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Tickets for the 14th Annual Fondy Farm Feast are officially on sale. The annual event, which supports the work of the Fondy Food Center, will take place on Sunday, Aug. 17 from 3:30 p.m. until sunset on the site of the Fondy Farm Project at the Mequon Nature Preserve, 10150 N. Swan Rd.
“Anyone who has ever attended the Feast may tell you of its great food, good energy and pure magic,” shares Venice Williams, Executive Director of the Fondy Food Center. “Feast sponsors, year-round Fondy donors, our friends, farmers, and market customers come together to celebrate and support our work and the vision we have for addressing food insecurity in the Greater Milwaukee area.”
The centerpiece of the Fondy Farm Feast is a five-course meal prepared by Milwaukee area chefs using locally grown food prepared with passion and intention. The joy-filled event brings together 200 people under one big tent, rain or shine.
For the eleventh year running, Chef Gregory Leon from Amilinda will lead the amazing group of chefs who volunteer their time, talent and resources for the Feast. Those chefs include Imani Graham of Mentionable Eats, Mary Kastman of Purslane, Kyle Knall of Birch and Dana Spandet of Flour Girl & Flame.
“Celebrating our 11th year of cooking at the Fondy Feast is a powerful reminder of why we do this work,” says Leon. “It’s more than a dinner. It’s a celebration of community, sustainability and the farmers who feed us. Every year we gather in the field where our food is grown, share a table and break bread with intention. That connection to the land, to each other and to the people behind the food is what keeps us coming back.”
The 2025 event includes TrueMan McGee and Judge Derek Mosley as Masters of Ceremonies; live music by Alesia Miller & Company; tractor farm tours with Farm Manager Stephen Petro; a silent and live auction; and a couple of surprises in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Fondy Food Center. During the dinner, guests can also enjoy stories from the chefs, farmers and Fondy staff.
Attending the Fondy Feast will feed both your body and soul. But it will also make a difference for the Milwaukee community. Each year, the Feast raises sustaining dollars for the work of the Fonday Food Center, which increases access to local, healthy, culturally-relevant food, while supporting economic opportunity in the Lindsay Heights and Amani Neighborhoods, and across Greater Milwaukee.
Tickets for the Feast are $150 per person and can be purchased online. Sponsorships are also available.
There are also opportunities for those who would like to volunteer their time to assist with preparation and clean-up for the feast. This is an ideal volunteer opportunity for a high school group, team, or club looking for service learning or community service hours. Sign up online.
For more information, visit the Fondy Food Center website.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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