The 28th Annual Big Chili Contest, a major fundraiser for both the Red Stocking Fund and the Portuguese-American Club, begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the P.A. Club in Oak Bluffs (snow date is Sunday).

Beans, ham, corn bread and desserts are on the menu on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at a special community dinner at the Edgartown School.

Josh Aronie, chef at Cafe Moxie in Vineyard Haven and formerly of the Menemsha Cafe, has been approved to operate an off-season food truck in the parking lot of the Chilmark Store. Mr. Aronie said he plans to serve a daily soup, tacos, sandwiches, falafels and a Brazilian lunch plate.

Slow Food Martha’s Vineyard and the Martha’s Vineyard Family Center are serving up a presentation on how to avoid genetically engineered foods on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the regional high school.

A Vineyard tradition during the darkest and coldest months of the year, churches from around the Island take turns providing community suppers at which all are always welcome, and the food is free.

With the temperature in the low 30s and a wintry mix blowing in off the East River, it was a morning fit for neither man nor beast. And yet a calm but energized feel pervaded as the Beach Plum crew got down to work creating the pop-up restaurant Fish and Rose.