Jared and Victoria chomp on bacon from Coon Rock Farm, a sampling at Western Wake Farmers Market's Meat Day. Photo by Sandy Straw, Coon Rock farmhand.
Today marks the first day of summer — a hot, humid, Carolina summer for us here in the South. It also means that our favorite fresh foods are finally coaxed into blooming. Summer promises, at last, a kitchen counter top studded with crimson red tomatoes. That’s my favorite balmy evening treat, a misshapen bulge of an heirloom in my hand. (Eve had it wrong going for that apple. Must’ve been September.)
Summer also beckons more customers to market and, this year, our very first Barn Storm Tour! From July through October, Jared and I (Victoria) will be touring throughout the communities of North and South Carolina to meet as many farmers and local food-loving folks who share our passion for a local, organic food system and a sustainable community as we can.
We have two main goals for this tour:
1) To promote our new Local Food Finder, a user-friendly online database for farmers, local food artisans and purveyors to showcase their hard work and for consumers to easily find what they’re looking for based on location. Looking for heirloom tomatoes near your condo in Raleigh? We got you.
2) To raise awareness of the 2012 Federal Farm Bill and how you, as a conscious consumer, can help affect it for the better.
We’ll be hosting fun community meetups (where you’ll snack AND learn). And we’ll be collecting stories that we can share throughout the country. Powerful, truthful, well-told stories can change the course of history.
Tour dates will be announced shortly as our schedule shapes up. If you’re in the Triangle this weekend, stop by our booth at the Carrboro Farmers Market this Saturday. We’d love to chat with you.
And join us in our efforts! We’re looking for volunteers throughout the Carolinas to help us tell the stories of their communities. Send us a note at jared@ and victoria@.
See y’all soon,
Jared and Victoria