To celebrate the belief that there is much to learn from food, the Southern Foodways Alliance kicked off its annual “Delta Divertissement” with a barbecue lunch at the Downtown Greenwood Farmers Market on Thursday.
The event ends today.
The alliance, which has more than 2,000 members nationwide, will host its major annual event, the Southern Foodways Symposium, this weekend in Oxford. But the organization wanted to open things up in Greenwood, said SFA Director John T. Edge.
“We wanted to introduce people to Mississippi, but we really wanted to introduce people to the Delta,” said Edge. “We think the food culture of Greenwood is incredibly diverse and interesting.”
Fifty people came to Greenwood for the event, and Edge said tickets sold out 12 minutes after the SFA posted an announcement about the divertissement on its website.
Heaping spoonfuls of collard greens, grainy stuffing and barbecued chicken were piled high onto picnic plates. The smoke from Spooney Kenter’s barbecue pit wafted down Howard Street as SFA members got a taste of Greenwood’s finest.
“There’s so much to learn about from food,” said Edge. “Food is a portal for cultural immersion. And we hope that people will learn about Mississippi through food. People probably don’t realize that there are tamales here, or that eating goat is sometimes more common than eating beef.”
Events like this help people across the country learn about the Delta, said Edge. But, according to Choctaw Ridge Farms owner Grace Miller Long, they also help local farmers and chefs keep their businesses strong during non-harvest seasons.
“Things are very hard for me in the winter,” said Long. “After the Farmers Market closes, I have to deliver all of my eggs by hand, which is an expense, since I only charge $3 a dozen.”
She and two other vendors had stalls set up at Thursday’s event, selling eggs, homemade jams, pickled green beans and more.
• Contact Jeanie Riess at 581-7235 or jriess@gwcommonwealth.com.
