For Deirdre Grim, food is relational. And since she took on the role of executive director of the Forsyth Farmers’ Market last year, Grim has sought to strengthen the bonds between the public and the people who grow the food that shows up on our tables. She describes the connection between people and food systems as circular rather than linear, and she hopes that by hosting quarterly brunches, lunches and dinners using produce, meats and baked goods from Forsyth Farmers’ Market vendors, she can expand the market’s circle of support.
Grim hosted the first appreciation luncheon just before the holidays as a way of highlighting the many programs the farmers’ market provides beyond the Saturday market, such as 912 Food Farmacy to address illnesses through nutrition and Fresh Approach to help daycare centers introduce healthy eating habits early.
On Sunday, Jan. 7, Grim is hosting the inaugural Gullah Geechee Farmsgiving, a fundraiser to support market farmers with expenses, such as those incurred with getting certified organic.
The focus on Gullah Geechee cookery is a natural connection, says Grim, who hopes diners will walk away with a deeper understanding of the unique foodways and culture the emerged along the coast from Jacksonville, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, with the introduction of West African ingredients and cooking techniques during America’s history of enslavement.
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
“I want everyone to understand that this [cuisine] is something to be proud of,” said Grim, adding that Gullah Geechee cooking is often lumped into Southern and Soul food even though it is steeped in coastal staples ― rice, seafood, leafy vegetables and sweet potatoes ― a traditionally healthy, vegetable-forward diet.
“This is what my ancestors built out of nothing. We were a very innovative people, and that’s something I want to tie back to the market.”
Chef Gina Capers-Willis of What's Gina Cooking is curating the Gullah Geechee menu based upon the dishes she grew up cooking and eating with her own family in Savannah. "My mother's parents had a club-restaurant on Wilmington Island [Saul's Place] for over 50 years, so it was nothing to have Oyster Perloo or my grandmother's delectable deviled crabs regularly at the dining room table."
Her menu will include a Savannah-style Gumbo that will most assuredly include okra, she says. “Let me clear it up right now. The word ‘gumbo’ literally means okra, and it was used as a thickening for the stew. I will honor the way my ancestors made it before me.”
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
Capers-Willis sees herself as a "culinary griot,” where she continues to tell the story of her people through cooking. To create a culturally based meal is to “respect traditional cooking methods,” she says, and sourcing fresh vegetables and sustainable meats from the Forsyth Farmers’ Market is one way of paying homage.
“I handpicked everything that will be used. I know when I get collard or okra from Miss Helen with Joseph Fields Farm that is it local and fresh.”
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
Grim is excited to break bread with the community at Farmsgiving.
“Gina will come from a place of love; that is always infused in our cooking,” she says, and she hopes the dinner will broaden the way people approach the market and rethink the food available there.
“People have a misconception that shopping at a farmers’ market is only for the affluent,” said Grim, who earned a Ph.D. in urban planning, public policy and design. She emphasizes, however, that good, wholesome ingredients are the foundation of food that nurtures, nourishes and stretches.
She grew up on vegetable-forward, one-pot meals, especially beans and rice flavored with a little bit of pork. It’s the same meal she served her family while she pursued her degree and her husband was in the service. “It kept my boys alive and kept me sane. Eating healthy doesn't have to look like what we see on TV."
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
Credit: Courtesy Gina Capers-Willis
If You Go >>
What: Forsyth Farmers' Market Inaugural Gullah Geechee Farmsgiving
When: 11:30 a.m., Jan. 7
Where: Lake Villa Marie, 6 Dolan Drive, Isle of Hope
Tickets: Children 5 and under, Free; Ages 6-12, $50 each; Adults, $100 each; Table for 10, $900
Info: forsythfarmersmarket.com/gullah-geechee-farmsgiving
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Forsyth Farmers' Market's inaugural Farmsgiving celebrates Gullah Geechee cuisine
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