Farmers for Tomorrow

5:00 – 7:30 PM

Benefitting New Local Small Farms – Funds Purchase Seeds and Equipment

Annual Benefit Happy Hour

Food • Drinks • Silent Auction • Live Music • Dancing

at The CAFF Farm

1005 Meade Avenue

Fayetteville, AR

Musical Performance – Buddy Shute & the Motivators

Featured Chef – Elliot Hunt from Atlas

Beverage Master – Aleks Berry, Sommelier

‘The annual Farmers for Tomorrow Benefit Happy Hour is a fun night of great food, local brews, a silent auction, and live music! The evening features delicious creations prepared by a local chef, using the fresh harvest grown by the Farm School students. Guest speakers include local farmers and Wes Ward, the Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture. 

All proceeds directly benefit new local farms launched by CAFF program graduates. These funds help purchase seeds, tools, structures, and equipment.  When you support the Farmers For Tomorrow fund by donating or purchasing a ticket, you can taste and experience the difference you’ve made in the regional food system. These farms provide nutritious fresh crops to local farmers’ markets, restaurants, and more. There is an alternative location in the event of rain.

Buddy Shute, and his hot little Ozark blues band, The Motivators will perform. Born and raised in Memphis, and influenced by years spent living and playing music in New Orleans, Buddy’s tunes will make you anything but blue. He and his Motivators keep audiences listening, dancing, and smiling.  The band is a solid group of  Northwest Arkansas musicians, whose combined talents have motivated music lovers for years.

MEMPHIS HEART WITH AN OZARK SPARK

“… Buddy Shute is a guitarist, keyboard player and tunesmith who carries forward the true blues traditions he learned growing up in Memphis….” -Marty Gunther, Blues Blast Magazine.

Best Album 2024 – Ozark Blues Society of NWA

Best Album 2022 – Ozark Blues Society of NWA

Best Album 2018 – Ozark Blues Society of NWA

Learn More about the band HERE

Our featured chef for 2025 is Chef Elliot Hunt, the executive Chef and owner of Atlas restaurant in Fayetteville. He is preparing an incredible spread of appetizers featuring fresh fruits and vegetables grown by students on the CAFF farm. The menu will include vegetarian options.

Elliot first started cooking at age fifteen in Northwest Arkansas. He studied in France, where he worked under a Michelin-starred chef in Paris, then honed his skills in kitchens in Australia, India, Colorado, and Chicago. One dream has persisted throughout his travels: to share his art with his hometown community.

CAFF is passionate about locally grown and prepared food and drinks. Fossil Cove Brewery in Fayetteville will once again provide the brews for this year’s event and they are a “must try” if you aren’t familiar. Each guest receives two drink tickets. If brews aren’t your thing, no worries. Our drink master is Aleks Berry, Sommelier, formerly with the Wine Cellar and he is creating something special. He’ll use his sophisticated palette to fashion a signature cocktail featuring something grown on the farm. A non-alcoholic mocktail version is always available.

Each year, we gather items from the community for a silent auction at the event. Browse and bid while enjoying your cocktail or local brews. Take home something fun for a fantastic cause. 

Take a tour of the CAFF teaching farm with a drink in your hand, the evening sky as a backdrop, serenaded by live music and laughter. It’s always fun to see where your meal was grown and learn about the CAFF programs. Chat with students, instructors and local farmers, Learn about the importance of our local food system. It all comes together for memorable and a unique evening. 

Adventure Subaru

Ozark Slow Foods

University of Arkansas, Dale Bumpers College

Starting a new farm is expensive!  Aside from land, the bare start-up essentials for fruit and vegetable production include tools and equipment, irrigation, soil amendments, seeds and plants, harvesting bins, cold storage, and likely fencing.  These essentials add up quickly, especially if you’re a first-generation farmer.  That’s why CAFF established the Farmers for Tomorrow fund for aspiring farmers who have invested their time in our Farm School program. Once former students have acquired farmland in Arkansas and are ready to break ground, they can apply for additional start-up funds from Farmers for Tomorrow.

How Can You Help?

By purchasing a ticket to our event, becoming a sponsor, or donating. Our goal is to raise $10,000 annually. Your ticket purchase or donation for this fundraising event is an investment in our community’s regional food system, the local economy, a small business, and regional food security.

Please register for our monthly newsletter on the CONTACT page to stay informed about this and other events. If you would like to farm, apply for the CAFF Farm School.

2024 – Blooming Hope Mushroom Farm

CAFF Farm School graduate Luz and her husband launched their farm with a mission to make mushrooms the next superfood and reconnect people with nature! 

2023 – Purple Finch Farm

Purple Finch Farm is a market garden/truck patch, located in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. 

2022 – Sunny Acres Farms

Sunny Acres Farms is a small-scale market farm focused on regenerative agricultural and organic practices. Look for them at the Fayetteville and Goshen markets.