Weekend’s Green Life Food Festival Is One Stop Event for a Healthier Mind, Body and Spirit

Pasadena’s Green Life Food Festival is coming to town to give the community a jumpstart for living a healthier life through the power of all-natural food. From creating your own mini-organic farm at home to becoming the family’s healthy chef, workshops presented by agriculture experts from around the country will guide those seeking a healthier mind, body and spirit at this one-stop-for-it-all event.

“People will discover how easy it is to grow your own food and to have something sustainable for you and your family. It creates a community just as we’re trying to create a better world for everyone to live in,” said Green Life Food Festival Event Coordinator Diane Albright.

The one day event is sponsored by Shumei America National Center and aims to bring prominent farmers and natural food advocates under one roof to offer hands-on demonstrations and expert advice for anyone who is curious about taking charge of a green lifestyle.

According to the event web page, the food festival will benefit all growers and consumers who want to know more about healthy, sustainable, and delicious foods—especially those cultivated by means of Natural Agriculture.

The Japanese naturalist and philosopher, Mokichi Okada, developed Natural Agriculture in the 1930s as an approach to agriculture in which the natural capacity and wisdom of nature is respected, according to the event page.

“Guests will be giving workshops and talking about some of their challenges and hey they grow their food and communicate with the land and how important it is to have respect for the soil and the food that you’re putting into your body,” said Albright.

The full day of activities will include how to start a small scale family garden, a macrobiotic cooking class, a natural home made skin care workshop and much more.

“I think people are becoming more aware of how food really does impact their life and they are becoming more curious about where our food comes from,” said macrobiotic chef Jeanne Grosset.

Macrobiotics is based on the natural process of energy in food and how it is sourced. It is most commonly associated with seasonal cooking and ingredients.

“It’s mainly a plant diet that changes with the season that has a lot of fermented foods used in its practice with a main goal to create a more alkaline blood quality so that the body can nurture, heal, rejuvenate and function optimally,” said Grosset.

Founder of Hudson Valley Seed Company, Ken Greene, is the Keynote Speaker who’s organization is a national seed source devoted to producing seed for home gardeners and farmers and celebrating seeds through art.

Greene’s most recent endeavor is the growth of a Seedshed, a new non-profit focused on seed justice.

“I think people are becoming more aware of how food really does impact their life and they are becoming more curious about where our food comes from,” said Grosset.

The Green Life Food Fest will also give attendees an opportunity to purchase locally sourced food items from vendors and family farmers.

“It’s really the fusion of the natural agriculture and understanding gardening. It’s not just about the food. It’s about how powerful this food is. The more natural food that we can use, the better off the body is very naturally. You can have better health, you can have more stable emotions—you can benefit from all of these things from good, clean and natural food,” said Grosset.

The Green Life Food Festival kicks off February 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.at 2430 East Colorado Blvd and is free to the public.

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit http://www.naconf.org.