New Farm raises over $100,000 for good food organizations

 In Business, Events, News

The set up on Saturday morning took place in the rain, but by the time the farm gates opened at 5:30 p.m., the sun was shining upon Creemore’s The New Farm.

Over the course of the afternoon, close to 900 guests mixed and mingled celebrating fabulous food and drink and singing and dancing to the Juno-winning band Sloan at the eighth annual fundraiser in support of Farms for Change.

Since 2009, The New Farm and The Stop Community Food Centre have been partners in a retail event and fundraising program called Grow for the Stop. They have raised money to allow The Stop to purchase New Farm produce for use in their food in their community kitchen and front line programs, making good food accessible to people who would otherwise not be able to afford it.

As the annual New Farm event grew, they have been able to support more good food organizations like The Stop and this year, the event becomes part of a wider program called Farms for Change.

“The event’s name change reflects the evolution of the event and the growing number of good food organizations we are able to support,” says Gillian Flies who owns and operates the New Farm with her husband, Brent Preston. “Our partnership with the Grow for the Stop program remains a priority, but as the event grows we are now able to expand our support. The move to Farms for Change also reflects our own bigger commitment to providing more programs around food security education and connecting people to the food we eat.”

Guests strolled through the farmyard among the small tents where 15 different restaurants and chefs offered up delicious dinner samplings. With an emphasis on organic, local ingredients, Collingwood’s Azzurra had Blue Goose trout, tempura asparagus and crispy lemon thyme gnocchi on their menu. As one of the dessert options, the Creemore Kitchen satisfied the sweet teeth in the crowd with their carrot cake doughnuts and cream cheese glaze. The bar was bustling all night with volunteers pouring Creemore Springs, signature Dillon’s Distillery cocktails and Sap Sucker maple water from the Beaver Valley.

Rachel Gray, executive director of The Stop sums up the importance of the New Farm’s event for the work that good food organizations do by saying, “This fundraiser is a significant one for us at The Stop. It allows us to buy wonderful produce for our programs and get high quality food into the hands of people who really need it. It also lets us support the New Farm’s local and sustainable farming practices which are so important in the big picture of food security.”

The event is run by the New Farm and a team of over 50 volunteers who work tirelessly to make sure everything goes smoothly. From coordinating the set up, to taking tickets and clearing compost and trash, the volunteers’ dedication demonstrates the depth of support for the New Farm and their commitment to building a sustainable food system in our community and beyond.

The chefs and restaurants (60 people) volunteer their time and love being a part of the event.

“We love The New Farm and their product and we’ve always been big supporters of The Stop. You bring those two things together with a great band in a barn and it’s easy to want to be a part of it,” says John Sinopoli of Toronto restaurant Ascari Enoteca who has been part of the event for the last six years.

Caesar Guinto of the Creemore Kitchen echoes Sinopli’s enthusiasm, “When we opened Creemore Kitchen, we used The New Farm as a supplier and we had been to The Stop events in Toronto before we moved here. So when Brent and Gil asked us to be involved in this event, it was a perfect fit for us because it’s what we all believe in – local food, accessible, healthy eating and sustainable farming.”

Saturday’s event raised over $100,000, which will be used to buy fresh, organic food directly from local farmers, including the New Farm, for The Stop, Regent Park Community Food Centre and for food banks in Southern Georgian Bay.

Flies is grateful for all the support.

“We feel incredibly lucky to have such an amazing community of friends, volunteers, sponsors and chefs to help is pull off this event. It take hundreds of people to make this party happen and we couldn’t do it without their hard work and generosity,” she says.

For more information on The New Farm visit www.thenewfarm, on The Stop, www.thestop.org and Community Food Centres Canada, www.cfccanada.ca.

To see event photos click here.

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