Charlotte Tailgate Farmers Market

Last night at The Tailgate was one of those nights.  One of those nights I wish we had more often, and hope we will.  One of those nights when there was a constant buzz.  One of those nights when I wore an ivy crown for most of the evening, which didn’t particularly suit me but made me feel festive and somehow a little more connected to the earth.

The Tailgate on July 7th, 2009 had the almost perfect mix of everything.  We have a space issue and need more tents and more parking, but I am not complaining.  I’d love to have a consistent dairy vendor, but government regulations make dairy farming more cost prohibitive than many other farming options.  Less government regulation = more variety at the markets.  Get noisy with your representatives so we can overcome the obstacles.

I’m getting an education from consumers about the barriers to some purchases – it is unbelievable to me that the meat at a grocery store is perceived to be a “safer” option than local proteins.  Protein vendors at local food farmers markets are licensed and regulated, and their meat is processed in a certified facility.  Not only is the meat that you buy locally better for you, it is better for the environment, better for the livestock, and puts your dollars back into our local economy.  Same applies to dairy when we can get it.  Safe, tasty, more healthful.  Unbelievably humane.  I love that.

I challenge you to see the movie Food, Inc. this weekend or as soon as you can, even if you are reading this when the option is DVD.  The message is the same.  Most people don’t want to know where their food comes from.  I suspect that you are bigger than that if you dig deep.

If you see the movie in Charlotte, NC on July 10th or 11th, come participate in a discussion at the SouthEnd Common Market between 4 and 6 pm on Sunday, July 12th to imbibe and process.  It will be informal and invigorating.  Even if there are only four of us. And feel free to come even if you don’t see the movie.

Drinks are on you, but a few committed members of the local food community will be able to answer some of your questions and we will inevitably get more momentum to move the local food economy forward together!   And it will be fun.  The Common Market has a great patio, and is my hands down very favorite local business to support.  I just wish my kids would stop making me a shoplifter when we visit their fine institution.  (Ask me to tell you the story.  Please don’t call the cops.  I return every set of teeth that gets attached to my pants.)

Spread the word – the message is simple, the commitment is not until it becomes part of your thought process, your lifestyle, or at the very least a consideration when you are making your grocery list.  We’re trying to make it fun, and a little bit educational.  And yes, we’re trying to bring back the ostrich, but it’s awfully hot for that costume.

Eat local.  Tell a friend or two.  Get connected and volunteer where you can.

Look forward to great(er) thing in Charlotte in the near future.  The changes, they are a’comin.

I woke up this morning as pissed off as the wet squirrels tiptoeing around the traps on our roof, trying to get back into their nest, though they will inevitably be relocated.  I’m all about animals, but I do not want to become a house fire statistic. 

Anyway.

After my blissful but passionate blog entry last evening about food and becoming an activist (you) I tried to sleep.  And I got to thinking.  Which is never a good thing after midnight.

SO you are getting some live, raw feed from one aggravated psyched up sleep deprived local food grass roots acting diva.

We don’t just need to be talking to each other, we need to be out there and up there in Raleigh and other places rattling cages and speaking our minds.  Local food and preserving (and now reclaiming) farmland are sensitive political topics, and in case you didn’t notice this is an election year.  Get educated and write letters.  Show up at meetings and have a voice.  You can participate in person in discussions about  Building a Local Food Economy in North Carolina. 

The USDA just cut out their pesticide testing program completely, citing the cost.  Why not tax the farms who USE pesticides to pay for the program?  As the government turns a blind eye to the corporate conduct of large scale agribusinesses, you can almost bet that the well-being of Americans will suffer, and we already an unhealthy population.

Federal disaster protection doesn’t meet the needs of North Carolina farmers, and many farms that are growing organically and sustainably don’t even qualify.  The farm bill still puts billions of dollars in subsidies in the pockets of corporate agriculture, though there were some wins there thanks to smart lobbying, growing consumer interest in food safety issues, and many calls and letters.

And perhaps worst of all, NC leads the nation in the rate of lost farmland.  The statistics that Kristi Shye of Know Your Farms shared with me are frightening, and somewhat irreversible.  But we can claim and reclaim some spaces for farming if we act NOW.

We also need to rattle the cages of the produce managers at our local grocery stores.  Ask questions that make them uncomfortable.  Like why if this is the high season for apples in NC, are the apples in your bins from New Zealand and Chile?  And what do you mean by “locally grown?”  Who grew it?  Where?

While I’m feeling grumpy let’s take on the naysayers, the people who claim that local food is too expensive, too hard to find, too obscure.  Gas and transportation costs are at an all-time high, and are responsible for sky-rocketing prices at the grocery store.  I say YAY.  This is prime time for local farms to shine and show why buying local is better for the environment, the local economy, and the LONG run.  Challenge your friends, neighbors, and even people you don’t like to THINK about it.  And quit buying organic at Wal-mart.  They don’t give a crap about farmers.  Or the environment.  Or their employees for that matter.

And let’s rattle my favorite cage, the big fat shiny corporate one.  The industrial giants want you to think that they are doing you are a favor by making things easy, pretty, more convenient and contemporary.   Indiana Jones did not gain his physique by eating sugar-laden breakfast waffles!  I bought them for my kids once under duress (yes, I give into that sometimes) and I still feel guilty about it.

You can come to The Tailgate to buy local food.  And you can also come to The Tailgate to become part of something that is really important, something that is moving forward on the fast train, and something that is going to blow the minds of many people who don’t get it yet.  We’re going to give them every opportunity and if they still turn their backs then so be it.  But we’ll win.   Be one of us.

