Chloe Wright, Executive Editor
Tom Walker, Junior Editor
The smoke from the grills manned by Sewanee undergraduate students wafted across Manigault Park. Students, community members, faculty and staff huddled in line for the locally-sourced bratwursts and venison and pork burgers. Even though the spring rain put a damper on the event, it didn’t stop anybody from having a great time at 2025’s Farm to Table: Sewanee’s annual craft festival with farm-sourced foods, a bluegrass band, yard games and small businesses.
The event was mostly run by two underclassmen: Abbott Root (C ‘28) and Everett Ackley (C ‘27). Root and Ackley headed the event, but managed the work by delegating tasks to other people willing to help. About organizing the event, Ackely said, “I think my favorite part is that every other Friday we have sustain meetings at Biehl Commons. A lot of similar minded people get together to help work and put this event on. I get to meet with these cool people who I call my friends.”
As Farm to Table approached, it became clear that there was a real possibility that it would rain during the event. Fortunately, Root and Ackley already planned for the food and band to stay under a large tent, but there wasn’t enough room to shield the crafts fair from the storm. In the future, Ackley plans to provide cover for them as well. “I think we’ll probably plan better for the craft fair people. Farm to Table is a platform for small businesses like [those of the craft fair]. That’s important.” Along with the small businesses present at Farm to Table, the event’s focus on supporting local business extends to the farms that the event’s food is sourced from.
“I like to think [what we are doing] helps out. We have a lot of businesses that help us out. A lot of our things are custom orders. That let us get custom colors and flavors and that wouldn’t be possible with a mega corporation,” Ackley said.
“We’re spending a lot of money at each of these places. I’m not an economist, but I think you should spend your money locally whenever you can because it is going to your neighbors and your community members,” he said. “I think it suits us to buy local.”