Thirty-three chefs and 32 farmers teamed up Sunday to make delicious dishes with local ingredients to benefit two farmer training programs in North Carolina.
The 2015 Farm to Fork Picnic, the culmination of a weekend of events centered on the idea of Farm to Fork, also included 14 food artisans and 10 beverage sponsors showcasing anything from coffee or tea to wine and mead — which Honeygirl Meadery says is making a resurgence.
Honeygirl Meadery, which opened in October, is relatively new to downtown Durham, but owner Diane Currier said that section of the Bull City is set to see an explosion of craft and artisan beverages.
Farmers and restaurateurs were paired by Farm to Fork organizers, giving the farmers even more venues for their produce.
Meredith Light of Granite Springs Farm in Pittsboro explained the process. Once chefs received their partner assignments, they communicated with the farms to see what they’d have ready at that time and planned a dish around the available produce.
For example, Granite Springs had a lot of Napa cabbage, broccoli and cucumbers, so Panciuto of Hillsborough created a kimchi to serve.
Pat Evans of Durham, who was one of about 700 expected guests, said the kimchi was very good. However, she’s been to the picnic several different times and said “I’ve never had anything out here that wasn’t good.”
Evans said that supporting the farmer training programs is important to her because she grew up on a farm. Now, she gardens in her backyard.
Evans was in attendance with 6-year-old Mia Grace, who liked looking at the plots at nearby Breeze Farm — one of the beneficiaries of the picnic.
“She compares them to my garden, which appears paltry in comparison (to Breeze),” Evans said.
Breeze Farm is a partnership among N.C. State University, N.C. AT and the state Department of Agriculture. The land was donated by Colonel William H. Breeze, who grew up on the land.
“We thought this would be a good way to make more farmers,” said William H. Breeze Jr., Breeze’s son.
Breeze Farm now acts as a farmer training program at a time wen more farmers are desperately needed.
According to Farm to Fork data, 52,695 farms were lost between 1976 and 2012.
Existing farmers are also getting older, said Nancy Creamer, director of Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), the other farmer training program and beneficiary of the picnic. The average age of farmers is 58, she said.
“We’re losing farms, farms are aging out, people have an idea about what is agriculture,” said John O’Sullivan, retired co-director of CEFS. He said CEFS helped organize the picnic from the beginning and that he sees it as an opportunity to educate people about their food systems.
“We said, ‘Let’s not just talk about it; let’s eat it and have a great time,’” he said.
But even though many farmers are getting older, there are young farmers on the horizon who receive help from programs like the ones offered at Breeze.
Miles Okal, of South Wind Produce, said he worked at various vegetable gardens after college but that renting a plot at Breeze, which works like a business incubator, helped him get his own models into place.
Okal said he sees Breeze as “a stepping stone.”
“It was a way to start the business, test the water,” he said. “I had the know-how, but I needed a little help.”
By selling his produce from his plot at Breeze at Farmers Market, Okal was able to buy his own land just two years later with his girlfriend, Angie Raines. They are continuing to work on their plot at Breeze as they simultaneously work to implement necessary infrastructure on their new land.
Orange County officials were also out to try the food and support the training programs, such as county manager Bonnie Hammersley and several county commissioners.
Commissioner Barry Jacobs said that local agriculture is important to the county and that recently, Orange County came in second to Henderson County in terms of how much product is sold to consumers.
Commissioner Mia Day Burroughs added that the event is a good contributor to tourism because it brings people from all across the Triangle out to Hurdle Mills.
“It gives the local restaurateurs a chance to showcase their skills,” she said.
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