The Taste of Local Missouri Food Festival series will continue with the second festival taking place on Saturday, June 22, at 3 p.m., on Historic High Street in downtown California. The Taste of Local Missouri Food Festivals are free events that feature booths from local producers selling their products, representatives of restaurants and food stores that serve or sell locally grown food and non-profit organizations providing information about their mission and activities. The goal of the Taste of Local Missouri Food Festivals is to increase the number of food producers who are growing food in mid Missouri, increase the number of people who buy locally grown food, and to increase people's access to healthy locally grown food in their area. Each Festival Event will also include live music, children's activities, cooking demonstrations that utilize locally grown food and the opportunity to taste and purchase the fruits of regional producers.
"Mid-Missouri has some of the most fertile soil in the world, yet according to a study by the Kellogg Foundation, the average item of food on our grocery store shelves travels more than 1,500 miles to get to us", said Nancy Grant, President of the Missouri River Bluffs Association. "We are missing a huge economic development opportunity for local communities. Buying food from local farmers creates jobs, it means more food dollars stay in our region and it helps grow our local economy.
Our goal is simple, we are trying to increase the number of local food producers and the number of customers buying locally produced food." Vendors who have signed up to have a booth in Moniteau County so far include: Humming Bird Kitchen baked goods; Walk About Acres honey and ice cream; Cool Cow Cheeses; Longfellow's Garden Center plants and flowers; Fresh Beets Gourmet Popsicles; Burgers Smokehouse meat; Aqua Zero Water Purification Systems; and Mints and More baked goods. Several more vendors have expressed interest in hosting a booth. The Moniteau County Taste of Local Missouri Food Festival is sponsored by the Missouri River Bluffs Association (MRBA), the Missouri River Communities Network (MRCN), the Missouri Farmers Market Association, the Missouri State Bee Keepers Association and the Missouri Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Grant Program.
The organizational host in Moniteau County is California Progress, Incorporated.
Music scheduled for the Moniteau County Taste of Local Missouri Food Festival is - 3 to 3:40 - the Jesse Rohrbach Family performs; 3:40 to 4:10 - Cooking demonstration by Laura Carter of MO Deep Roots ("the Market Chef") featuring strawberry smoothies (made with local berries) and the child-powered bicycle blender; 4:10 to 4:40 - local college voice majors Kassi Meisenheimer, Pax Baker and Drew Bolinger perform 4:40 to 5:10 - Cooking demonstration featuring a white pizza with Burger sausage and local sautéed greens 5:10 to 5:50 - The Marks Family performs 5:50 to 6:20 - Cooking demonstration featuring late spring salad of local greens and veggies with raspberry walnut dressing 6:20 to 7 p.m. - Mike Gorman of Apostle's Creek performs.
For more information about the Taste of Local Missouri Food Festival please contact festival organizers at the Missouri River Communities Network at: [email protected] or call Denise at 573-256-2602. More information about all activities of the Missouri River Bluffs Association can be accessed by going to their website at: http://moriverbluffs.org/ .