With help from one of the oldest farms in the area, WSU’s culinary arts department is working to incorporate locally sourced produce into its dining hall menus.

To celebrate the collaboration, the university will cater a Farm to Fork dinner Sunday in Clarkston at the Wilson Banner Ranch, which was established in 1888.

“Our goal is to enhance awareness as to what local products are available,” said Corey King, the associate director of culinary arts at WSU.

The Farm to Fork dinner will be one part of the Wilson Banner Ranch’s Tour de Ranch event, which spotlights local farms and teaches guests about the everyday workings of a mid-sized, family-run farm.

“It’s very hard for non-farmers to conceive what a farming life is like,” said Leonard Hagg, a WSU senior majoring in plant science who works at the ranch.

Hagg said he hopes the event will educate people about where their food comes from and what processes local farms must do to put food on tables.

Keri Wilson, who is responsible for sales and management at her family’s ranch, said it’s far more important that the event demonstrate what local farms can offer than for it to make money.

“If we break even, I’ll be happy,” Wilson said.

One focus of the Tour de Ranch is the health benefits that fresh produce can offer. Wilson said most people eat nutritionally deficient foods that are shipped from hundreds of miles away.

“From the moment it’s picked it starts losing its vitality and starts to degrade,” Hagg added.

With this in mind, the chefs at WSU have begun providing regionally produced foods via the Natural station at Southside dining hall. King said they are looking to do the same at additional locations across campus.

“Freshmen don’t have to come back from their first year looking like the Goodyear blimp,” Wilson said. “It’s costing more, but it’s healthier.”

As WSU assists the Wilson Banner Ranch with its Farm to Fork dinner, Wilson said she hopes more people will become interested in locally sourced produce.

“We are all on the same team,” Wilson said. “We are all cooking dinner.”

The Tour de Ranch will take place from 3-7 p.m. at the Wilson Banner Ranch. The event will include a meal in the orchard, live music and a series of educational sessions.

Tickets cost $25 per person, $45 per couple and $15 per child. More information can be found at wilsonbannerranch.com.