Earth Fest 2025 may be a one-day event, but the goal is for the impact of the day to last significantly longer. One way is through the Seasonal Spotlight initiative, pairing local food service stops with local farms to make dishes for the public.

“We have to eat every single day, multiple times a day,” Robin Boles said. “Food is a really great place, I feel like, for us to make an impact on the environment.”

Boles said transportation across the country or even internationally is prevalent in today’s society, and local products can reduce the impact. In 2010, the FDA approximated food waste in America at 133 billion pounds (between 30 and 40% of the supply). If food imported from around the world is wasted, that environmental impact is much higher than if local food is wasted.

“Purchasing your food locally is so important in terms of sustainability,” Boles said. “The environmental impact if the food travels only five miles versus having to be put on an airplane and travel across the ocean or on trucks and across the country is just hugely significant.”

This year’s Seasonal Spotlight stops in chronological order of when the item is available. Waystone Coffee Co. is pairing with Oxheart Farm to take in their spinach and yogurt for savory spinach, yogurt and feta scones; Tattersall Distilling is partnering with Blue Ridge Growers for blueberries to make chicken skewers with blueberry reduction. Juniors Restaurant & Taphouse’s is pairing with Rising Sun Farm and Orchard for carrots to make roasted carrots with horseradish crème, fried jalapeño and shallot. Mei Mei’s Cookies & Creamery’s partnership with Sunnyside farm has yielded the Earth Fest Delight cookie, while Swinging Bridge Brewing Company’s is using honey from Lazy Goat Studios to make honey lavender lemonade. The Arbor at Young Acres’ will use apples from Young Acres Orchard to make a chicken lettuce cup with apple slaw and poblano crema.

Each item will be available for about four weeks, depending on the timeframe that the produce is in season. Boles cited the orchard as a prime example of the benefits of shopping locally, as the apples do not even need to enter a car to reach the table for their signature dish.

It is the first year of Seasonal Spotlight. The organizers are hoping Seasonal Spotlight proves successful so they can continue it into future years.

“One of the key components of Earth Fest is that while it’s a really fantastic day of events and celebration, we really like to see it push people to do things continuing sustainable behaviors throughout the rest of the year,” Boles said.

Boles mentioned other benefits of local produce including more stability than the global market, fresher food and knowledge of what chemicals are used to grow the food.

“It’s showing up in the produce cooler the same day it’s picked in many cases, maybe it’s the next day,” Boles said. “You’re talking about food coming in from California, it might not end up in the produce cooler for a week.”

“When you purchase food that’s grown by local farmers, you’re paying the farmer, you’re paying the farmer’s employees, you’re paying the people who live and work in your community,” Boles said. “They generally keep their money in the community also.”

There will be samples of the Seasonal Spotlight dishes available at Earth Fest, but due to the produce not being in season yet, they will not be made from the local farm product.