Local Farm Supplies Turkey for Thanksgiving Feast
Thursday, November 17, 2016
by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
The turkey served Nov. 17 at the Sewanee Dining Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t quite as fresh as what folks used to get when grandpa lobbed the head off the turkey Thanksgiving morning in the back yard, but it was darn close. Arriving at the Sewanee Dining loading dock early on the morning of Nov. 15, Fountain Springs Farm delivered 30 fresh—not frozen—pasture raised turkeys slaughtered and processed on the Morrison, Tenn., family farm just the day before.
“We put a deposit on the chicks in March so we’d be sure to have enough locally raised turkey for the meal,” Sewanee Dining Director Rick Wright said. Wright anticipated needing 600-1,000 pounds of turkey for the annual event, held the week before Thanksgiving.
“The turkeys weighed 13-20 pounds each. The toms typically weigh more than the hens,” explained Fountain Springs farmer Eric Earle.
Raised in a poly-netting fenced pasture with an outbuilding for shade, the turkeys take 18-20 weeks to grow to maturity. “We supplement the turkeys’ diet with non-GMO grain,” Earle said. Fountain Springs blends their own feed to guarantee it’s antibiotic and hormone free.
Offering locally raised turkey is a first for Sewanee Dining, but a year ago in keeping with the commitment to devote 30 percent of the budget to locally raised products, Sewanee Dining began serving locally raised fried chicken every Sunday.
Fountain Springs also supplies Sewanee Dining with chicken. Eric and his wife Suzanne began farming full-time in 2007. One of the first on-farm poultry processing facilities in the state, Fountain Springs began offering chicken on the wholesale market just six years ago when state regulations relaxed to allow on-farm processing.
Earle contributes much of their success to Laura Damron, coordinator for the Rooted Here Food Hub, the wholesale arm of the South Cumberland Farmers’ Market (SCFM). Fountain Springs also sells directly to consumers through the SCFM website . Consumers who want a fresh turkey for next Thanksgiving need to preorder in June.
“I turned down 10-15 customers who wanted turkeys this year,” Earle said.
The University Thanksgiving meal also featured locally grown sweet potatoes, yams and greens.
Student clubs, department associates, families and other groups often reserve tables for the annual event, with more than 20 table reservations made for this year’s feast. Open to University affiliates and community members alike, the Sewanee Dining Thanksgiving dinner is an opportunity for the wider community to give thanks together over a shared meal celebrating the bountiful harvest from food raised by neighboring farms.
And if that isn’t enough to be thankful for, there’s yet another blessing. “Any unused ingredients were donated to Otey Parish,” Wright said, “to feed the community in a free meal the following day.”