We had beautiful weather at last week’s sold out Harvest Dinner fundraiser. Many of us were inspired by the savory and sweet farm to table menu created by Chef Seth Fernald and his team. We are thankful for individuals from Fare Start and UW students who helped prepare and serve such a feast. Together we raised over 200% more than any other farm fundraising event. Our tally so far is over $25,000, a big increase considering the most earned in past harvest dinners was approximately $7,000.

The annual dinner was a new take on the campus farm fundraiser, which began as a student initiative to host a community meal back in 2014. This year the farm manager worked closely with UWBG Director, Christina Owen, UWBG Events Staff, and the College of the Environment Advancement team to ramp up the potential for deeper partnerships moving forward.

As always though, the evening highlighted students and their experiences, with testimonials from representatives from the UW Food Pantry, Native Garden and farm interns, Co-chairs of the Farm Advisory Committee, Eli Wheat and Yona Sipos also shared why the farm is such a success and its significance due to students’ “lived experiences” on the campus farm and its impact on food systems in the Seattle area and at the university.

To check out the photos of the evening view the event photo album: UW Photo SmugMug

For those who were unable to attend this year’s event, we invite you to help the farm in other ways:

• Visit the farm’s on-line wish list.
• Get the word out to friends, family and colleagues by liking and following the farm on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
• Donate to the Gift fund
• Meet with staff at the UW Farm, UW Botanic Gardens and Advancement to discuss other potential partnerships.
• Reach out with ideas on how to support the farm via email – uwfarm@uw.edu

A special thanks goes to our sponsors:
Burke Gilman Brewery
Andrew Januik Wines
Treveri Cellars
4GoodHard Seltzer
and Chef Seth Fernald