My Farm, Your Table returns to downtown Ritzville

Local producers will take center stage at the second annual My Farm, Your Table event on Saturday, Sept. 29, in downtown Ritzville.

Residents are invited to attend the afternoon event to discuss area crops with producers, as well as attend a taste-testing event in the evening, which will highlight area products.

The event is provided in partnership by Lincoln-Adams Washington State University (WSU) Extension Office and the East Adams Library District (EALD).

My Farm, Your Tables moves to Broadway Avenue in front of the Legion Hall, beginning at 1 p.m. Producers will be outdoors to discuss their crops, and there will also be short demonstrations by Master Food Preserver Alice Weber.

Throughout the afternoon, there will be activities for children and adults alike, highlighted by a scavenger hunt. The hunt will include finding booths, as well as asking questions in order to complete the task.

All individuals who complete the scavenger hunt will be entered to win a door prize.

Last year’s event featured three presentations, and event coordinator Dusti Kissler said they still wanted to offer a presentation on a controversial subject. At 3 p.m., Mark Heistuman will present outside of the Legion Hall on “Antibiotics, Vaccines and Hormones, Oh My! Myths About Raising Livestock.”

Vendors at the event this year include booths about hummus, Food Sense, Washington Association of Wheat Growers, dairy and Rocky Coulee Brewing. There will also be a produce stand, with fresh produce available for purchase.

The meet and greet in the street will conclude around 4 p.m. when vendors contributing to the meal will then transition their booths to the inside of the Legion Hall.

At 5 p.m., attendees are invited to taste test local products while being given a short overview about each of the appetizers provided. The meal is being prepared by Dawn Nelson from Creston, who is the author of Family Tree Recipes.

Her cookbooks will be available for purchase at the event, and Nelson will provide a description of each appetizer and for meat products, will describe which part of the animal the food came from.

Products donated to the meal include pork, lamb, beef, potatoes, apples, flour and milk. The producers who are present during the meal will also be available to answer questions about their donated products.

The meat products donated were all grown in the area. The pork is from a hog purchased at the Wheat Land Communities’ Fair Junior Livestock Auction by Representatives Mary Dye and Joe Schmick, and Senator Mark Schoesler.

The lamb meat is donated by Curtis and Julie Templin of Paha Creek Farms, while the beef will be supplied through donation from Gary and Chris Cook. All of the donated meat was processed at a USDA facility.

For the meal, Nelson will pick the cuts of meat she would like to utilize and prepare a wide variety of taste-testing options for those in attendance.

Any leftover pork will be donated to the H.E. Gritman Senior Center, while the remaining beef and lamb will be returned to the donors.

Those individuals who want to participate and try the food prepared for taste-testing must purchase a meal ticket. Tickets are $5, and are available in advance from WSU Extension or EALD. Tickets can also be purchased at the event.

For those individuals purchasing a ticket at the WSU Extension office, only cash and checks will be accepted and exact payments must be made.

For more information regarding the event, visit the My Farm, Your Table event page on Facebook.