Category: Food/Restaurants

Farm Share’s Story and Their Upcoming Free Food Distribution

Debbie Roney Smith on

Founded in 1991 with the goal of eliminating food waste, Farm Share has grown to accommodate community hunger. Did you know that most large groups collecting food donations from the public charge a per-pound “shared maintenance fee?” This means local churches, soup kitchens, and more must pay up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year! Farm Share gives food to their recipient agencies without fees of any kind which helps agencies that cannot afford the maintenance fees as well as small, grass-root organizations.

This Saturday, January 16th from 7 a.m. CST to 10 a.m. CST, Farm Share is having a Free Food Distribution event at Rise Institute in Tallahassee. This is a FREE event that will be held at 1200 W Tharpe St, Tallahassee, FL 32303-4608, United States. 

Visit the official Farm Share website HERE for more other food distribution events, how to volunteer, how to support, and to donate!

College Football Championship

Debbie Roney Smith on

Today is the college football championship game between Alabama and Ohio State! The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. EST. Looking for somewhere to watch the game? If you’re close to Pensacola, visit the Coastal County Brewing Company to enjoy interesting beers, home-style comfort food, and a giant big-screen TV! If you wear your team’s gear, you will be rewarded for your team spirit with special pint discounts. Please note that doors open at 4 p.m. and there is a maximum occupancy in effect due to COVID. If you live closer to Tallahassee, consider visiting The Brass Tap in Midtown to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. There will be endless food and drink options but please note that the Tap will continue to follow social distancing guidelines. 

Jackson County Extra Food Day

Debbie Roney Smith on

Attention Jackson County residents! Innovative Charities of Northwest Florida is having a mobile food distribution event today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The event is FREE to Jackson County residents, and will not count against the normal monthly food allotment. The event will be drive-thru only to encourage safety, and there is a limit of one box/bag per household. Please be aware there will be someone directing you to where you should park. After parking, please open your trunk and DO NOT get out of your car; volunteers will be by to take care of you.

Check out Innovative Charities Facebook page to view their address, RSVP for the event, and more! Click here. 

Trade-A-Tree

Debbie Roney Smith on

The non-profit Keep Pensacola Beautiful is hosting Trade-A-Tree today, January 3rd, from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Looking to get your LIVE holiday tree out of the living room? Take it down to the parking lot of the GCE/KPB building at 2001 N. Palafox Street. Your tree will be recycled, FOR FREE, into mulch. Additionally, you will receive a Live Oak tree to plant along with instructions. This is a wonderful opportunity to go carbon neutral and create a more sustainable holiday tradition. 

Keep Pensacola Beautiful is partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation, and they’ve worked hard to help make this program possible. Additionally, there will be hot chocolate and hand sanitizer available (will products last!). Please be sure to wear your mask, and hope to see you there. If you want more information or to RSVP, visit Keep Pensacola Beautiful’s event page HERE. 

Pensacola’s Palafox Market

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From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Palafox Markets will be open to all. Held in the MLK Plaza in Downtown Pensacola, the markets are host to artists, crafters, makers, cottage bakers, and farmers. It is an open-air market, but please be sure to practice safety precautions like wearing masks. As a bonus, the parking is free on Sundays!

Saddle Up Santa

Debbie Roney Smith on

Dothan Boots & Saddle Club’s Saddle Up Santa will still occur in 2020! This year, the event will be a drive-through in order to keep things safer for everyone. Saddle Up Santa is a drive-through Christmas Festival with tons of goodies, food, and gifts from Santa! Please be sure to bring a can of food for the Salvation Army Food Bank donation. The event will be held today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Houston County Farm Center; cars will enter from Cottonwood Road.

Sneads Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting

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This Saturday, December 12th is the annual Town of Sneads Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting. Starting at 4 p.m., the parade can be viewed on Hwy 90 and will drive from Sneads Auto Parts to McDaniels Grocery.

After the parade, City Hall will be hosting the Town tree lighting. There will be an inflatable set-up appropriate for small kids, free hot dogs, chips, drinks, and hot chocolate! Please wear masks to keep everyone safe, and be sure to bring warm coats.

Lafayette Landing Grand Opening Celebration

Debbie Roney Smith on

Tomorrow is the opening of Lafayette Landing! Enjoy the unveiling of this new community space in downtown Marianna from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. this Thursday, December 10th. There will be a ribbon-cutting to start the event as well as live music, refreshments, and food trucks. Please wear masks for community safety! 

Marianna’s Merry Market

Debbie Roney Smith on

It’s officially December which means holidays are upon us! Consider visiting the 1st Annual Merry Market at Citizens Lodge Park in Marianna this weekend to start looking for gifts, get pictures, or just to entertain the kids for a few hours. The event is this coming Saturday, December 5, and will run for ONE DAY ONLY from 9 a.m. CST to 4 p.m. CST. 

There will be a variety of things to do at the Merry Market including but not limited to:

  • Over 40+ vendors selling bags, Mary Kay, wood crafts, home goods, homemade crafts, food, produce, and more. 
  • Performances from Sarah Williams, Sandra Harrell, Amy Allen, the Tobacco Road Band, and possibly more.
  • Santa Pictures; professional photographer and picture packages available.
  • Petting zoo with goats, ducks, bunnies, and reindeer alpacas. Hercules the bull may make an appearance.

Visit the Merry Market Facebook event page HERE to keep up with vendor announcements and more! 

Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving!

Debbie Roney Smith on

The United States of America, or at least the area that would become the U.S.A., first called for a national day of thanksgiving to celebrate victory over the British in the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. However, it didn’t officially become a sanctioned holiday until 1863, thanks to the efforts of author Sarah Josepha Hale (you might know her from the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb”). 

Here’s a fascinating story you can share this year to wow people with the breadth of your knowledge!

Image having 26 elephants worth of extra turkey!!!

In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons overestimated demand for Thanksgiving turkey and had over 260 TONS of extra frozen birds. In the end, an employee came up with the idea to order 5,000 aluminum trays, devise a new turkey meal, and use an assembly line of workers to put together the meal on the trays. And thus the first frozen TV tray dinner was created! It was such a hit that the next year, 1954, the company put the TV trays into production and sold 10 million turkey tray dinners. Nowadays, the global frozen food market size is valued at approximately $291.3 billion (as of 2019).