Farm to Table

One of the most exciting parts of the work I did with Florida Local Exchange (FLX) is organizing and hosting farm to table events. The first one I did was no small feat, but I have always been good at events and work well in high-pressure, fast-paced environments, so the events themselves were particularly fun for me.

There are a number of reasons why hosting events is so important. To begin, it provides an opportunity for face-to-face interaction with people who have similar interests. Engagement like this helps individuals network with others, and information can be both shared and exchanged. Hosting events gives businesses visibility, and for me, it also helped me introduce my new food concept to the community I hoped to serve.

In the post you will find descriptions and photos of events I have created, organized, and executed.

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Gainesville/Ocala Chamber of Commerce After Hours

The first event I produced for FLX was a combined Gainesville/Ocala Chamber of Commerce After Hours - the first one ever! Never before and never since, have these two chambers joined their memberships and held a joint after hours event networking event.

My purpose in hosting the event was to let everyone know what FLX was and what I was trying to do with my new company, introduce them to some of my very first farm partners, and serve them delicious local foods and beverages.

Please see photos of the Gainesville/Ocala Chamber of Commerce After Hours below.

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BarbaCuban Style Dinner

One of my favorite events was when FLX partnered with the BarbaCuban to serve local foods, prepared by hand-selected chefs to a small crowd who was lucky enough to experience this incredible dinner. Over 27 local farm partners contributed to the meal and the response was more than encouraging. This dinner helped solidify the "Eat Local" movement and almost all of the guests continued to show their support for the local farmer by purchasing items from the FLX store afterwards.

Below you can see pictures of the set-up and the food that was served.

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Outreach Events

I often had the opportunity to visit someone's home or attend a local event and set up a table, and give a talk about the importance of knowing where your food is sourced from and what it means to support the local farming community. This direct interaction with consumers gave me the chance to share meaningful information, answer their questions or alleviate any concerns, and directly introduce them to some of FLX's products. I believe this face-to-face interaction is so important in creating trust between the producer and the consumer, and I was able to learn more about my customers and what they wanted from a local food business.

Customer Feedback

I am so excited to visit the shop and support them in bringing local produce and goods to Ocala! I learned so much and can't wait to challenge my way of thinking of what I am putting in my body and how to cook a lot of different kinds of fruits and veggies! - Jennifer DiGiugno

Below are photos of a few of the outreach events I did with FLX.

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