Farm to Table Feast raises funds for LCCDC
Jason Ball from Oregon State University checks on food during the Farm to Table Feast for the Lake County Community Development Corporation. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
Will Tusick shows fresh lamb at the Farm to Table Feast, which he and wife Jan hosted at their Glenwood Farm last week. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
Forty people attended the Farm to Table Feast at Glenwood Farm near Polson last week. The event is a fundraiser for the Lake County Community Development Center. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
Over the bleats of sheep roaming their pasture, music and chatter carried from a dinner at Glenwood Farms outside Polson last Friday evening.
Jan and Will Tusick hosted the Lake County Community Development Corporation (LCCDC) for the Farm to Table Feast, the group’s fundraiser.
Gypsy Ray, LCCDC executive director, said that the organization “wanted the event more intimate,” so rather than holding one large feast as its done in the past, organizers decided to hold one feast for each season through the county.
Deciding on Glenwood Farms because Jan Tusich works as director at Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center at LCCDC, Ray said that it was easy to decide where to hold the harvest season’s feast.
“(Tusick) has done events like this for just friends and family, so we thought during harvest season ... It would be perfect,” Ray said.
Will Tusick, acting as chef of freshly prepared lamb, said that he and Jan have been on their farm for about 34 years.
He explained that Glenwood Farms is “largely a sheep operation with extensive gardening.”
Inside the kitchen to the Tusicks’ house was Jason Ball, from Oregon State University.
Ball is currently working with LCCDC, he explained, as he tended to salmon filets.
His research includes trying to “sneak” fresh vegetables and fruits into snacks for children in fun ways.
There was no sneaking fresh items to the 40 people who attended the feast, as ingredients for the appetizer, salad and dinner, were all locally grown.
Feta cheese from the Flathead Lake Cheese Company and Le Petite Outre` bread made up a bruschetta for the appetizer, while vegetables from Glenwood Farm and local growers made up a salad.
Ray said that the organization’s goal for Friday was to raise a net profit of $2,500, with a goal to raise $10,000 at the end of the year for the Farm to Table events.
“We are on track to meet that goal,” she added.
The final feast will be held Dec. 13 at Lights Under the Big Sky at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Ronan.