Chautauqua Region Farm to Table is sponsoring this event and invites farmers and producers of artisanal foods, restaurant owners, chefs, institutions, grocery stores, and other buyers and consumers of local foods. Participants will be able to network, learn about current Farm to Table efforts, and provide feedback and suggestions on how to further the “buy local” movement in the Chautauqua County region.  Wine will be provided by Johnson Estate Winery and hors d’oeuvres by Webb’s Captain’s Table.

Chautauqua Region Farm to Table, a grass roots organization committed to “putting more local foods on our tables” whether in our homes or in local restaurants or schools,  wants to make it easier for more locally grown and raised food to be purchased by local families, visitors, chefs, schools and other institutions. The organization has grown from an informal group to a committed body of individuals who meet with farmers, restaurant owners, grocers and school personnel. These meetings have resulted in an action plan to encourage buying local.

In the spring of 2013, Chautauqua Region Farm to Table received funding to develop an easy-to-use website and database of farmers and artisanal food producers. Funding came from Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work, and Play, a NYS initiative to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent obesity and type two diabetes, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. This website will be accessible to individuals buying for themselves and their families, to chefs, and to larger distributors and institutional buyers. Chautauqua Region Farm to Table is working with the website design team, Urban and Dilworth, to develop the site scheduled to be online in mid-2013.

For more information, please visit the Chautauqua Region Farm to Table Facebook page. Reservations are not required for the May event.