AUSTIN, Texas, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Keep Austin Weird, eat healthier, and save the planet... by eating delicious and nutritious edible insects!

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386693

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386694

Back by popular demand, Little Herds is presenting The 9th Annual Bug (Eating) Festival at the award winning, package free, zero-waste innovative grocery store in.gredients.

Open to the public and free for kids, come out on Wednesday night, July 13, from 5pm to 9pm, to 2610 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722. This is your chance to learn about insects as a food for people, food for our pets, and feed for our livestock. You'll also get to sample local products made with insects, taste the results of insect cooking demonstrations from acclaimed local chefs, and learn about other Austin startups and nonprofits.

"It's a great family-friendly way to try that first bite and break the mental hurdle that prevents so many people from experiencing this new food movement," says Robert Nathan Allen the events organizer and director of the non-profit Little Herds.

Little Herds has the mission to educate and empower local and global communities to use insects for food and feed.

The Bug Eating Festival attracts hundreds of people each year. "It started out in 2008 behind my barn with about 40 of us," says Marjory Wildcraft, the originator of the event. "We started it on a lark, just for the fun of it. And every year it gets bigger and more fun. We outgrew my barn, then the community center, and then we even outgrew Zilker Park."

Wildcraft is the founder of The Grow Network , which is the online home of a global network of people who are growing their own food and medicine.

"It always surprises me how the kids are crowded around the tables to get at the insects first. I've had a lot of the kids tell me they've been eating bugs all along," says Wildcraft. "The kids think it is fun to get their parents in on the game."

The Bug Festival is a favorite with the homeschooling community, but naturists, "preppers", and those interested in deep sustainability come too.

"It's a fun way to get the kids out of the house in the middle of Summer," says Allen, "and you'll meet the most interesting people in Austin at the Bug Fest."

The event features a popular Ento Raffle from Little Herds, offering raffle winners their choice of buggy prizes (like insect cookbooks, insect products like cricket pasta, protein bars, videos, cookies, chips and crackers) donated by supporting businesses. Proceeds of the raffle will support delegates from Little Herds and Slow Food Austin to attend the Salone Del Gusto conference.

Also featured are:

locally baked cricket and mealworm cookies

cake bars and rice crispy treats

sauteed teriyaki crickets

Chapulines (Oaxacan grasshopper)

Salsa from La Condesa

Chef Rick Lopez's cooking demonstration,

delicious chocolates from Delysia Chocolatier

Aketta munchies

Crickers crackers

Ecology Action of Texas

Slow Food Austin

Food & Tech Austin

Girls Empowerment Network

And much more

The twitter tag for the event is #BugFestATX2.

The Facebook page for the event is: https://www.facebook.com/events/838261476307044/

A video of the 2014 event is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecs7HXw_CJ4

The festival will also be the final fundraising event for Little Herds' crowdfunding campaign on BarnRaiser, where they are currently raising funds for their local and international projects.

https://www.barnraiser.us/projects/little-herds-edible-insects-education-for-a-better-tomorrow

In addition to hosting the Austin Bug Festival, Little Herds is partnering with Farms for Orphans and Entomo Farms to build cricket farms in orphanages in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the U.S., Little Herds is working on a Black Soldier Fly Larvae Up-cycling Pilot Project in Austin, Texas.

Media:

Contact Robert Nathan Allen at Email or 254.733.7460

SOURCE Little Herds

Related Links

http://www.littleherds.org

