Frozen River Film Festival offers organic buffet

BY JESSICA LACANNE
Cardinal Staff

For the second year in a row, the Frozen River Film Festival will be having an organic buffet as part of the festivities in the community.

Paul Seaman, a chef for the past 20 plus years, will be preparing all of the food for the buffet, which will take place on Jan. 30-31, 2010. There will be lunch served on both Saturday and Sunday, as well as a dinner served on Saturday. According to Seaman, the organic buffet is “trying to highlight the local products that are available because this area is a kind of a mecca of organic food.” The organic buffet will include various types of food, including: beef, chicken, veggies, fruits, baked goods and dairy — all from local producers. Seaman uses organic foods because “we live in a time when our water, air and food is polluted, and food is not as pure as it needs to be.” Eating organic means eating sustainable, local and humanely-raised food.

Eating organic is not just buying healthy foods. It is “feeding into a system that is healthy not just for the soil but for the people and animals living around the soil,” said Seaman. The food will contain no pesticides, insecticides or any other poisons put on food that is not organically grown. This lowers the risk of getting sick from the food. Not only is the food healthier because of a lack of pesticides, but it also has an entirely different taste because of its purity.

Although all of the food is local, Seaman does not live in the Winona area and travels from Sioux City, Iowa, to do various catering jobs. He finds it challenging to take on the responsibilities of planning an organic buffet for hundreds of people but said he is up to the challenge and is ready to travel in order to do so. “The planning itself takes a year by the time the menu is planned and the volunteers are organized and the money is donated,” said Seaman.

Seaman will also be providing food for the concessions during the showing of the films for the festival. Instead of Coke and popcorn, the concessions will have foods like apple cider and lemon bars or coffee and homemade energy bars. “There will be great movies and great food, so come hungry,” said Seaman.