Bonnaroo foodies enjoy farm-to-table meal

MANCHESTER, Tenn. — Approximately 300 foodies gathered over three sittings this weekend for a fresh, farm-to-table meal at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

The diners feasted on a four-course meal that originated entirely from within 200 miles of the Bonnaroo grounds. Some of the ingredients, like the herbs for a make-your-own-soda bar, are hyperlocal, coming from the festival's own land.

"You can get up from your table and touch some of the food that you're eating," said Bob Ferguson, a project manager for Oxfam America, which partnered with Bonnaroo and Eat for Equity for the event.

The concept for the dinners began in 2013, when Oxfam, which works to fight world hunger, asked Bonnaroo to collaborate on meals during the festival.

Bonnaroo balked at the idea due to logistical concerns, according to Ferguson. But Oxfam wasn't discouraged.

On the outskirts of the Bonnaroo camping grounds, outside of the festival itself, Oxfam hosted pay-what-you're-able dinners using farm-to-table ingredients. Pay what you're able meant different things to different diners and one artist compensated Oxfam with a sticker from his band.

But the dinners were a hit — so much so that Bonnaroo found a way to make them work in a sanctioned way. For the past two years, tables have lined Planet Roo, the festival's area promoting sustainability. Few chairs were left unfilled.

"There's a little bit of synergy and good luck that happened at a time when they were looking to grow the Planet Roo community," Ferguson said.

The fit between Bonnaroo and Oxfam is a natural one, according to Ferguson. One part of the festival's "Bonnaroovian Code" is to respect the farm, meaning minimize your footprint. The diners used reusable silverware and no plastic could be found anywhere on the table.

This year's meals included cheeses from Sequatchie Cove Farm, 35 minutes from Chattanooga, ham from East Tennessee and a dish of grits and peas.

The conversation going on above the meal is equally important to the dinners' mission as the food itself. Between bites, diners Saturday, from around the country, discussed sustainability issues and life at Bonnaroo.

"To get people together over food, you've instantly got some passion working there," Ferguson said. "When we can get people fired up over fancy salad and talk about how we can all be helpful, how our singular voices can add up to a louder megaphone, people get on board."

Reach Matt Slovin at mslovin@tennessean.com or on Twitter @MattSlovin.