Philadelphia is fortunate to have a number of organizations that work to support the local foodshed, connect farmers with restaurants and shoppers, and generally spread the work about the amazing food that is being grown, raised, and produced through the region.
One such organization is Fair Food. In addition to running a very visible Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market, they do an amazing job of connecting producers with restaurants and institutions who want to use local food in their kitchens.
Each year, Fair Food throws a grand fundraiser called The Brewer’s Plate, in which they bring together nearly fifty area restaurants, brewers, cheesemakers, and bakers for an orgiastic evening of tasting and sipping. This year’s event is coming up on Sunday, March 10 and runs from 5:30-9 pm at the National Constitution Center. General admission is $70 a head and VIP tickets are $140 (it gets you early admission and access to an extra, less crowded area).
Fair Food has given me a pair of general admission tickets (a $140 value!) to give away for this year’s Brewer’s Plate (sadly, transportation to Philadelphia is not included). If you can get yourself to Philly on March 10 and want a chance to win the tickets, here’s what you do:
The winner is commenter #69, Michele G., from RowHouse Livin’.
- Leave a comment on this post and share a reason why you like to eat locally grown/raised/products foods when you can.
- Comments will close at 12 noon on Monday, March 7. The winner will be posted promptly to the blog.
- Giveaway open to anyone who can get to Philadelphia on March 10.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: Fair Food gave me a pair of tickets for giveaway, as well as an additional pair that I can use. However, my opinions are my own and uninfluenced by these tickets. No cash changed hands.
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What an awesome giveaway!! Our family is trying to eat local and support our local farms. We belong to a csa & shop at farm stands for almost all of our food!!
I like to eat locally grown food because it tastes the best! And because it’s more fun.
I try to eat locally because I like to shop outside at markets….talking to farmers and finding veg I’ve never seen before and because I like to eat what is in season….tastes the best!
Eating locally grown food is the best way to ensure that your food is coming from a reliable source, is grown in season- when it is meant to be eaten- as is as fresh as possible! I love the Fair Food Stand and would love to be a part of this event!
One reason I like to eat locally grown products b/c it reminds me of my childhood and my grandparents farm.
I love to buy from our local farms and stands. What a great give a way….hope it’s me…
Taste is the primary reason, but I also love being in touch with the seasons and nature – the places and elements that actually produce the food. Someday I will have the space and time to grow more things myself, but eating food that was grown, tended and picked nearby (recently, and not shipped across the country in boxes) is the next best thing.
We do CSA(s) and grow our own. Local is delicious. I can’t get to Philly but would give the tickets to my sister who lives in Philly.
I like to eat locally grown food because I like supporting small, local businesses. Additionally, small farms are more likely to practice organic techniques. I get a weekly CSA share from a farm 10 minutes away from my apartment and I’m very happy with it!
I eat and buy locally because this country girls, country is growning smaller. I’m determined to help keep the farms around me farms!
Also what a great event! I’m near Philly but never make it to this because…well many becauses.
I love to use locally grown foods for my family for so many reasons- it’s fresh, it helps build community, it helps to support local families & businesses and it helps my kids see the real cost of food! Thanks for sharing! I’m a country girl at heart, but would love a chance to get back to the City of Brotherly Love!
I’ve just started my second season as a farm apprentice on a CSA near Philly. It’s exciting and encouraging to read all the comments of people who appreciate and value local, sustainable, seasonal and delicious food, especially as I look down the road to a farming career. When you buy local chemical-free food, you’re not just feeding your families in healthier ways, or even just feeding your communities in more holistic ways. You’re bringing up opportunities for a whole generation of young people like myself to have rewarding jobs and decent careers, and you’re helping to change the brokenness of our world’s food systems for the better. Thank you. Thank you! Keep supporting us, and we’ll keep making it worth your investment!
I’d love to get to the Brewer’s Plate to celebrate with the folks who are cooking with and eating Philly’s local food, but a $70 ticket isn’t in the apprentice’s budget. Here’s hoping I win!
I eat local not only because it is better for our communities, our bodies and our land, but also because I want to teach my children the value of real food and where it comes from… and where it should come from!
I could go into the usual fluffy stuff, but really? My 3 kids will eat 4 jars of pickles in a day. Yeah, that’s the 24 hour day. Not some magical 6200 hour time warp one.
They also managed to kill a 10 pound box box of just picked blueberries the morning I had the gall to have a migraine and sleep till noon one Sunday after a farm visit. There are three of them. One is four. I think she pooped blue for two weeks.
Really, I don’t need “buy local” so much as “sell your kids to a farm in exchange for produce because that is what it really is going to amount to, anyway”.
Did I mention that the little turds ate all my cherry tomatoes directly off the plants last year?
I need tickets to something. Food show, winery tour, whatevs.
I love my CSA produce and veggies to make the best jam and pickles!
I like to eat locally because it helps the environment, and it is healthier. Thanks for the chance to win!
One of the surprising benefits of eating locally, I’ve found, is the relationships I’ve built with some area farmers. There’s a greater sense of community — of connection to the land, and to one another — when we all participate in the business of local food. Thanks so much for the fantastic giveaway!
We eat locally grown foods for numerous reasons, but mainly the food is higher quality than mass produced and shipped around the world variety. I also am a huge advocate for supporting the local economy (farmers, farm stands, small restaurants, etc).
Thanks for the great website and awesome giveaway!! Cheers.
I like to eat locally sourced food because of the opportunity it gives me to talk with the producers. It can be a real treat to talk with “my potato guy” or “our wine lady” at the farmers market week after week!
I am trying to eat locally for so many reasons! First and foremost, locally grown food just tastes better; it’s usually fresher and “younger” than food that has been raised for shipment. It’s also better for the environment; it eliminates the need to use oil for gas to prep and ship stuff across the country and it eliminates the pollution that is an inevitable by-product of shipping. Finally, it usually encourages local small business and discourages Big Agro, which is a good thing in my book.
I’m in the Philly area and would love a chance to spend my paycheck at the Brewer’s Plate
Thanks!
Every Sunday afternoon my boyfriend and I have a ritual of shopping at the Fair Food Farm Stand at the Reading Terminal Market and other local farmers markets. We love supporting the local farmers, learning about living a self-sustainable lifestyle, spending quality time together, and actively trying new recipes with different, experimental ingredients. When you buy local you feel more connected to the community and have a better sense of where the food is coming from, fostering a feeling of great respect for the local farmers and all of their hard work when trying to provide us with quality produce, dairy, and meats. We believe that good food helps bring together families and communities by making you slow down and enjoy a good, quality meal together. Furthermore, a healthy lifestyle helps keep you feeling energetic in this fast-paced world. Overall, we love eating local because we feel that the food is healthier, fresher, and ultimately better tasting!!
I like to eat locally since you usually get a great product made by local producers who really know their product start to finish, it supports the local economy and you are also supporting a trade (small, local farming) that is making a comeback in a time where large companies making mass produced GMO, hormone laden food dominate the market.
Shopping at the local farmers markets not only make me be more creative in the kitchen (given what is available week to week), but also the variety and the freshness cannot compete with the supermarkets!