Getting involved
with local food:
Local Food at
YOUR Church
Functions and
Dinners.
Think back to the last church function or dinner you attended or helped to host, prepare or serve. Do you know if any of the food served at that meal was produced by local farmers?
Many meetings and conferences are finding out that local food looks and tastes wonderful! Providing local food for the people who attend your church functions and dinners could be a way to make your dinners a special occasion and support local farmers at the same time. What would you need to consider if you want to have more local food at your church functions and dinners?
1. Start small
Begin with a small project:
 start with serving a small group, perhaps choosing to serve some local food for a meeting or workshop held in your church
choose one local food to feature on the basic menu at your next church dinner, then
grow from there!
2. Get in touch with farmers
Ask local farmers or at farmer’s markets in your area about growers.
Contact your state Department of Agriculture marketing division for listings of farmers and their products
Contact your county extension office to |
learn about sustainable agriculture organizations or local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms.
3. Consider availability
Set dinner dates for seasons when local food is plentiful if you can.
Contact farmers as soon as your church calendar is set to discuss possibilities.
Plan your basic menu around what local farmers can supply.
4. Consider preparation
Fresh, local foods may require different preparation—vegetables, for instance, may need to be washed and peeled. Using local foods means that you will need to plan for such tasks as you plan how you will prepare and serve your meal—or perhaps come up with new and creative ways to deal with them.
Here is an opportunity for older church members to help with planning and supervision as they may be quite familiar with what needs to be done—just ask them!
5. And don’t forget
Plan to recognize the farmers who produced the local food at your event-- Let people know where this good food came from!
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