Louise hopes that guests will leave with a better appreciation of where their food is coming from.   She says, “I hope guests will make a connection with their food that it doesn’t come in cellophane and that there are passionate people working hard, and that it also involves our health.”

Scroll down to watch the 2012 Preview Video.

Diners will be seated inside the Strite’s Orchard marketplace surrounded by pastoral scenes of fruit trees and fresh produce growing in the fields.  “You can turn around and see the orchards where your food is coming from. It’s a special connection with what you eat and how you eat,” Louise says.

Strite’s Orchard is a family-run business that has been in the family for four generations. “Our farm has been here since 1914 when my great-grandfather planted the first fruit trees,” says Jon Strite. “It’ll be the beginning of apple season and nothing is better than an apple you just picked off tree, the crunch.” Nectarines, plums, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini will also be in season, so diners may get to taste some of these vegetables in the menu being created especially for the event.

Award-winning Chef Jason Viscount of Bricco is excited about the opportunity to create a menu that celebrates local products for this year’s dinner. “What’s nice about the event is they give me free reign on using anything local. One of the fun parts is searching out farmers and producers and working them into the menu.”

He’s working on his menu, incorporating local tomatoes, local chevre with sea salt, goat feta, local berries, and grass-fed short ribs. You can get a sneak peek of what he’s planning for the short ribs and tomatoes in this video.

Another unique aspect of the event is that the local foods will also be paired with local wine and beer from Waltz Vineyards and Troegs Brewing Company.  And, the producers and farmers will actually be there walking around the tables talking about the food and how it’s raised.  

Jon Strite says, “It will be something you’ve never experience before, knowing that you’re eating produce picked 100 yards from where you’re eating… It can’t get any fresher than that! And, beyond that, it’s a good cause, good people, and is a really fun time for everyone.”

A good cause, indeed. This is the second annual Farm to Table Dinner and last year’s event raised funds for the renovations of the Hope Lodge, a “home away from home” for cancer patients and their caregivers during treatment. This year, the goal is to raise $50,000 that will go directly to the American Cancer Society.

Do you share a common philosophy about how we eat and in a larger sense, and a passion to create a world with less cancer?  Then this unique event's for you!  

Last year's event was a sold-out event, so reserve your tickets today at www.acsfarmtotable.org. 

Individual Tickets: $150 per person (Ticket price includes a three course dinner, drinks, dessert, priceless interaction with a local chef and farmers, and an evening of entertainment for one guest from 4:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.)