The retirement community Peconic Landing in Greenport has been likened to a mini-Blue Zone, a place on the earth where people live long, healthy lives. A big pillar of this success is a wholistic attitude toward food, and Slow Food East End has taken notice — granting the retirement community its coveted Snail of Approval this week.
Peconic Landing is now the second retirement community in the United States to receive this honor, Slow Food Snail of Approval Committee Chair Ralph Reinertsen told a crowd gathered in Peconic Landing’s auditorium for a celebration of the award Tuesday afternoon.
Under Mr. Reinertsen’s leadership, the East End chapter of this international organization that celebrates the depths of our food web has expanded the Snail of Approval awards process. While restaurants offering farm-to-table meals are easy candidates for the Snail, the East End chapter has also honored local hospitals, farms and mainstay eating establishments like the Cutchogue Diner for their commitment to the community, the wellbeing of the work force and their commitment to equitable access to healthy food.
“In the first ten minutes of the interview, I want to feel pride. I want to feel that the person who’s in charge is so proud of what he or she is doing,” Mr. Reinertsen told the crowd. “What Slow Food is attempting to do is to find institutions like this, who in essence have a captive audience — schools, hospitals, facilities like this — and have food that is healthy and joyous. Peconic Landing received a unanimous vote from our board. It was one of the best write-ups, and one of the best qualified groups we’ve had.”
“This honor reflects our belief that food has the power to bring people together and strengthen communities,” said Robert Syron, President and CEO of Peconic Landing. “It also affirms our longstanding commitment to enriching the lives of our members while, at the same time, supporting the vitality of the East End.”
The award also builds on the community’s commitment to Five Pillars of Successful Living: healthy eating, natural movement, social connection, positive outlook, and cognitive health.
Mr. Syron offered a toast to the dining staff at Peconic Landing from NexDine Hospitality, who embraced the snail theme of the celebration, with escargot and chocolate snails and a raw bar of local shellfish topped with an ice sculpture of a snail. Nearby, a potato bar enabled partygoers to dress up the local spuds that made Long Island famous.
The dining team is led by Vice President of Dining Services Debra Foster and award-winning Executive Chef Jean Paul Hascoat.
Peconic Landing says this team “prioritizes fresh, seasonal ingredients and creates dining experiences that celebrate local traditions and cultural diversity. Throughout the year, seasonal menus and special dining events often feature products sourced from local farms, fisheries, wineries, and food producers, helping connect members to the region’s rich agricultural and maritime heritage.”
Slow Food is an international organization started in the 1980s as a response to a McDonalds that popped up near the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. Its Italian originators spread the ethos of the organization, rooted deeply in the tradition of intensely local food, cultivated and prepared through methods passed down for generations.
“I’m proud to say the chapter on the East End is one of the largest chapters,” Slow Food East End Board Chair Dr. Pennie Schwartz told the crowd. “We promote those values of good, clean, and fair food for all. We live in a very agricultural, diverse area. All of us who live here know this is special and it’s something we want to savor. It’s something we want to promote and we want to leave a legacy of it.”
“Along with that comes the opportunity and the privilege to make sure everyone has the right to eat,” she added. “We try to get our kids to know that that farm next door is where they get their carrots, not from a little bag on the shelf at King Kullen. And we want to help people grow their own food in a time where food is more expensive and benefits have become less. We want them to know that you could put in a tomato plant and grow lettuce right outside your door and start to feed yourself and feed your family, and get communities of people together to farm. That’s what Slow Food does.”
Part of the criteria for earning a Snail of Approval is community involvement, which Peconic Landing Board Chair Eileen McGuire said is also part of Peconic Landing’s ethos.
“Whether through volunteerism, fundraising, partnerships with food pantries, hospitals, or cultural organizations, our members and team members continually look for ways to support and strengthen the East End,” she told the crowd. “This recognition acknowledges not only the exceptional dining experiences provided by our food services, but I share the belief that the choices we make as an organization can have a positive impact on the people and the communities around us.”
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