Cooking Competition that encourages local and organic eating in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA -- (SBWire) -- 08/20/2012 --Urban farming and gardening is gaining momentum in Philadelphia. Many of the local farms contribute their harvests to the community, for little to no money. Places like the Emerald Street Garden and Philly Food Forests contribute pounds of fresh, organic food to inner city dwellers every year. In areas of the city where fresh fruit and vegetables are difficult to obtain, gardens and farms play a huge role in fighting hunger. LoveLovingLove Inc., a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit serving the Philadelphia region, wants to encourage healthy and local dining. Philly’s Best Farm to Plate Chef is an organic cooking competition being held by the nonprofit, to showcase delicious ways to prepare these local foods. The competition is also fundraiser to build an earthship, a home that grows its own food. Entry is a fee of $50.00 dollars, and the grand prize is $1000.00 dollars.

“There are urban farms all over Philadelphia,” says Rashida Ali-Campbell, Executive Director of LoveLovingLove Inc. “They give so much to the community, in terms of beauty and bounty. Our hope is that people will walk away from this event with a greater respect for fresh food, grown at local farms, at the same time, raise awareness of our anticipated earthship build.” The quirky home has just been featured on the Food Network channel, showcasing the various seasons of food it can grow. The earthship is a home that was created by Michael Reynolds of Earthship Biotecture, in Taos, New Mexico. It is a passive solar building that heats and cools itself, maintains its own sewage and electricity, and provides its own food and water. As the popularity of the earthship model makes its way across the world, LoveLovingLove Inc. is working in collaboration with the company to bring the first earthship in an urban environment to Philadelphia.

Philly’s Best Farm to Plate Chef is looking for four chefs to compete for the $1000.00 dollar grand prize. The cook off will be judged by local and national celebrities. “I am looking forward to it,” remarked Philadelphia District Attorney R. Seth Williams, guest judge for the competition. Other guest judges include Andrea Beaman, of Top Chef and Top Chef All Stars, and Gervace Peterson, of CBS’s Survivor. The competition will be hosted by 105.3 WDAS radio personality Patty Jackson. The competition will be held October 6th, 2012, 11AM-2PM at the newly constructed Center for Culinary Enterprises. To enter the contest, submit an original recipe of six ingredients or less, and $50 application fee via PayPal to; lovelovingloveinc@gmail.com drop off or mail entries to LoveLovingLove Inc. c/o Philly’s Best Farm to Plate Chef, 704 Cedar Avenue Yeadon PA 19050. Deadline to submit is September 24, 2012.

LoveLovingLove Inc. (lovelovinglove.org) is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit based in Yeadon, PA. The organization serves the Philadelphia region, and has a mission to heal impoverished communities with holistic health education and love.

For more information and press inquiries
Contact:
Rashida Ali-Campbell
lovelovinglove@gmail.com
610.931.082