Taste of Appalachia is a summer series of farm to table events that showcase some of the restaurants and grocery stores in the region that purchase products from local farmers for their menus and stores. ToA was created through a Local Food Promotion Program grant from the USDA that is jointly overseen by Appalachian RC&D and Appalachian Sustainable Development.
It’s been a busy summer for us! Eight onsite events were set at local businesses along with four farmers market cooking demos and four appearances on Daytime Tri-Cities! Please check out the videos from Rain Abingdon, Gourmet & Company, The Main Street Pizza Company, and Mellow Mushroom Bristol.
Events run the gamut from free sample tastings all the way to formal eight course gourmet meals and everything in between. The goal was to create a variety of events so that folks at all budget levels could experience local food. We also wanted to show the public that beyond shopping at the farmer’s market, there are a variety of businesses who also care deeply about supporting local farmers and ranchers and who are also deserving of your business.
Participating businesses are Rain Bar and Restaurant in Abingdon, Gourmet & Company in Johnson City, Main Street Pizza Company in Kingsport, Boone Street Market in Jonesborough, Studio Brew in Bristol, Mellow Mushroom Bristol and Blue Hills Markets in Abingdon and Glade Spring.
Many of the events occurred in June and July, but there’s still a chance to catch Mellow Mushroom Bristol on August 14 and Blue Hills Market Glade Spring on August 27. Mellow Mushroom will offer an a la carte menu of pizza, bruschetta, salad, soup and dessert all featuring local produce. Blue Hills Market will offer a variety of free samples of local products, snacks and prepared foods from their store and deli. You can visit RootedinAppalachia.com/taste-appalachia for more info.
Check out these pictures from previous Taste of Appalachia events:
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