@@http://www.biteofeugene.com/@@This past Friday, Eugene celebrated the fourth annual American Family Insurance Bite of Eugene at Alton Baker Park.
The Bite of Eugene is a festival put on by Eugene Magazine and sponsored by American Family Insurance that showcases food and dessert vendors local to Eugene. In addition to bringing attention to Eugene’s food scene, the event raised money for Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, a community nonprofit that connects farmers and consumers in Lane County.
“A big part of the economy in Eugene is our food scene,” said Lindsey Ferguson, sales and marketing director for Eugene Magazine. “This event helps expose all the different people in Eugene to the different restaurants. They can come try a bite of their food for a small price, so it’s a way to help support the food community in Eugene.” A variety of local vendors attended the event this year, including Lochmead Farms, Red Agave Restaurant and Cantina, Delacata, Wild Duck Cafe and Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss.
“There are a lot of people that get into a rut with their eating,” said Stuart Phillips, owner of Red Wagon Creamery. “This lets them sample things from artisan ice cream to fried catfish that they maybe would never otherwise have found.”
In addition to exposure of local businesses, the vendors were excited about the beneficiaries of the event. Owner of Cornbread Café, Sheree Walters, thought raising money for Willamette Farm and Food Coalition was the most important aspect of the event.
The event’s title sponsor, American Family Insurance, pledged $3,000 to the coalition, and matched donations at the door up to an additional $5,000.
Willamette Farm and Food Coalition focuses on creating easy accessibility of local food for consumers.
“We work as a matchmaker, a benevolent broker,” said Lynne Fessenden, the director of Willamette Farm and Food Coalition. “We help you find the farmer you need, whether you are a household, a restaurant chef or a school kitchen.”
In addition to this, the coalition provides programs for elementary school students to practice gardening and cooking, and hopes to establish an understanding at a young age of where food comes from.
Fessenden was particularly excited for the Iron Chef competition, in which the winner will travel to compete at the Bite of Oregon later this summer. Fessenden showed off her earrings made of Heirloom Dry Beans and said, “this year’s secret ingredient in the Iron Chef competition.” The beans are local of course, from Eugene’s Lonesome Whistle Farm.
“We like to make it really easy for people to find local food,” said Fessenden. “It’s good for the consumer, and it’s good for the farmer because everybody loves food.”