Seasonal fruits and vegetables are always changing. Visit the Jackson County Farmer's Market to find out what you can buy now, as well as what will be next. - Photo by Meredith Oakley

City Lights Café is also located in downtown Sylva near First United Methodist Church.  Vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan meals are all available options when dining with them. Enjoy breakfast at any time of the day with a crepe, waffle, or yogurt parfait made the way you want it. Lunch and dinner are also an option at City Lights. Pasta, salads, Paninis, and local beers and wines can be found for dining in or take-out. Local honeys, wines, and desserts are for sale as well.

Cooking with local ingredients can seem impossible while living on a college budget, but that’s not true. Every Saturday the Jackson County Farmers Market is open for business, providing in season fruits and vegetables as well as crackers and bread, honeys, salsas, salads dressings, jams and jellies, and even meats and cheeses. You can place your order for meats, fish, and eggs as well if they are not available.

Jackie Hooper of Shared Blessings Farm in Cullowhee sales her produce and eggs year round at the Jackson County Farmers Market.

“People don’t realize a lot of the food they eat is local.  We sell our eggs to Annie’s Bakery in downtown Sylva and our produce and eggs to Guadalupe Café,”  Hooper says.

From April until October the tailgate market is located every Saturday outdoors in Downtown Sylva at Pavilion Park.  From November until March the market is located every other Saturday at St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Sylva. For specific times you can visit their Facebook page.

“During the summer, one of my favorite things to do is go to the farmers market on Saturday mornings,” Bennett said.  ”The selection of locally sourced food is always great and the prices, comparatively speaking, are even better. I would much rather purchase produce from a local farm, than to purchase produce from a chain grocer,  which I might add is the only other option in my town.”

If you’re not sure how to cook what is in season, as well as how to cook with local foods, let ASAP help you out. Visiting the recipes section on their website will provide you the option to choose recipes specific to which local foods you have.  Also, visit the website to find other restaurants in Western North Carolina serving Appalachian Grown™ products.

For more information on how you can eat local and why you should, visit ASAP’s website and blog (fromhere.org) or by visiting your local tailgate market.