MENDOCINO Co., 11/30/18 — Winter weather has finally arrived, but local farmers are still hard at work putting in winter crops to provide the wide variety of delicious local food that is available to us year-round in Mendocino County. To help celebrate our locally-produced bounty and raise funds to expand the local foodshed, the Good Farm Fund is hosting their fifth annual Winter Feast this coming Tuesday, Dec. 4 in Redwood Valley.
The dinner will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. with a menu that includes local duck from Mendocino Meats, “fruits, vegetables, wild mushrooms, artisan cheeses and grains, and local beer and wine,” from Black Dog Farm Catering, the New Agrarian Collective, Patrona Restaurant and Lounge, and the Mendocino College Culinary Arts Program. The event will also feature a silent auction and music from the Gibson Street Band.
Proceeds will go towards supporting the Good Farm Fund’s Farm Grant program, which provides support to local small food producers, and the Market Match program, which provides funds to double CalFresh money at local farmers markets to increase community access to locally grown food. The recipients of this year’s expanded Farm Grant program, which includes a total of $42,000 in grants, will also be announced at the dinner.
Tickets are available at a several locations in Ukiah and at this link, more details are included below. The event often sells out, so it’s recommended you purchase in advance. You can read more about the Good Farm Fund’s work and past Winter Feast in our coverage here.
Here’s the full press release from the Good Farm Fund, additional information is at the event’s Facebook page:
Good Farm Fund Celebrates Local Food at 5thAnnual Winter Feast
(Ukiah, CA) November 21– The Good Farm Fund is pleased to announceits Fifth Annual Good Farm Fund Winter Feast at Barra Winery (7051 N State St) on Tuesday, December 4 from 5-9 pm. This always-popular event includes a family-style farm-to-table dinner from Black Dog Farm Catering and many friends, featuring 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 Gibson Creek Band.
This year’s event will also feature the announcement of Good Farm Fund grant award selections for 2018. Come help the winners celebrate!
Good Farm Fund, fiscally sponsored by North Coast Opportunities, Inc., is a volunteer driven organization supporting local food & agriculture. Founded in 2015, the Good Farm Fund provides funding to support Market Match, a program that provides funds for EBT/CalFresh customer to increases their purchases of local fruits and vegetables at certified farmers’ markets. Good Farm Fund also provides economic development support to small farmers in Mendocino and Lake Counties in the form of small, capacity-building grants. This is the fourth year the Good Farm Fund is awarding grants, which are made possible by farm-to-table dinners like this one, as well as from the generous support of this year’s foundation sponsors, Frey Winery & Sonoma Clean Power, and Harvest Sponsors, Ukiah Adventist Health and Flow Kana.
“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 about food preservation. 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 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.”
Tickets to the Winter Feast are available on a sliding scale from $35-$50 in advance, $45 at the door, $15 for kids 12 and under. This event always sells out. Tickets are available on line at https://gffwinterfeast.brownpapertickets.com/, at the Westside Renaissance Market, Mendocino Book Company and the Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op.
Proceeds will support the Good Farm Fund’s Farm Grant Program & Market Match Program. The event is sponsored by Sonoma Clean Power, Frey Winery, Flow Kana, Adventist Health, North Coast Opportunities, The MendoLake Food Hub, Black Dog Farm Catering, the Mendocino College Culinary Arts Management Program, Patrona Restaurant, Visit Mendocino, Ukiah Brewing Company, Ukiah Natural Foods, Cold Creek Compost, and Community First Credit Union. Through fundraising events like the Winter Feast, Good Farm Fund and everyone who supports it can continue to help local farms thrive.
For more information, visit www.goodfarmfund.org.
