Halvah Heaven, Just Like Nana’s Rugelach, Seconds First, Savory Fare, Kosher Catch, Beautiful Day – Providence Granola Project, and Harvest Kitchen.

In addition to the vendors, over a dozen local organizations will have tables with information about their food-related work. Participants include the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, The Compost Plant, Southside Community Land Trust and Mazon. 

Rabbi Sarah Mack, president of the Board of Rabbis, points to “the burgeoning food economy in Rhode Island and deep reservoir of local knowledge, businesses and organizations” as a catalyst for the program.

“The multifaceted economic, environmental and access questions surrounding food compel us, as Jews, to explore the politics and ethical dimensions of the subject,” Mack said.

Rabbi Alan Flam said: “In choosing food as the focus, we hope to capture the broad and deep interest in the subject and to reach out to a younger, and perhaps unaffiliated, Jewish demographic. We also, of course, hope to provoke Jewish thinking and learning on a subject many people don’t necessarily view through a Jewish lens.”   

“Saturday Night Flavor” will be held Nov. 18 at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

The marketplace will run from 6:30 to 10:45 p.m. The workshops will kick off at 7:15 p.m. with brief remarks by Lisa Raioli, founder of the Hope & Main food incubator, and Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg Kraus.  Workshops will run from 8 to 9 p.m. and 9:15 to 10:15 p.m. 

Because of the generous support of the Rabbi William G. Braude Fund at the Jewish Federation Foundation, there is no cost to attend this event.

Submitted by the

Rhode Island Board of Rabbis