Farms, Food, Friends and Fun!
August 5th, 2012
Farm to Table Dinner
A benefit for Friends of the Farms
Friday Aug. 17, 2012 6 – 10 pm (food until 8:30 pm)
Madrone Lane, Bainbridge Island, WA
- Food from over 10 local restaurants and caterers
- No-host beer & wine garden
- Music by Pearl Django
To register click here.
The Farm to Table Dinner is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy fabulous food and support Friends of the Farm, an organization dedicated to preserving local farming on Bainbridge Island. And all the while, you will be entertained by award winning gypsy jazz band Pearl Django. (check out their music here.)
Friends of the Farms began its life as an organization in 2001. The primary goal has been to ensure access to land by the farming community. The organization has a 5 year contract to manage farmland that the city had the foresight to purchase. The city of Bainbridge Island currently owns five farmland properties totaling 60 acres, some of which was donated. Three of those properties – Johnson Farm, Morales Farm and Suyematsu-Bentryn farms – are currently being farmed by a collaborative group of farmers.
The farming heritage of Bainbridge has been threatened by a rapidly growing “suburbanization” which has resulted in a dramatic loss of suitable farmland. As land values increase, access to farm land becomes much more difficult. Along with managing the public farmland, the organization helps to pair up private land owners with suitable acreage and farmers in search of land. Friends of the Farms has developed other exciting and innovative programs and resources. They advocate for local farming by working to increase awareness of the benefits of an economy with a strong agrarian component. They provide opportunities for educational (and fun) events such as the Harvest Fair (held in the fall), Farm Walks and public speaking. Partnering with the EduCulture Project, headquartered on Bainbridge Island, they have created “lived-learning” experiences for K-12 students. Through these experiences, food grown by the students will be served in the school district lunch program. And – for those non-farmers with an itch to get involved, Friends of the Farms holds work parties on the second Saturday of every month to pitch in at the various farms. Every farmer can always use a few more “hands”!
The vision of Friends of the Farm is a community that supports local agriculture, honors the farming tradition and is nourished and energized by healthy, locally produced food. Come to the Farm to Table dinner on the 17th. Enjoy the music, the food and the fun, while you are supporting and co-creating this vision of a flourishing community.
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