For Release: September 2, 1998 EDITORS: SEE LOCAL INTEREST

Contact: Stephen M. Volpe 222-2781 ext. 4501

PROVIDENCE - The RI Department of Environmental Management's Division of Agriculture and Resource Marketing will sponsor the annual Rhode Island Harvest Festival at Warwick Mall Thursday, September 10 through Sunday, September 13.

From one end of the mall to the other, shoppers will have the opportunity to see and purchase a wide range of Rhode Island farm products, from cheese, flowers, apples, cider, and pumpkins to maple and honey products. Festival displays will include nursery stock, Christmas trees, garden statuary, apples, beeswax and candles.

A new exhibitor this year is Cabot Creamery, an international and national award winner for its cheeses. "Many Rhode Island farmers distribute milk that goes into the making of Cabot cheese," said Stephen Volpe, Deputy Chief of DEM's Division of Agriculture and Resource Marketing and head of its marketing program. "Several local dairy farmers will give out free samples and explain what it takes to make award-winning cheese," he said.

At the festival, the US Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency will have information on its outreach programs, and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank will offer information on hunger in Rhode Island. In collaboration with DEM, the RI Community Food Bank is in the midst of a Community Harvest, gleaning excess produce from local participating farms for free distribution in areas of high need.

Browsers can learn how to cook locally grown produce, pick up honey recipes, buy holiday items, adopt a plant, have gardening questions answered, and be treated to a display of tractors, including a 1935 Model B John Deere tractor restored to its original condition.

"Rhode Islanders appreciate the local farming community and turn visits to berry farms, apple orchards, and Christmas tree farms into memorable family outings," Volpe said. "The Harvest Festival allows us to bring diverse farm products to one central site, and showcase the value of the state's agricultural community, which has grown from a $38 million industry in 1980 to one in excess of $140 million today."

This is the 12th year DEM's Division of Agriculture and Resource Marketing has sponsored the festival. The Division works with the state's 700-plus farmers, with municipalities, and with consumers in many ways: certifying health of livestock, offering farmland preservation and conservation techniques, inspecting pesticides and training applicators, operating the state's mosquito abatement program, and promoting Rhode Island farm products under the theme, 'Rhode Island Grown - Fresher and Better Just for You.'

Other festival participants include Dave-Chris Farm & Nursery of West Kingston, Pippin Orchard Nurseries, Inc. of Cranston, Johnson & Wales University of Providence, Charlie's Sugarhouse of Greene, Westville Garage & Equipment of Taunton, MA, RI Beekeepers Association of Warwick, Hill Orchards of Johnston, Big John's Christmas Tree Farm of West Greenwich, RI Junior Horticulture Association and Wedgewood Greenhouse of Saunderstown, Secret Garden Herb Farm of Cumberland, and Moosup River Farm of Greene.

Festival hours Thursday through Saturday will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.