Taking place on September 22, 2012 at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Farm Aid Music and Food Festival will be headlined once again by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am EDT for between $35.75 and $99.75.
First held in 1985, the annual Farm Aid concert has so far raised over $40 million to promote the importance and success of family farms while inspiring the rest of us to learn about where our food comes from. Through its “Growing the Good Food Movement”, the Farm Aid organization aims to increase access to family-farmed food by getting it into urban neighborhoods and grocery stores, where corporate-owned food is the norm.
“We’ve built a strong family farm movement to grow our economy, ensure our health and protect our environment. Farm Aid brings these Main Street values to transform the Wall Street-controlled farm and food system,” said Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. “The Farm Aid concert is our chance to shine a spotlight on the independent family farmers who are essential to the well-being of our country.”
Instead of the typical fast food-like concessions of soda, hot dogs, and chips, this concert features its own version of a concession stand. Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Concessions will have farmers on hand to sell family-farmed, local and organic foods directly to concertgoers, providing them with the opportunity to chat with the very people who feed us all every day.
“The Farm Aid concert brings farmers and eaters together to grow the kind of agriculture that builds stronger communities and a healthier food system,” said Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid.
Part of being a good steward of the environment is choosing foods grown organically and on family farms, goals which Farm Aid has worked hard to promote for the past 26 years by running the longest benefit concert series in the U.S. Let’s do our part and support their mission this year by supporting our local farms and farmers whenever possible.
Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve, Inc/Farm Aid