From the NH Farm to Restaurant Connection:
Benefit for NH Food Bank is Next NH Growers Dinner
Continues NH Eat Local Month Celebration
The next NH Growers’ Dinner in the 2009 dinner series is set to be a benefit for the NH Food Bank and will be catered by the Food Bank’s Recipe for Success Culinary Job Training Program. The Food Bank’s Share Our Strength Operation Frontline nutrition education program will also be featured beneficiary.
The event will be held at the Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 South Main St., Concord on August 24th. A social hour prior to the dinner will feature local musicians and a cash bar with New Hampshire wines and beer available. Governor John Lynch and First Lady, Dr. Susan Lynch have been invited to join the festivities. The dinner is open to all but reservations are required.
The NH Food Bank’s innovative Recipe for Success program began in 2008 as a way to utilize donated fresh food that might otherwise be wasted. It also provides culinary training and career help to participants in a unique job training program. A full commercial kitchen was installed at the Food Bank warehouse center in Manchester and as part of the culinary training course, students create meals using perishable donated foods, which are then distributed to many hungry families through partner agencies. Chef Instructor, Jayson McCarter has been committed to using local products and teaching his students about the availability and benefits of local foods. Since the program began, 49 students have graduated and 75 % have gone on to obtain work in the culinary field. Recipe for Success students, past and present, will be preparing and serving the meal on August 24th..
August is NH Eat Local Month and the NH Food Bank Growers Dinner event is directly connected to that celebration. Cocktails and music with assorted New Hampshire cheeses and fruit start things off at 6 pm. The four-course dinner gets underway at 7 pm featuring a seasonal salad, soup, braised pork entrée and blueberry dessert. Cost for the evening is $50 per person. Call Helen Costello at the NH Food Bank at (603) 669-9725, Ext. 145 or email at hcostello@nhfoodbank.org for dinner details and reservations. Visit their web site at www.nhfoodbank.org. For information about the NH Farm to Restaurant Connection, contact Gail McWilliam Jellie at the NH Dept of Agriculture, Markets and Food at: 603 271 3788, gmcwilliam@agr.state.nh.us or visit www.nhfarmtorestaurant.com.