Locally grown foods fill the menu

Published 11:56 pm Friday, August 29, 2014

Chef Scott Peacock, left, will prepare a brunch for guest during Sunday’s farm tour, an event Paul Wilkerson, right, and other members of the Blackbelt Benefit Group have organized to raise awareness of sustainable, locally grown foods. (Jay Sowers | Times-Journal)

Chef Scott Peacock, left, will prepare a brunch for guest during Sunday’s farm tour, an event Paul Wilkerson, right, and other members of the Blackbelt Benefit Group have organized to raise awareness of sustainable, locally grown foods. (Jay Sowers | Times-Journal)

Two days of events aimed at educating the public about locally grown food, while raising money for a community garden are ready to kickoff Sunday.

“It’s probably the biggest event we’ve put on yet,” said Blackbelt Benefit Group member Paul Wilkerson, one of the event’s organizers. “We’re pumped for it to get here, and we’ve had a lot of interest from the community about this event. People have really come out of the work to help us get this together.”

The Blackbelt Benefit Group will host a tour of Spencer Farms, 796 County Road 201 in Marion Junction Saturday, which will feature a brunch prepared by chefs Scott Peacock and Billy Kistler.

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Sunday, the group is hosting a sold out ‘A Seat at the Table — Farm to Feast’ dinner, featuring comments by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia, who will talk about modern sustainability.

Following the dinner, Southern musician Col. Bruce Hampton will perform at Selma’s historic Walton Theater.

Tickets for Saturday’s tour and brunch are $50, and all proceeds benefit the Grow Selma community garden in Selma.

While Monday’s dinner is sold out, tickets for the concert can still be purchased for $10 beforehand at blackbeltbenefitgroup.org, or $15 the day of the show.

Peacock, a James Beard Award winning chef, said Saturday’s brunch will showcase a variety of crops grown throughout the Black Belt.

“It will be the simplest things,” Peacock said. “It’s a strong contrast from Friday’s meal. This meal will be all about the ingredients with as little manipulation as possible.”

Peacock said the meal would include baked omelet, tomato and split pea salad.

He said tables would be set up so people can interact with each other and discuss the variety of fruits and vegetables grown throughout the region.

“It will be family style, people will be forced to interact with each other,” Peacock said. “My dream is that people will be discussing the differences in flavors at the table with people they never met before.”