And we’ll get to say I told you so.

Lynn

For the last three weeks someone kept a really good secret.  Several someones.  Three weeks ago I received an invitation to dinner on October 7th at 7:00 pm.  The invitation did not provide any further details.  And though I am not a fan of surprises, I accepted.

I tried not to think about the evening until the day of the event.  I asked a few questions and got no answers.  I received a phone call early Tuesday to provide me with the location.  I arrived promptly as requested, and gathered at the entrance with eleven other people to wait for the doors to open.

I won’t give you any details about the location or the participants, other than to say that among us were chefs, journalists, restaurateurs, parents, devoted locavores, community activists, growers, and even a member of the medical profession.  Some of us fall into more than one category.  But last night we began with one thing in common - we were invited to come together around a table to share food, to talk about food, and to make make connections between our personal experiences, our individual missions, and the common good of our local food economy.

Food is about everything, and our choices around food ultimately reflect our values.  Food is about our culture, it is about our comfort, it is one way we choose to show love.  It heals us, sustains us, and connects us.  It even defines us. 

While pondering food memories, I remembered craving grits when I lived in Seattle.  It was not easy but I found them and they were good.  In the act of eating I realized that I was not only craving grits, I was yearning for my place of origin.  Here in NC.  Dorothy had it right – there’s no place like home.

I was reminded of many things last night:

The joy of sharing, the importance of listening, and the power of silence.

The value we can derive from coming together with others who have a different perspective on a shared vision.

The many farms in our area that are producing great food, and the exceptional chefs who prepare it with finesse.

The amazing work that is being done on many projects, and the goals that need to be accomplished before we can truly say that we have a local food economy on any scale, accessible to all people.

I could go on, but I won’t.

I am convinced that we need to meet like this this over, and over, and over again in different configurations.  Around dinner tables and on coffeehouse sofas and in the communal area of our farmers markets and other gathering places.  We should have large events that attract attention and small groups that allow us to focus.

And we should go out from these gatherings with renewed spirits and the charge to “be brilliant,” in the words of the beautiful muse who spoke our benediction last evening.

This is only the beginning, my friends, and you can participate in these bold undertakings!  Our food system is in danger.  We may be the last generation who has a broad ranges of choices, and we need to make the right ones together.  When I looked in on my daughter sleeping tonight, I realized that I’m doing it for her.  And for my son who is in the next room determined NOT to sleep.  : )  And for many, many other reasons.

There are conferences, summits, volunteer opportunities, and especially farmers who need a hand.   What will you say yes to today?  We’ve got to get out of our comfort zones and stop preaching to the choir.

Here are a few places to start your search:

http://www.carolinafarmstewards.com

http://www.cefs.ncsu.edu/

http://www.knowyourfarms.com

http://www.endhunger.org/

http://www.localharvest.org/

Feel free to send me more links to add, as well as any thoughts you have:  info@charlottetailgatemarket.com  Examine your heart, and state your interest!  And until we meet again, be well, eat local, and find new ways to love your mother.

-L

On Friday afternoon, September 12th, I parked myself on the lot at 100 West Park Avenue to await the arrival of the "Top Chef: The Tour" trailer.  With construction to navigate and a big lunch crowd at Phat Burrito, this would be a true test of Joe's skills as a driver.  He was using his GPS, so I just kept scanning the horizon in every direction.

When the truck appeared near the intersection of West Park Avenue and Camden Road, I wondered how Joe would decide to deal with the rail crossing.  He pulled forward to the stop sign and obeyed the laws of traffic.  For an extended period of time.  Headlines raced through my mind - "Chef's Clash Pre-empted by Crash."  "Charlotte Welcome's Top Chef With a Bang."

I did not ask him what he was thinking.  I don't think I wanted to know, or maybe it didn't occur to me in the excitement.

The trailer made it onto the lot without incident, other than a few bites of burrito that dropped to the ground when mouths fell open.  Someone asked me what it was.  I said "It is our Saturday morning market event.  This really raises the bar for the rest of the season."

Saturday morning felt a bit surreal as the energy began to build before sunrise.  Vendors were excited, customers were doing early drive-bys and my brain wasn't working very well, so I was glad that I decided to be organized in the days leading up to the event.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but we welcomed many new people, lots of old friends, and two dynamic celebrity chefs to The Tailgate on Saturday morning, September 13th.  The Top Chef t-shirts were more popular than ours, but our vendors were the real stars of the show.  I'm very proud of the bounty and the variety that we could offer to the chefs as they made decisions about their cooking demonstrations.  And I feel sure that a good number of those new customer faces will become regulars soon.

Many people asked me how I "scored the Top Chef gig" and the truth is they found us.  Moving Experiences, the tour company, wanted to have an event at The Tailgate.  I would like to say that I was responsible for the opportunity, but in truth it was due to the quality of the vendors, the location that Gaines Brown so graciously offers, and the efforts from many other people, including market friends and volunteers who make the market shine.  I just try to keep everything together and write about it.

Though I risk leaving out important people... Kathleen Purvis gave us a great news story.  Volunteers like Marilyn Williams, Andrea Kaupp, and Andy and Robin Ciordia manned the market table.  I don't know how to begin to thank my friend Johnice Stanislawski who has to "go Chicago" on me sometimes to help me see the obvious.  And the area businesses were very kind to allow parking in their lots.

"Top Chef: The Tour" is now a part of our short but fascinating history, and will inevitably contribute to the brilliant future of The Tailgate.  Oh, the places we'll go.  I hope you'll come along!