Batavians to feature local foods at farm-to-table community dinner

Some Batavians want the community to break bread - local bread - at a summertime dinner focusing on foods produced nearby.

They are planning a "farm-to-table" meal for 5 p.m. Aug. 7, on tables set up on North River Street.

Planning is in the initial stages.

It started when a friend posted a photo and link to a Grit story to one of Batavia Alderman Marty Callahan's Facebook pages Feb. 2.

It showed people gathered at a dinner down a long table on Main Street in Jonesborough, Tenn.

"The response was kind of 'Wow, yeah, we want to do that,'" Callahan said.

He helped set up an initial organizing meeting, but is not in charge, he said.

"Once we set a date and a time, it kind of blew up," Callahan said.

So far, the Facebook page for the Batavia event indicates 61 people plan to attend, and 255 others are interested.

The menu has not been set, but it will likely feature seasonal items, Callahan said. Ticket prices have not been determined.

The committee wanted to do it a day earlier, but the restaurant chefs interested in cooking said they preferred to avoid doing it on one of their busiest nights.

It will also coincide with National Farmers Market Week. Callahan said the committee wants to get most of the food from the vendors who sell at the weekly Batavia Farmers Market.

"That helps local businesses," he said.

The market takes place on Saturdays.

In the summer and fall, it is outside on North River; in the winter and spring, it is inside Gaetano's restaurant, at River and Wilson streets.

The committee has created a Facebook page for the "Farm to Table Dinner," where people can keep up with the effort.