Cultivate KC gears up for summer fundraiser parties, including Midtown Hoedown this Sat.

Dig In! 2017 at the City Market // Photo by Tiffany Scantlebury

Cultivate KC will serve up a locally-sourced four-course meal at their 11th annual Dig In! farm-to-table fundraiser dinner at the City Market September 17. If you can’t wait ’til the fall, Saturday night has a chance to get your hands dirty at the Midtown Hoedown.

Executive Director Brien Darby says the event is the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year, regularly raising between eighty and a hundred thousand dollars toward its mission of fostering a healthy and sustainable local food system in Kansas City.

“It’s a special kind of fundraiser in Kansas City: combining the elements of being outdoors, celebrating local food, and highlighting so much local produce and the chefs who make it as well,” Darby says. “For chefs, farmers, and Cultivate KC folks—they’re working in our food access programs, or directly with farmers, at their refugee farm, or even at some of our public education events. It’s a chance to talk to them directly about what they’re seeing out there and what needs our community wants to meet.”

This year’s dining experience will feature locally-sourced food items prepared by chefs and makers from Local Pig, The Russell, Noka, High Hopes Ice Cream, and Bloom Baking Company.
Proceeds from the event sustain the organization’s many programs, including a farming and business incubator for refugees, services for urban farms, and food access initiatives such as the Double Up Food Bucks program. When individuals shop at participating farmer’s markets and grocery stores, including the City Market, the Double Up Food Bucks program stretches their food dollars and matches every dollar they spend up to $25 a day.

Funds will also support the organization’s newest food access program: a mobile grocer that will operate in Wyandotte County to get fresh produce, meat, dairy, and dry goods to individuals in this area that lacks food retailers.

Held every year on the third Sunday in September, the date was chosen by volunteers and board members after consulting the Farmer’s Almanac to find it is one of the least likely dates for rain on the calendar.

Tickets for Dig In! go on sale in August for $175 each, covering all food and drinks of the evening. It will last from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. September 17 and feature live music and an auction.

Since joining the team at Cultivate KC in 2021, Darby has been excited to see an upward trend in participation and event attendance at Cultivate KC and support for urban food systems nationally. The 501(c) non-profit’s 2022 annual update reported record attendance at events and increased growth in all program areas.

“Certainly what we’re seeing from entities such as the USDA, is a huge push to invest more heavily in urban food systems,” Darby says. “I think in part because of the highlight that they received during the pandemic, and how important and crucial they are for providing food and urban areas.”

As a part of another fundraiser, the KC community is invited to enjoy square dancing, a live old-time stringband, and locally crafted beer and cocktails at Cultivate KC’s Midtown Hoedown event tomorrow. Hosted at Cultivate KC’s Westport Commons Farm, attendees will have the chance to participate in gender-free dance calling—no prior experience is necessary, but “live fun is mandatory!”

Tickets for Midtown Hoedown are $35 and the party will kick off at 6 p.m. and wrap at 9 p.m.