The Community Wellness Project hosted our annual Harvest Dinner Fundraiser in a fun, festive, COVID-safe fashion this year! On October 28, nearly 100 guests from across East Jefferson County, three fabulous School Food Services Directors, and two dozen student and adult volunteers came together for an outdoor “Dinner & A Movie” night at the Wheel-In Motor Movie just outside of Port Townsend.
We ate fresh popcorn, beautiful, locally sourced food in a menu designed by Margaret Garret & Stacy Larsen, and nibbled on decadent desserts crafted by the Culinary Arts students at Chimacum and Port Townsend High Schools. Students from Quilcene and Chimacum carried trays loaded with takeout boxes containing piping hot soup & salad through the downpour to serve guests in their cars. Together on the big outdoor movie screen we shared stories of progress in our local Farm to School programs, watched an inspiring documentary about South Whidbey School District school gardens, and celebrated with a special Halloween episode of Kids Baking Competition. All in all, the evening was filled with tasty treats for bodies, minds, and spirits.
Through the generosity of our wonderful business sponsors and our fabulous donors & diners, we were able to raise a grand total of $16,000 for fresh, locally grown food in school meals from Brinnon, to Quilcene, to Chimacum, to Port Townsend—our most successful year yet. This brings the cumulative total for funds raised from all Harvest Dinners to $53,000 over the past five years! WOW! Our kids will benefit from nutritious, delicious, locally produced food, and our school gardens will grow and thrive. Our local food system and farm community will benefit from strengthened connections, a boost in sales, and the growing appreciation of our young people. A special thanks for the evening goes out to Rick Wiley, owner of the Wheel-In Motor Movie, for his flexibility and support for this unusual fundraiser. We are so glad to do this work in partnership with you, generous folk!
Fingers crossed at next year’s Harvest Dinner we will once again gather around the table in person for fellowship and a shared meal. In the meantime, don’t forget to eat your vegetables!
Thanks so much to sponsor Megan Karl of Morgan Stanley. For a list of other sponsors and contributors, please follow the link above!