The food on our table will be SIMPLE….no flaming lamb-kabobs or seared swordfish. Meats we cook will be chicken, rabbit, pork, chevon (goat), duck and possibly turkey, venison and fish. All meats will either be raised here on the farm or wild caught locally. The sides and desserts will be from our garden, wild harvesting (berries) and our fruit trees. We should even have some of our honey available. Some items will be purchased, but we will try and stick with locally produced fare if we have to get additional items (fruits, veggies etc). We have had offers from other families to bring foods from their farms for us to try. My answer is a resounding YES. Just let us know if there is something you would like to promote from your own farm and we will work it into our meal. I am very sorry, but at this time we are UNABLE to accommodate for food allergies. If you would like to attend and bring your own foodstuffs we can accommodate that, just let us know as we will also be able to offer you a special offer on our plates for sale.
Here is how this will work. We have plates for sale (links will be provided). You are buying in what in our opinion is a unique and special plate, you are not buying a meal or any foodstuffs. You are however welcome to join us at our dinner table. Once you choose your plate or plates I will email you a short questionnaire which you can return with your payment. With the questionnaire we hope to accomplish a few things. It will help us figure out what topics the majority would like to discuss while everybody is here and allow us to determine the number and ages of children coming so we can plan age specific activities and gifts. It will allow us to schedule in other family farms that would like to perhaps showcase something special about their own farms. We also hope to get an idea what gift and prize offerings would be best received. This event isn’t just about OUR farm, but about sharing ideas, showcasing sustainable homesteads in general and networking with others. On a date yet to be determined, we would like you to come over and pick up your plate(s) .Of course you must then have dinner with us too (No charge for dinner, just friends sitting down to a meal)! Feel free to stay and try all that our farm has to offer and perhaps some of what neighboring farms also have to offer. We will have an afternoon dinner and then a lot of farm fun and discussions. Hopefully we can also get a few demonstrations in as well.
We have LOTS of giveaways: books, plants, shirts, toys, games and perhaps even an animal or two!! No guest, young or old, will go home empty handed! If anybody would like to also donate product from their farm, be sure to let me know. You are welcome to donate a prize item or bring a small “gift” for each guest to promote your own farm and endeavors, just let us know in advance please.
We have found our “helper family” but would like to thank all those who offered! We do have an opening for a deserving family who would like to join us but may not have the funds to do so. Please feel free to privately message me if you would like to be the sponsored family or if you know of a deserving family. The chosen family can be larger than four, but any additional children’s plates will be at regular price. If there are a few nominations for families to be our sponsored family we may ask each nominated family a few questions about themselves and why they would like to join our event. We can hopefully use those answers better choose the family who could benefit the most from this event.
Date: TBD, (rain or shine – please dress appropriately for both the weather and being on the farm!)
Start time: We are planning on our dinner being on the table about 1:00pm. If guests would like to begin arriving around 12:30pm to pick up their plates that would be super. We will hold a farm tour after supper. I had thought about doing all the fun tour stuff before dinner and then sitting down for discussions over dinner. But unfortunately I figured I would be finishing up my dinner preps and be unable to give a proper tour.
End time: Whenever we get done. I feel we can just play this part by ear! If we run really late perhaps we can have a bonfire?
Activities will hopefully include many of the following (weather permitting): Farm tour, discussions (this is really the big part…sharing ideas from all guests, learning and helping each other), old fashioned games for the kids (and heck the adults as well), demonstrations of certain farm aspects (as time permits) and a hay ride. If you can think of other things you would like….just let us know!
Each adult (17+) plate is $35.00 (or $60 for a pair). Each child (16-7) plate is $7.00. (Kids under 7 are free) Food will be available all-you-can eat style. Coffee, tea (hot or cold), water, apple cider and lemonade will be available. You are welcome to bring your own soda or other drink if you prefer. NOTE: I would like to extend a discount to our immediate neighbors. Anybody living within a two mile driving distance of our farm will get a 25% discount on each plate purchased.
I would like to tell you a few things about us before you choose to become part of our event. We are a SMALL farm. Our farms main footprint is only two acres of land although we have 12 total acres. Our buildings are primarily small and rustic. We are not a large fancy or commercial type farm. We have no full-time employees and do all the work here ourselves (except for the occasional hay loading or barn cleaning we hire out). The farm is more than just a hobby, but it is I suppose it is still something less than a business. We aren’t rich nor are we even financially “well off” by most standards. We do okay and where we are is a big part of how the “self-sustainable” part comes into play. We use a lot of recycled materials which fits in very with what we are trying to accomplish – leaving a smaller footprint and achieving sustainability. Our animals generally earn their keep and we are quite diversified. I just wanted to make a point of saying we aren’t the eat-off-the-floors-clean farm with pristine buildings and immaculate flower gardens you might see in a magazine such as Mary Jane’s Farm (which by the way is a magazine I enjoy perusing once in a while). We are down to earth and simple without much pretense or fancy trimmings!!
We really hope that we are able to get a large and diverse group of people to join us. The more information available to share the better!! Perhaps your goals have nothing to do with farming or self-sustainability, this is still a great chance to get together to have a great time and great food with friends and family in a less than typical setting.
NOTE: We are hoping to have an informal butchering seminar a few days before the dinner party. We should be butchering two goats, a pig, some rabbits, a few chickens and probably a turkey. If you have possible interest in joining us for that please send me a PM and I will be happy to send you the information regarding date, time and pricing.