Local food

The closest thing to local is from your own garden -- there's obviously nothing fresher than harvesting just before lunch or dinner.

But in the flurry of interest in local food, my home state of South Carolina has recently launched a Palmettovore program (we're the 'Palmetto' state), encouraging purchase of SC-grown produce (fresh fruits, vegetables, and other state-made products), to accompany last-year's certified SC grown campaign.

This is a quite nice idea, but the farms of Western North Carolina (a hotbed of small, locally-oriented farmers) are within two hours of Clemson, compared to the 4-5 hrs down to the coastal plain fields that support tomatoes, soybeans, and increasingly many more crops.

I'm a member of something called Upstate SC Locally Grown Market, and dutifully try to get fresh eggs and cheese from them, along with freshly roasted coffee (uh, not locally grown). They're a new network, and are trying to connect Upstate local farmers with buyers. I'm not a good buyer for fresh veggies (I have enough of my own, thanks!), but would like to see them thrive.

In the mountains this weekend, we had a delicious dinner this evening of 'local food' - thanks to the North Asheville Tailgate Market. It's hard to beat such a dinner, even in the great local restaurants in Asheville. Fresh new potatoes, patty pan squash, Chiogga beets, beet greens, red onions, local lettuce, bluefish and shrimp from the Outer Banks, along with shitake mushrooms, were delightful with fresh garlic from home.

And isn't that the essence of local?

And I'm looking forward to returning home and harvesting young squash!

Comments

  1. WOW Lisa this is great! Thanks for the info on this local food. We were looking online last night at an Angus Beef farm in Honea Path! I have bookmarked the link and once we get to SC will be signing up.

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