This year, Slow Food Seacoast's popular Thanksgiving event comes closer to home. The "100-Mile Thanksgiving" of past years is being updated to reflect our community's progress in finding and developing more of our own local food resources. In recognition of these positive changes, this year's Thanksgiving celebration of regional foods is titled "50-Mile Thanksgiving: Closer to Home."

The event takes place at South Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Portsmouth, and is cosponsored by Slow Food Seacoast and the Churcn's Green Sanctuary Team, with support from RiverRun Bookstore. This year the event takes an exciting new format, featuring a 7:00 PM talk on urban farming by Novella Carpenter, author of the book "Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer."

Carpenter's account describes the way she integrated rural knowhow with more familiar elements of life in a modern American city life, including downtown nightlife and socializing as well as encounters with local homeless people and street-corner drug dealers. "When you have a rural process going on in the city, it opens up all these different things to happen," Carpenter told the Boston Globe in an interview. "It brings you into a different relationship with your neighborhood."

After her talk, Carpenter will be available to answer questions and sign books. RiverRun Bookstore will have her book available for sale. The talk is open to the public, and in lieu of admission Slow Food Seacoast asks attendees to bring a food donation for the (H)EAT campaign, which works to provide food and heating oil for people in need across the Seacoast area.

Before the talk, Slow Food Seacoast will also offer an optional Thanksgiving potluck dinner in South Church's downstairs gathering hall. Guests are invited to bring a seasonal dish to share that features at least one item grown or sourced from within 50 miles of their home. The dinner will include resources for doing your own urban or suburban 'farming' and an opportunity to learn about and share homegrown food.

The Green Alliance will be on hand to raffle off a free yearly Green Card membership. After attending last year’s event, GA Director Sarah Brown looks forward to another great year. “Last year I went as an individual with my entire family and, we were all amazed,” says Brown. “And there’s clearly a great synergy between what we at the GA are trying to do and what the 50 mile Thanksgiving is doing. The results were incredibly impressive last year – seeing the ‘buy local, buy green’ movement come to full fruition. I expect nothing but the same and more this year.”

Admission to the 5 PM potluck supper is $10 per person, kids under 12 free. Potluck seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis; RSVP required.

Please RSVP to slowfoodseacoast@gmail.com

For more information about the national slow foods movement, click here!