2024 Community Table Dinner Raises $22K for Our Town Rocks & The Living Well
For Immediate Release: November 21st, 2024
Contact: Chelsea Race, Director of Marketing
(315) 536-3111 | chelsea@yatesny.com
2024 Community Table Dinner Raises $22K for Our Town Rocks & The Living Well
The Community Table Dinner takes place the first Saturday of September each year, where hundreds gather over a communal farm-to-table meal to raise funds for a different local charity in Yates County. While the dinner is typically held on the Main Street Bridge in Penn Yan, this is the second year where less than ideal weather moved the event to a rain location. The Chubb Hollow Event Center in Dundee, a new special event venue in the Finger Lakes, hosted the dinner. While it wasn’t the highly anticipated al fresco dining experience on beautiful Main Street in Penn Yan many have come to love, the venue provided a lovely, comfortable, and large enough space for the event!
The concept was intitially started in 2019, making this the 4th Annual Community Table Dinner. This year’s chosen beneficiary, was shared by two local organizations, The Living Well in Penn Yan and Our Town Rocks in Dundee. Both are making important strides to address food insecurity in Yates County, assisting day after day with the area’s more vulnerable populations, which was an important factor for the planning committee when reviewing the beneficiary applications. Each organization received $11,000 to assist in their continued efforts to enhance Yates County communities during a check presentation in late October at Burnt Rose Wine Bar in Penn Yan.
“What an incredible experience it has been to be part of the 2024 Community Table. Of course as a benefactor, but truly being part of the entire experience. Our Town Rocks next steps are to share the proceeds with our Community Table Dinner partners,” said Caryl Sutterby, Coordinator for Our Town Rocks. “To others who are thinking about applying to become a benefactor next year but are concerned your group is too small...think community collaboration,” she also commented. Those parters include Team Charlie, Dundee Food Pantry, Dundee United Fund, Dundee Rotary, and Dundee Fresh Grocery that will share the benefits from the fundraiser.
“Being in a room full of people who wanted to support the work of The Well and Our Town Rocks left me with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude,” Sandi Perl, Executive Director of The Living Well commented
For more information on how you can support the Living Well or Our Town Rocks, visit their websites at https://thelivingwellmission.org and https://ourtownrocks.org.
The event and fundraising efforts are only successful with the help from many volunteers from the benefitting organizations, community volunteers, the culinary team, members of the planning committee, and major sponsors and donors.
Chef Chet Thompson of 18th Amendment & Burnt Rose Wine Bar worked alongside Ben Comstock of True Roots Kitchen and Catering from the early planning stages to the night of the event. They were joined by a dynamic team of other local culinary talent to help execute and create the impeccable five-course meal, including: Peter & Maeve Chapman of Smokin’ Petes BBQ, Greg & Lily Deforest-Campbell of 1897 Beekman House Bed and Breakfast, Natalie Travis of Outlet 111, Imelda Reinhardt of Sans Dumplings, Megan Neu of Meg’s Sweet Treats Boutique, Gomer Hicks of Parker’s Grille & Taphouse, and Rose Curry of 18th Amendment & Burnt Rose Wine Bar.
Many thanks are in order to the generous sponsors who help make the event possible. The Presenting Sponsor for the 2024 Community Table Dinner is the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes (Keuka Area Fund). Other sponsors include Lakeview Organic Grain, Stork Insurance, Water Street Pharmacy, and Village Drug.
The following local businesses played an integral role in their donations to help bring the local culinary experience to life: Bedient Farms, Big Mamou Organic Farm, Sweet Farm, The Birkett Mills, Lakeview Organic Grain, Bejo Seeds, Jacres Farm, JFS Curtze, Labarr Farms, Apple Barrel Orchards, Finger Lakes Wine Alliance, Scout Vineyards, Fox Run Vineyards, Keuka Spring Vineyards, Bravery Wines, Anthony Road Wine Company, Fulkerson Winery, Upstate Brewing, Seneca Stag Brewing, and Staving Artist Woodwork.
The Community Table Dinner Planning Committee that meets throughout the year plays an important role to help plan and prepare for the big event. The 2024 Committee consisted of the Yates County Chamber of Commerce team, Mike Lipari of the Finger Lakes Economic Development Center, Chet Thompson and Rose Curry of 18th Amendment and Burnt Rose Wine Bar, Dan Mitchell of Staving Artist Woodwork, Dawn Shipman of Payroll Vault, Lucy Stork of Folk Bottle, and Mary-Howell Martens of Lakeview Organic Grain.
The 2025 Community Table is set for Saturday, September 6th. For more details on the event, visit The Yates County Chamber of Commerce website at www.yatesny.com.
