Annual Farm To Table Dinner a celebration of community

Founded on the principle of creating a regenerative, resilient local food system to enhance the environmental and social health of the community, Grow Local Greenwood Lake’s Third Annual Farm To Table Dinner at the Elks Lodge on Tuesday Sept. 16, 2025 was a journey into a gourmet destination that celebrated the intersection of music, art, culture, and cuisine.

Farm to table dinners have taught the value of freshness and flavor from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, the benefits of supporting sustainable agriculture to local economies, the importance of food transparency and traceability, and the deep connection between food, nature, and community through storytelling and mindful eating. For several years now, the collaboration between the Lakeside Farmers Market and the Grow Local Greenwood Lake organization has created one of the most sophisticated and successful community relationships in the Hudson Valley, with the weekly farmers market providing a more public visibility to the grass roots Grow Local initiative that has not only taught residents and visitors about the impact of a community garden but the impact that food waste has upon landfills, contributing as much as 25% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Meanwhile the Lakeside Farmers Market vendors have been the source for the Farm To Table dinner menus. This approach also fosters chef creativity with seasonal menus and highlights a more sustainable and ethical food system.

According to “Fast Food Nation” producer Eric Schlosser and author Michael Pollan, mergers and acquisitions that began during the Reagan administration and accelerated during the pandemic “have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated and sometimes dangerous.” That’s why becoming more familiar with local producers found at farmers markets, and events like the Annual Farm to Table Dinner is important.

The menu was created by Grow Local’s Cuisine Committee that involved chefs from the community and a collaboration among local vendors whom the chefs rely upon for their provisions of seasonally appropriate ingredients:

• Welcome Snack - Chips and Salsa (Source: Hudson Valley Pantry)

• Appetizer - Vegetable Dip Medley with Sourdough Crackers – Baba Ganoush, Pesto Alla Trapanese, Roasted Carrot Dip (Source: Carrots, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic - J&A Farms; Cheese - Edgwick Farm; Nuts – Tierra Farm; Herbs - Camille’s garden; Flour – River Valley Community; Sourdough - Camille’s starter). Chef: Camille Strano.

• Salad: Grilled Fennel Salad (Source: Cherry Tomatoes - J&A Farms; Greens & Fennel – Norwich Meadow Farms; Olive Oil – Warwick Valley Olive Oil; Herbs – Common Ground Community Garden). Chef: Jamie Heller.

• Dinner: Lemon Wheat Berry Grains (Source: Grains – River Valley Community; Dried fruit – CurrantC.com; Kale – J&A Farm); Vegetable Napoleon (Source: Zucchini – J&A Farms; Red Peppers, Butternut Squash – S & SO Produce Farm; Cashews – Tierra Farm; Sweetman’s Farm –Butternut Squash); Pinwheel Herb Chicken (Source: Chicken – Hillery Farms; Spinach – Norwich Meadows Farm; Eggs – Beth’s Eggers; Herbs – Camille’s Garden; Olive Oil – Warwick Valley Olive Oil). Chef: Michael Narciso.

• Dessert: Apple Crumb Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream donated by Noble Pies and Bellvale Creamery.

• Wines: Provided by Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery.

”Sharing a love of the earth and growing our own food is a gift we can give to the next generation,” said Grow Local’s founder, Chad Pilieri. “Today, Grow Local Greenwood Lake offers a variety of programs for the community. The local Scouts and school groups have joined for Planting Workshops, Sweet Potato Digs, and a Spiral Herb Garden planting. We’ve instituted Food Scraps Collection at the Farmers Market, Composting at the Community Garden, and Crop Sharing between fellow gardeners.”

To learn more, log onto GrowLocalGreenwoodLake.org and VillageofGreenwoodLake.gov/lakeside-farmers-market. Both organizations can be found weekly on Saturdays at Winstanley Park on Windermere Avenue in Greenwood Lake, from 9 a.m.to 1 p.m.

Photo credits: Peter Lyons Hall

Photo: a)guests seated Tuscan style diuring dinner

b) student wait staff and runners from schools in Monroe, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick