2nd Dinner in the Grove - The Event!

The second "Dinners in the Grove" event was held at my farm.  Proceeds of the ticket sales are used to Support the Grow Riverside Conference which will be held on June 11-13th at the Riverside Convention Center.

The event started at 6:30, and there was a gathering under the old pepper tree where we had a bar with Wine from the local Galleano Winery.

and Beer from Heroes Restaurant and Brewery in Downtown Riverside.

Finally,  the wonderful food was prepared by the Chefs at RUSD - Riverside Unified School district.
On a daily basis - they prepare food at their commercial kitchen for 43,000 students and deliver it to 31 schools in the district.     They were led by Rodney Taylor who will also be speaking at the Grow Riverside Conference.

And Finally - Thanks to the Riverside Food Coop, especially Nick who prepared all the signs highlighting the animals that call the farm home.

Here is a picture of Duane and Lana.   Lana is the person who owns the farm and is allowing me to run and manage the orchard and farm.   She's a cowgirl as you can tell from the hat and boots!

Here's a picture of Duane along with John and Dorothy.  They were kicked out of their house because RUSD was using their kitchen and back yard to prepare the food.   The dog is Coco, who usually comes out the visit me every day when I am working there.

Here's some people in the bar area and also a singer who was entertaining the crowd.

City Councilman Mike Gardener speaking about his relationship with Lana and her late husband - Clark.   He helped place the orchard and farm in a covenant which basically protect the farm from development.

Here is a picture of Rodney Taylor speaking about his Farm to Schools program.  They try to buy as much local produce as possible for the school nutrition programs.  There also a picture of the team who prepared and served the food.

Finally - some images of the feast.  Along with pitchers of Sangria, we were served a wonderful salad with citrus dressing,  roasted vegetables, chicken, polenta, and braised shortribs.  The dessert was a chocolate ganache, and lemon tarts topped with fresh berries.     It was wonderful.