Farm-to-table event to spotlight local agriculture

Leadership Cape, an annual program offered by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, has seen many proposed projects become reality. Cape Splash, the dog park in Kiwanis Park and Discovery Playhouse all were its own ideas. Add to that now a farm-to-table event, the brainchild of Leadership Cape's class of 2016.

The Southeast Missourian recently reported Leadership Cape is "designed to help local professionals build leadership skills and discover what Cape Girardeau has to offer." This current project, from a team called The River City Builders, is intended to generate interest in downtown Cape while shining a spotlight on local agriculture.

This is an excellent way to support healthy eating habits with food grown right here in our area and to take pride in what we have to offer. We can feed our families and fellowship with our friends from our own gardens and resources.

"The River City Builders created a stylized menu of locally sourced produce and meats, incorporating a variety of businesses" to put its seal on this project. But according to one member of the team, Janet Jansen, the idea initially was a simple one: to bring local people together. "I'm from Leopold," she said, "and we have community picnics, where people bring food from their garden." That was the plan, but it is growing into something larger, as Old Town Cape has jumped on board to partner with the team to get the wheels moving. Though details are still in the works, the two groups are committed to bringing the program to fruition, said Katie Amrhein, Old Town Cape's marketing and events coordinator.

Details, such as the menu, date and fundraising, will be released as they become finalized.

"It'll happen sometime in the next year, whether it will be this market season or the 2017 season," Amrhein said.

We look forward to this farm-to-table idea taking shape, drawing visitors to the Cape area and promoting healthy eating from our own backyards.