Farm to Table Dinner Lets You “Be Local” on May 19

Nothing says Dog Days of Summer like a wonderful outdoor meal with fresh food and great friends! The Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi is hosting a one-of-a-kind Farm to Table Dinner on May 19th featuring the culinary skills of Starkville’s Chef Ty Thames as he works his wonders with ALL locally grown ingredients. The exclusive Dinner will be held on the grounds of the GGSIM’s Ecohome and Strawberry Fields Farm in Starkville, and tickets are $125 each. We caught up with Mandi Sanders, Vice President of GGSIM, to find out more about the Farm to Table Dinner. Check out what she had to say and be prepared to let your mouth water!

The Farm to Table Dinner will benefit Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi. Tell us more about GGSIM.
Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi is a non-profit organization that was formed here in Starkville in 2010 by Drs. Mike and Alison Buehler. They had a vision for our state to utilize it’s resources in a sustainable way and saw the need for an interdisciplinary organization among agriculture, forestry, architecture, health, and education that would improve the lives of Mississippians. It would be a place to exhibit advances in ecological design, environmentally sound landscaping and architecture practices, and advances in sustainable living. It would be the first of its kind in Mississippi, possibly the Southeast. Although GGSIM began in Starkville, the organization has quickly expanded state wide and now has chapters all across our state with a large and active chapter right here in the Golden Triangle.

How did GGSIM come up with the idea of the Farm to Table Dinner?
When debating fundraising ideas for the upcoming year, we thought a Farm to Table dinner featuring local foods and business couldn’t be more perfect. It’s been an amazing thing to see the wealth of resources we have right here in our community and surrounding area. Everything you need, whether it’s for a fancy event or just for dinner around the kitchen table, can be found locally. The focus of the dinner is on truly being local. By supporting local business, farmers, artists, restaurants etc., we are keeping our dollars in the local economy. Over 80% of the money we spend on food leaves our state. We can support our community in more ways than one by just looking at what’s available and making the effort to buy local. The proceeds will go towards GGSIM’s Sustainable Agriculture Network which is a network for farmers in Mississippi that are currently using or would like to begin using sustainable methods to farm their land.

So, what does Chef Thames have in store for farm to table lovers?
The dinner will be a one of a kind experience. Chef Ty Thames already features a multitude of locally sourced foods at his restaurants in Starkville (you can read more at www.eatlocalstarkville.com). We knew his talent, creativity and devotion to local foods made him the perfect match for our dinner. The final menu will be a surprise, but he has created an amazing 7 Course meal in which all the ingredients are locally sourced and all the meats, cheeses, etc are hand crafted and cured by him. The beverages and cocktails are even all from Mississippi as well.

Tell us more about the Ecohome where the Dinner will be held.
The dinner will be served on the grounds of GGSIM”s Ecohome that features solar panels, a salt water pool, chickens and beautiful gardens all lakeside. Guests will also see the new, larger Strawberry Fields Farm that will be a fully functioning, rotational, sustainable farm which is currently in progress.

Wow! The GGSIM Farm to Table Dinner is something you definitely don’t want to miss. Seating is limited, so be sure to get your tickets right away. Reserve your tickets at Restaurant Tyler, Bin 612 or by contacting Mandi Sanders at mandi.sanders@ggsim.org.