Post by: The Dalai Mama
Town: Morgantown
Website: Chez Mama

This is my first post here at PWV, and I look forward to becoming a part of this blog. My town is currently Morgantown, and it has been for nearly 16 years now. I spent my first 17 years in Petersburg. I spent nearly every minute there wishing I was somewhere else. It is a beautiful town surrounded by mountains. It was a wonderful place to grow up. I just always felt like I needed to live in a place that offered a little more diversity.

I decided on WVU for college, and while I liked Morgantown during college, I didn’t plan on making it a permanent home. As a matter of fact, I’d always planned on leaving WV. The thought of that now is actually frightening to me. I absolutely love West Virginia, and can’t imagine raising my children anywhere else.

Well, I obviously never left Morgantown! I met my husband (Bryan/SleekPelt) while I was still in college. Shortly after, he pretty much landed a dream job here. Dream jobs are hard to come by in WV. So, here we are.

Anyway, since I love cooking (and food), I am going to write about some of the wonderful, local options we have here in Morgantown. For the last several years, we have bought a CSA share from Evans Knob Farm. Evans Knob is located in Bruceton Mills, about 30 miles from Morgantown. From late May to early October, we get a weekly bounty of fresh, organic vegetables. Evans Knob is certainly one of the few (if not only) USDA certified organic farms in WV. USDA certification is a process that takes years, and much hard work. The Evans’ are dedicated to their work while also practicing their farming in a way that is safe for the environment. I admire that immensely.

A few years ago, Morgantown finally got it together and organized a nice farmer’s market. Other towns in WV have really nice, big markets with such variety. That is definitely enviable, but what I love about the Morgantown Farmer’s Market, is that all products sold there must be produced within 50 miles. That’s truly locally produced! The market starts in just over three weeks. I can’t even say how much I’m looking forward to that! Much of the produce there is grown without pesticides or added chemicals. I think all of the meat sold there is grass-fed and hormone/anit-biotic free. We really are lucky to have options like that available locally. In many urban (and even some rural) areas in the U.S., you just wouldn’t be able to find fruit, veggies, meat and eggs that were essentially raised in your backyard. Just one of the many wonderful things about West Virginia!