Hanging in the window of a vacant storefront in downtown North Adams was a small, white sign. It said:

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food

This is not the sort of sign that usually hangs in a shop window in North Adams. I did a double-take. And then I promptly whipped out my phone and entered the time and date for this event. I sure as heck wanted to know my farmer. (Well, I do know my farmer; he’s Don at Caretaker Farm. But certainly there are others, and I don’t know them…yet.)

News travels slow here in the Berkshires — at least it does for me — so it took me some digging to find out what this event was all about. Headed up by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and inspired by the USDA’s recent Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food campaign, our very own local KYF event will be an opportunity to discover where you can get locally grown or raised food here in the Berkshires year-round. Local growers, producers, and purveyors will provide samples, and local author Amy Cotler will be around to sign copies of her book, The Locavore Way, whose cover illustration is so wonderfully, cutely appealing, I want to get it printed on a little button to wear on my jacket.

Now, I probably don’t have to tell you that food grown in your own community tastes better, is better for you, and helps to support an industry that — especially here in Berkshire County — is as vital as it is invaluable. Please join me at this event.

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food

Monday, February 8 2010, 5 – 7 PM
49 Main Street, North Adams

Contact Kim McMann at kimm (at) foodbankwma (dot) org for more information.

News travels slow here in North Adams. At least, it does to me. I frequently find out about events long after they’ve happened, or learn of big changes on the eve of their occurrence, when months have passed and the voting and planning and finger-pointing has died down. So it made sense, in a way, that I hadn’t heard about the urban gardens of North Adams, one of which is sprouting up just a few steps from my own front door.

My news source? The Inside Storey, a blog kept by local business Storey Publishing. There, Deb Burns reports that a group called REACH for Community Health has hatched a plan to replace petunias with potatoes:

[S]ix or seven food gardens with tomatoes, peppers, and more will replace standard flower beds throughout downtown North Adams, with the mayor’s approval.

The vegetable gardens will belong to the community, Bob [Hoquette, a representative from REACH] said. What happens at harvest time? He shrugged. “We’ll see. If you’re hungry you can pick a tomato.”

My first thought, after Wow! That’s so cool!, was How timely. I’d just cracked open Food Not Lawns last night, and was feeling inspired and maybe just devilish enough to head out on a renegade mission to nestle zucchini plants among the weeds in some abandoned lots and forlorn corners of public parks. Of course, someone’s already beaten me to the punch — and legally, to boot.

Click through to The Inside Storey for, well, the full story (with pictures), and a quick and accurate portrait of the history of our weird little town.