ALLEGANY — For the past five years, Canticle Farm has served meals to everyone from local families with children to the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany during the Heavenly Harvest fundraiser.
This year’s sixth-annual “field to fork” lunch, a three-course vegetarian meal prepared by chef Steve Dodge and Dr. Yogini Kothari, will be served from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 7 at the South Nine Mile Road farm.
Mr. Dodge will prepare pasta primavera, while Dr. Kothari plans to make a salad with her popular dressing. Another highlight of the meal will be homemade bread by Barbara Buckner of Portville and specially created blueberry and strawberry ice cream desserts served by New Horizon Creamery of Oswayo, Pa. Mood music by John Tomerlin will also accompany lunch.
Farm manager Mark Printz said the produce picked fresh from the field for the meal will include squash, carrots, onions, beans, basil, tomatoes, fennel and parsley.
Mr. Printz said he’ll be on hand to help set up for the lunch, and he plans to sit down and enjoy the meal.
“He (Mr. Dodge) is a very good chef and has done a very good job” over the past several years, he said.
Tickets purchased by Friday are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 6 to 12. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $10 for children.
Sister Joyce Ramage, president of Canticle Farm, said other activities during the afternoon will include sustainability demonstrations on topics such as beekeeping 101, composting for beginners, garden fermentation and permaculture. The sessions will be held every 30 minutes. There will also be a Plein Air paint-out, face painting and chair massages.
In addition, the farm will provide the setting for those who would like a tour of the lush, rural acreage surrounded by hills or an opportunity to meditate while walking through a labyrinth.
Sister Ramage said the event has become an important benefit for the farm, as the funds go toward the facility to purchase new equipment. The funds also help with the development of the organization’s new property located off Route 417.
“This is helping us to grow,” Sister Ramage said. “And this definitely makes a difference; a fundraiser like this helps boost our overall operation.
“We need to have this type of fundraiser because this helps us to do things we would not otherwise be able to do.”
Sister Ramage further explained that upgrades of equipment and property help the organization remain sustainable.
“If we can remain financially sustainable, then we can continue to bring this kind of food to the community,” she continued.
Of the food harvested each year, at least 20 percent is donated to New York and Pennsylvania food pantries and homeless shelters.
Main sponsors for the event include Abbott Gas Products, the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany and St. Bonaventure University.
Tickets for the event can be purchased from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays at Canticle Farm Market; online at www.canticlefarm.org; through Canticle Farm’s Facebook page; or by calling 373-0200, ext. 3358.
(Contact reporter Kate Day Sager at kates_th@yahoo.com)
