A perfect autumn day on Sept. 29 saw the Comox Valley Farmers Institute host an extremely successful 鈥淭aste of the Valley 2023鈥� to a sold-out crowd of 156 indulging in a delicious culinary experience featuring local food, drink and entertainment.
鈥淭aste of the Valley鈥� is a farm-to-plate event focused on showcasing, celebrating and drawing attention to Comox Valley agriculture, farms, farmers, processors and the bounty of products produced here while giving back to the community. One of the priorities of this event is that as many, if not all dinner ingredients, are locally sourced and the farms they come from are recognized at the event.
The event was held at 40 Knots Winery. Executive chef and owner/partner of Locals Restaurant, Jonathan Frazier, and staff, outdid themselves with appetizers and a five-course family-style sit-down dinner. The evening was completed by famed local musician Luke Blu Guthrie鈥檚 musical prowess.
鈥淲e would like to express our deepest thanks, appreciation, and gratitude to all of our local and island sponsors and donors and could not put on an event like this without your generous support,鈥� reads a press release sent out by the CVFI. 鈥淲e are thrilled to announce that due to the outpouring of member and community support, we were able to raise and present the Comox Valley Food Bank, our 2023 charitable partner, with $5,215 of proceeds earned from the event. In these difficult times of food inflation, the Food Bank is being used more than ever before. It was important to us to donate to a partner with ties to food and feeding people in our community; this is what we as farmers working in agriculture also do.鈥�
The Comox Valley Farmers Institute has been proudly supporting and advocating for farmers and agriculture in the Comox Valley for 150 years. It is a non-profit organization governed and provincially legislated under The Farmers and Women鈥檚 Institute Act. In more recent years, 80 to 100 local farms and their families as well as people that work on active and productive farms in the Comox Valley and people just thinking about or getting into farming and agriculture have joined the Institute.
鈥淲e hope that by drawing community attention to our local farms and the bounty produced here, that we can be a small part of supporting our local food system,鈥� reads the release. 鈥淚t is our sincere hope that we can grow 鈥楾aste of the Valley鈥� and that it becomes an annual and recognized event.
