Although modern society has made many different aspects of it more convenient, all too many people have lost touch with where our food actually comes from.
We place convenience over nutrition, marketing hype over nourishment. Squamish CAN (Climate Action Network) has been making strides the past number of years in bringing knowledge about our climate, environment and food to the forefront of the community. If you’ve been to the Mamquam Elementary School you will have even seen their Edible School Yard that not only teaches children about food but also provides for our Food Bank.
On Saturday Sept. 16, I was excited to join fellow members of our local community in supporting the Squamish CAN at their first annual Farm to Table fundraiser dinner hosted at the Squamish Valley Hops Company farm. As we arrived, music played and people were enjoying lawn games. Long tables with perfectly white linens dressed the tables awaiting its guests for a delectable nine-course feast featuring farms in the Sea to Sky Corridor and created by chef John Ferris from The Collective Kitchen. The pop-up bar was making their signature cocktail, blackberry bramble, with alcohol from our local Gillespie’s Fine Spirits. Cocktail in hand, we headed over to the honey table to soak in the knowledge from “Michi,” (Michalina Hunter) co-owner of Green Bee Honey.
Did you know that it’s female bees that you see collecting pollen from the flowers? Buzzing around the table, and attempting to get their honey back from the jars, were bees she brought to show us from her nearby hives.
Volunteers brought hors d’oeuvre to tie us over: organic sourdough with local wild mushrooms, kale and pecorino pesto and merlot balsamic drizzled on top. The true taste of local fare is unlike anything your taste buds have tried… and this was only the beginning. As the sun started to dip behind the glory of the mountains, we headed to our seats to prepare for the feast.
The food arrived family-style with large serving platters that each group of 6 people would serve themselves and one another. This allowed even the most shy of us to swap names with our new friends and drum up conversation as we ate. Each and every plate was finished off and took some self-control to not lick the juiciness left behind. There wasn’t a meal that didn’t end with people saying, “that was amazing.” For Squamish CAN’s first Farm to Table dinner, it didn’t disappoint, with many excited for next year. This fundraiser was developed to continue to build upon the amazing work the organization has done, in particular the funds will be dedicated to the Mamquam Edible School Yard.
All in all, it was a wonderful chance to come together as a community and get back to our traditions of connection over food and to help one another in creating something our community needs. Squamish might be a small town, but we’re certainly mighty in our contributions.
**Morgan Dunn is a Squamish registered nutritionist. To follow her go to @CoastalActiveNutrition on Instagram.
