For the Miami Valley Today
PIQUA — The fourth annual Piqua Farm-to-Table Dinner will take place on Sunday, Aug. 8, 5-7 p.m., at the community garden found in Pitsenbarger Park. Due to COVID restrictions in 2020, the group did not host a community dinner but instead sold reusable market bags filled with fresh picked garden vegetables, herbs and flowers.
“It was satisfying to see how many bags of locally grown vegetables were sold last summer. With quarantines in place, people were cooking at home more than ever and for some it was a new learning experience. To help inspire them, we included a booklet of recipes specific to the contents of each bag,” said Chairperson Paula Schmiesing.
The threat of COVID still lingers in 2021, so the planning committee has decided to offer a “to-go” dinner this year rather than a community gathering, just to play it safe. The majority of ingredients used to prepare this year’s dinner are locally sourced. In fact, many of the vegetables and herbs are being grown by the committee specifically for this event on plots at the Piqua Community Garden.
The 2021 menu includes roasted jalapeño poppers, fresh baked bread with pesto and compound butter, a garden salad including hand-picked tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers with vinaigrette dressing, herb roasted chicken thigh cooked on an open grill, smashed garlic potatoes, corn on the cob and a brown butter peach cupcake with buttercream frosting. Each meal will be packaged with biodegradable containers and comes with a napkin and utensils making it convenient to enjoy as a picnic while at the park.
Meal tickets can be purchased for $25 each at Readmore’s Hallmark in Piqua, Mainstreet Piqua, Rosebud’s Ranch and Garden in Piqua or online at mainstreetpiqua.com. As in the past, there will also be a hand-crafted stoneware plate that can be purchased in this year’s glaze combination including golds and browns. Plates can be reserved for $30 each, as well as 5-inch stoneware bud vases in various glazes for $10 each. There will be a limited supply of plates and vases at the event ready for pick-up and any orders beyond that supply will be notified when they are ready to be picked-up.
Inaugurated in 2017, this event began with a grant made possible by the Piqua Chapter of the Awesome Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to fund projects to make a positive impact in Piqua and promote its awesomeness. Paula Schmiesing applied for the grant in hopes of heightening awareness of the significance of sourcing local foods to benefit our regional farmers and to help sustain the health and eco-friendliness of our community.
Much gratitude goes to this year’s community sponsors, as well as the event’s co-hosts, Mainstreet Piqua and the Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce. Sponsors National Park Bank, Miami Valley Steel and Rosebud’s Ranch and Garden have allowed this event to become an annual occurrence. Paula Schmiesing shared, “Our sponsors help us cover the expense of growing and sourcing local foods which helps tremendously. Any funds remaining after event expenses are settled are set aside to support the following years event and to fund grants for families in need who can utilize the community garden plots to grow their own food.”
To learn more about this event, please visit our Facebook page: Piqua Community Farm-to-Table Dinner.
