Located just five hours from Memphis, Chattanooga at first glance
might seem like a sleepy version of Nashville. The city boasts lots of
tourist attractions, beautiful rolling hills, and a variety of outdoor
activities.
But a closer examination, which I was able to have one weekend in
early October, revealed a city eagerly embracing artistic endeavors,
sustainable business, locally grown food, and a thriving agri-tourism
industry.
Agri-tourism, for the uninitiated (which is what I was until this
trip), is a vacation that focuses on farms, local food, and education
about farming culture. Because of the rich farming industry in
Tennessee, Chattanooga is a natural culinary and agriculture
destination.
No agri-tourism/culinary trip would be complete without a bit of
risk. So, at the Tennessee Aquarium, which sits right on the Tennessee
River, I did something crazy.
“Anyone want to try some toasted mealworms?” One of the keepers was
giving a demonstration about the different foods that the aquarium
prepares each day for the fish. I slowly raised my hand.
They were quite delicious. Crunchy, salty, and slightly meaty, I was
craving more for the rest of the day.
In addition to offering exotic snacks to its visitors, the Tennessee
Aquarium was very influential in reviving downtown Chattanooga and
tourism in the city. When the aquarium opened in 1992, downtown was not
very active. But within a few years, several restaurants also opened in
the area, and tourists began to visit Chattanooga just for the good
eating. Farmers on the outskirts of the city started to capitalize on
the growing interest in Chattanooga, and the city’s agri-tourism
industry has been expanding since.
The growing popularity of agri-tourism is partly because people are
interested in knowing where their food comes from and how it’s grown.
Meeting the farmers who grow the food completes the circle.
In Chattanooga, not all farmers are outside the city. John Sweet,
founder and owner of Niedlov’s Breadworks, grows an urban garden
outside his bakery. Sweet began his love affair with bread when he did
a baking exchange program in Germany.
“I stood on a concrete floor, kneading artisan bread for eight hours
a day, 40 hours a week,” he said. “And I just fell in love with
breadmaking.”
Sweet is committed to community involvement and sustainable
practices. He grew up on a 15-acre farm, so composting and gardening
are second nature. He grows tomatoes, beans, corn, and basil in the
bakery lot. He built a water-collection system and composts all the
bakery’s food scraps.
Crabtree Farms is an urban farm located near downtown Chattanooga.
Covering more than 22 acres, it has a weekly farm stand on-site that
offers produce, flowers, a community garden, pick-your-own crops, and
various outreach and education programs. Outside the city is Apple
Valley Orchard, a family-run farm that grows more than 30 varieties of
apples. Visitors can tour the orchard and pick apples to take home.
One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to Williams Island
Farm. Located on a 450-acre island in the middle of the Tennessee
River, the farm is run by five young farmers. Three of them —
Noah Bresley, Beth Austin, and Daniel Westcott — took some time
away from tending their fall crops to give me a tour.
The farm provides produce to a few restaurants and markets. The
farmers also do their part to reach people by offering educational
tours and dinners at the farm.
“We want local food to be very accessible,” Bresley said. “Some
people respond to the taste of fresh, local food. Other people buy it
because they feel like it’s the right thing to do.”
Because so many Chattanooga restaurants buy from local farmers,
tourists can experience the city’s rich agriculture without traipsing
through the mud. Susan Moses, co-owner of 212 Market Restaurant, has
built her family restaurant into Tennessee’s first certified green
restaurant and bicycle-friendly business.
The restaurant opened downtown in 1992, long before downtown
Chattanooga was considered a good location. Now, 212 Market is not only
an excellent place to eat, it is also a shining example of
sustainability. They cut water usage by 70 percent, changed the
lighting to LED lights, started composting and recycling, tinted the
windows in the dining room to cut cooling costs, and use lots of local
ingredients.
Tom Montague is the founder of Link 41, an artisan butcher. His
business is still in the works, but when his farm is established, the
animals will be raised free-range.
There wasn’t enough time to visit every farm in the area, so I am
definitely planning a return visit sometime soon. And depending on the
time of year you visit Chattanooga, you will experience different
crops. Whether you want to get down and dirty and pick your own food,
or if you’d prefer a farmers market on a Saturday morning, Chattanooga
has a little something for the inner farmer in us all.
