CFSA's Upstate Farm Tour

Events Summer 2016

There’s something about knowing where your food comes from that makes it taste better. Greens from your own garden are tastier than anything you can buy at the store. Dinner at your favorite restaurant is always enhanced by a conversation with the chef. Even the best locally-sourced, farm-fresh fare is elevated once you’ve walked the land it was grown or raised on and shaken the farmer’s hand in the process.

This is why the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is dedicated to its annual Upstate Farm Tour. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the tour gives us all the opportunity to get a first-hand look at where our food comes from. From livestock to produce to cheeses and honey, participants can learn about the processes from the farmers themselves.

On 22 farms, across nine Upstate counties, guests are invited to drop in over the course of the weekend on their own schedule. It’s an educational experience, shopping adventure and unique means of dining out—all in one. Most of the farms on the tour will have the fruits (and veggies) of their labor available to sell. Others will offer samples of food items prepared with their goods and still others will have food trucks or catering companies on site where you can enjoy a full meal on your journey.

In order to participate in the tour, guests can purchase a button that provides access to an entire vehicle or cycle group. (Since the price is the same regardless of group size, the more people you can safely stuff into mom’s minivan, the better the bargain.) Buttons can be purchased online at CFSA’s website or in person at co-sponsor Whole Foods Market, or at supporting sponsors The Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery in Greenville, or at The Grain Loft in Taylors. Additionally, single farm passes are available at the gates of each farm.

For those who want an even more hands-on experience, CFSA always welcomes volunteers to participate in the Upstate Farm Tour. Volunteers can sign up until the weekend of the event and are an invaluable resource to the success of the tour. They are critical in welcoming guests, checking passes and making sure the farmers themselves have the support they need to deliver the most rewarding experience to the guests of the farm.

Purchase your button, load up the van or assemble your bicycle gang, and make sure your cooler has plenty of room this June because the Upstate Farm Tour promises to be a deliciously educational experience.

UPSTATE FARM TOUR
June 18 & 19
22 Upstate Farms

For more information and registration visit www.carolinafarmstewards.org/uft. Contact stephen@carolinafarmstewards.org for volunteer opportunities.