Madhura Visweswaran of Redwood Montessori School has a motto — to serve only seasonal, fresh, organic and local food. Along with Shankari Subbiah, she started Redwood nine years ago — and with every passing year, she has only met more people who are championing organic food. “The school’s ethos has always been about cultivating an environment that promotes healthy eating in children by way of school meals that are fresh, organic, local and responsibly sourced,” says Madhura.
“This year at Redwood’s Seventh Organic Fair, there are organic rice vendors, organic oil vendors, fruits, vegetables, pickles, pappad and since plastic is not allowed at the fair you can find cloth bags to carry your loot,” explains Madhura. If you’re looking for fresh fruit jam and thokkus, head over to Surabhi Foods by Soniya Haritha who uses rosella flower seeds for its natural pectin and fruit jams. For some delicious smoked tofu, watch out for Dhaval Chandarana of Earth Story who started the first completely vegan store in the city.
Coming for the first time this year is Chennai-based Browning in Love which started in December 2018, with husband-wife duo Anthony Vishal and Iswarya Sekaran at the helm. All their brownies, table jars and cakes use ingredients that are completely organic — their eggs are free range while their milk is sourced from a local farmer in the city who has his own cows and dairy farm. “We also make sure that our ingredients are all organically sourced from stores in Chennai like Terra, Dhanyam and Gormei Market,” explains Anthony.
Additionally, the Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children (MNC) has roped in the parents and kids to fashion fridge bags that are made of gada material for the first time. They are then block printed on by the kids with wooden blocks of ethnic designs and left to dry. “You can also find larger veggie shopping bags priced at `30, `45 and `50,” explains Priya Rajkumar, the principal at MNC, adding that the whole process is an activity-based learning process for the kids and the parents to be part of the organic fair.