The special beneift is hosted in collaboration by Garden & Gun Club, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Notable Alabama Chefs, Natalie Chanin and the Southern Foodways Alliance.

There are ONLY 160 tickets available and they will sell out quickly. Do not get left out.

To purchase advance tickets to this great evening of fellowship, food, wine, music and fun in support of Alabama’s fishing community please go to: http://gardenandgun.com/harvestfeast this is a “members only” event so you will need to purchase a membership as well as your ticket. Basic membership is $35 and provides benefits through the Garden and Gun Club.

After specializing in restaurants for almost a decade, we’ve got some big news. We’ve expanded our discount offerings beyond just restaurants! In May 2009 we launched a new website called www.bigbham.com. At Big Bham, every few days we’ll offer a BIG discount (think 50% off or more) to a great local business. Unlike our discount restaurant program, where certificates are available in limited quantities, www.bigbham.com will not place limits on how many people can get the deal. We’ll feature a business for a few days, and anyone that comes to the site can take advantage of our special.

We’re going to have a wide variety of incredible deals. We’ll have restaurants, spas, entertainment, retail, and much much more. Before each deal runs, we’ll send out an email to our list to alert our friends of the special. If you want to make sure that you aren’t left out, you can add your name to our mailing list at www.bigbham.com. You can also follow us on Twitter.

We need your help! Please tell your friends about www.bigbham.com. The more people we can get taking advantage of our deals, the more amazing deals we can secure. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at support@instagift.com.

But even though it is easy to see such produce from your car window, it can be difficult to find Alabama grown-and-raised products in your grocery store. State agricultural officials have estimated that more than 95 percent of the fresh produce in Alabama grocery stores originated from someplace other than Alabama.

Jerry Spencer says there is no reason why the fertile soil of Alabama cannot adequately feed the people of his home state. That is why he founded Grow Alabama, an organization that enables people to purchase fresh vegetables, fruit, dairy and meat products, all produced by Alabama farmers.

“People go into a grocery thinking they’re getting some Alabama produce, but actually it is rare that anything there is from Alabama,” Spencer says. “Grow Alabama started about four years ago with the intention of really turning this around.

“We are teaching the farmers in rural Alabama to produce a valuable product that will be purchased by the consumers of the population centers. That allows for a recycling of our money that keeps it in the community of Alabama.”

Not only does buying local food help the state economy, Spencer says it also provides customers with the best-tasting food. Much like the way a new car drops in value the second it leaves the lot, Spencer says food begins losing both flavor and nutritional value shortly after it is harvested. He says all of Grow Alabama’s products are made available for home delivery or pickup at the Findley Avenue headquarters within 24 to 48 hours of leaving the farm.

“When food comes from local sources, the flavor comes with it,” Spencer says. “The fresher it is, the more flavor and nutrient content it’s going to have. You just can’t get that same flavor when it’s traveled a week to get here.”

Grow Alabama offers several weekly vegetable options that change throughout the year, based upon what is fresh during the current growing season. In addition to such staples as tomatoes, lettuce and peaches, Spencer says Grow Alabama also provides specialty items that rarely are available fresh to the general public.

“We grow some Italian greens that really only restaurants have,” Spencer says. “We have heirloom tomatoes. Those are not generally available, and most of them have come a long distance and their flavor is almost gone.

“In the grocery stores you can get a snap bean or a pole bean, and that’s about it. We have Haricot Vert beans, a little French sweet green bean that is really only available to restaurants, and they have to order it from 1,000 miles away. We’ll have Rattlesnake beans and the Blue Lakes and the Kentucky Wonders. Most of the little red potatoes that people love come from Colorado or Washington. We grow our own new potatoes, so you can get them farm fresh.”

Grow Alabama also offers organic milk as well as fresh eggs and poultry. A sampling of the products is available for free each Thursday during a Share the Harvest luncheon.

Spencer acknowledges that most people are attracted to Grow Alabama’s food offerings primarily for the taste and health benefits. But he says it is equally important to him that the state supports its local farmers.

“There are a lot of old farmers in this state sitting in rocking chairs,” Spencer says. “These rural communities need economic development. Instead of buying our food from California, we can get it fresh from right here in Alabama and support our local communities. This is a mission that inspires me every morning.”