Each year, our area’s locally owned and operated restaurant choices become so much grander than the year before.
And each fall,
Local First, a nonprofit devoted to the cultivation and celebration of all things local, invites us to gather and celebrate this bounty at the annual Fork Fest, a food and drink-focused event with plenty of fresh to pass around.
This year, in advance of the event, fans of living local were invited to take the 10x10 Pledge. Participants signed up on Local First’s website, promising they would be spending at least an extra $10 on locally sourced food, either from restaurants or farmers markets.
If they were able to get 1000 locals to pledge to the program, we would see $100,000 invested in our local food system. And they did just that, as 1,035 signed up to take the challenge. This is up from 161 participants last year!
Organizers of the event believe that their number may be closer to 1,200 as reports of people taking the pledge, but not able to figure the inner workings of the site, have written in to share stories.
The math behind this is inspired by a 2008 Kent County study commissioned by Local First, which determined that just a 10 percent shift in our area’s consumer spending toward locally owned businesses would not only create a windfall of $140 million of new economic activity, but would also translate into 1600 new jobs. It is just good business to be hyper-local.
In addition to the chance to sample great food from the more than 30 establishments on hand at Fork Fest, special beverages will be for sale from Brewery Vivant and Vander Mill Cider. There will also be a selection of wines from Art of the Table. Live music under the greenhouse will be provided by The Fauxgrass Quartet.
Admission: $25.