Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2011

Farmers' market raising profile of local foods

The folks at the Clayton Farm & Community Market are looking to grow the popularity of local food even more this year.

When the farmers' market opens for its third season at 9 a.m. this Saturday, Kathy Bennek and two dozen vendors will kick off their efforts to convert Clayton eateries to spending 10 percent of their food budget on local products.

"The benefit of buying locally is the freshness," said Bennek, the market's president and seller of blueberries from her land on Creekside Farm. "The produce isn't coming from Chile or China, and you can talk to the people who grow it."

Clayton's market is the first in Johnston County to sign onto The 10% Campaign, an initiative of the Golden Leaf Foundation and the N.C. Center for Environmental Farming Systems.

"[The 10% Campaign] is trying to boost the local economy ... and get people to realize where their food is coming from," said Amie Newsome, an agent with the Johnston County Cooperative Extension Service.

Already, 2,700 people and nearly 250 businesses have combined to spend $3.2 million on North Carolina-grown food in recent months.

Tina Bolick is one of those willing restaurateurs. Owner and operator of Skylines Café on U.S. 70 Business in Clayton, she recently sprouted a Wednesday menu with locally-purchased ingredients. She drizzles her calamari and Dijon-crusted salmon with Shamrock's Buzzy Bees honey. And her brown-sugar chess pie and bourbon pecan pie are made with fresh, local eggs.

"The benefit for me is raising awareness for these passionate local farmers," said Bolick, who serves on the market's board of directors. "And local food has more nutrients."

A coming farmers' market newsletter, she said, will detail the health benefits of local foods. Local honey, for instance, has been shown to protect townsfolk from strains of allergies within the community, Bolick said.

Bennek, the group's president, hopes to attract more participants like Tina Bolick. This year, the Clayton farmers' market has more to recruit with. About 30 local vendors are signed up for this season, according to the market's website, clayton-farmers-market.org. That's up from about 16 last year. And every vendor hails from within a 50-mile radius of Clayton.

"It's about helping the community," Bennek said.