Summit’s 2015 Plow 2 Chow Exceeds All Expectations

Summit County Farm Bureau hosted Summit’s Plow 2 Chow, an exquisite outdoor dining experience benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Akron on Thursday, July 16, 2015 at Dayton Nurseries in Norton.

Lovely table settings set the tone for the SCFB Plow 2 Chow event

Arriving guests were welcomed to the property and shown to the Owl Barn, which features the area’s first living green roof, where they began a guided tour, complete with a wagon ride throughout the nursery grounds, blueberry patch and the Wolf Creek Botanical Garden, while enjoying a glass of wine and appetizers.

Guests were seated at formal dinner tables, placed throughout the 3,000 square foot retractable roof greenhouse, for a six course gourmet meal of almost all local ingredients, prepared by Chef Johnny Schulze of Zydeco Bistro, and local wine pairings, provided by Andy Troutman from The Winery at Wolf Creek.

Clean and healthy water and water conservation are concerns that grace the front pages of many local newspapers, and is an issue that Dayton Nurseries has taken very seriously. Tom Dayton explained that the Owl Barn’s green roof reduces runoff as it absorbs rainfall, keeping the building noticeably cooler and tends to last longer than a traditional roof.

He escorted his guests to one of the greenhouses where he presented the ebb and flow bench, a system in which water floods the bench while pots of plants absorb water through the drainage holes in the pots via capillary action. He further explained that the water then drains into a 1500 gallon storage tank to be used over and over again, which means less waste of valuable ground water supplies and the prevention of water with dissolved nutrients running off the land. Tom explained that the rain water is captured through a system of channels and aqueducts throughout the property as he directed guests to the wagon for their ride throughout the grounds.

Close up of SCFB Plow 2 Chow dinner plate

Summit’s Plow 2 Chow was able to raise awareness of agriculture to non-farming individuals by connecting the diners to the origins of their food. Each course was introduced by the ag-professional, i.e. the fruit grower introduced the summer fresh berry salad, the hydroponic farmer introduced the hickory smoked pulled pork and barley vegetable risotto, the organic farmer introduced the roasted beef tenderloin, and the beekeeper/herb farmer introduced the praline bread pudding.

These local ag professionals not only introduced the course but also shared interesting ag facts, and encouraged all to “buy local,” as well as sat at different tables to spark conversation, answer questions, and provide that direct link between the food and the target audience that enjoyed our “food link” dinner throughout the evening.

This year’s event, Summit’s Plow 2 Chow, exceeded last year’s inaugural “dinner on the farm”. Therefore, Summit County Farm Bureau was able to raise enough funds to cover the costs associated with the event, as well as meet their goal of filling all 15 tables, 120 seats, and finally, was able to present a check for $6,000.00 to the Ronald McDonald House of Akron, at the end of the beautiful evening.

The Summit’s Plow 2 Chow committee wishes to thank the many many volunteers that worked tirelessly throughout the event, the speakers that took time out of their busy schedules to share their knowledge with the 120 guests, the guests who supported the event with their presence, and the donors that made the gift to the Ronald McDonald House of Akron possible.

Summit’s Plow 2 Chow Donor List
PLEASE SUPPORT THOSE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THIS EVENT!

Silver Donors

Janice Graf
Graf Growers Garden Center & Farm Market
Graf’s Landscape & Design
1015 White Pond Drive
Akron, Ohio 44320
GrafGrowers.com
330-836-2727

Randall Jones
Jones Roll Off Containers Inc.
927 W. Nimisila Road
Akron, Ohio 44319
JonesDumpsters.com
330-882-5099

Thomas Pressler
Pressler’s Meats, Inc.
2553 Pressler Road
Akron, Ohio 44312
330-644-5636

Gold Donors

Donna M. Cecil
2332 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road
Copley, Ohio 44321
33o-666-8281

Glen & Joellen Hoffman
H & H Farm
4162 Wadsworth Road
Norton, Ohio 44203
HandHFarm.com
330-334-1325

Randy Katz
Katz, Chickenz, Beez – Oh My!
3869 Royal Rock Road
Copley, Ohio 44321
Facebook.com/KatzBeezChickenz
330-670-0676

Ron & Rose Kuner
Kuners Fruit Farm
5425 S. Arlington Road
Clinton, Ohio 44216
330-896-1391

Slobodan Pavlovic
Pavlovic Landscape
4562 East Boston Road
Brecksville, Ohio 44141
440-717-1789

Seiberling Farm
4117 Greenwich Road
Norton, Ohio 44203
SeiberlingFarm.com
330-328-7004

Diamond Donors

The Richard & Alita Rogers Family Foundation
538 Woodside Drive
Akron, Ohio 44303
330-836-0517

Donors of Goods & Services