MENDOCINO Co., 7/8/18 — The Good Farm Fund is throwing their annual “Midsummer Night’s Feast,” a dinner featuring local farmers, food and wines, at the Yokayo Ranch in Ukiah on July 24th. The event is a fund raiser that goes to a couple different causes: the local food stamp match program, which matches allows people using EBT to double their dollars at local farmers markets; the money raised also goes to fund small grants to local farmers; and since the fires last year, a portion has gone towards an emergency relief fund for farmers affected.
For more details on the fund, and the dinner read the press release below, tickets are avaliable online. You can also read our previous coverage of the Good Farm Fund.
A Midsummer Night’s Feast to Support Local Farmers
June 21, 2018 (Ukiah, CA) — The Good Farm Fund and the MendoLake Food Hub are proud to bring the 4th Annual Midsummer Night’s Feast, one of Mendocino’s premier local food and wine events, to Yokayo Ranch on Tuesday, July 24th from 7-9pm. Guests will enjoy more than 20 of the area’s local-food-forward chefs, paired with Mendocino & Lake County’s farms and ranches to collaborate on pairings that deliver the best of what is in season. Enjoy the amazing array of flavors of inspired dishes designed to excite the palate while showcasing exceptional, locally grown produce. Local beer, wine and specialty farm-to-glass cocktails will add a special touch to the evening.
Set against the backdrop of Yokayo Ranch, a 40-acre hillside ranch built in the 1920’s, guests will be delighted by the natural beauty of this spectacular country setting. The evening’s program will include live music, a farm tour of Yokayo Roots Farm, farmer success stories, and a silent auction. An overnight room or onsite camping are also available.
Farmers, chefs, and restaurant owners are already busy preparing menu combinations for this year’s guests. Julia Kendrick Conway, chef and proprietor of Assaggiare Mendocino adds, “Last year’s event was delightful, truly one-of-a-kind. It’s rewarding to be involved in an event that celebrates delicious, fresh, locally grown food. We’re excited to team up with another farm this year to create a new, seasonally inspired dish.”
This unparalleled event is designed to bring the entire local food experience together in one spot – from the field to fork. The night’s revelry benefits the hard work of the Good Farm Fund,, which awards capacity-building infrastructure grants to small farms around Mendocino & Lake Counties, and helps fund food stamp matching at local farmers markets.
Due to the enormous impact of Northern California fires in 2017, the Good Farm Fund also established an emergency relief fund for farmers affected by disasters.
The Good Farm Fund was created in 2015 as a collective way to support local farmers. Caroline Radice, Good Farm Fund Co-founder and Steering Committee member says:
“We found that there was a need to connect our community and the broader farm-to-table movement to agricultural producers in an impactful way that goes above and beyond regular purchasing. Many farmers make an annual income that falls well below the poverty line, which leaves nothing left to invest in the growth and success of the business. The Good Farm Fund works to support viable, thriving farms and equitable food access for our all people in our community.”
In its first year (2015), the Good Farm Fund awarded a total of $7,000 to nine local farms in its first set of farm grants and raised more than $11,000 in Food Stamp matching funds for our farmers markets. By 2017, the Good Farm Fund awarded $30,000 in economic development grants to 17 local farms. The 2018 grants will go toward funding much needed farming equipment and farm improvements such as tractors, cold storage, greenhouses and season extension infrastructure, a new livestock trailer, new irrigation systems, and more.
Tickets for the Fourth Annual Summer Midsummer Night’s Feast are on sale now online via www.goodfarmfund.org, or at the following Ukiah establishments: Ukiah Farmers Market, Mendocino Book Company, Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op and Westside Renaissance Market.
About the Good Farm Fund
The Good Farm Funds is a community organization dedicated to providing direct support to small farmers in Mendocino and Lake Counties, as well as increasing local food security for all members of our community. The Good Farm Fund is a fiscally sponsored program of North Coast Opportunities, a Community Action Agency serving Lake & Mendocino Counties. To learn more about Good Farm Fund, visit www.goodfarmfund.org and follow us on social media @goodfarmfund.
About the MendoLake Food Hub
The Food Hub is a local produce distributor and program of North Coast Opportunities, currently in transition to become a grower cooperative in 2019. The project works for the viability of small farms by providing access to a shared ordering and distribution network to wholesale buyers across Northern California and providing education and assistance for the professional farming community.
About Yokayo Ranch
This gorgeous 40-acre hillside ranch built in the 1920s is located just outside of Ukiah adjacent to Mendocino College (800 Hensley Creek Rd., Ukiah, CA). Several of those acres are devoted to a beginning farm, called Yokayo Roots Farm.