Our mission is for all people in our community to become educated
about and benefit from locally grown food. Our aim is to help all walks
of life, from the farmers to the local community members to those less fortunate
who might need assistance through the local food bank.
Read more… | Meet the Vendors
| Email Newsletter
Dismiss
Tune In: Local Food Media Notes
Posted by Michele McKinley about 5 days ago
Local food is getting a lot of media coverage these days, and we've got a few t.v. programming notes for you.
Discovery's Planet Green will premiere
"What's on Your Plate?" this Sat., Feb. 6, at 10 pm, with a "Family Cook-in Broadcast" Sunday, Feb. 7, at 2 pm. This looks like it could be a great way for kids (and adults) to learn more about the food they eat and what happens before it
arrives on their plate. The documentary follows two 11-year-old girls, Sadie and Safiyah, for a year as they visit farms, markets, grocery stores, restaurants and school cafeterias. Watch the
trailer to whet your appetite and see what we can learn from these girls.
Food, Inc. has been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary. At the Weste
rn Wake Farmers' Market, we're pulling for a win, but even the nomination raises the profile on the importance of eating locally in terms of health, environment, family farms, land preservation and local economies! Tune into ABC on Sun., March 7. And if you've not seen
Food, Inc., yet, its available on DVD for rental and purchase. (
Amazon is still selling it at a great price: $9.99, but we're not sure how long that will last.)
Dine at 1.5.0: Eating Local on UNC's Campus
Posted by Michele McKinley about 6 days ago
If you find yourself on campus at UNC in Chapel Hill and hungry for local food, you might be surprised to know you can satisfy that craving in the dining hall.
1.5.0, Lenoir Mainstreet's newest dining location, serves foods grown within 150 miles, including organic produce, cage-free eggs and chicken, grass-fed beef and sustainable seafood. Featuring a seasonal menu, 1.5.0 seeks to meet four primary goals, and serving local and sustainable food tops those priorities. By partnering with local farmers, 1.5.0 seeks to have a positive impact on its patrons health, support a local food economy and be environmentally responsible.
Food 101 with Michael Pollan
Posted by Michele McKinley about 11 days ago
Journalist and food expert Michael Pollan is traveling quite a bit these days and promoting his new book,
Food Rules. Yesterday he joined Oprah Winfrey on her show, which also highlighted the documentary
Food, Inc. It's great to see Pollan's message go mainstream to such a huge audience through a forum like "
Oprah." They talked about eating "real food," cutting out the processed foods and "voting three times a day with your fork" as to what you're going to eat. Oprah shared clips of
Food, Inc., which is now available on DVD for rental and through Friday this week,
Amazon is offering it for $9.99.
You can view part of the Oprah interview in this
clip.
Epicurious also recently interviewed Pollan if you're interested in learning more.
Local Food Council Meeting: You're Invited; Agenda Posted
Posted by Michele McKinley about 17 days ago
If you're looking to share your ideas about the importance of local foods or just want more information, you may want to attend the first meeting of the new
N.C. Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council on
Tuesday, Feb. 2, in the Martin Building at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The meeting, from 2-4 pm, is open to the public, and N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler invites anyone interested in local food to attend.
The first meeting is largely organizational, but the
agenda includes a discussion of N.C. highlights, thoughts from farmer John Vollmer of Vollmer Farm, a needs assessment and strategic planning for Farm to Fork.
Troxler said the new council is focused on four subjects: health and wellness, hunger and food access, economic development, and preservation of farmlands and water resources. In his
blog he said, "North Carolina agriculture makes many positive contributions to the state’s economy and environmental quality. Agriculture creates jobs, preserves open space and provides our citizens with nutritious food. I’m looking forward to this council going to work to benefit North Carolina by expanding our local food economy."
Visit the council's new
web site for information on its members and its work.
Food Rules: Words to Live By?
Posted by Michele McKinley about 19 days ago
Award-winning author
Michael Pollan has written a new book,
Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual, featuring 64 seemingly obvious “rules” for eating, but that’s the rub. The changes in way foods are grown, manufactured, marketed and sold and have changed so drastically over the last 50 years, that many people have lost sight of common sense when it comes to eating and what food actually is.
So Pollan boils down information from his widely popular books,
In Defense of Food and
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, into a concise and easy-to-read set of rules. It’s a quick read and a great tool to help you stick to your new year’s resolutions regarding diet and a healthier way of eating.
Some of Pollan’s rules make me laugh but also cringe at the obvious good sense behind the rule. For instance, “Rule No. 36: Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk. “ I laugh because it’s just funny to me as obviously this cannot be healthy, but I cringe too since I ate such cereals as a kid and let my children have these types of cereals for a “treat” on vacation.
Here are a few of my favorites from the book:
- Rule No. 10: “Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.”
- Rule No. 13: “Eat only foods that will eventually rot.”
- Rule No. 39: “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself."
- Rule No. 16: “Buy your snacks at the farmers’ market."
For most of the rules, Pollan provides a short explanation. A few of the rules are so basic to eating well that he doesn't include any information, such as Rule No. 21: “It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles.)”
In this short article written by Pollan, he explains that he wrote the book at a doctor’s request as a guide for his patients and touches on the health care problem in our country related to the way we eat. If you have an hour to spare, pick up the book. It’s good food for thought!
Local Food Policy Council Members Named
Posted by Michele McKinley about 1 months ago
N.C. Governor Bev Perdue has named the members of the new North Carolina Sustainable Local Foods Policy Council, which the state Senate and House voted into law last August. The council’s purpose is to contribute to the growth of a local food economy that is environmentally friendly, increases food safety and increases access to locally-grown foods for all residents.
Comprised of 24 members representing community groups, government, citizens, farmers, hunger advocates and others, the council will examine and report annually on a number of issues. Among their tasks are to:
- Examine the foods served in N.C. public schools and increase the supply of local, sustainable foods served in those schools
- Encourage community and home gardening to increase consumption of local foods
- Make local, sustainable foods available to those needing food assistance and consider increasing the usage of food stamps at local farmers’ markets
- Consider how local foods policies would impact health and wellness, hunger and food access, the state’s economy and preservation of farmlands and waters.
- Examine the possible impact of sustainable, local food on state economic development for both producers of local food and restaurants, for instance, which feature local agricultural products, as well as food and wine agritourism.
There is one final council member to be named, and the first meeting has not yet been announced. You may access the list of members via the News & Observer “Mouthful” food blog. Stay tuned for updates.
Umstead Hotel and Herons Receive Kudos
Posted by Michele McKinley about 1 months ago
Congratulations to the
Umstead Hotel and Spa and
Herons restaurant for their recent high ratings!
Travel & Leisure magazine just named the Umstead among its top 500 Hotels in the World for 2010. It is one of just three North Carolina hotels ranked by the magazine. The hotel also has won the AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star awards, and
Herons recently received a 5-star rating from
News & Observer food critic Greg Cox. His
review highlights his dining experience as well as the market menu that Herons features.
Herons and the Umstead are sponsors of the farmers’ market. Executive Chef Scott Crawford joined us at the market several times last season to share his seasonal recipes. They are featured on the
Learn page of our site.