Collaborative Fundraising in Jersey City

As we walked over to Pershing Field on a beautiful summer night and approached the big arch near the community center, a long white table with bouquets of flowers awaited us. The “Dinner in the Park” series.

The guests started to arrive and take their seats at the table for forty, set up under a few tall and shady trees.

This was quite a new experience in Jersey City Heights and one I look forward to doing again.

FeedJC and Pershing Field Garden Friends collaborated for this unique dining experience in the park, the third dinner in this park series. Each of the six dinners were collaborations with six of the parks around Jersey City.

For each dinner, the chefs, David Trotta and Alex Sartoga, had previously researched and wanted to highlight the recipes from unique families in each ward area. Taking those recipes a step further, they put their own spin on the dishes.

The chefs would go to the local farmers market the morning of each dinner and select what they needed and prepare it that day, so the dishes were incredibly fresh.

I was introduced to chefs who are considering creating a book of the local families including stories and those amazing recipes. It’s wonderful to be able to help and advise those that need it when it comes to book publishing!

We met so many new people from the neighborhood and got to know our hosts as well.

In attendance were Council President Rolando Lavarro and Councilman Michael Yun, as well as many of the members of Pershing Field Garden Friends.

FeedJC uses the money earned from the ticket sales to feed the homeless. They told us that with forty tickets sold for our evening alone, they can most likely can feed two hundred. Such a wonderful mission and I am happy to support it.

The icing on the cake? As we walked away from the park, a big pumpkin moon was rising!

 

40 attending the Dinner in Park in Pershing Field.

40 attending the Dinner in Park in Pershing Field.

Pasta dish (first course) at

Pasta dish (first course) at "Dinner in the Park" Pershing Field.

Councilman Michael Yun at

Councilman Michael Yun at "One Dinner" in Pershing Field.

Squash, zucchini, bean salad (2nd course) at One Dinner.

Squash, zucchini, bean salad (2nd course) at One Dinner.

Council President Rolando Lavarro attending Dinner in the Park.

Council President Rolando Lavarro attending Dinner in the Park.

Chicken and Tomatoes at Dinner in the Park

Chicken and Tomatoes at Dinner in the Park

FeedJC team with Chef David Trotta (right) and Chef Alex Sartoga (second from left) in Pershing Field.

FeedJC team with Chef David Trotta (right) and Chef Alex Sartoga (second from left) in Pershing Field.

Dessert (yum) with pudding, plums, peaches, blueberries...

Dessert (yum) with pudding, plums, peaches, blueberries...

Pershing Field Garden Friends attending

Pershing Field Garden Friends attending "One Dinner" for FeedJC.

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