Community-wide, 100-mile potluck at First Presbyterian on Sunday

First Presbyterian Church will host a 100-Mile Potluck meal from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday on its soccer field off Lafayette Drive. The field is behind the sanctuary building at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Everyone in the Oak Ridge community is invited to bring a dish for six to eight people, a press release said. Attendees are encouraged to bring plates and utensils, as well as lawn chairs or comfortable blankets to sit on. Drinks will be provided.

The dish should contain at least one ingredient grown within 100 miles of Oak Ridge. For example, it might include produce from your own backyard garden, tomatoes from Grainger County sold in a local supermarket, or corn sold at a local farmers market or community-supported agriculture.

Labels to be stuck on dishes will be available for the cooks to write the names of the dish, local ingredients and farmers market, store, CSA, or family garden from which the ingredient was obtained.

“We are so excited to be hosting this event,” said the Rev. Sharon Youngs, pastor of First Presbyterian. “It’s a great opportunity for people to come together, connect, and chat. It also demonstrates that delicious, nutritious meals can be made using locally grown ingredients while reducing the need to burn fossil fuels to transport foods produced hundreds of miles away.

“And, if someone wants to come but can’t bring a dish for whatever reason, come anyway. That’s what community is all about.”

To get recipe ideas for the potluck event, visit www.100milepotluck.blogspot.com and www.localharvest.org/.

Later that day at 7 p.m. in Oak Ridge High School auditorium, Bill McKibben, perhaps the world’s leading environmentalist, will speak on fossil fuels, global warming, climate change, and actions people can take to address the problem. His free talk, sponsored by First Presbyterian, is titled “Keep the Faith and Do the Math.”

For more information, visit the church’s website at www.fpcor.org or Facebook page (First Presbyterian Church, Oak Ridge, TN) or call the church office at (865) 483-1318.