Your Daily Dose of Food News, Events and Must-Read Miscellany

1. Ben Affleck gave Theo Chocolate a shout out Wednesday during his Senate testimony on the Eastern Congo. Affleck founded the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) to create opportunities for this embattled region. Theo Chocolate sources chocolate beans from the area and partners with ECI. Affleck said, “Today, Theo sources more than 50% of its cocoa from DRC. This year alone, more than 640 tons of cocoa will be purchased from the small holder farmers ECI supports – enough to make 9 million chocolate bars. This is neither charity nor aid, it’s good business for the Congolese and its paying off for this American company…. Just imagine what can be achieved for both the Congolese people and American businesses with increased peace, stability and additional investments in this sector.”

2. The Broadway Farmers Market, held each Sunday at Seattle Central Community College, has added some exciting new vendors: Rockridge Orchards, an Enumclaw winery, cidery and distillery; Propolis Brewery, which concocts old world, herbal beer in Port Townsend; I Do Greens, selling tender microgreens grown in Snohomish County; and Meloui, serving Moroccan street food. Coming soon is Cherry Valley Dairy, with farmstead cheese and butter.

3. Beveridge Place Pub is kicking off its 12th have 30 taps flowing with barleywine starting Saturday at noon and running through Friday, March 7. For a full line up of participating breweries, click here.

4. The FDA is proposing changes to its nutrition labels – the first major update since 1994. The new labels will more prominently feature calories, added sugars will be listed, and serving sizes will be easier to understand. The changes will take months to finalize and companies will have two years to comply.

5. Paseo made #2 on Yelp’s list of the Top 100 places to eat in the country!