While there are many things that set Charleston apart from the small town of Boone, NC where I went to school at Appalachian State University, there are also many similarities. Both communities are place based, meaning the people that live there are passionate about their surroundings. Charleston has a rich maritime history evident in the unique architecture while Boone has a notorious mountain past. Although Charleston is bounded by water and Boone by mountains, each community has historically relied on the resources that it had. This sense of place is continued in the idea of localism. Both Charleston and Boone have thriving farmers markets, and restaurants sourcing local, seasonally grown food. Getting a tour of local food in Charleston gave me a greater insight into how important the local food trend is here in the lowcountry.
We began the morning with a tour by Farmer Pete and his farmhand Kate at the Ambrose Family Farm. This more than 130 acre farm is operated with less than 15 workers! On top of being a You-Pick farm, produce is sold at two farmers markets and a myriad of restaurants, including Butcher and Bee, where we would be eating later in the afternoon. I was quite impressed to see just how much local food has been embraced by local chefs in a number of restaurants as well as a large portion of everyday consumers. The farm relies heavily on sales from its CSA shares. Community Supported Agriculture is an extremely important concept where customers pay up front, giving the farmer money for start up costs regardless of how successful the crop season is. Farmer Pete plans on having a smaller less expensive CSA geared toward students beginning this fall. He also hopes to have a year round CSA to provide work for his farmhands for a full continuous year. By having a continuous CSA, he hopes to keep farmhands by continuing the cash flow so they can support their families year round without having to search for off farm work. While walking around the farm we got to taste delicious blackberries, cantaloupe and even a moon and star watermelon! Farmer Pete then took us to Tomato Shed Café, a small restaurant and market owned and operated by his family. It was nice to see that the entire farm operation was kept close to home and was done in a way to support the local community. With fresh baked cookies and breads and homemade jellies and salsa’s lining the walls, this was just the beginning of a wonderful day of delicious local food.
We then proceeded to Grow Food Carolina, a non-profit organization whose mission is to link local farmers with regional markets. By providing the connection between the producer and consumer, they hope to keep the distance food travels to a minimum. Through a grant from the USDA, the organization got a large warehouse to use as its headquarters. It is here that they receive the produce, check it for quality control and then distribute it back to the community. They are able to help farmers secure products for wholesale distribution by certifying the produce before it is distributed. By providing the marketing and sales coordination, local produce has been incorporated into area supermarkets such as Whole Foods, Piggly Wiggly and Earthfare. I found this to be quite an impressive feat. They also work with an extensive list of restaurants which showcase local foods. Therefore, I was surprised to see the warehouse drastically empty and underutilized. Could it be that farmers are hesitant in only receiving 80 cents of every dollar of profits, or is it due to the increase in regulations and standards which are present in using this middle man organization?
Witnessing the travel of our local food through the course of the day was riveting. The last part of the trip was to a local restaurant called Butcher & Bee. We had the restaurant to ourselves and an engaging discussion over a delicious meal with the owner, Michael Shemtov, in between the busy lunch and dinner hours. He consistently spoke on the idea of community and how food can be used to foster a sense of place with people who love food and good conversation. The way he does business is almost unheard of. For one thing, he is adamant about a changing menu. This he says allows the restaurant to use the most local, fresh ingredients. He argues that it is impossible for a restaurant to source all of its produce locally while having the same menu year round. He also has what are called pop up dinners by visiting chefs. Often times these dinners have an ethnic focus including recent Vietnamese and Gullah-Geechie inspired meals. We got to speak with an Italian chef, Dick Bosstick, who was preparing a dinner using historic Italian/French recipes. In particular, the simplicity of the 19th century style caponata sauce he was making had a deep history attached. He discussed the cultural influences on recipes and how these have both developed and stayed consistent over centuries. It was intriguing to look at food through a cultural lens.
Throughout the day I was continuously surprised by how much thought and effort was going into the food being produced, contrary to the practices of industrialized agriculture. The theme of community building was prevalent throughout, from engaging people in the growing process to joining together for a communal meal. The entire day was mesmerizing. Not only did we get to spend a beautiful day out on the farm and enjoy delicious local food, I learned a ton about local food in Charleston!
