Our Food Values at Isabella Freedman How do we create an American Jewish community that is measurably healthier and more sustainable, demonstrably playing a role in making the world healthier and more sustainable for all? Our food choices impact the earth, animals, indigenous peoples, agricultural workers, local communities, factory workers, and food industry workers. Hazon is working to build connections and relationships between farmers, entrepreneurs, farm workers, consumers, distributors, rabbis, Jewish leaders, business leaders, and other faith leaders, among others. We are supporting farmers, building CSAs, inspiring farmers’ markets at our synagogues and JCCs, and helping to source local food at Jewish institutions. At Isabella Freedman, we are incredibly proud of our kosher farm to table kitchen, which we call Adamah Foods. We strive to achieve the highest standards of sustainability through food sourcing that is seasonal, local, organic, fair trade, and supports animal welfare. Following are some of our guiding principles.
Sustainable Fish
As worldwide demand for fish has increased, wild fish populations can't keep up with our appetites and find themselves threatened by overfishing. Certain fish farming practices have very little effect on the environment while others are devastating. We use the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list in determining how to serve ocean friendly fish.
How can you make sure you are eating safe and sustainable fish at home? Get the Seafood Watch mobile app at seafoodwatch.org. Fair Trade
When we buy foods grown far away, like chocolate, tea and coffee, we make sure they come from Fair Trade sources. We choose reputable certifiers like the worker cooperative Equal Exchange and the indigenous rights and environmental advocates Deans Beans. Our fair trade chocolate costs four times more than most brands, but it is our priority to nourish our guests with food produced in fair and sustainable ways.
Craving chocolate? You can find ethically-sourced chocolate bars in the Hazon Bookstore! Want to avoid consuming foods produced by slave labor? Choose fair trade in all of your shopping! Taste the Forest
Experience the liminal moment between winter slumber and spring vibrance in the maple syrup we serve. In late winter, when nights are below freezing but days are warm, trees move sap up to their branches and emerging leaf buds. Our neighbors Jude and Winter Mead siphon off a portion of the excess sap production of their maple trees each season, boil it down, and bottle it for us to serve throughout the year. 40 gallons of sap yield just one gallon of syrup, making this precious regional delicacy a real reminder to slow down and savor the sweetness of the world.
every day on our salad bar thanks to old-world preservation techniques. After harvest, Adamah fellows submerge cucumbers, cabbage, and other fresh veggies in salt water brine. Over the course of a few days or even several months – depending on the vegetable, time of year, and desired result – nutrients inherent to the vegetable are preserved while delicious pickle flavors and additional nutrients are brought out. Eating fermented foods restores beneficial bacteria to your intestinal tract, which aids with digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Can't imagine your post-Isabella Freedman meals without sauerkraut and kimchi? We have jars for sale in the Hazon Bookstore along with our small-batch jams and other Adamah products! You can also find a wide variety of lacto-fermented vegetables in your local market or CSA. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Michael Pollan's adage expresses our intentions for the Adamah Foods experience. We strive to nourish, accommodating all of our guests' different dietary needs. Please begin your meals with small portions, revisiting the buffet for second helpings so that not too much precious food ends up being wasted. In the interest of our community's health and the sustainability of our planet, we serve balanced meals that center on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes. During the spring and summer we grow and harvest the majority of our own produce at the Adamah Farm. This includes kale, collards, chard, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, scallions, garlic, salad greens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, turnips, radishes, kohlrabi, jalapeños, dill, parsley, cilantro, sorrel, watermelon, cantaloupe, summer squash, zucchini, winter squash (kabocha, jester, acorn, and delicata), radish, eggplant, cabbage, ginger, and watermelon radish.
Interested in reducing your footprint on the environment and feeling healthy? Try eating more vegetables by joining a CSA program, increasing your whole grain and bean intake, and keeping fruit and nuts around for snack time.
Want to bring some home with you? We produce a small amount of maple syrup from the trees right here at Isabella Freedman by hand – schlepping buckets and boiling the sap down in an outdoor evaporator. Purchase your taste of the Isabella Freedman forest in the Hazon Bookstore! Pickles of All Kinds
The Adamah farmers harvest organic vegetables from our land for seven months of the year, but the bounty of their labor is available
8 • 5779 High Holidays • Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center