By Kevin Starr
County Extension Director
NC Cooperative Extension Service

I took one of my infrequent trips to the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market on Yorkmont Road this past Saturday. It’s fun to go down there, especially since some of the vendors are from Lincoln and nearby counties. Donnie Cline was there from New Beginning Farm in Vale. He had a nice assortment of greens, winter squash and a few odds and ends like chestnuts. I love raw chestnuts but it sure is a lot of trouble to get that shell off.

Gil Foster of Gilcrest Natural Farm in Iron Station was on hand, selling their locally raised meats. Virginia Hoyle was present, selling the pickles and other products for which she has become well known at the market. From nearby Catawba County, the families of both Wong Victor Her and Jefferson Her were offering a vast array of beautiful cut flowers. Many of you are familiar with Wong Victor’s Nature Flower Farm, a regular vendor at the Denver farmers market.

Post a Job! $9 for 15 days

While the Hers focus on cut flowers, there were other Hmong vendors there selling some beautiful vegetables. I bought wonderfully fresh bunches of pea shoots, collards, Oriental mustard, and water spinach. Most of these leafy greens are well-suited to stir-fry dishes and offer a change of pace from routine ingredients.

But my first stop at the market was at the orange food trailer parked beside the craft barn. This is Grateful Growers Farm’s “Harvest Moon Grille”. I had read a lot of updates on their menu and I wanted to taste some of the food for myself. I got the tasso ham sandwich with egg and diced tomato. It was fantastic! This sandwich had a lot of local flavor. Naturally, the ham in the sandwich came from Grateful Growers. Denver Farmers Market vendor, Freedom Farms, supplied the eggs, and Lincolnton’s own 36th Street Bakery provided the buns.

Since Harvest Moon Grille features locally produced foods, they were a natural choice to cater our Farm-City Week event on Thursday, October 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

They will be serving a full meal that night accompanied by bluegrass music from the Catawba Valley Music Revival Youth Band.

Kids and adults will also have the opportunity to help paint a farmers market mural.

Farm-City week was started by Kiwanis International in the 1950’s as a way to increase understanding between the rural and urban segments of our society. What better way to do this than by celebrating with a meal of local foods?

Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children. All tickets will be sold in advance, so please contact Cooperative Extension at 704-736-8452 if you are interested.