Project M's Pizza Farm: When social change is succulent, surprising and meltingly good

NORTH CANAAN — Sure, it was the free pizza that attracted hundreds of people to the Lawrence Field Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

But there was also the promise of something new, something intriguing, some sort of melding of community, pizza and local farms that piqued curiosity.

Whatever the attraction, area residents began lining up before the 4 p.m. start and continued to do so until well after the planned 6 p.m. finish.

For members of the Project M team that put together the project, the crowds were gratifying. They worked without a break — but that meant their plan was a success.

Project M is an annual summer program at Winterhouse, a design institute and studio founded by William Drenttel and based on Undermountain Road in Falls Village. Up to 12 young designers, who come from a broad spectrum of creative fields, spend two weeks devising a project that they hope will spark some sort of positive impact through social change.

The current group of nine came from as far away as Los Angeles. They are graphic and industrial designers and engineers. All but two work full time, so this was essentially their vacation. Each paid $1,500 to participate in the mind-stretching endeavor.

Team member Adam Okrasinski, a graphic designer, is originally from Atlanta and is now working in New York City. He said the group  didn’t settle on a project idea until four or five days prior to Saturday’s culmination.

“The first priority, since none of us are from here, is to tour the area and get to know it,� he said. “Whatever we learned would be the basis for a project, so it was important to spend some time on that.�

They set out in groups of three, hitting libraries and Lime Rock Park and historical sites. They visited Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington, where students are working on a plan to grow on-site much of what is cooked and served in the cafeteria.

In the end, the team pretty much stumbled upon the pizza party idea.

“We live together for the two weeks, and one group was spending part of the day going to farms and farmers’ markets to buy food for dinners we made together. We were really impressed by the rich variety the area has to offer.�

And so they set out to forge a connection with farmers and the community. Working with more than a dozen local producers in the Northwest Corner and into Massachusetts, and through a fair amount of passionate debate amongst themselves, they came up with Pizza Farm.

“We spent some time trying to come up with a name we could agree on,� Catherine Mulbrandon, a Web designer working in Jersey City, N.J., said. “We did agree that the name would be an important part in getting people to come.�

Some that were considered were “Pizza So Cool,� “Pizza Police,� “Dwight D. Eisenpizza� (no explanation for that), and very simply, “Free Pizza.�

In the end, they managed to sum it up very concisely, without giving it all away. Pizza Farm made sense, once there.

Team members were impressed by the quick and good-natured response from local producers. Berkshire Bakery agreed to prebake 350 pizza shells. Theresa Freund at Freund’s Farm Market made gallons of fresh tomato sauce with only a couple days notice.

Under the pavilion, two long fixings tables offered up a variety of local fare. There was the expected: sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, feta cheese. And the unexpected: squash, peaches, arugula, kale.

At the end of the line, pizzas were dropped onto a wood-fired grill, covered with round aluminum pans, and heated to cheese-melting goodness. Many were piled so high, eating was going to be a challenge. But folks said they wanted to try everything.

The “M-er’s� made stacks of handout cards with descriptions of each farm, along with a recipe.

Okrasinski said the only disappointment was most of the farmers were too busy with farm chores to come to Pizza Farm for more than a few minutes, if at all.

Okrasinski and Project M founder John Bielenberg told The Journal about past projects, including one that has turned into a permanent business.

“A group in Greenville, Alabama, discovered shortly after arriving there that it was Pi Day,� Bielenberg said. “They decided to give away pie as a way to get people in the community talking to each other. It was so successful, the team went out on their own, got a grant and bought a storefront for a permanent business. Two team members moved there to staff it full time.