Piedmont Triad Local Food Guide

To see the listings of local farms, markets, restaurants, and food businesses, please use the menu to the left.

Introduction

Local and seasonal food, grown by farmers who follow sustainable practices, is the freshest, tastiest and most nutritious food we can enjoy. It used to be the kind and quality of food that people, even city people, always ate. But now we have almost forgotten what it tastes like or how much fun it is to shop at a local market.  

As one small but important example, think of the difference in taste between tomatoes grown 1300 miles away and shipped to us in January, and those grown in our back yard or available to us at the farmer's market or small, local grocer. Why would we ever settle for less than that fresh, juicy, homegrown tomato taste? Why not support our local food community instead and make sure that those tomatoes and many other kinds of produce and food products continue to be available for our enjoyment?

After all it's a pretty easy choice to make now while those special foods are still available. So why not take the first step and buy from a farmer who lives in your region and who cares about the soil, the biodiversity of his acreage, and the absence of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics from his produce, milk and eggs, and meat? He or she wants to bring back the family farm and reaffirm its economic and ecological integrity. That is, he wants to be sustainable. But he needs you the consumer, or as we should say, the co-producer, to buy his goods.  

There's more to this food story than tomatoes. Did you know that our farmer's markets in the Piedmont Triad are offering a dazzling variety of other vegetables as well as an increasing variety of cheeses, grass-fed meat, organic eggs, mushrooms, and seasonal honey? Did you know you can buy a share of a farmer's produce or meat and receive a bag full of fresh food every week for six months or more? (We call this a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture program and it's a cost saving, interesting way to participate in the bountiful harvest going on each week at a farm near you.) 

There also are a growing number of artisan products available at our local farmers' markets—baked goods, jellies and jams, cheese, and honey, as well as a small grocers, tailgate markets, food co-ops and caterers that depend on local food. In short, the farmers' markets are a hot spot of a national trend, people seeking out the very best foods for themselves and their families. Did you know that Americans are buying 20% more organic food each year? Here in the Piedmont Triad there are a growing number of organic or near-organic growers.

And while we're at it, why not seek out local food wherever we eat? Consider choosing a restaurant that buys from local farmers. Their food will be fresh and delightful and your patronage will support the local economy.

In all, a vibrant food community is growing in the Piedmont Triad and it's so easy for you to be a part of it. We believe it is the wave and hope of our future. Family farms and small businesses will flourish, rural culture and rural soil and biodiversity will be restored, fresh food will be available in a variety of venues, and neighbor can meet neighbor in friendly farmer's markets, shops and restaurants.

The first time, and every time, you purchase local foods you become part of a beautiful and expanding spiral that impacts the entire food community in a positive way.