We are in the season of “lasts” for the year; last tomatoes, last jimmy nardello peppers, last markets (not until the week of December 13!), last box of peach jam, and more. Last Saturday (the 9th) marked our last farm dinner of the year, putting a celebratory end to our 2024 events. As many of you may know, we are not just a working farm! Our beautiful commercial kitchen moonlights as an event space where we host farm dinners, pizza nights, weddings, tours, and other special occasions.
Saturday was a beautiful fall day in the Capay Valley, blue sky and cool breezes though the temperature was a comfortable 72! The evening brought a chill that reminded us of the upcoming winter. Unlike our large dinners in the warmer months that are hosted on the lawn, the October and November dinners are held on our covered patio as a way to protect from inclement weather and the space and time of year transforms the experience into an intimate dinner party. Guests are cozied up between two long tables, passing platters and getting to know the strangers next to them. Throughout the dinner, I found myself serving winter squash salad and then, without realizing it, talking with guests for much longer than expected. I relish these conversations because I often get a window into all the different ways that Full Belly Farm is intertwined into people’s lives, and at each dinner you can always find an interesting combination of connections:
- Long time CSA members
- New CSA members
- People who attend farm dinners every year and make a point to go to a different month than before
- Friends of guests who attend farm dinners every year
- Farmers market customers
- People who had their wedding at Full Belly
- People whose kids attended summer camp or a field trip
- Never been to the farm and got invited for the first time!
- Someone who has always wanted to come to a farm dinner and finally got a table
In many ways, it does feel like we are hosting a dinner party. Every month, Amon and Jenna graciously open up their home to guests who are hungry to eat exceptional seasonal dishes and deepen their connection with the farm.
Pizza nights also serve as a connection point between all the diverse communities that the farm touches – Capay Valley locals, old farm interns, families from Davis, Sacramento, and Woodland, and even some folks from the Bay Area – who all converge on Friday nights to share a slice (or two) and enjoy a warm summer evening on the lawn.
Our walnut orchard is also busy throughout the year with more than just growing exceptional walnuts! The 60 year old trees serve as a ceremonial site for couples to start their life together.
This year, after a four-year hiatus, we hosted a handful of third grade classes for overnight field trips. It was wonderful to have young minds back to experience everything the farm has to offer, while giving us a new perspective of this wonderful place. Students fed lambs, picked carrots and green garlic, packed CSA boxes, and slept under the stars in the campground.
Thank you to everyone who attended one of our events this year. We know it’s a far drive for many of you, and your dedication to showing up, valuing good food, good farming and deepening your relationship with agriculture does not go unnoticed.
A note on event registrations:
We will be announcing the dates for Farm Dinners and Pizza Nights in early 2025 in this newsletter, on social media and via our events email newsletter.
You can sign up for our main newsletter on our website (the bottom of this page) and can sign up for our events email newsletter here.
Alexa McCarthy, Events Manager
