Grant for book discussion group led by food-lover, teacher and cook Carol Durst

Carol Durst
Carol Durst; photo by Kevan Full, at kevanslens.com
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
~ from the Chappaqua Library

The Chappaqua Library has been awarded a Reading and Discussion Grant of $1,000.00 from the New York Council for the Humanities for a series led by Carol Durst, a New Castle resident and lover of all things food-related.  Entitled “From Farm to Table: Making Decisions about the Food We Eat,” the series begins Wednesday, September 19, and will be held once a month through December. The series is limited to 25 participants.

Readings will include a variety of fiction, nonfiction, essays and memoirs, and cover several aspects of food, including food production and distribution in America over the last two centuries.  The library will provide copies of books in the series (see the list, below), some purchased by the library, some borrowed from other libraries.

Throughout her career, Durst has taught at culinary institutions, consulted and held academic positions at NYU and CUNY, owned a catering company, and authored the cookbook I Knew You Were Coming So I Baked You a Cake. Carol was an obvious choice to address the current and intense interest in food in New Castle, as evidenced by the presence of a thriving Chappaqua Farmers Market, community gardens, and restaurants committed to serving locally sourced, healthy food.  Durst is known for both her discussion and dessert capabilities through the film series she leads at the Chappaqua Library called “Menus in the Movies.”

Discussions will be held Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. in the Children’s Program Room. Registration is required; please call 238-4779 x2 to sign up.  The book list, with dates (all Wednesdays), follows.

September 19
GETTING TO EARTH DAY 1970
Readings:
Lappe, Francis. Diet for a Small Planet
Ferber, Edna. So Big

October 17
FOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Readings:
Berry, Wendell. Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food
Fisher, MFK, and Apple, R.J. Selected Essays

November 14
MODERN INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE
Readings:
Estabrook, Barry. Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit
Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire: A Plants-Eye View of the World

December 12
LIFESTYLE CHANGES: EATING LOCALLY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Readings:
Kingsolver, Barbara. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Kimball, Kristin. The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love


Comments(0):
We encourage civil, civic discourse. All comments are reviewed before publication to assure that this standard is met.

There are no comments for this article yet.


Post a comment:

Display Name*:

Your Display Name will be associated with this comment on NewCastleNOW.org. We encourage commentators to use their real name or initials.

We encourage civil, civic discourse. In other words, be pithy and polite. All comments will be reviewed before publication to assure that this standard is met.