Good Farm Fund celebrates food and farmers at 4th annual Winter Feast
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
The Good Farm Fund is pleased to announce its Fourth Annual Good Farm Fund Winter Feast at Barra Winery (7051 N State St) on Tuesday, December 5 from 5-9 pm. This always-popular event includes a family-style farm-to-table dinner with locally raised meat, fruits, vegetables, wild mushrooms, artisan cheeses and grains; local beer and wine available for purchase; a silent auction perfect for holiday shopping; and live music from the Back Porch Project. In recognition of the recent fires the Good Farm Fund is offering free tickets to local area fire survivors, and the opportunity for other community members to sponsor “pay it forward” fire survivor tickets.
This year's event will also feature the announcement of the Good Farm Fund grant award selections for 2017. Come help the winners celebrate!
The Good Farm Fund, fiscally sponsored by North Coast Opportunities, Inc., is run entirely by volunteers who care about supporting local food & agriculture. Founded in 2015, the Good Farm Fund provides direct support to small farmers in Mendocino and Lake Counties in the form of small, capacity-building grants. This is the third year the Good Farm Fund is awarding grants. In 2015, $7,000 was given; in 2016, the amount grew to $20,000; this year, grants will total $30,000. The grants are made possible by farm-to-table dinners like this one, as well as from the generous support of this year’s foundation sponsors: Ukiah Natural Foods, Frey Winery and Ukiah Adventist Health.
“These grants have a real, tangible impact for local farms,” says Good Farm Fund Co-Founder Caroline Radice, a farmer herself. “As a kid, I used to go berry-picking with my mom and then she’d come home and make jam, which is how I learned how to can. My parents would stop at the farmers market or a roadside farm stand to pick up fresh green beans or corn for dinner. So many of us have wonderful memories like that, and the Good Farm Fund is about honoring and continuing those traditions, about creating a community with economic opportunities for small farmers, with thriving farmers markets, and lots of delicious, nutritious food easily available to people who live here.”
One grant recipient is Carson Elmer of Carson and Bees, a Ukiah-based honey producer who received $1,500 in 2016. The joyful addition of a new baby to his family meant that there weren’t finances available to continue expanding his honey business. A Good Farm Fund Grant purchased new hives, allowing the business to stay on track, which means more honeybees pollinating fruits and flowers at local farms where Carson keeps his hives and more honey available for local customers. “I was looking at my five-year business plan thinking, ‘this isn’t going to work,’ and then the grant came through,” explains Elmer. “Thanks to the Good Farm Fund, we’re right on schedule.”
Tickets to the Winter Feast are $30 in advance, $40 at the door, $15 for kids 15 and under. This event always sells out. Tickets are available on line at https://gffwinterfeast.brownpapertickets.com/, at the Westside Renaissance Market, the Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op, and J.D. Redhouse.
Proceeds will support the Good Farm Fund’s Fire Recovery Fund and Farm Grant Program. The event is sponsored by North Coast Opportunities, Ukiah Natural Foods Co-Op, Adventist Health, Frey Winery, Thompson’s Party Rentals, the MendoLake Food Hub, First Five, Cold Creek Compost, Flow Kana, North Coast Brewing, Community First Credit Union, The Savings Bank of Mendocino County and Black Dog Farm & Catering.
Through fundraising events like the Winter Feast, the Good Farm Fund and everyone who supports it can continue to help local farms thrive.
For more information, visit www.goodfarmfund.org.