We love our local food here in Rhode Island. And we are loyal to local food sources.
Dave’s Fresh Marketplace holds a Local Tasting Day at least a couple times a year. At its most recent event, which was held at Dave’s stores at Smithfield Crossing and East Greenwich Square, there were more than 25 new purveyors of interesting, flavorful and unique specialty foods, from plant-based dumplings and chef-crafted sauces to dressings and ice cream. All of them came with a personality and a story.
Ken Procaccianti, co-founder, president and chief operating officer of Green Line Apothecary LLC, and his family introduced their line of ice creams and collaborations with Rhode Island iconic food names and an inspirational source.
“We’re proud Rhode Islanders – Rhode Island born and bred – and take our role in the community very seriously,” Procaccianti said. “And so, we’ve sought out partnerships with some other iconic Rhode Island brands, namely Sweenor’s Chocolates.”
The Green Line Candy Monster flavor was inspired by a patient who received treatment at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and who now serves as the hospital’s “Champion Child” as an ambassador for all the great work it does.
“She imagined an ice cream that was sort of a Frankenstein of candy, taking some of the best parts of iconic candy bars and transforming them into an ice cream,” Procaccianti said. “We’re very proud of what we came up with.”
It is a rich chocolate ice cream with a house-made chocolate crunch from an organic puffed quinoa and dark chocolate. Green Line even makes its own marshmallow swirl for an egg-free ice cream.
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PREMIUM FLAVORS: Ken Procaccianti, co-founder, president and chief operating officer of Green Line Apothecary LLC, with locations in Providence and South Kingstown, and Ella Procaccianti introduce their line of premium ice cream flavors at the Local Tasting Day at Dave’s Fresh Marketplace in East Greenwich. Green Line ice cream flavors are now also sold at Dave’s stores.
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“What makes it even sweeter is we now donate a dollar for every pint that we sell right back to the hospital,” Procaccianti said.
The new ice cream is being sold by the pint at Dave’s Fresh Marketplace locations, as well as at Roch’s, the Hope & Main Downtown Makers Marketplace in Providence, and the two Green Line Apothecary stores in South Kingstown and Providence.
Nonprofit local food hub Farm Fresh Rhode Island brings local growers and food businesses together daily. Farm Fresh again this year is working on a community project to donate Thanksgiving Harvest Boxes full of locally grown produce to the West End Community Center this season. The boxes feature fresh herbs, a variety of vegetables and a pumpkin pie.
“Food has the power to transform,” said Nikki Ayres, Farm Fresh’s director of giving. “Support from the community to donate these boxes will not only mean the world to the families who receive them, but also to the small local farms we are purchasing the produce from.”
Farm Fresh has been offering harvest boxes for sale since 2020, selling out every year. This is the second year the organization has added an option for customers to donate a box when they place their order, which will double the amount of local food purchased from small farms.
Farm Fresh’s goal is to donate a total of 350 boxes to the West End Community Center, which will feed around 3,000 people this holiday season. The boxes contain a pumpkin pie from Wright’s Dairy Farm Inc. in North Smithfield; baby bella mushrooms from RI Mushroom Co. in South Kingstown; Brussels sprouts from Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon, Mass.; butternut squash from Ferolbink Farms in Tiverton; carrots and parsnips from Four Town Farm in Seekonk; traditional cranberry sauce made by Harvest Kitchen in Pawtucket; Delicata squash, onions, sweet potatoes and white potatoes from Schartner Farms in Exeter; fresh herbs from Allen Farms in Westport; and shallots from Zephyr Farm in Cranston.
Boxes are $85 each, for purchase or to donate. The deadline to order is Nov 15. More information and an order form can be found at farmfreshri.org/thanksgiving-2024.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, is heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
