New Harvest Club For Stanford & Surrounds FROM FARMERS & FOODIES TO FAMILIES

By: Melissa Mc Alpine

Just as many hands make light work, many minds come up with better and more creative ideas and solutions. And that is exactly what Robynn De Klerk had in mind, some time ago already, when she first envisioned starting her own food club one day, where likeminded people interested in organically grown and harvested produce can get together to discuss, share, learn and find solutions to common issues. What happened next surpassed Robynn’s wildest expectations because her vision took off the minute she started to share her ideas with others, and there was no turning back from there.

The first Harvest Club event, held on Tuesday 28 March at the very appropriately named venue, ‘The Harvest Fork & Farm Restaurant’, was well attended by around 70 people; far more than the anticipated 10 to 15 that Robynn was initially expecting. Much to the amusement of the audience in the room, Robynn openly professed: “I’m not a farmer, in fact I’m not much of a foodie either. But what I am is an organizer and entrepreneur wanting to collaborate with others and help small local farms become successful.”

Robynn’s passion shone through as she went on to share her thoughts and plans for the new community food club she’s initiated for Stanford and Hermanus, including all the many benefits and opportunities this will have for local farmers, growers and producers.

Jandre and Rachel from Overberg Pastured Poultry stood up and spoke about their tried and tested methods of raising “happy and healthy” chickens out on pasture, and the numerous benefits this has for soil health, and in turn benefiting human health. Terry

Georgiev from Eggcellent Eggs talked about her dilemma of not having nearly enough eggs to meet the ever-growing demand, and how she’d like to start sourcing good quality eggs from other local chicken farmers (and package and sell them under the already existing and successful Eggcellent Eggs brand), because sometimes, putting all your combined eggs into one basket does help!

“Clearly, the idea of gathering with likeminded people to learn, share and find common solutions hit fertile ground,” remarked Robynn later.

Just as Robynn was ending off her presentation, and as if almost on cue, one of the resident pigs from the Harvest Fork & Farm estate (named Piggy), ambled in to see what all the fuss was about, and more importantly, no doubt, to locate the source of all the wonderful aromas. Owner, Lisa Reho, quickly showed a rather disgruntled Piggy the back door. Organic farm life just doesn’t get any more free range than that!

Afterwards, guests were invited to mingle and enjoy the delectable harvest table spread generously laid out by local foodies as part of a big collaborative foodie project to discover how many ‘never-before-tasted’ foodie products could be produced from collaboratively sourced Stanford goods. According to Robynn, “the results were beyond exciting!”

Every single ingredient on the harvest table was locally made, grown and freshly picked (and plucked!) - from the duck that came from Sunset Place Farm, to the chicken from Overberg Pastured Poultry, to all the fresh herbs, cheeses and veggies sourced from local, organic farms and gardens.

Meanwhile, plans are already underway for the second Harvest Club event. At this rate, pretty soon we’ll all be converted locavores!