ORIGINS: A Speaker Series aims to elevate the conversation about food, its origins and what we are doing with food and food systems on this planet. The focus for this series is the food of the mid-Atlantic region, centered around Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The series is held within the intimate confines of Artifact Coffee, one of the restaurants owned by Spike and Amy Gjerde and their partner, Corey Polyoka. Spike Gjerde recently received the 2015 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, becoming the first chef from Baltimore to ever win an award from the Foundation. Artifact is located at 1500 Union Avenue in Baltimore (artifactcoffee.com) . Their restaurants also include Woodberry Kitchen (woodberrykitchen.com) and Parts and Labor (partsandlabor.com), all of which are deeply and unwaveringly committed to the relationships they have with the growers, watermen, and producers of the Chesapeake region. We are here to create a community dialogue about local and responsible food systems, the economic impact of doing so, and how we grow, fish, cultivate and work with local ingredients in our day to day lives. The panels feature growers and producers from the Chesapeake region.