Green Sense Farms Hosts First Farm-To-Table Dinner

By Melissa Wiley in Food on Aug 19, 2014 7:00PM

Farm dinner season is entering its twilight, but Green Sense Farms is just rolling out its crop. The country’s largest LED farm, in operation since last May in Portage, Indiana, is hosting its first farm-to-table dinner this Sunday at Miller Bakery Café in Gary in conjunction with Whole Foods, its primary distributor. The five-course prix fixe feast will feature organic herbs, shoots and leafy greens grown vertically via LED light, along with organic fish, meat and cheese. Tasting the fruits of your new soilless, sunless local farm, we'll add, is worth a little road trip.

Green Sense Farms is driving vertical farming to new heights, growing produce year-round in 25-foot-tall carousels. “We have created an indoor climate-controlled environment where plants get perfect conditions every single day, regardless of outdoor temperatures, resulting in tasty, organic greens year round,” Colangelo, founding farmer and host of the nationally syndicated “Green Sense” radio show, enthused. Colangelo will record his show from the restaurant throughout the meal, discussing pioneering small businesses’ economic impact on local communities.

Dishes will feature crostini with basil, arugula salad, purple pesto gemelli, white fish and smoked pork tenderloin, with a dessert of caramelized apples with fresh oregano and thyme cream. The five-course menu costs $48 per person with an added $3 per course for wine pairings.

“Having Green Sense Farms nearby creates new opportunities for us at Miller Bakery Café,” said Diana Twyman, the restaurant's co-owner. “Their products are sustainable, fresh, year-round, and nearby. For us, there’s an opportunity to build business around fresh, local products that were formerly only available shipped from across the country or internationally,” she said.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling Miller Bakery Café at (219) 427-1446.

Miller Bakery Café is located at 555 S. Lake Street in Gary, Indiana.