Nonprofit food sales lend flavor to fair
Dan Babcock (left) and Peter Gill man the barbecue grill for the Yuma Rotary Club's food booth. The booth serves Kammann sausage and barbecued tri tip as well as breakfast.
BY JOYCE LOBECK - SUN STAFF WRITER
from: yumasun.com
April 02, 2012
The question “What's for dinner?” takes on whole new meaning with the many answers available at the Yuma County Fair.
And in the process of enjoying a tri-tip steak dinner, grilled chicken or a loaded potato, fairgoers have the satisfaction of giving something back to the community.
Each year, members of eight local nonprofit organizations spend long days staffing food booths at the fair. It's a labor of love that raises thousands of dollars annually to help fund a variety of community causes. It's also a traditional endeavor that sets Yuma County's fair apart from most other fairs.
“Not too many fairs have nonprofit food booths,” noted Eric Wofford, Yuma County Fairgrounds manager. Fairs these days usually opt to bring in “professionals” to keep fairgoers fed, he explained.
“It's rare in fact to still do it,” he said, but one that's based on relationships built over the years between the fair and the organizations. They include American Legion Post 19, Elks, Yuma Shrine Club, Knights of Columbus, 4-H, Sunrise Optimist, Yuma Rotary and Yuma Jaycees.
With the variety served up by the eight food booths scattered around the fairgrounds, fairgoers can literally eat their way from one end to the other, he said. “You can go down the line and sample each one.”
The Yuma Rotary Club food booth has been a fixture at the fair for more than 50 years, said Jeff Kammann. It started with his grandfather, Walt Kammann, and the family's secret recipe for KammanThe booth is still one of the organization's major fundraisers, taking in thousands of dollars to benefit the club's various youth projects, he said.Kammann said the booth goes through 2,500 pounds of sausage during fair week. The booth also serves barbecued tri-tip dinners and pancake breakfasts.
“It's a huge undertaking,” he observed, with 20 Rotarians and about 30 other volunteers, many from youth organizations, working three shifts a day.There's a camaraderie to the work, Kammann said. And there's the satisfaction of giving back to the community.
Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/food-77972-booth-yuma.html#ixzz1r06uII9u
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