Fête on the Farm: 10 years of sharing locally sourced food
HAUGHTON, La. ( KTAL/KMSS )— Fête on the Farm is preparing for its 10th annual dinner fundraiser at Mahaffey Farms in Haughton, which will celebrate locally sourced food to benefit the Slow Food North Louisiana Chapter.
" Slow Food is a global movement acting together to ensure good, clean, and fair food for all."
On October 27th Fête on the Farm allows consumers to experience a ' farm to table ' style dinner with locally grown, sustainable food, surrounded by live cattle under the moonlight.
Fête on the Farm brings people from all demographics, from chefs to food producers to individuals who love food and want to preserve biodiversity and protect the planet.
Angie White, organizer of the Slow Foods North Louisiana Chapter believes eating and supporting local food producers is better for the economy.
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"And I've learned a lot about some of the challenges that they face. But I also know how much better it would be for our region if we had a lot more local food that was being that was made available to our local residents, better for the consumers and it's better for the businesses. And that grows our local economy," says Angie White from the Slow Foods North Louisiana chapter.
Evan McCommon of Mahaffey Farms shares that Fête on the Farm showcases a regenerative landscape, resilient community, and valuable nourishment, all in the name of biodiversity.
"But the concept between regenerative is to build soil and biodiversity and increase nutrition in the food. Because as time has gone on, most of the food that we get in the American supermarket has gotten less nutritious," says McCommon.
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White says that biodiversity and soil maintenance are as critical as passing down recipes between generations.
"The concept of biodiversity is important to soil food. Living USA has a program called the Slow Food Ark of Taste. Think of Noah's Ark, and they put items on the earth of taste at risk of extinction because of industrial food production systems. So it can be, you know, fruits or vegetables, it can be animal breeds,
"And sometimes even recipes that at one time might have been very common in an area of the United States. But every time, hardly anybody knows what it is anymore. And there are some wonderful families and seed companies, farms out there that are trying to save these products and save seeds and, you know, raise heritage breeds of cattle and pigs," says White.
Food uniquely unites people—from families and neighbors to strangers, like Mahaffey Farms and Slow Foods, two strangers whose shared passion for food partnered to create Fête on the Farm.
McCommon shared that Mahaffey Farms originally began as a timber farm in 2009. When his grandfather died, he was remodeling his home when he saw a board with a sticker that said 'Product of Sweden.'
"And I said, 'How is it that I bought this board at a store in my town from Sweden?' And and that kind of got me interested in more sustainable things. I started going to seminars and learning about what I would do. I decided I want to make a living off the land and do something meaningful with it."
One of their missions is to educate individuals on the importance of buying local food grown locally.
Tickets for the 10th Fete on the Farms
White says there will be a guest speaker and breakout activities with South Carolina's distinguished professor, David Shields .
According to Slow Food's website , the dinner will be held at Mahaffey Farms' family homestead at 441 Mahaffey Rd, Princeton from 5 to 8 p.m.
The meals will be cooked by an all-female chef team, and for $125, individuals will have the choice between meat, vegetarian, or vegan. The ticket includes wine, local craft beer, and a specialty cocktail/mocktail for those over 21. Guests under 21 can enjoy mocktails, tea, and water.
For Slow Food Members, tickets are discounted to $106.25.
