Green Eats

This upcoming Sunday, March 27th from 2pm-5pm Durham Central Market will team up with Elodie Farms and Benjamin Vineyards for a Family Farm Day at Elodie Farms in Rougemont. Bring the kids, a picnic lunch, and try out some of Elodie’s goat cheese and sip on wine while you tour the farm and play with the goats. Locopops and Dolly Mama Chocolates will be on hand to sell some tasty treats, and there will be games for the kids. The cost is $10 for those 21+, $5 for under 21, and children 3 and under are free.

For more information and directions to Elodie Farms check out the Facebook page for the event.

Please take a moment and fill out the survey for the Piedmont Local Food Community Visioning Process – at stake is upwards of $30,000 to invest in our local food community and the greater sustainable agriculture movement in the area! You have until March 10th to take the survey, and I’ll be sure to post the results when they are published.

One April 24 and 25 the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association will host its 15th annual Piedmont Farm Tour. A great way to meet your local farmers and see how they work, CFSA’s Farm Tour has grown over the years to become the largest farm tour in the nation. They even created a Google map of farms on this year’s tour! Check out the CFSA website for more information and to buy tickets. See you on the farm!

Alex & Betsy Hitt of Peregrine Farm profiled on UNCTV

Follow the link for a video that provides great insight into the sort of farmers, businesses, and consumers that have made the Triangle a national leader in the local and sustainable food movement.

Learn more about the people and places featured in this video:

• Peregrine Farm, Alex & Betsy Hitt
• Castlemaine Farm, Joann & Brian Gallagher
• Magnolia Grill, Ben & Karen Barker
• Carrboro Farmers’ Market, Carrboro, NC

A Dorking hen - an ALBC threatened species

Central Carolina Community College, where I am currently enrolled in the Sustainable Agriculture program, has a student farm on it’s Pittsboro Campus that serves as a hands-on learning tool for the Sustainable Agriculture students. Monday my Sustainable Livestock Management class went out for little lesson chickens. We learned some basics about breeds, housing, feed, and also got to clip their flight feathers after their recent yearly molt.

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Photo by David La Spina for the New York Times

The Triangle’s very own band of agriculturally-minded brothers (and sisters!) were featured in this past Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. Check out the article, Field Report: Plow Shares and learn more about how you can mob with the best of ‘em at the Crop Mob website. Also check out Dee Reid’s account of cooking for Sunday’s Mob on her blog, Sustainable Grub.

This afternoon I attended the annual meeting of the Farmers of Orange, which run the South Estes Farmers’ Market where I shop almost weekly. I was there along with another member of the Friends of SEFM to let the vendors know what our group was doing and how we envision our role in helping the market grow and prosper.

The board has a seat reserved for a community member, and I am proud to say that I was elected to that seat today. I chose to serve a one year term as opposed to a traditional two-year term as the Friends group and the community seat on the Board are new – I’d like to take this year to see what role I can play with the Board and how I can help the market.  I am so excited to have this opportunity to make a difference for an organization about which I am fiercely passionate.

On a final note, I want to be clear that I will not use this blog to promote South Estes Farmers Market above other markets, or to denigrate other markets or organizations to SEFM’s advantage. I will make every effort to be completely transparent about my position and avoid anything that might be construed as a conflict of interest. I am hoping that my involvement with SEFM will only serve to make me a better proponent of local and sustainable agriculture across the board.

Located in central North Carolina (20 miles south of Burlington), Castlemaine Farm is the pride and joy of husband-wife team Brian and Joann Gallagher. They have a two acre market garden but are perhaps best known for their pasture-raised chicken operation. I visited Castlemaine today as part of my Sustainable Livestock Production class at Central Carolina Community College’s Sustainable Agriculture Program, and it was great to finally see a pastured poultry operation up close!

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Got some free time this upcoming Sunday, February 28th? Want to help out some local farmers, have some fun, and get a free meal? Grab your shovel, work gloves, and rubber boots and head out to Edible Earthscapes in Moncure with the Crop Mob! You’ll be helping them create the terraces for their rice paddy and doing some structural work on existing buildings.

Who: ANYONE!

What: Building rice paddy terraces, intern housing rehabilitation

Where: 4803 Moncure-Pittsboro Rd., Moncure, NC 27559 (look for the yellow sign)

Why: why not

When: 12 pm – 5 pm Sunday, February 28th (dinner to follow)

For more information check out the Facebook invite, or get in touch with the Crop Mob folks or get in touch with Jason & Haruka of Edible Earthscapes.

Today, once again, I learned the value of arriving early to the farmers’ market. Instead of waking up at 7, going to the thrift shop and my local food co-op, and being at the market when it opened at 10, I decided to sleep in and didn’t make it out of the house until 11. By the time I got down there both Fickle Creek and Ever Laughter were out of eggs, there was no spinach in sight, and worst of all, The Farm Fairy had sold out of bialys!!!

Luckily I was able to console myself with some carrots from Roberson Creek Farm, chicken livers from Fickle Creek, bratwurst from Ever Laughter (its delicious!!!), and finally some eggs and breakfast sausages from Coon Rock. As treat (or more to console myself) I bought two small bundts (lemon & chocolate) from the South Estes Farmers’ Market’s newest vendor, Big Bundts.

So remember – get to your local market early!