Event set for Sunday at Hindman Settlement School
HINDMAN, Ky. (May 14, 2014) — People from multiple states and various walks of life will gather in Hindman on Sunday to celebrate their common interest in Appalachian food traditions.
The first Appalachian Food Summit: A Celebration of Our Appalachian Food Heritage will take place from noon to 8 p.m. at the Hindman Settlement School.
The gathering will bring together authors, chefs, farmers, advocates, scholars, and consumers dedicated to preserving traditional Appalachian foodways and supporting a future where farming, local food, and culinary tourism are part of economic development in the region.
The Summit will conclude with a dinner sponsored by Appalachia Proud, the new Kentucky Proud brand that designates food products produced in a 37-county region of Eastern Kentucky.
“Appalachia Proud is a comprehensive movement aimed at generating economic development through agriculture in Eastern Kentucky,” said Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer. “Appalachia Proud raises consumer awareness of the region’s many outstanding food producers and its rich food heritage.”
The dinner will be prepared by acclaimed chef Travis Milton, a native of Castlewood, Va., with produce, dairy, and meats from mountain farms in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. Kentucky and Appalachia Proud farmers and producers to be featured at the dinner include HF Farms, Friends Drift Inn Farm Produce, Climax Spring Water, Curehouse dry-cured hams and Holbrook Brothers Sorghum.
The Summit will include keynote presentations by notable heirloom seed saver Bill Best and award-winning documentary filmmaker Jamie Ross, a book signing with Appalachian cookbook authors, an oral history booth where participants can share their Appalachian food memories, and an information fair featuring regional food and farm organizations.
The day’s program from noon to 6 p.m. is free and open to the public. Tickets for the dinner are sold out.
The Appalachian Food Summit emerged from a Facebook group of chefs, farmers, advocates, writers, and scholars with the purpose of elevating mountain food culture to greater heights. Anyone with an interest in Appalachian food traditions is invited to join at www.facebook.com/groups/Appalachianfoodsummit.
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