Suttons Bay Farm to School

Come on over to Suttons Bay High School on Tuesday, November 8th from 5 to 7 p.m. and celebrate the harvest with farmers, chefs, students, and friends!

On November 8th, Suttons Bay High School will host the first ever Farm to School Fall Food Festival to celebrate our local farming and food culture. The event is free of charge, with $5 donations asked at the door, and is open to the public.

Everyone is invited to come and taste a variety tasty foods prepared by local chefs and Suttons Bay students, drink sweet apple cider, purchase produce from local farmers to support the ongoing Farm to Community “Food For Gratitude Fundraiser,” and enjoy live music in the skylight area of the high school. There will also be fun activities for children provided by MSU Extension Jr. Master Gardeners, as well as more information about local Farm to School programs and opportunities for involvement in Suttons Bay.

Some highlights of the evening will include:

• Sweet apple cider poured by our very own Tandem Ciders in Suttons Bay.
• A cooking demonstration and samples of a traditional meal prepared by Food Historian Susan Odom of the historical Hillside Homestead. Her cooking will transport you and your taste buds back to the early 1900s!
• Farmers Jim Bardenhagen of Bardenhagen Farms will sell his Honeycrisp apples and Jess Pikor of Bare Knuckle Farm will have winter squash for sale as part of the “Gratitude for Food Fundraiser.” If you haven’t ordered your Thanksgiving foods yet, then come on out and order your turkey, squash, breads, and more!
• Delightful samples of local cuisine from several of our favorite restaurants in Suttons Bay, Leelanau County, Traverse City, and Leland. We are proud to have Trattoria Stella as a featured restaurant and sponsor!
• Students from SEEDS’ Deep Roots Farm Club and Good Grubs Cooking Club will hand out tastings of foods and desserts that they have cooked up themselves using fresh locally sourced ingredients. If you don’t know about these student clubs yet, then you have to come and check out what they’ve been cooking up this year!
• Representatives from MSU Extension, Michigan Land Use Institute, SEEDS, and FoodCorps will celebrate with us and share information about current programs that help to strengthen the local farming economy, connect schools to fresh, quality food, and provide student agriculture, nutrition, and health education.

The Farm to School Fall Food Festival is the perfect gathering for us to support our local agriculture. Come on by between 5 and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8th to meet and talk with farmers, chefs, and students and learn about Farm to School in Northwest Michigan.