Bryce and Annie and their children

String lights glowed above the orchard. Flowers dressed the long table, drinks were poured, and dinner was served outside among the trees at Folks Farm & Market in Moorestown. For some of the guests, though, the most remarkable thing on the table was what they already knew about the food.

That unique dinner marked the culmination of a special project created by Bryce and Annie Kulik, owners of Folks. The pair had applied for a state agritourism grant for a project they created that would last the whole summer. If their ambitious plan worked, participants would learn where their food came from, food makers would share their work and passion, and those who came to learn would talk and eat and, hopefully, appreciate so much more about their community.

They called it Seeds to Supper. SJ Mag Media served as a media sponsor.

“At many dinners, you get an answer to ‘What’s on my plate?’” says Bryce. “You know what you’re eating, but you don’t necessarily know where it came from, who made it or how they made it.”

Seed to Supper gave visitors a reason to spend time on local farms, meet the people who work there and see the range of food being grown and made close to home. 

“I don’t think there’s been an experience where people can connect with their food in a truly hands-on way,” Bryce says. “Sometimes you hear where the food came from, or you’re eating on a farm that supplied some of the produce. But the connection can still feel distant. People know food comes from farms, but they may not stop to think about what it takes to grow it or the challenges farmers face to put that food on our plates.”

Seed to Supper offered seven gatherings led by farmers, chefs, beekeepers, cheesemakers, winemakers and other local experts. Participants in the full program chose four, spending time at farms and food businesses where they could taste, ask questions and try things for themselves. The dinner would bring those lessons together.

All summer long, people participated in hands-on gatherings with South Jersey’s farmers and food makers, learning to stretch mozzarella, forage for cocktail ingredients and preserve summer produce – while getting to know the people behind their food and one another.

“Eating is an agricultural act,” says Bryce. “We wanted to show people that they could engage with agriculture by enjoying the food, but first, we wanted them to put their hands in the ground and get a sense of the farmers’ work.”

The gatherings made room for both the pleasure and the effort involved in producing food. Participants toured Fernbrook Farms’ organic fields at sunset, stretched mozzarella at Cherry Grove Farm and explored how grapes become wine at Auburn Road Vineyard. Toni Farmer welcomed them into her backyard garden to show what an abundant food source can look like close to home.

Amanda Newman of Spotted Horse Provisions shared ways to preserve a seasonal harvest, while a session with Third Eye Honey took guests into the world of working bees. In another gathering, James Beard Award winner Danny Childs introduced participants to botanical drinks made with ingredients gathered around Folks Farm.

“They foraged more than 30 ingredients from our woodline with a James Beard Award-winning cocktail artist,” says Bryce. “He turned those ingredients into an amaro in front of them.”

For the growers and artisans, the gatherings offered something a finished product cannot: time to show people how they work and why they keep doing it. A jar of honey, a glass of wine or a piece of cheese carries more meaning when someone has met the person behind it, he says. 

By September, the people arriving for dinner had done more than hear where an ingredient came from. They had met the people tending, harvesting and transforming it. They also had a better sense of the time and skill behind things that can be easy to overlook on a plate.

“How much work went into that little drizzle of honey you might otherwise take for granted?”Bryce says.

That closeness to the land is central to Folks Farm’s own story. The Kuliks first came to the property in 2020 while looking for a quiet outdoor place to get married after the pandemic disrupted their plans. Landowner John Reidenbaker mowed a patch for their ceremony. To thank him, Bryce and Annie began helping pick peaches from the orchard he had inherited.

The gesture grew into a partnership. In 2022, John, Annie and Bryce launched Folks Farm & Market to restore the orchard and keep it productive. Its 28 acres are all that remain of a farm that once stretched across hundreds of acres in Moorestown and Cinnaminson. Today, new fruit trees grow alongside vegetables and heirloom tomatoes, and the farm welcomes visitors for produce, classes and gatherings.

