Take a selfie, tour a farm, eat at a farm-to-table restaurant, learn about a local grower, community garden or business supporting local growers and have fun.
Those are the types of experiences that are part of the Eat Local CSRA Scavenger Hunt, which will run Oct. 9 through Nov. 8.
According to Debbi Wolfarth of Eat Local CSRA, the event kicks off on the second Saturday of the month, the same day Boondocks Farms has its monthly market with live music, local artisans and growers. Going to the farm in Jackson, S.C. and meeting the growers there will likely provide people scavenger hunt opportunities, she said.
“There will be a different event each weekend,” she said.
Scavenger hunts typically include a list of items to be found and checked off. The list will be available through the Eventzee app which can be downloaded at Eat Local CSRA’s website, eatlocalcsra.com. Each activity will earn the participant points with the overall winner taking part in a farm-to-table special event.
The goal of the event is to connect people with those who grow food locally.
During 2020, some people became more interested in locally sourced food as supply chains became disrupted, said Molly Swift of Fine Roots Marketing, who is helping promote the scavenger hunt.
Organizations such as Augusta Locally Grown, which connects local farmers to consumers, saw dramatic increases in the need for their services, she said.
“They are still going strong,” she said.
Among those participating in the scavenger hunt are farms such as Boondocks Farm, Carolina Country Farms, Trusty Farms and Tink’s Grass Fed Beef. Participating businesses that use locally-sourced food include Agape Chocolates, Namaste Indian Street Food, The Southern Salad and Buona Caffe. Some of the community gardens are located at Dutch Creek Animal Farm, Jessye Norman School of the Arts Community Garden and Studio Farmers Inc.
A complete list of participants is available at the Eat Local CSRA website.
Wolfarth said she hopes to forge lasting relationships between the growers and the consumer. The scavenger hunt is one of ways she does that through Eat Local CSRA. As more people support the local farmers, the market can grow in the area.
Wolfarth’s website is filled with videos highlighting many of the entities participating in the scavenger hunt.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the features editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
