American Heritage Agritourism Trail and Passport:
A Project Concept
Imagine every state and province in North America having one or more American Agrifoodscape Heritage Areas (like the Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt Heritage Area) that offer an immersive Taste of Place experience through tours, tastings, trails, cuisine and hospitality. Imagine also having a leather-bound passport with details about the location of each area, their key themes, and a page where you can get your passsport stamped. We’re a long way from having such a system, but we believe there’s no time like the present to get to work establishing American Ag. Heritage Areas and building the network!
A Native Pecan Orchard on the San Saba River in Texas
Rows of pecans in a commercial grove grow near wild pecan trees which naturally flank the shores of the San Saba River in the Hill Country of Texas.
American Style
American style food and agricultural tourism is less formal, more grassroots, and arguably, more accessible than what you’ll find in Europe or elsewhere, but it is no less steeped in traditional pratices and remarkable culinary foodways. Americans do indeed produce specialty crops and artisanal foods native to our continent (like pecans, hazelnuts, beach plums, sunflowers, chilies, and much more. And while we may not package and promote the places that produce these foods like other countries, we do have unique experiences related to these food to offer our own citizens as well as vistors “from away.” To that end, A Place at the Table Lab wants to provide support and technical assistance to communities that wish to develop their untapped potential.
Trail and Passport
This old map from the Amour Food Company is a placeholder for a forthcoming Food Routes map of American Agricultural Heritage Areas.
For more information about American Heritage Agritourism Trail and Passport Project, contact Duncan Hilchey: duncan@lysoncenter.org