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MAIN BARNSTABLE COUNTY > MAIN COUNTY FEATURED NEWS > Bringing Access of Ethnic Foods to Caribbean and Brazilian-born Cape Codders and Inspiring a Multicultural Palate on Cape Cod

Bringing Access of Ethnic Foods to Caribbean and Brazilian-born Cape Codders and Inspiring a Multicultural Palate on Cape Cod

Published on: August 16, 2021

Everyone Eats!

In a new project led by Barnstable County’s Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, and in collaboration with community partners, production and access to ethnic crops on Cape Cod have now been expanded to local farm stands and Farmers’ Markets.

Seedlings and technical assistance for these crops were provided to local farmers and community and school gardens across the Cape. These gardens will provide an opportunity for hands-on education and demonstration for growing these crops and encourage others to create their own backyard gardens.

This project is made possible with a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture (MDAR) in support of ‘Massachusetts grown…and fresher’, the state initiative to promote crops and products grown in Massachusetts.

Shown here: Barnstable County’s Food Access Coordinator Andrea Marczely and Jean-Claude Butter, Elder at Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Ethnic Garden Community Cookbook

Furthermore, in the Ethnic Garden Community Cookbook, you will be introduced to a variety of new, fresh vegetables and ingredients that are staples in the kitchens of our Portuguese, Haitian and Jamaican neighbors. They have shared these traditional, family recipes you can create at home.

Residents are invited to be inspired and get creative in the kitchen with children and friends, teaching and trying new recipes with fresh local products from our farmers and growers. We invite you to adopt these techniques and seasonings to enhance your own recipes with a new cultural twist.

This cookbook is the result of a unique collaboration between Buy Fresh Buy Local Cape Cod (BFBLCC), in collaboration with Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and its Agricultural/Horticultural/Nutrition/Food Access Programs and the Community.

Thanks to the Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod, and to Frank Mangan, Emeritus Professor, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, UMASS, Amherst for his assistance and permission to use images from www.worldcrops.org.

Thanks to Cape Cod 5 Foundation for their assistance in supporting this cookbook & translations. Haitian Creole translation is available online at www.capecodextension.org/nutrition/buyfreshbuylocal.