Local Food Gets a White House Boost and Lake Lure Gets a F.L.A.P. Market

From F.L.A.P. — Blog by Fresh Local Art & Produce (F.L.A.P.) Market

March 25, 2009

First Lady Michelle Obama, like Laura Bush before her, is actively promoting the benefits of buying fresh local foods:
1. It supports local farmers.
2. It saves the fuel and other resources needed to ship produce across the country.
3. It puts fresh food on the table – food that was harvested at its peak rather than weeks before it was ready.
4. It avoids some of the health concerns noted in recent headlines about non-local peanuts, jalapenos and tomatoes.
5. Best of all, fresh, locally grown food just tastes better!

For these reasons and more, North Carolina is seeing a flurry of new Farmer’s Markets – including a brand new one in Lake Lure! The Fresh Local Art & Produce Market, or F.L.A.P. Market for short, will meet on Tuesday mornings through the summer months.

As conceived by Lake Lure artist Gail Williams, the new market combines the best parts of an art show and a farmers market. Gail, who also exhibits her works in Hendersonville and Asheville, has asked Ken Jordan of The Lake Guys™ to help make her dream a reality. Ken has worked closely with the Town of Lake Lure to pull it all together. “The town is making the land between the Beach and the ABC store available,” Jordan says. “Everyone’s very excited that we’ll have a convenient location to sell from, right beside the lake!”

“Since over 40,000 visitors come to Lake Lure every year, and many of them are looking for art, combining art and produce seems like a natural. And make no mistake: this won’t be a yard sale or flea market. All art must be pre-approved by the F.L.A.P. Market art jury.”

The F.L.A.P. Market starts at 8am on Tuesday April 21 and continues every Tuesday morning through September 29. More info at http://flapmarket.com