Gretchen Howard Public Relations

Foothills Family Farms recently had a Facebook drawing for a meat box, and guess who won?  Me.  Yep, my freezer is stocked full of local, pasture-raised meat.  I’d purchased a meat box from Foothills one time prior to this winning and was thrilled with the quality and taste of the meat.  And after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and viewing Food, Inc., I’ve made more of an effort to eat meats from local sources and reduce my family’s overall meat intake.  I’m not saying you’ll never see me at Fuddruckers or the grocery store’s meat counter, but I am making progress.

Plus, it would be hard to turn back to other meat sources after tasting Foothills’ breakfast sausage, sirloin steaks and pork chops.  Other items in my winning package include chorizo, Italian pork sausage, pork bratwurst, ground beef, osso bucco (Italian-style cut pork shanks) and pork spare ribs.  Wow!

I always love visiting Foothills at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market — every Saturday morning at 130 Montreat Road.  Owners Meredith and Casey McKissick always have a wonderful assortment of fruits, vegetables and flowers in addition to their meat.

Here’s Casey at the meat cooler:

And here’s Meredith with her beautiful flowers:

I recently bought a bunch of broccoli from them and made this broccoli salad: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/broccoli-salad-recipe/index.html

I substituted the raisins with goji berries, omitted the bacon and used a little less mayo:

A big “thank you” to Meredith and Casey!  Be sure and watch their Facebook page future drawings!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Foothills-Family-Farms/160950160619475

I love shopping at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market.

A few reasons why.

Fresh food tastes how it should.  A blind taste test between a store-bought strawberry and a fresh, just-picked strawberry from the tailgate market, and the latter would win hands down every time.  Fresh food is vibrant in color and taste, and its grocery store counterpart is dull and boring.  Local food is seasonal, so you’re bound to get the tastiest, most nutritional food.

There is something incredibly alluring about cooking with foods grown by you or someone you know.  Meal creation becomes a joy, an art.  I find that I slow down and savor each moment from selecting my foods and asking questions from the person who grew / produced them, to chopping, preparing, cooking and eating.

Local, organic food does not have to travel far to reach our plates.  It is better for the food, better for us and SO much better for the environment.  No chemicals, no additives, no ingredient label reading.  Just plain, good and real food.  (Have you recently read that the pesticides on produce cause ADHD?)  We deserve to know where our food comes from and what was put on it to make it appear the way it does.

Purchasing food from tailgate or farmer’s markets reduces waste.  Even if you purchase organic vegetables from the grocery store, much of it is already packaged in plastic or you’re likely to grab one of those plastic produce bags that will more than likely end up in a landfill.  I bring my own bags to the tailgate market, and I compost any produce I don’t use (peels, ends, eggshells, etc.), so there is virtually no waste.  I strive to be mindful of reducing waste, so a decrease in food packaging is key.

I truly enjoy seeing friends and neighbors every Saturday morning at the tailgate market.  Kids playing with kids, friends and strangers exchanging smiles and stories over the food they’re selecting for the week.  I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it brings me deep satisfaction.

Flowers.  Fresh, seasonal flowers grown without pesticides.  The colors and the shapes amaze me.  One of earth’s most beautiful gifts and simple joys.

I’m learning more and more about the awful impact the meat industry has on our environment, not to mention the terrible way the animals are treated and the things they’re injected with that end up in the people who consume them.  I’m not a vegetarian, but I am striving to reduce my meat consumption and make better choices about where my meat comes from.  The meats sold at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market are from cows, pigs and chickens that are humanely treated and pasture-raised.  They’re not injected with antibiotics and growth hormones, and they’re not cooped up in some dark and filthy factory.  (Gross.)

Seafood sold at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market is fresh from the Carolina coast!  I cannot bear to spend my hard-earned money on seafood that is previously frozen or comes from some far-off land.  I have a lot to learn about sustainable seafood practices, but I do know that eating locally caught seafood reduces the amount of energy it takes to reach our plates.  It’s my goal to raise the consumer demand for sustainable seafood.

In addition to produce, seafood and meat, there are breads, cookies, pies, cheeses, breakfast items, fresh coffee, plants, jewelry, arts and crafts, and activities for kids.

Finally, I’m happy to hand my dollar directly to the farmer who grew my food.  It supports the industry and the local economy.  No middle man, no random fuel costs.  Did you ever think about the expense and energy it must take to get food to our grocery stores from Chili, Argentina, Mexico …and from who knows where?  Sprayed, picked, preserved, packaged, boxed, shipped, chilled, transported, unloaded, unboxed … shew, I have a headache!  Just give me some real food!

The Black Mountain Tailgate Market is every Saturday and runs May-October behind First Baptist Church on Montreat Road.  www.blackmountaintailgatemarket.org.