A new event on April 24th in Geneva will highlight the culinary offerings of the Finger Lakes and draw attention to food insecurity in the community. Chef Samantha Buyskes is with Three Brothers Winery, which operates the restaurant HJ Stead Company on Linden Street in downtown Geneva. She’s organizing FEAST in the Heart of the Finger Lakes.
“With my previous restaurants I have always been involved with Taste of the Nation, which is part of Share Our Strength in Ithaca, which has always been a very successful fundraising event for supporting the FoodBank of the Southern Tier and food pantries sort of in that direction of the region. And having been a part of that,I know what it is bring people together in that way, and so really borrowing from that idea.”
FEAST in the Heart of the Finger Lakes is a tasting benefit featuring 20 chefs from around the Finger Lakes. It benefits Foodlink the food bank serving the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley regions of New York. Their member agency, the Geneva Food Pantry, is right across from The Cracker Factory, which is hosting the benefit. The name of the event, FEAST, is an acronym for Feeding Everyone Around Shared Tables, which speaks to the community nature of the event.
“I think in a region like like this we're very lucky where people think about what it is to be a part of a community and think about how to give back and how to create that access. More and more we see that and I think that's a really beautiful beautiful thing about about where we live.”
In addition the chefs and their food, FEAST in the Heart of the Finger Lakes will feature live music. General admission tickets are available as well as VIP tickets, which include a pre-event reception. More information is at foodlinkNY.org.
