newdeal kitchen

Recently Mike and Kathy attended a fundraising event for Everyone’s Harvest, a non-profit organization whose mission is “to provide access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables through certified farmers’ markets and community food programs.” Mike has been a volunteer graphic designer for Everyone’s Harvest for several years, and he designed the “Save the Date” postcards sent out for the event.

The event is called “Flavors of the Harvest”, and it’s a celebration of the bounty of fruits, vegetables, and other products produced by the independent farmers, food artisans, and nurseries of the Monterey Bay area who sell at the certified farmers’ markets run by Everyone’s Harvest. The money raised from the event goes toward the community food programs administered by Everyone’s Harvest, including “Fresh Rx,” an innovative partnership between healthcare providers and farmers’ markets, in which young overweight patients are “prescribed” fresh fruits and vegetables which are paid for by vouchers provided at the certified farmers’ markets.

The event was held at the Goodwill Garden, which is adjacent to the Everyone’s Harvest headquarters and which provides an opportunity for marginalized people to gain access to fresh local organic produce. The Garden was mostly harvested, but Kathy managed to find some yummy remainders.

The event was catered by local food businesses, who created hors d’oeuvres using fruits and vegetables provided by farmers’ market businesses. The highlight of the event was a cooking demonstration by Chef Sherrie Ransom, a “raw food” expert who created a fantastically delicious forbidden rice salad that she plated two ways: as a stack (using a plating form) and as a mold. (She served samples dished into bowls; any way she shaped it, it tasted great!)

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All in all, it was pretty much a perfect (and delicious) day, filled with great food and even better people!