"What the Heck is" introduces you to Vancouver organizations and causes you might not have yet heard about, written from an insider's point of view by people working within them. View the archive HERE.
Words: Jess Robson
Here in Vancouver, there's a buzz in the air around all things local. The city has a real gem of a locally-focused food community already uniting; one that cares about where things come from, how they get to us and how they will nourish our bodies. With the conversation already rolling and community already growing, why not bring 100 people around a really, really long table to take it to the next level?
Enter FARMACIE: a night of nourishing connections.
Two connection minded friends, Brit Gill and Jen Savory, met through a shared internship experience at imagine1day. Both proponents of activating a community to create positive change for themselves and those around them, they found themselves looking to collaborate on something—something big. Bringing together Brit's passion for education on sustainable food systems and Jen's love of creating community experiences that bring people together, the concept of a long table dinner focused on local food system education developed organically (pardon the pun).
The name came shortly after. If you bring together the concept of bringing food directly from the farm (and informing people where it's from) and the idea of healing food systems (and creating this space as the place to get what you need to heal it) you get FARMACIE.
With education around local food systems being a focus, the venue each dinner is held at is as important as the meal the chefs develop and serve. The first long-table dinner was held at UBC Farm in August 2013. The goal with choosing the farm was as much to create a beautiful backdrop for the night as it was to showcase their mission and the programming they offer. For most diners, it was their first experience at UBC Farm, uncovering a local, hyper-accessible gem of a venue for educational classes and seminars year round. For the upcoming Farmacie 2.0, the dinner is taking over Quest Food Exchange - a downtown east side not-for-profit grocery aimed at reducing hunger with dignity.
Each Farmacie event is dedicated to contributing to a local charity to keep the 'giving-wheel' rolling. Primarily launched as a 'creatribution' in fundraising for imagine1day, the team behind the event wants to spread the wealth and contribute to other local organizations. This time around, all proceeds from the event will go to benefit Quest Outreach Society and Backpack Buddies, two locally based not-for-profits up to some serious good.
Come and consume with us [this Friday, Jan 31, 2014]. Farmacie 2.0 is guaranteed to be a night of education, conversation, connection, laughs and a whole lotta great eats.
