Summit County Farm Bureau’s inaugural “dinner on the farm,” Summit’s Plow to Chow, an exquisite outdoor dining experience benefiting Ronald McDonald House of Akron, was held on Thursday, July 17, 2014 at Boughton’s Farm.
Arriving guests were welcomed to the farm and shown to the greeting area where they began a guided tour, complete with a wagon ride through the produce fields, while enjoying a glass of wine and appetizers.
As the dinner bell rang, guests were escorted to the formal dinner tables, set up outdoors overlooking the fields, for a six course gourmet meal of almost all local ingredients with local wine pairings.
The tour of Boughton’s Farm in Akron, a local produce operation that offers “pick your own,” as well as a farm market, was just the beginning of our agriculture education for the night.
Each course was introduced by the ag professional associated with that specific course, e.g. the pork producer shared a few interesting hog facts at the beginning of the pork course. The local wine producer introduced each wine pairing, explaining why he selected a specific wine, identifying the type of grape used, as well as where the grapes were grown.
These local ag professionals were seated at different tables to spark conversation, answer questions, and provide that direct link between the food and the target audience that enjoyed our “down on the farm” dinner throughout the evening.
Our overall goal was two fold: First to raise awareness of agriculture to non-farming individuals by connecting our diners to the origins of their food, and secondly to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House of Akron so that they can provide local individuals and families in need with assistance and services.
In order to ensure the success of this very important fundraiser, we were seeking tax deductible contributions and grants to help defray the costs associated with the event. In turn, this guaranteed that all funds raised from ticket sales went directly to the Ronald McDonald House of Akron.
Over 900 “save the date” postcards were mailed the middle of March and just under 1,500 formal invitations were mailed right after Memorial Day in May enabled us to fill 14 tables of eight to enjoy this culinary adventure. We were thrilled, and honored, to present a check for $5,000.00 to the Ronald McDonald House of Akron’s executive director, Anne Collins, at the conclusion of the dinner.
Chef Johnny Schulze of Zydeco Bistro introduced the culinary delights he prepared from virtually all donated ingredients: e.g., Certified Angus Beef donated the medallion steaks, Pressler’s Meats donated the pork roast, DiFeo’s Poultry donated the chicken, etc… The 40-plus volunteers that worked throughout the evening, as well as the generous donors listed below deserve all the credit for the success of this event.
Summit’s Plow to Chow Donor List
PLEASE SUPPORT THOSE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THIS EVENT!
Silver Donors
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Randy Katz
Katz, Bees, Chickens – OH My!
3869 Royal Rock Road
Copley, Ohio 44321
Facebook.com/KatzBeezChickenz
330/670-0676
Dr. James & Julie Vogt
141 Sharon Woods
Wadsworth, Ohio 44281
330/668-7194
Gold Donors
Dietrich Family Orthodontics
1690 W. Exchange Street
Akron, Ohio 44313
330/864-2101
Graf Growers Garden Center & Farm Market
Graf’s Landscape & Design
1015 White Pond Drive
Akron, Ohio 44320
GrafGrowers.com
330/836-2727
Jeni Hren Gaffney, DVM
The Visiting Vet
1937 N. Cleveland-Massillon Rd
Akron, Ohio 44333
330/665-5915
Barbara Malafarina
Mal Mac Enterprises, Inc.
18070 E. Bagley Road
Middleburg Hts, Ohio 44130
barbara.malafarin [at] partners.mcd.com
440/243/8247
Diamond Donors
Gale Betterly
Lark Lane Embroidery
3824 Faith Hill
Richfield, Ohio 44286
330/315-1233
Peter & Connie Schanz
1814 Center Road
Clinton, Ohio 44216
330/882-6502
Donors of Goods & Services
Carrie Arnold
Grandpa Arnold’s Maple Syrup
1850 Jacoby Road
Copley, Ohio 44321
330/666-1466
Carol & Don Bessemer
Bessemer Farms
1456 Sain Michaels Avenue
Akron, Ohio 44320
330/867-5506
Pat & Richard Boughton
Boughton Farm
2256 Boughton Drive
Akron, Ohio 44320
BoughtonFarm.com
330/864-6102
Donna Cecil & Tim Walsh
2332 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road
Copley, Ohio 44321
330/666-8281
Certified Angus Beef LLC
206 Riffel Road
Wooster, Ohio 44691
CertifiedAngusBeef.com
330/345-2333
Tom Dayton
Dayton Nurseries
3459 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road
Norton, Ohio 44203
DaytonNursery.com
330/825-3320
Bobby Difeo
Difeo’s Poultry
1075 Grant Street
Akron, Ohio 44301
330/564-1355
Natalie & Andrew Hammer
Heartland Beefalo
8358 Manchester Avenue NW
Canal Fulton, Ohio 44614
HeartlandBeefalo.com
330/854-5769
Kerry Kean
Goslee Reed & Kean
1062 Elno Avenue
Kent, Ohio 44240
KerryKean.com
330/678-1990
Toni & Jerry Longville
Y-Not Llamas Farm
3718 Eastern Road
Norton, Ohio 44203
330/658-44333
Miller’s Party Rental Center
869 W. Waterloo Road
Akron, Ohio 44314
MillersParty.com
330/753-9104
Norma Nice
Seiberling Farm
4117 Greenwich Road
Norton, Ohio 44203
SeiberlingFarm.com
330/328-7004
Jim Pearl
Acme #15
3979 Medina Road
Akron, Ohio 44333
Sarah Goslee Reed
Goslee Reed & Kean
102 New Gambier Road
Mt. Vernon, Ohio 43050
SarahGosleeReed.com
740/507-3579
Pressler’s Meats, Inc.
2553 Pressler Road
Akron, Ohio 44312
330/644-5636
Deanna & Andy Troutman
The Winery at Wolf Creek
Troutman Vineyards & Winery
2637 S. Cleve-Masln Road
Norton, Ohio 44203
WineryatWolfCreek.com
TroutmanVineyards.com
330/666-9285
Abbe Turner
Lucky Penny Farm & Creamery
632 Temple Avenue
Kent, Ohio 44240
LuckyPennyFarm.com