Farm to Fork Expands to Three-Day Weekend and Hosts Award-Winning Author Paul Greenberg

Events To Raise Funds for New Farmer Training Programs and Shine Light on Sustainable Fishing and Farming Needs in North Carolina and Nationwide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 31, 2015

RALEIGH, NC: Farm to Fork announced today its expansion from a single event, the Farm to Fork Picnic, into a three-day weekend of events that will take place  June 5 – 7, 2015. The first two events, scheduled for June 5 and 6, will feature James Beard winner and The New York Times best-selling author Paul Greenberg. Sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the weekend proceeds will benefit training programs at the Center for Environmental Systems (CEFS) and the W.C. Breeze Family Farm Extension and Research Center.

“There is an enormous need for new farmers in our country. Our state alone has lost more than 40,000 farms over the last four decades, and it’s not a trend we can afford to ignore,” says Nancy Creamer, professor of sustainable agriculture and community based food systems at North Carolina State University and director of CEFS. “In addition to raising more needed funds, we expanded the event to increase public education and engagement on food systems issues that are important to our communities. We invited Paul because he is an amazing advocate and his efforts to draw attention to issues in the fishing industry have paralleled our effort with CEFS in the farming industry.”

The weekend will kick off with a dinner at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Friday, June 5, featuring five acclaimed North Carolina chefs, including Vivian Howard of Chef and the Farmer in Kinston and the Peabody Award-winning PBS series A Chef’s Life, Chris Coleman of The Asbury in Charlotte, Amy Tornquist from Watts Grocery and Hummingbird Bakery in Durham, and two additional chefs who will be announced in the coming weeks on the website. Greenberg will be the guest of honor at the dinner and speak briefly about the purpose and importance of addressing overfishing and sourcing from our local shores.

On Saturday, June 6, Greenberg will speak at The Rickhouse, in Durham, about the state of the fishing industry, better use of our national resources, and the importance of protecting our waterways, from New York’s rivers to Alaska’s Bristol Bay. After Greenberg speaks, there will be a dynamic panel of half a dozen North Carolina fishing industry experts who will discuss “how we might regain American local seafood.” Following the panel, Greenberg will sign books and there will be a sustainable fish and clam bake prepared by two chefs known for their commitment to local seafood, Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood and James Clark of The Carolina Inn.

The weekend wraps up on Sunday, June 7, with the highly acclaimed Farm to Fork Picnic at Breeze Farm in Hurdle Mills, NC. Since its inception in 2007, the Farm to Fork Picnic has been one of the most anticipated local events and has sold out annually. With more than two dozen restaurants and farms paired together and another two dozen food artisans featured, the Picnic offers an amazing array of local food. In addition, half a dozen craft brewers, wine distributors and coffee producers offer beverages for attendees. The annually sold out event which has been named “The Country’s Best All-You-Can-Eat Feast “ by Bon Appetit, celebrates the integral relationship between local culinary talent and their favorite farmers.

All proceeds from the three weekend events will provide funding for education and new farmer training programs at the Breeze Farm in Hurdle Mills and the CEFS farm in Goldsboro, NC. Last year, the Picnic alone provided more than $35,000 that was split between the two farms.

Tickets will be available at the Farm to Fork website (http://www.farmtoforknc.com/) on Wednesday, April 1. Friday dinner tickets are $165 and include a copy of Greenberg’s American Catch paperback; the tickets to the Saturday evening discussion and meal are $35 without a copy of Greenberg’s book and $45 including the paperback; tickets for the Sunday Picnic are $100 for adults, $50 for ages 13 – 20, and free for children 12 and under; and a discount ticket for all three events is $275 per person. Greenberg’s book will be available for purchase both Friday and Saturday evenings, onsite at each event, through the Farm to Fork book sponsor, Flyleaf Books.

Paul Greenberg is the author of the critically acclaimed and The New York Times best-selling book Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild.  Four Fish won the James Beard Award in 2011 and was the basis for a Time Magazine cover story. His latest book, American Catch, further explores the current state of the American seafood supply and will be released in paperback on June 9, 2015. For additional information, please visit paulgreenberg.org/

The Breeze Farm was donated to NC State University by Colonel Bell Breeze and his family to support sustainable farming systems programming. It conducts an 8-week new farmer training workshop series in January and February and leases land to aspiring farmers and livestock producers. For more information see http://www.orangecountfarms.org/PLANTatBreeze.asp.