Edible Madison’s Fundraiser to support the Madison Parks Foundation

Edible Madison will be hosting a fundraiser for the Madison Parks Foundation on Sunday, October 19at the Primrose Valley Farm in Belleville, Wisconsin from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Edible Madison would like to see the proceeds of the fundraiser go towards the creation of an educational garden in Madison’s new Central Park. The land for this garden has not yet been acquired, however, so the proceeds will remain in a fund for later use.

The fundraiser will consist of a three-course dinner that highlights the local food of the Madison area. It also will bring chefs together from around the city and beyond.

“We’re bringing in chefs from different regions to come to Madison and do an exchange of knowledge,” said Jamie Lamonde, the editor-in-chief of Edible Madison. “We want to create a crosspollination so we can learn from each other.”

Chef Naomi Pomeroy, from Portland, Ore., will work with local Chef Tory Miller to prepare this three-course dinner. Similarly, local bar manager Thor Messer will team up with Kyle Linden Webster, a mixologist from Portland, for a cocktail hour that will take place before the dinner.

Edible Madison is the local branch of the Edible Communities publishing network. It promotes the local food economy by providing information on healthy, local foods in its quarterly publications. It also emphasizes the learning that can occur between its different branches.

“You see food trends across the country that are all related. We are all unique but not separate,” Jamie Lamonde explained.

The collaborative aspects of Edible Madison carry over to the organization they are fundraising for. The Madison Parks Foundation traces its history back to the partnership that arose 120 years ago between those who built the parks and the Madison citizens who supported them with donations. Today, the Parks Foundation continues this tradition with its Renew the Legacy mission.

“Annually, $250 of tax payer money goes to support the parks, but this is still less than $1 per park,” said Stephanie Frankline, the executive director of the Parks Foundation. “There is a great need for fundraising in our parks. Our goal is to instill the legacy that was created 120 years ago so that people can continue to take pride in the parks.”

Tickets for the fundraiser can be purchased at ediblemadison.com/dinnerservice.