Changin’ Ways Farm
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How to celebrate a locally sourced Thanksgiving
Gather Around the Community Table
by MELISSA SUTTON-SENG
Red Beard Farms
R e d -Ta i l e d F a rm
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THANKSGIVING is usually one of the nation’s busiest travel holidays. This year, however, many
of us are sticking close to home.
Living in the time of a global health crisis has highlighted the importance of our local community
and its resources. It may take extra effort to focus on our blessings during such a trying year, but the
resilience and community spirit of the Cape Fear region is certainly something to be grateful for.
Farmers, artisans, and small-business owners have adapted to meet the challenges of life and business in a
pandemic, and area residents have come to a greater appreciation of these producers.
Shopping local is one way to demonstrate gratitude to the people who’ve worked hard to provide necessities
when national supply chains were threatened. Here’s where to find the ingredients you need to make a locally
sourced Thanksgiving dinner.
The Turkey
First things first: the turkey. You can bake
it, fry it, smoke it, or even grill it. However
you choose to cook the turkey, you can buy it
from a local farm. Veteran-owned Changin’
Ways Farm in Hampstead is guided by David
Borkowski’s mission to promote environmen-tally
conscious food. Humble Roots Farm
in Scotts Hill is the family farm of Kyle and
Katelyn Stenersen, and is built on the philos-ophy
of responsible, biblical stewardship.
Co-owners Juliann Janies and Gregory Hodg-don
rescued a long-neglected Burgaw farm to
start Red-Tailed Farm and focus on sustainable
agriculture.
All three of these farms are offering
humanely raised and processed turkeys this
year. While much of your shopping can be
done the week of Thanksgiving at one of our
area farmers markets, you should reserve a
turkey as soon as possible.
Turkey Options
If turkey isn’t your thing or you want to try something
new this year, there are other local options. The three farms
named above offer other meats as well. Red-Tailed Farm
even has duck.
Wilmington native Gayle Jackson Straight, one of the
original owners of Jackson’s Big Oak Barbecue, now operates
Alchemy Ranch along with her husband, David. Alchemy
had to relocate after Hurricane Florence but can be found at
the Riverfront Farmers Market selling pork, lamb, beef, and
even rabbit, all sustainably farmed. Tidal Creek Co-op will
have vegetarian and vegan options and a selection of local
meats as well.
Sides
For some of us, Thanksgiving dinner is all about the sides.
Collards are the traditional greens of the South, and
they’re grown in Wilmington by Humble Roots Farm.
Though collards (and kale) grow year-round in the Caroli-nas,
they get sweeter after a frost, so we can hope for a little
cold snap to sweeten the leafy greens before Turkey Day.
WBM november 2020