The beloved community event returns Thursday, August 24.
Uniontown, PA - Agriculture is one of the largest industries in Fayette County, but it also can be one of the most overlooked.
The Fayette County Farm Bureau is dedicated to changing that and educating people on the importance of agriculture and the origins of the food we eat. One way the bureau does that is through the annual Farm to Table Dinner.
The purpose of the dinner is basically to put the consumer with the product,” Fayette County Farm Bureau President Darrell Becker said. “We try to let people know that every item at this meal is sourced by Fayette County farmers.”
This year’s event is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at 10 Valley Farms, 183 Duck Pond Road, Connellsville.
“This is our second year at 10 Valley Farms,” Becker said. “It’s a great venue. They treat us well.”
Farm owners John and Rose Joseph have donated all the smoked brisket for one of the meal’s main courses, Becker said, and their daughter raised the Fayette County 4-H Grand Champion carcass goat that will be served with cucumber tzatziki sauce as an appetizer. The cucumber will come from Redrange Farm in New Salem.
Other appetizers include lamb stew made with lamb from the Fayette County 4-H livestock auction and vegetables from His & Hers Market Garden in Farmington, Duda’s Farm in Brownsville, and Redrange Farm; smoked trout from Laurel Hill Trout Farm, served on a baguette; and roasted beet salad sourced from His & Hers Market Garden and Duda’s Farm.
In addition to the smoked beef brisket, main courses will be chicken cordon bleu from Footprints Farms in Gibbon Glade, served with cheese from Jackson Farms in New Salem and smoked pork loin from Fruit Hill Farms in East Millsboro; corn casserole from Duda’s Farm; roasted eggplant, squash and zucchini from His & Hers Market Garden, Duda’s Farm and Redrange Farm; and garlic mashed potatoes from Duda’s Farm.
Dessert options will be peach cobbler with homemade whipped cream, made with peaches from Duda’s Farm and cream from Harmony Acres in Belle Vernon; fresh-cut fruit from Duda’s Farm; and cookies from the Corner Creamery in Uniontown.
Christian Klay Winery in Chalk Hill will provide the wine, and there will be beer from Yough River Brewing Co. in Connellsville as well as peach moonshine from Ridge Runner Distillery in Chalk Hill.
The meal will be prepared by Kathleen Hughes of Jerry’s Catering.
Becker said while local and state officials will be present at the dinner, he doesn’t stand on formality. Instead, he invites the farmers to speak.
“I have the farmers talk. We’re educating the general public about the plight of the farmer – what they do, where meat comes from,” Becker said. “We need to educate people about what farming is all about. It’s a great life, but it’s tough.”
Becker said the dinner is about “focusing on the farmers and putting them in front of the people that are buying their products.”
Last year, he said, 167 people attended the dinner, and this year’s ticket sales already have exceeded 100.
“It’s just a fun event, and it gets the farmers out to talk to the public,” Becker said. “We’re going to have a good time, eat great food and people are going to learn about agriculture.”
The deadline to purchase tickets is August 12 and they are available at the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, 65 W Main Street, Uniontown, by calling 724-437-4571 or online at www.fayettechamberstore.com.
Editor's Note: Image attached (Fayette Farm to Table Dinner)
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This communication, among other initiatives, is funded through the 2016 Fayette County Local Share Account (LSA) in cooperation with the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, Fayette Chamber of Commerce, The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Fayette, The Redstone Foundation and other partners. This funding has been designated for the continued promotion and marketing of Fayette County, PA.
For more information, contact Kristi Kassimer Harper, Public Relations Specialist, at 724-437-4571, kkassimer@fayettecountypa.info or Jamie Rankin, Journalist, at 724-437 4571, jamierankin13@gmail.com.
