Mark Bittman, the New York Times op-ed columnist and bestselling author of How to Cook Everything, VB6, and A Bone to Pick, will speak at Locust Grove on September, 9, 2015.

This “Evening with Mark Bittman” is a joint event sponsored by The Berry Center and Locust Grove.

Mark Bittman's interest in the sources of his food, and his desire to lessen the challenges farmers face making a living, make him the right person to headline a night which will be, among other things, an opportunity to celebrate Louisville's leadership in the farm-to-table movement--whose rural and urban economic ties undergird Louisville's national reputation as a “foodie” town, and are improving its regional economy.

The celebration of all this will bring together many of the people who are involved in farm-to-table work in this area—on the beautiful grounds of the final home of George Rogers Clark, which was also one of the earliest farms in Louisville.

Mr. Bittman is donating his time to this event.

Funds raised from the evening will go toward two new programs, one at The Berry Center and one at Locust Grove.

The Berry Center is raising underwriting funds for a Loan Collateralization fund at United Citizens Bank (in Henry County) that will enable the bank to speed up the loan approval process for farmers and other agricultural-related businesses in rural Kentucky.

Locust Grove is seeking funds to research the agricultural history of the Greater Louisville area in the early 19th century, which will be used as the basis for educational programming and a future historic garden.

Tickets are $125 and are limited to 200 guests. The evening will begin at 5:30 with a reception that includes a bar and heavy hors d'oeuvres made by James Beard Award-winning chef Kathy Cary, of Lilly's restaurant in Louisville. Mr. Bittman will speak at 6:30.

The Berry Center was founded by Mary Berry in 2011 to foster economically and agriculturally sound farming in Kentucky and beyond. The organization institutionalizes the work of her grandfather, uncle and father: lawyers and farm activists John M. Berry, Sr. and John M. Berry, Jr., and writer Wendell Berry. The Center is based in Henry County, 35 miles from Louisville, and runs several different programs designed to increase the knowledge and infrastructure needed for good farming and rural economic health.

Locust Grove was the last home of Louisville founder and Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark, and a site visited by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their return from the Pacific with the Corps of Discovery in 1806.

Locust Grove was built by William Croghan and Lucy Clark Croghan in the 1790s and sits on the remaining 55 acres of the original 700-acre estate, a rural oasis in the midst of the city of Louisville.

Since the 1790s, Kentuckians have gathered under the trees here to debate ways to improve life in Louisville, making Locust Grove a fitting location for any conversation about the future of good land use and good food production in Kentucky.

Locust Grove is located at 561 Blankenbaker Lane (between Brownsboro Road & River Road). To put your name on the list for tickets, please call 502-897-9845.