Star Report
The first pop-up charity dinner “Farm to Village” Fundraiser will be a unique event as it will shut down Second Street in Solvang on August 3. Santa Ynez Valley-based non-profit Veggie Rescue has paired up with Chef Pink and Courtney Rae DeLongpré of Solvang restaurant, Bacon & Brine to host the event which features a VIP reception followed by dinner, will serve as a fundraiser for the food-initiative non-profit.
“As soon as the idea of this event began to take shape, we jumped at the opportunity to support what we feel is a crucial cause in our community. Veggie Rescue’s mission is completely in line with our own, at Bacon & Brine. We all try to ensure that everyone has access to good, nutritional food,” said Chef Pink (aka Crystal DeLongpré), Bacon & Brine’s co-owner.
Veggie Rescue is a 501(c)(3) organization that redirects or “gleans” local produce from farms, farmers markets, home gardens, and orchards and delivers it to charitable organizations and school lunch programs in Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and Santa Maria, all at no charge to the recipients.
Chef Pink and Courtney Rae will feed the charitable dinner guests with a farm-to-table, three-course meal consisting of both proteins and vegetables – with all produce used in the event menu, to be provided by Veggie Rescue. The dinner will also include local wine pairings, and guests will be entertained by live music from local musician, Bear Erickson.
The ticketed, August 3 “veggie street feast” poses an extremely rare opportunity for guests to dine in the open air, in the middle of one of Solvang’s main thoroughfares: the dinner table set-up will stretch down Second Street, which will be temporarily shut down to through-traffic from the corner of Copenhagen Drive to Molle Way, right in front of Bacon & Brine’s new, full-service restaurant location (1618 Copenhagen Drive, Solvang, CA 93463).
Tickets for the August 3 Veggie Rescue “Farm to Village” Fundraiser are now on sale, at veggie-rescue-bacon-brine-farm-to-village-dinner.eventbrite.com. General dinner admission tickets* run $125 per person, with a VIP level ticket* priced at $145 per person, to include the dinner plus a Rosé Reception featuring rosé wine by a local producer; a pickled treat to go, courtesy of Bacon & Brine; and meet and greet opportunities with the Veggie Rescue team, Chef Pink and Courtney Rae, and the rosé winemaker. VIP admission is at 6 p.m., general admission event entrance starts at 6:30 p.m., and dinner service begins at 7 p.m.. (*All ticket holders/event guests must be 21+, and must be able to present a valid photo ID at the event entrance.)
Donations to Veggie Rescue may be made at www.veggierescue.org/donate, for those who wish to help but are unable to attend the August 3 event.
More information about Veggie Rescue is available at www.veggierescue.org. Event updates are available at facebook.com/events/1728617047411412. Veggie Rescue is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at facebook.com/SYV-Fruit-Vegetable-Rescue-122644164486965, twitter.com/VeggieRescue and instagram.com/veggierescue.
Santa Ynez Valley Fruit & Vegetable Rescue (“Veggie Rescue”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Veggie Rescue collects excess produce from local farms, farmers markets and backyards and distributes it directly to schools and organizations serving those in need, at no cost to the recipient. Their mission is to improve the nutrition and quality of life of community members who are struggling with food security by providing them with healthy, local produce, and to work with farmers to reduce food waste at the beginning of the food cycle.
