How Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Uses History, Culture and Community to Strengthen South Florida’s Food System
MIAMI – March 20, 2026 – For one evening each year, the farmers, chefs, educators and food advocates shaping South Florida’s food future gather at the place where Miami’s agricultural past still lives: Vizcaya Village.
Hosted by Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in partnership with Urban Health Partnership, the Food and Nutrition for All Collaborative (FNFA), and Overtown Farms, the 2026 edition of Dinner for Farmers brought together the people and organizations working to strengthen local food systems across the region. More than a celebratory meal, the event highlighted the connections between agriculture, culture, sustainability and community while honoring the individuals who help nourish South Florida every day.
What Is Dinner for Farmers?
Since 2016, Dinner for Farmers has honored the farmers, ranchers, chefs, educators and food advocates who contribute to South Florida’s agricultural landscape.
Held at Vizcaya Village, the historic agricultural center of the Vizcaya estate, the annual gathering recognizes agricultural leadership and strengthens collaboration among organizations working to improve local food access. The 2026 theme, “Flavors of the Tropics,” celebrated the Caribbean influences that have shaped South Florida’s culinary traditions and agricultural identity.
A Historic Setting Rooted in Miami History
Long before farm-to-table became a popular movement, Vizcaya Village served as the working agricultural hub of the estate built by industrialist James Deering between 1914 and 1922.
More than a century ago, the Village supplied food for the Vizcaya estate and neighboring communities. Today, it continues that legacy through educational programs, urban agriculture initiatives, the weekly Vizcaya Village Farmers Market and community events that connect residents with local food systems.
By hosting Dinner for Farmers at the Village, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens reinforces the site’s historic purpose while creating space for conversations about the future of agriculture in South Florida.
This connection between past and present makes the event particularly meaningful. The same landscape that once supported one of Miami’s most significant historic estates now serves as a gathering place for the farmers, educators and advocates shaping the region’s food future.
A Caribbean-Inspired Culinary Experience
The 2026 Dinner for Farmers featured a farm-to-table menu created by Chef Chrys of Dunns Overtown Farm. Drawing ingredients from farms throughout South Florida and the Caribbean, the menu showcased indigenous plants, native species, tropical fruits, seasonal crops and traditional Caribbean ingredients.
The evening unfolded through a series of communal dining experiences, including a “Roots & Rivers” soup and salad course, a farm-to-table dinner titled “Coastlines to Islands,” and a dessert course featuring guest chef Tracey Marionneaux of Sweet Revolution Creamery. Throughout the night, guests enjoyed steel pan music, drumming traditions and cultural performances reflecting the Caribbean influences woven throughout South Florida’s agricultural heritage.
While the dinner came to life on event night, its success began well in advance with extensive hands-on preparation at Florida Education Institute, Chef Chrys alongside Chef Isamar Leal, MDM, M.Ed., Culinary School Director, and FEI students —who then brought those skills to Vizcaya to execute the dinner seamlessly
More Than a Meal: Celebrating Culture and Community
Dinner for Farmers is designed as both a culinary and cultural experience. The evening opened with community conversations and a traditional dance offering by the Ameyal Mexican Cultural Academy honoring land, waterways and ancestry. These performances underscored the event’s central message: agriculture is deeply connected to culture, history and community identity.
Honoring Agricultural Leaders
Awards presented in partnership with Edible South Florida recognized leaders advancing innovation, sustainability and collaboration across South Florida’s food system.
Honorees included:
• Innovation in Food & Farming Award: Health in the Hood
• Environmental Sustainability Award: Lion Farms
• Community Collaboration Award: Christyna Salmon, Dunns Overtown Farm & Market
Participating and Supporting Farms
The event brought together a diverse network of growers and agricultural organizations, including Big Steel Urban Farm, Little River Cooperative, Miguel Bodé, Nature Boyz, Overtown Farm, PG Tropicals, P & P Tropicals, Tiny Farms, Urban Greenworks and Urban Oasis Project. Their participation reflected the breadth and strength of South Florida’s local food movement.
Why Dinner for Farmers Matters
Food systems are built through relationships. Farmers depend on educators, chefs depend on growers, and communities depend on all of them working together to ensure access to nutritious, locally produced food.
As Miami continues to grow, conversations about local food production, environmental resilience and equitable food access become increasingly important. Dinner for Farmers creates a space where those conversations can happen while celebrating the people already doing the work to build a healthier and more sustainable food system.
The gathering also highlights broader issues including food security, environmental stewardship, community health, cultural preservation and sustainable economic development.
From local farms and nonprofit organizations to chefs, educators and community advocates, the event demonstrates that strengthening South Florida’s food system requires collaboration across sectors. The relationships formed and celebrated during the evening help create stronger networks capable of addressing the challenges facing food production and access throughout the region.
Sustainability as a Living Mission
At Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, sustainability is more than a program—it is part of the institution’s ongoing mission.
The museum’s campus includes native forests, coastal habitats and shoreline ecosystems along Biscayne Bay. Through educational programming, conservation initiatives and community partnerships, Vizcaya continues to connect cultural preservation with environmental stewardship while supporting conversations about the future of food and sustainability in South Florida.
Looking Ahead: Building the Future Through Partnership
As Dinner for Farmers continues to grow, it remains a powerful example of how history, culture and sustainability can come together to address contemporary challenges.
The event honors the people who feed South Florida while creating opportunities for organizations, businesses and community leaders to invest in a more sustainable future. By connecting agricultural traditions with modern innovation, Vizcaya Village continues to serve the same essential purpose it has for more than a century: bringing people together around the land, food and community.
As Miami evolves, places like Vizcaya Village remind us that a resilient future depends on understanding and investing in the relationships between people, land and food. Through programs like Dinner for Farmers, Vizcaya continues to serve not only as a steward of history, but also as a catalyst for collaboration, sustainability and community well-being.
About Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark in Miami, originally built between 1914 and 1922 as the winter estate of James Deering. Welcoming 300,000 visitors annually as a public museum since 1953, this European-inspired estate includes a Main House filled with decorative arts,10 acres of formal gardens, native forests, and mangrove shores.
On the west side of the property, the historic Vizcaya Village, which offers a Sunday farmers market and new Village Café, is being restored to support new community programs, including urban agriculture.
Located at 3251 South Miami Avenue (with the Village across the street at 3250 South Miami Avenue), Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is open daily, except Tuesdays, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For more information, visit www.vizcaya.org.
