Rural Palates
AMAGANSETT FOOD INSTITUTE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KATE FULLAMWITH SHARE THE HARVEST FARM TEAM
Amagansett Food Institute By Christy Smith-Sloman
O ne balmy summer evening in 2010 on Stony Hill Road in Amagansett, a group of local agriculture enthusiasts gathered for a dinner party. The gathering took place at the home of John de Cuevas, the longtime conservationist and son of Rockefeller heiress, Margaret Strong de Larrain. Guests included Katie Baldwin and Amanda Merrow, proprietors of Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett. The pair met two years earlier after completing an agricultural apprenticeship at the nearby Quail Hill Farm. Carissa Waechter, another guest, was a baker for Eli Zabar, who at the time was in charge of the local farmers market. She was also the only baker to mill her own flour from locally grown wheat on Long Island. “At dinner that night we came up with this idea of starting a food organization that would represent farmers and food producers, an organization that could speak in the interest of the people who
provide food for our community,” says John de Cuevas. “And that’s what we did. We decided to call it the Amagansett Food Institute.” “I was a new farmer at the time,” recalls Katie Baldwin. “My business partner, Amanda Merrow, and I were trying to figure out a way we could continue farming. We felt like there were some key issues that needed to be addressed. So, when John proposed that we create this organization I thought it was a brilliant idea.” Today, Amagansett Food Institute is a thriving 501(c) non-profit membership organization comprised of farmers, food producers and food consumers on the East End of Long Island. The group’s mission is to support, promote and advocate for the farmers, vintners, fishermen and other food producers and providers on the East End of Long Island. The institute envisions the East End as a place where all farms and food businesses thrive, supported by an engaged community whose members understand the benefits and uniqueness of local foods.
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