Eat Local Now! draws local-hungry crowd

On March 30th, 2006 BALLE Seattle and Sustainable Ballard pulled off Seattle's largest local foods dinner to-date.

We knew this city has an appetite, but we had no idea how big it would be for a dinner with a purpose. Over 240 people converged on the Odd Fellows Hall in Ballard to enjoy local and seasonal food prepared by chefs from our backyard. The event was possible thanks to the generous contributions from 39 different farms, CSAs and local businesses, many of whom joined us at the event. See the list of supporters below. Besides being an event designed to educate people about the importance of supporting their local agriculture, we also attempted to demonstrate how to minimize waste. Because of a generous donation of dishwasher safe, 100% recycled plates and utensils from Preserve Tableware and our innovative "scrape & take" program we ended the event with only ONE bag of garbage! That is only one regular sized bag of garbage for an event that fed 240 people. We also sent the equivalent of two garbage cans of food waste to the fine folks at Cedar Grove Composting. Your leftovers are now feeding someone begonias. Because we love them so much, we need to list ever single one of those supporters for the record. In no particular order, here is the list of supporting businesses & nonprofits. * Thundering Hooves * Marra Farms * Pioneer Organics * Full Circle Farm * Boistfort Valley Farm * Stumbling Goat Bistro * Patty Pan Grill * Chaco Canyon * Pian Pianino * Taylor Shellfish * FV St. Jude * ACMA Orchard * Tiny's Organic * Tall Grass Bakery * Williamson Farms * Nature's Last Stand * Homegrown Edibles Nursery & Farm * Sidhu Farm * Small Potatoes Urban Delivery * Anselmo Organic Farm * Waldo's Fish * Flying Apron Organic Bakery * Cupcake Royale * Mighty-O Donuts * Get Distilled * Café Humana * Choice Organic Teas * Jones Organics * Talking Rain * Cedar Grove Composting * Preserve Tableware * Biodegradable Food Service, LLC * Ballard Brothers Burgers & Seafood * Ballard Market * Le Gourmand Restaurant * Opperman Design * Crown Hill Chiropractic * Cascade Harvest Coalition * Sustainable Seattle We'll see you all next year!