Hazon - Food Programs and Educational Resources

Food Programs and Educational Resources

Hazon's food programs are meant to help Jews think more broadly and deeply about personal food choices.

Hazon’s food-related work consists of its annual food conference, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, which support members through the process of planning, marketing, organizing and running their own CSA project, and an Israel food tour, and more. Each program is meant to engage the Jewish community in thinking, learning and acting around food issues, while ultimately working towards creating healthier, richer, and more sustainable Jewish communities.

The Hazon Food Conference is an annual meeting of farmers, culinary experts, global citizens, business, community and Jewish leaders to focus on contemporary food issues and exchange ideas on improving health and sustainability in communities throughout the world. The event is produced by Hazon. Over 2000 people have attended a Hazon Food Conference. The 2012 Food Conference will be held at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center.

First held in 2006 at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center with 158 people in attendance, the Hazon Food Conference now takes place in late December in Northern California.

Featured presenters at the 2006 conference included Chinese Herbalist and food consultant, Ilana Fleischer; Dr. David Kraemer¸ professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) and author of Gastronomical Jew, Linda Lantos, graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts; documentary film maker Faye Lederman (Women of the Wall and A Good Uplift); Rabbi Natan Margalit, environmentalist and teacher at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College; and Jay Weinstein, professional chef and author of The Ethical Gourmet.

In 2008 there were 560 attendees.

The event consisted of speeches, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, cooking demonstrations, educational and leisure activities. The 2008 conference presenters and attendees included Dan Barber of Blue Hill Farm/Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Andrew Kimbrell from the Center for Food Safety, Rabbi Morris Allen of Magen Tzedek, and Rachel Biale of Progressive Jewish Alliance.

Programs at the Hazon Food Conference have included Grow Your Own & Do It Yourself Food, Jewish Tradition & Food: History & Culture, Food Policy and Creating a New Food System, Kosher Meat, Health and Nutrition, and Israel: Food & Agriculture.

Demographic information from 2008 Hazon Food Conference:

Hazon’s CSA program supports local, sustainable agriculture in the American Jewish community and beyond. Founded in 2004, Hazon's CSA program now includes 60 sites in the US, Canada and Israel, and over 2,300 households. The Hazon CSA program has put nearly $5 million behind sustainable agriculture, and supported Jewish institutions such as synagogues and Jewish community centers create innovative educational programming around the intersections of Jewish tradition and contemporary food and environmental issues.

The Hazon Rocky Mountain Jewish Food Summit at the University Memorial Center at CU hosts farmers, rabbis, activists, entrepreneurs and others for a day of learning, celebration, eating, community-building, and hands-on doing.

Hazon piloted a new program, called Setting the Table, geared towards expectant parents and young families and help them with challenges through a Jewish lens. Setting the Table is supported by UJA-Federation of New York. Participants learn to cook fresh, seasonal meals, while connecting with other Jewish families in the community.

Hazon has developed a diverse library of educational resources that can be used in the classroom, at home, or as experiential programs. Our collection of curricula, source books, and other resources are an accessible doorway to explore the connections between Jewish tradition and contemporary food issues issues. Anyone can benefit from these resources. They can be used by individuals, formal and informal educators, Rabbis, and lay leaders in synagogues, JCCs, day schools, camps, or just around the dinner table with family and friends.

One resource is Food for Thought: Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life. It creates the opportunity to extend Hazon’s innovative work on contemporary food issues and Jewish traditions around food to a broader audience. Food for Thought is a 130-page source book that draws on a range of texts from within and beyond Jewish traditions to explore a range of topics relating to Jews and food.