The farm’s history makes the larger stakes of the program visible, he says. Keeping agricultural land in use takes people who are willing to grow on it – and a community that values what they grow. 

For Seed to Supper, Bryce and Annie invited other growers and makers into that work of bringing people closer to their food. At the capstone dinner, all seven course instructors returned and took seats among the guests. Between courses, they stood to speak about a question the program hadn’t yet asked: Why do they do this work?

“We didn’t tell the guests, but all seven course instructors came to dinner and sat among them,” says Bryce. “Between courses, each instructor stood up, introduced themselves and shared why they do what they do. A bread maker spoke about making bread, a winemaker about growing grapes, and an organic farmer about growing produce.”

“I think those stories gave the evening a deeper sense of meaning,” he adds. “The goal was for participants to connect with what was on their plates in a way they might not otherwise have the chance to, and I think that came through.”

Those introductions also showed what can happen when local farmers, makers and chefs work together, he says. Each brought a different skill to the table, and the meal gave guests a chance to experience those contributions as part of something larger. For a state working to bring more attention to its agriculture, that collaboration is as much a part of the story as any one ingredient, says Bryce.

Their stories gave guests another way to understand the meal. Bryce also hoped the evening would deepen a connection that had been growing quietly throughout the summer: the one between participants. Many had signed up without knowing anyone else. They arrived at gatherings on their own, then began seeing familiar faces, sharing experiences and making friends.

At dinner, they sat side by side at a family-style table.

“You might be sitting next to a partner, an old friend or a new friend,” says Kulik. “But you’re definitely sitting next to another human being, and we think that’s reason enough to get to know their story and break bread together.”

Beneath the orchard lights, the summer’s lessons became part of the conversation. So did the stories of the people seated nearby. That was the kind of connection Bryce and Annie hoped guests would carry home, along with a new appreciation for their next meal.

“We tried to communicate that through every detail of the evening: what food could and should taste like, and what community could and should look like,” says Bryce. “I hope participants felt something special – a connection to their food and to one another.”  

A Summer from Seed to Supper

Seven gatherings, countless lessons and one unforgettable dinner. Here’s how Seed to Supper brought people closer to the food on their plates.

Where the Wild Things Drink
Host: Danny Childs, Slow Drinks
James Beard Award-winning author Danny Childs introduced guests to the world of botanical beverages, experimenting with locally sourced plants and ingredients to create sodas, fermented drinks and other inventive sips.

Bringing the Farm Home
Host: Toni Farmer
At her home garden, agricultural educator Toni Farmer shared practical tips for turning ordinary backyards into thriving gardens filled with fresh vegetables, flowers and other homegrown goodness.

Capturing Summer in Jars
Host: Amanda Newman, Spotted Horse Provisions
Guests learned how to make summer last a little longer by turning seasonal fruits and vegetables into homemade jams, pickles, sauces and pantry staples.

Honey, Honey How You Thrill Me
Host: Third Eye Honey
An up-close look at working beehives gave guests a new appreciation for honeybees, their role in growing our food and the sweet rewards of their hard work.

A Sunset Tour of Organic Gardening
Host: Fernbrook Farms
Guests wandered through the farm’s fields at sunset, discovering heirloom vegetables, learning about organic growing practices and sampling ingredients destined for the final dinner.

Mozzarella Stretching and Aged Cheese Tour
Host: Cherry Grove Farm
From meeting dairy animals to sampling artisan cheeses, guests followed the cheesemaking process from pasture to plate before stretching and shaping their own fresh mozzarella.

Walk the Vines
Hosts: Jules and Scott Donnini, Auburn Road Winery
A walk through the vineyard introduced guests to the grapes behind their favorite wines, complete with fresh grape tastings and a guided wine tasting.

The Grand Finale
Host: Folks Farm & Market, with Chef Dominic Piperno of Hearthside
The summer came full circle with a farm-to-table dinner in the orchard, where local ingredients, talented chefs and newfound friends came together around one long table.