Farm to Table event raises money for local charities
Carl Field of Johnny's Garden Juice Bar serves a Sunset Smoothie to the crowd attending last year's Farm to Table event at Sumter County Civic Center. The event is sponsored by Sumter Rotary Club and features vendors and locally grown food.
SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO
Skylar Bennett-Scott, 6, helps serve banana pudding at National Health Care's booth at last year's Sumter Rotary Club's Farm to Table night.
SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO
Posted Sunday, March 12, 2017 6:00 am
BY BRUCE MILLS
Numerous local vendors are donating goods and services for the fourth-annual Farm to Table event to help Sumter Rotary Club raise money for local charities.
You'll be able to sample entree items from shrimp and grits to red pigeon stew and side dishes from pickled watermelon rinds on crackers with pimento cheese to collard green soup at various booths from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Sumter County Civic Center.
Tickets are $30 in advance or $40 at the door and will allow you to feast on your choice of entrees, side dishes, desserts - including banana pudding - and beverages. Johnny's Garden Juice Bar will once again serve smoothie samples.
Restaurants, catering companies and specialty food stores will combine efforts to prepare the food to help support the club.
"With various new vendors, we have more vendors than ever before, and we've had to actually turn some away," said Jeannie Crotts, special projects coordinator for the club. "There has been a lot of interest, and lots of tickets have been sold already."
One new vendor, Doolallies, has donated a farm table that will be raffled off during the event, according to Crotts.
All proceeds raised at the event will provide money for Sumter United Ministries, 4-H, the CART Fund and Operation Warm Heart fund at Shaw Air Force Base.
Also new this year, the club has gotten some of the charities involved in helping sell the tickets, Crotts said.
Of note, the CART Fund originated with the club. CART, which stands for Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust, was launched in 1996 by Sumter Rotarians who wanted to prove that if Rotarians emptied their pockets and purses of change into a bucket each week, they could collect a large amount of money to go toward Alzheimer's disease research.
After successfully kicking off the campaign locally, the fund has spread throughout the Southeast and as of last May had provided $5.8 million for 34 research projects.
Operation Warm Heart fund provides money to help Shaw airmen who need to travel home in case of a tragedy or during the holidays, according to Crotts.
Crotts is expecting this year's event to be the largest yet, based on the fact that more tickets have been sold than ever before. She's expecting 700 or more people.
In recent years, the Farm to Table event has raised about $15,000 for the local charities.
"We're hoping to exceed that this year, and I believe we will," Crotts said. "I think it's going to be a great event. It's for a great cause and has a lot of community interest and participation. You don't want to miss it."
If you would like to buy advance tickets for $30 each, you can do so at several locations including The Sumter Item, Southern States, Galloway and Moseley Jewelers, The Farm Store, Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce or from any Sumter Rotary Club member.