DeKalb sets third annual fall Harvest Festival

DeKalb County’s Third Annual Fall Harvest Festival promises a whimsical twist this year. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., at UGA Extension DeKalb County, 4380 Memorial Drive in Decatur.

Sponsored by the “Fresh on DeK” DeKalb Mobile Farmers Market, the free festival will feature fruit smoothie demonstrations, health education and medical screenings and lots of fresh produce for sale.

“It’s going to be a very festive event, so that everyone can get something from it,” said DeKalb County Extension Director and Mobile Farmers Market Manager Lynwood Blackmon. “The education is the most important aspect, but we want the community to look at food differently. We have to change how we view food and what we put in our bodies.”

The festival is the culminating event for the 2017 Mobile Farmers Market season, which included four months of week-day stops at various locations in south DeKalb County where limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables exists. The market offers shoppers fresh produce at affordable rates, as well as information about healthy eating.

The Mobile Farmers Market, which kicked off in May, has attracted nearly 7,000 shoppers this season, Blackmon said.

The market accepts cash, credit, check and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/ EBT benefits and operates in partnership with the DeKalb County Board of Health and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, with funding from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant.