MILLHEIM — The Penns Valley Conservation Association is partnering with the Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks in Millheim to host a Farm-to-Table Dinner on Sunday, Oct. 25.
The speaker for the event is Hannah Kinney Smith, local farmer and leader of Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, a statewide nonprofit organization that supports sustainable farms and equitable food systems. Smith is a former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture for Pennsylvania. Her talk is titled What The Table Holds: Food, Farming, and the Wisdom of Wendell Berry.
Showcasing and celebrating the fresh and nutritious foods that local farms can offer is a goal of the Farm to Table Dinner. Attendees will have the opportunity to try a variety of dishes prepared by Elk Creek chefs Mark Johnson and Maggie Bierly. The culinary team will introduce the meal and the farms that provided the ingredients. Hannah Kinney Smith will offer a presentation weaving stories from her own farm with her poetry and the work of Wendell Berry, a noted farmer, author, and poet who passed away in September. Describing her talk, Smith wrote, “Together, we’ll explore the beauty, struggles, and unexpected connections that bring food to our plates—and what it means to belong to a place and to one another.”
The Penns Valley Conservation Association has been active in the Penns Creek Watershed for over three decades, working with landowners on native plantings and stream restoration projects, and funding an Environmental Education Specialist in area schools. The organization has a long history of working with local farmers to establish plantings, fencing, and conservation projects on their farms. Preserving and protecting agricultural land is a part of PVCA’s core work.
The number of farms in PA has dropped by 17% since 2016, and fuel, fertilizer, and equipment costs have hit record highs. While residents of the state love the rural character and scenery offered by its agricultural valleys, farm owners struggle to stay in business. PVCA hopes that the Farm To Table event will inspire attendees to new awareness of the issues facing farmers, and raise support for local foods in our regional marketplace.
Doors open for this event at 4:30 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Information and tickets can be found on PVCA’s website, pennsvalley.net, and also on the Elk Creek Cafe’s site, elkcreekcafe.com. For more information, email info@pennsvalley.net.
