Food From Family Farms Stars at Farm Aid 2014

Food From Family Farms Stars at Farm Aid 2014

North Carolina Farmers, Businesses and Organizations Bring Local Flavors to All-Day Music Festival

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Farm Aid 2014, at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre on Sept. 13, will bring together an all-star lineup and more than 20,000 fans to shine a spotlight on good food and family farmers.

North Carolina farmers, businesses and nonprofit organizations are pitching in to provide concertgoers with family farm experiences that showcase the stories of food and farming in North Carolina. Farm Aid reached out to local farmers and companies to source family farm ingredients for HOMEGROWN Concessions(®). Local and regional farm groups will present interactive exhibits in Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village, engaging concertgoers in the work family farmers do to protect our communities, our environment and our health. A limited edition T-shirt was grown and sewn in the Carolinas. Concertgoers can pitch in by supporting a food drive at Farm Aid 2014 to support those in need.

Information about the local flavor at Farm Aid 2014:


-- HOMEGROWN Concessions(®) at Farm Aid 2014 will bring family
farm-sourced foods to more than 20,000 concertgoers at Walnut Creek
Amphitheatre. Concession vendors include regular concert vendors and
select vendors invited specifically for the Farm Aid event. All vendors
must adhere to Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN criteria when sourcing their
supplies and ingredients. Menu items include burgers, hotdogs and
corndogs, pork BBQ, shrimp and grits, local lamb, and Italian ice
featuring North Carolina fruit. Seasonal menu items include grilled
local corn and garden salads. Dessert offerings include hand pies,
specialty coffees, doughnuts and ice cream.
-- HOMEGROWN Youthmarket will sell fresh fruit from local farms, plus
cherry tomatoes, smoked dried sausage, peanuts, pecans and "personal
watermelons," all purchased at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh.
Sales at the stand will be conducted by local North Carolina youth and
youth from New York City.
-- Farm Aid 2014 will feature a dozen North Carolina craft beers, including
Big Boss and Lonerider.
-- In 2012, Farm Aid pioneered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for
culinary instructors to expose their students to hands-on, professional,
live, catered food service using family-farmed fresh foods. At Farm Aid
2014, culinary students from Wake Technical Community College will work
in backstage catering alongside professors Chef Fredi Morf and Chef Jane
Broden, as well as provide front-of-house hospitality.

-- Farm Aid is partnering with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North
Carolina to help meet the needs of the hungry in 34 North Carolina
counties by collecting nonperishable food items from concertgoers at the
main entrances to Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. Concertgoers can bring
nonperishable food and non-food items that are in boxes, cans or plastic
bottles (no glass). Suggested nonperishable donation items include
canned tuna and protein, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, whole
grain pasta and rice, and peanut butter. Non-food items, such as
personal hygiene products and paper products, are also needed. The Food
Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a nonprofit organization
that has provided food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in
central and eastern North Carolina for over 33 years. Last year, the
organization distributed more than 53 million pounds of food and
non-food essentials. Through partnerships with local growers and
packers, the Food Bank distributed more than 16 million pounds of fresh
produce last year, a figure that has more than doubled over the past
four years. Learn more at www.foodbankcenc.org.
-- Farm Aid has partnered with TS Designs to bring concertgoers a special
edition Farm Aid T-shirt that is made with organic North Carolina cotton
and manufactured in the Carolinas. The T-shirt is sponsored in part by
Chipotle Mexican Grill. The creation of this shirt supports more than
500 jobs in a little less than 750 miles. By tracing and telling the
story of the entire supply chain, Farm Aid seeks transparency from farm
to table and from dirt to shirt. To learn more about the process and
pre-order a shirt, visit: www.farmaid.org/NCShirt.
-- Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village (from noon to 5:30 p.m.) will feature
hands-on activities that give concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, dig
in and learn about the ways family farmers are growing good food for all
of us. From aquaponics, fracking and sustainability to taking a
mini-farm tour or testing their knowledge around hunger issues in North
Carolina, concertgoers can learn more about the roots of their food and
how it affects the land and the water.
-- In the HOMEGROWN Skills Tent, concertgoers can learn about food, farming
and sustainable fishing through hands-on workshops on saving seeds,
making pepper jelly, shucking shellfish, weaving hair garlands from
farm-grown flowers and crafting friendship bracelets from natural
fibers.
-- Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Concessions(®) food service promotes a least-waste
food service protocol. All compostable waste at the concert will be
turned into valuable agricultural material to improve the health of the
soil. A sizeable volunteer effort will be on hand to help concertgoers
differentiate between landfill-bound trash, recyclables like plastic,
and compostables, such as food waste and compostable food service ware.
All of the service ware will be certified compostable, and local company
Brooks Contactor is donating the collection and hauling.
-- Local North Carolina farms and farmers will be featured on the video
screen on the main stage. Farm Aid worked with a number of photographers
to shoot and obtain photos to reflect the farmers and agriculture of
North Carolina.
Additional Farm Aid 2014 details for concertgoers and fans tuning in at home:


-- Farm Aid 2014 will feature performances by Farm Aid President and
Founder Willie Nelson and board members John Mellencamp, Neil Young and
Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, as well as Jack White, Gary Clark Jr.,
Jamey Johnson, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Delta Rae, Lukas Nelson &
Promise of the Real, Carlene Carter, Todd Snider, Insects vs. Robots,
Raelyn Nelson Band and Jesse Lenat.
-- AXS TV will be the exclusive television broadcaster of Farm Aid 2014, to
be presented in high definition (HD) on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m.
PDT. The broadcast will include live performances from Farm Aid board
members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews
with Tim Reynolds, as well as performances by Farm Aid 2014 artists
recorded earlier in the day, including Jack White and Gary Clark Jr.
-- The Webcast, "Farm Aid 2014 Live Presented by Amy's Kitchen," will
broadcast from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT at www.farmaid.org.
-- Willie Nelson's SiriusXM channel (59), Willie's Roadhouse, will air live
from Farm Aid 2014, beginning at 12 p.m. EDT. SiriusXM's Dallas Wayne
will host backstage interviews and behind-the-scenes coverage of the
event.
-- The Farm Aid official festival app is available for iPhone and Android
devices. It allows users to view the entire Farm Aid 2014 schedule and
select artists, workshops and artist briefings to make their own
personal schedule for the day. Users can find out where they're going
with the festival map, check out the HOMEGROWN Concessions(®) food and
drink offerings, read about the interactive exhibits in the HOMEGROWN
Village and learn about our Farmer Heroes. Users can even take and post
photos, tweet and share their Farm Aid experience with their friends
through the app.
-- Farm Aid's #Road2FarmAid social media campaign is off and running on
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Social media users are including the
#Road2FarmAid tag on social media posts to connect with people who are
celebrating family farm agriculture and growing the Good Food Movement.
-- Farm Aid has partnered with Auction Cause and eBay to auction
autographed memorabilia, including a one-of-a-kind Martin guitar,
vintage autographed vinyl records and concert merchandise. The auction
is live at www.farmaidauctions.org from Sept. 12 - 22.
Farm Aid 2014 is sponsored by Amy's Kitchen, Rudi's Bakery, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Horizon Organic, Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley Coop, Applegate, PRO*ACT, Garden of Eatin', Brooks Contractor, PLOTSAVER, Big Boss, Lonerider and StubHub.

Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $45 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

SOURCE Farm Aid

Farm Aid

CONTACT: Brittany Vanderpool, 410-599-2323, bvanderpool@vancomm.com

Web Site: http://www.farmaid.org


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