Today the Toyota Farm to Table Tour announced the line-up of Baton Rouge area chefs who will be treating visitors at The Red Stick Farmers Market on August 28 with bite-sized complimentary treats featuring farm-fresh ingredients as part of this year’s national summer tour. The Tour, which has visited 11 farmers markets across the country, will hold its final event in Baton Rouge. The Farm to Table Tour returns this year to The Red Stick Farmers Market after a successful visit during the 2009 nationwide tour to showcase the connection between farmers, chefs, farmers markets and the communities they serve, and give market shoppers the opportunity to experience Toyota’s hybrid vehicles.
At each stop on the tour, up to 12 of the area’s top chefs and farmers will be paired together to highlight the best of each market’s fresh offerings. The chefs will prepare bite-sized tastings for visitors to sample that highlight their partner farm’s ingredients while guests will have the opportunity to learn more about each market, the specialty farmers, the notable chefs, and ways to eat and shop more locally.
Toyota Farm to Table Tour Visits The Red Stick Farmers Market – August 28, 2010
The Toyota Farm to Table Tour will be at The Red Stick Farmers Market in downtown Baton Rouge on August 28 from 8:00 a.m. – 12 p.m. The Red Stick Farmers Market is produced by the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance (BREADA) and offers local produce to the community and a sustainable livelihood for small Louisiana farmers.
“The Toyota Farm to Table is a great opportunity for the Baton Rouge community to experience Louisiana’s rich local food culture hands on,” said Copper Alvarez, BREADA Executive Director. “Buying from local food sources means getting the freshest food available and supporting the local economy. We are proud to host this event and pair our local farmers with talented chefs to offer our visitors a taste of how delicious eating local can be.”
The Red Stick Farmers Market will feature nine noted and award-winning local chefs, including:
Terry McDonner of Juban’s
Don Bergeron of Don Bergeron Enterprises
Jaime Hernandez of The Bluffs Country Club
Peter Sclafani of Ruffino’s Restaurant
Eric Arceneaux of City Club
Frederick H. Nonato of Tsunami Sushi
Chris Motto of Mansurs on the Boulevard
The final chef line-up will be released closer to the event at www.farmtotabletour.com.
Guests will have the opportunity to select complimentary potted culinary herbs from the Highlander Hybrid Mobile Garden as well as enter for a chance to win a culinary trip to Santa Barbara for a special cooking and farmers market tour. At the Highlander Hybrid Mobile Garden, a Mobile Garden Herb Specialist will be on-hand to pot the plants for visitors and answer general questions about gardening. All herb plants are sourced from local vendors at the market.
Market visitors will also have the chance to take a ride in a 2010 Prius, Highlander Hybrid, Camry Hybrid or the Prius Plug-in Hybrid set to launch in 2012 and take home a John Boos cutting board as a memento of the experience. In support of all the benefits the markets offer their communities, Toyota will also make a financial donation to the market. Throughout the tour Toyota has committed to using eco-friendly materials and will be purchasing carbon credits through TerraPass to offset the impact of the tour’s carbon footprint.
“The Toyota Farm to Table Tour was created to celebrate farmers markets and the benefits they offer their communities while also showcasing Toyota’s extensive line of hybrid, fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles that give consumers options to choose a vehicle that complements their lifestyles,” said Keith Dahl, Toyota National Manager of Engagement Marketing. “Now in its second year, the tour provides Toyota the opportunity to connect with people who have made lifestyle choices such as driving hybrid vehicles, eating locally-grown food and shopping at farmers markets, while also providing the opportunity to directly give back to the communities where our customers live.”
New to the tour this year, in a further effort to support famers markets across the entire country, Toyota is also providing financial support to the Farmers Market Coalition, a national non-profit dedicated to strengthening farmers markets that serve as community assets while providing real income opportunities for farmers.
The 2010 Toyota Farm to Table Tour runs from July 10 to August 28 and is visiting the following farmers markets:
The City Market – Kansas City, MO – Saturday, July 10
The Little Rock Farmers’ Market – Little Rock, AR – Saturday, July 17
The Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market – Raleigh, NC – Wednesday, July 21
The Pepper Place Saturday Market – Birmingham, AL– Saturday, July 24
FRESHFARM Market, by the White House – Washington D.C. – Thursday, July 29
Market Square Farmers Market – Pittsburgh, PA – Thursday, August 5
The Chattanooga Market – Chattanooga, TN – Sunday, August 8
Rochester Downtown Farmers Market – Rochester, MN – Saturday, August 14
The Farmers Market Annex – Minneapolis, MN – Sunday, August 15
The Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers Market – Salt Lake City, UT– Saturday, August 21
The Red Stick Farmers Market – Baton Rouge, LA – Saturday, August 28
To learn more about the Tour, visit www.farmtotabletour.com.
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About the Red Stick Farmers Market
The Red Stick Farmers Market produced by the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance (BREADA), first opened in 1996 in order to create a link between locally owned family farms and food businesses in the Baton Rouge area. The Red Stick Farmers Market is open every Saturday morning from 8:00- noon but with a growing demand for local foods, BREADA operates 2 additional Mid Week Markets on both Tuesday and Thursdays in outlying areas of Baton Rouge. BREADA works with communities across Louisiana through the Buy Fresh-Buy Local campaign to involve consumers in the revitalization of the local food system.
For more about the Red Stick Farmers Market and BREADA, visit www.redstickfarmersmarket.org
