Food From Family Farms Stars at Farm Aid 2014

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Farm Aid 2014, at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre on Sept. 13, will bring together an all-star lineup and more than 20,000 fans to shine a spotlight on good food and family farmers.

North Carolina farmers, businesses and nonprofit organizations are pitching in to provide concertgoers with family farm experiences that showcase the stories of food and farming in North Carolina. Farm Aid reached out to local farmers and companies to source family farm ingredients for HOMEGROWN Concessions^®. Local and regional farm groups will present interactive exhibits in Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village, engaging concertgoers in the work family farmers do to protect our communities, our environment and our health. A limited edition T-shirt was grown and sewn in the Carolinas. Concertgoers can pitch in by supporting a food drive at Farm Aid 2014 to support those in need.

Information about the local flavor at Farm Aid 2014:

• HOMEGROWN Concessions^® at Farm Aid 2014 will bring family farm-sourced foods to more than 20,000 concertgoers at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. Concession vendors include regular concert vendors and select vendors invited specifically for the Farm Aid event. All vendors must adhere to Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN criteria when sourcing their supplies and ingredients. Menu items include burgers, hotdogs and corndogs, pork BBQ, shrimp and grits, local lamb, and Italian ice featuring North Carolina fruit. Seasonal menu items include grilled local corn and garden salads. Dessert offerings include hand pies, specialty coffees, doughnuts and ice cream.
• HOMEGROWN Youthmarket will sell fresh fruit from local farms, plus cherry tomatoes, smoked dried sausage, peanuts, pecans and "personal watermelons," all purchased at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh. Sales at the stand will be conducted by local North Carolina youth and youth from New York City.
• Farm Aid 2014 will feature a dozen North Carolina craft beers, including Big Boss and Lonerider.
• In 2012, Farm Aid pioneered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for culinary instructors to expose their students to hands-on, professional, live, catered food service using family-farmed fresh foods. At Farm Aid 2014, culinary students from Wake Technical Community College will work in backstage catering alongside professors Chef Fredi Morf and Chef Jane Broden, as well as provide front-of-house hospitality.
• Farm Aid is partnering with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina to help meet the needs of the hungry in 34 North Carolina counties by collecting nonperishable food items from concertgoers at the main entrances to Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. Concertgoers can bring nonperishable food and non-food items that are in boxes, cans or plastic bottles (no glass). Suggested nonperishable donation items include canned tuna and protein, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, whole grain pasta and rice, and peanut butter. Non-food items, such as personal hygiene products and paper products, are also needed.
  The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a nonprofit organization that has provided food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina for over 33 years. Last year, the organization distributed more than 53 million pounds of food and non-food essentials. Through partnerships with local growers and packers, the Food Bank distributed more than 16 million pounds of fresh produce last year, a figure that has more than doubled over the past four years. Learn more at www.foodbankcenc.org.
• Farm Aid has partnered with TS Designs to bring concertgoers a special edition Farm Aid T-shirt that is made with organic North Carolina cotton and manufactured in the Carolinas. The T-shirt is sponsored in part by Chipotle Mexican Grill. The creation of this shirt supports more than 500 jobs in a little less than 750 miles. By tracing and telling the story of the entire supply chain, Farm Aid seeks transparency from farm to table and from dirt to shirt. To learn more about the process and pre-order a shirt, visit: www.farmaid.org/NCShirt.
• Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village (from noon to 5:30 p.m.) will feature hands-on activities that give concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, dig in and learn about the ways family farmers are growing good food for all of us. From aquaponics, fracking and sustainability to taking a mini-farm tour or testing their knowledge around hunger issues in North Carolina, concertgoers can learn more about the roots of their food and how it affects the land and the water.
• In the HOMEGROWN Skills Tent, concertgoers can learn about food, farming and sustainable fishing through hands-on workshops on saving seeds, making pepper jelly, shucking shellfish, weaving hair garlands from farm-grown flowers and crafting friendship bracelets from natural fibers.
• Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Concessions^® food service promotes a least-waste food service protocol. All compostable waste at the concert will be turned into valuable agricultural material to improve the health of the soil. A sizeable volunteer effort will be on hand to help concertgoers differentiate between landfill-bound trash, recyclables like plastic, and compostables, such as food waste and compostable food service ware. All of the service ware will be certified compostable, and local company Brooks Contactor is donating the collection and hauling.
• Local North Carolina farms and farmers will be featured on the video screen on the main stage. Farm Aid worked with a number of photographers to shoot and obtain photos to reflect the farmers and agriculture of North Carolina.

Additional Farm Aid 2014 details for concertgoers and fans tuning in at home:

• Farm Aid 2014 will feature performances by Farm Aid President and Founder Willie Nelson and board members John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, as well as Jack White, Gary Clark Jr., Jamey Johnson, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Delta Rae, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Carlene Carter, Todd Snider, Insects vs. Robots, Raelyn Nelson Band and Jesse Lenat.
• AXS TV will be the exclusive television broadcaster of Farm Aid 2014, to be presented in high definition (HD) on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT. The broadcast will include live performances from Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, as well as performances by Farm Aid 2014 artists recorded earlier in the day, including Jack White and Gary Clark Jr.
• The Webcast, "Farm Aid 2014 Live Presented by Amy's Kitchen," will broadcast from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT at www.farmaid.org.
• Willie Nelson's SiriusXM channel (59), Willie's Roadhouse, will air live from Farm Aid 2014, beginning at 12 p.m. EDT. SiriusXM's Dallas Wayne will host backstage interviews and behind-the-scenes coverage of the event.
• The Farm Aid official festival app is available for iPhone and Android devices. It allows users to view the entire Farm Aid 2014 schedule and select artists, workshops and artist briefings to make their own personal schedule for the day. Users can find out where they're going with the festival map, check out the HOMEGROWN Concessions^® food and drink offerings, read about the interactive exhibits in the HOMEGROWN Village and learn about our Farmer Heroes. Users can even take and post photos, tweet and share their Farm Aid experience with their friends through the app.
• Farm Aid's #Road2FarmAid social media campaign is off and running on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Social media users are including the #Road2FarmAid tag on social media posts to connect with people who are celebrating family farm agriculture and growing the Good Food Movement.
• Farm Aid has partnered with Auction Cause and eBay to auction autographed memorabilia, including a one-of-a-kind Martin guitar, vintage autographed vinyl records and concert merchandise. The auction is live at www.farmaidauctions.org from Sept. 12 – 22.

Farm Aid 2014 is sponsored by Amy's Kitchen, Rudi's Bakery, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Horizon Organic, Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley Coop, Applegate, PRO*ACT, Garden of Eatin', Brooks Contractor, PLOTSAVER, Big Boss, Lonerider and StubHub.

Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $45 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

SOURCE Farm Aid