Jeff Themm, the Director of the Nashville Farmer's Market, is a man with a mission: to unite Nashville Farmers and their produce with willing buyers looking for healthy, fresh food. The Nashville Farmers Market, located beside the Bicentennial Mall, is an expansive facility, housing approximately 27 vendors selling organic and traditionally grown vegetables and fruit, plants and flowers, homemade soaps, baked goods, meats, milk products, and more. Once you've made your fruit and vegetable purchases, visit the restaurant and flea market sections.
Themm recommended five books for people who want to pay more attention to what they eat:
- Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, chronicles the development of fast food and reveals startling details about its far-reaching impact.
- In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan, gives straightforward advice on how to choose what to eat and how much, and what to avoid.
- Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: The Food Buyers Guide to Farm Friendly Food, by Joel Salatin, educates readers on what "clean food" means and how it differs from industrialized food production.
- In Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front, Joel Salatin takes a humorous approach to traditional food production and how clean food production is generally discouraged and unsupported.
- Southern Food: At Home, On the Road, In History, by John Egerton, includes a short history of Southern food with traditional recipes.
In addition to inviting Nashvillians to visit the Farmers Market, Themm recommends visits to local farmers markets while on vacation. Be sure to ask for recipes to learn how locals prepare what they're selling.
Open from 8-5 Monday through Sunday, the Farmers Market celebrates Earth Day every day. For more information, visit the Nashville Farmers Market website for a list of vendors, photos, news and events, and a seasonality calendar.
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