Farm to Fork
COFPC Annual Fundraiser with Farm to Fork Event Company
Farm to Fork Event Company is home to Oregon’s first statewide Farm Dinner experience. Each Farm to Fork Event is designed to engage the public in the Local Food Movement and to celebrate the farmers, winemakers, food artisans, and chefs who work hard each day to provide their communities with Good, Clean and Fair Food. In July 2012, the Bank of the Cascades hosted Central Oregon’s Farm to Fork event at Fields Farm.
Proceeds from this event are used to pay the host (Fields Farm) an honest wage and price for their labor and goods, and to benefit the COFPC and our mission, to provide a secure future for the local food system in Central Oregon.
The COFPC is chosen beneficiary of this event! Tips provided by consumers from this event are used to pay for overhead costs associated with running our programs.
To get involved in the Summer of 2013, contact us!
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The Farm
With tasty appetizers and wine glasses in hand, farmer Jim Fields led us around his 10-acre certified organic vegetable farm to its prized crop, garlic. After digging up a bulb, Fields (who describes himself as simply an “extreme gardener”) answered questions about how and when to plant and care for crops. I was most impressed (as an amateur extreme gardener myself) with the farm’s massive rhubarb plants – by far the largest I’d ever seen.
The Feast
After the tour of the bountiful produce on the farm, we were ready to eat! Platters of food were served up family-style, along with local wine and beer pairings from Maragas Winery and 10-Barrel Brewing Company. The food was fresh, simple and delicious – all the way to the dessert, a crème caramel cake with strawberry-rhubarb compote, which we ate as the sun slowly set over the Cascade Mountains.
The Community Somewhere between the shrimp tomato consommé and the roast beef from Dancing Cow Farm, I had the opportunity to speak with the winemaker, rancher, and farmers who provided the food for my delicious meal. Their passion is contagious, and it extends from supporting local agriculture to supporting the local community. One of the best memories you’ll take from a Farm to Fork experience is getting to know your tablemates. After spending a few hours in deep conversation and laughter with people from all over the state and the country (we sat by folks from Bend, Portland, California and Michigan), you’ll feel like old friends. We walked away from the table at Fields Farm full of good food, a couple of hours of laughter and an appreciation of everything that makes Bend taste good.
