Build Your Local Pantry, Herbal Apothecary, & Community. Reclaim the Timeless Skills of Self-Reliance.

Our hands-on workshops teach homesteading skills rooted in Appalachian foodways—like canning, fermentation, DIY natural skincare, and seasonal cooking—to help you eat locally, live seasonally, and take your health into your own hands. All while supporting local farmers and strengthening our local economy.

Want to preserve the harvest, boost your gut health, or ditch store-bought skincare?

Join our hands-on classes in cooking, canning, fermentation, and herbal folk remedies—each one’s designed to help you live healthier, save money, and reconnect with the local food community. Classes held at The Common Market, 7th Street, Frederick, MD.

Spots are limited—reserve yours before they fill up!

Upcoming Workshops!
A person holding a leaf and a horseradish root in the background with a sign promoting making homemade healing Appalachian fire cider, featuring a logo with a beet illustration and text about local collaboration.
Containers of beeswax salve with a label that reads "Make Your Own Beeswax Salves & Balms," featuring logo of a beet illustration, on a wooden surface.
Black elderberries on a green leaf background with a promotional overlay for making elderberry syrup for immune support.
Label for a project to make beef tallow for cooking and skincare, featuring a beetroot illustration and text for a collaboration between Eat Local Frederick and The Common Market.
Label for a program promoting fermented foods, featuring an illustration of a radish with leafy greens, and text about making your own sauerkraut and kimchi, over a background of green cabbage leaves.
A pot of boiling bone broth with carrots, herbs, and vegetables, with a recipe overlay for cooking with local ingredients.
A sign promoting homemade milk from scratch, including oat, almond, and coconut milk, with almonds in the background and a glass of milk on the side.
Close-up of a slice of multigrain bread with butter, sour cream, and buttermilk, with a green and white informational overlay about making dairy staples from local milk.

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Past Offerings

Learn how to eat locally year-round with our hands-on classes.

Overhead view of fresh strawberries in a container with a promotional sign for strawberry jam on top.
Jars of dill pickles surrounding a sign with a radish illustration and text that reads 'Intro to Canning: Dill Pickles, Eat Local Frederick x The Common Market Collab'.
Label for making beeswax salves and balms, featuring a beets illustration, placed over open tins of beeswax on a wooden surface.

About Eat Local Frederick

Eat Local Frederick helps people reconnect with their food, their neighbors, and the land—through hands-on classes, local adventures, and seasonal living.

Founded in 2016, we’re building a growing community of people learning to can, ferment, garden, and craft natural remedies using local ingredients. From building your pantry to preserving Appalachian foodways, we’re here to help you eat fresher, live healthier, and gain timeless skills that nourish you for a lifetime.

Our workshops are designed to preserve traditional skills, support local farmers, and promote a healthier, more self-sufficient way of life.

Whether you're looking to reduce your grocery bill, ditch synthetic skincare, or simply eat with the seasons, you're in the right place.

A line illustration of a jar filled with active, bubbling, sourdough starter. The jar is closed over with a piece of cloth and a rubber band.
Line illustration of two hands kneading a loaf of sourdough.
Black silhouette of a loaf of sourdough bread on a plain background.
Outline drawing of a beet with leafy greens in a vase.
A woman kneels on a gravel path in a forest, feeding a chicken with green leaves. The sunlight filters through tall trees with bark markings, and there are stacks of chopped wood in the background. 
Photo credit Sean Reel.

About Your Instructor

These classes will be led by Katie Powderly, founder of Eat Local Frederick. A longtime advocate for local food systems, seasonal living, and cultural heritage, Katie brings over 20 years of hands-on experience in homesteading, fermentation, gardening, folk herbalism, natural food preparation, and music rooted in tradition.

Since founding Eat Local Frederick in 2016, Katie has been helping people reconnect with their food, their neighbors, and the land through practical, joyful workshops. Whether teaching how to can tomatoes, craft a healing balm, simmer nourishing bone broth, or share songs that carry Appalachian stories forward, her mission is to empower others with timeless skills that build resilience, nourish the body, and strengthen community.

Katie believes that preserving the traditions that matter—whether foodways or folk songs—is a powerful way to reclaim independence, celebrate abundance, and ensure that the cultural roots of Appalachia and beyond continue to thrive for generations to come.

Answers to Questions You Might Have:

  • Foodways are the cultural, social, and economic practices surrounding the production, preparation, consumption, and sharing of food within a particular community.

    Here in Central Appalachia, foodways are deeply tied to the land, seasonal rhythms, and traditions that have been passed down for generations. From heirloom recipes and seed-saving to preserving harvests for the winter, Appalachian foodways tell the story of resilience, resourcefulness, and connection to place.

    • Production: How food is grown, harvested, and sourced. (Mountain gardens, foraging wild edibles like morels, ramps or pawpaws, and small-scale farming rooted in biodiversity.)

    • Preparation: The methods and recipes used to cook and prepare food. (Cast-iron cooking, slow simmered beans, cornbread, chow chow, and family recipes preserved through oral tradition.)

    • Consumption: The habits, customs, and rituals associated with eating and sharing meals. (Communal meals, Sunday suppers, and seasonal feasts that bring people together.)

    • Preservation: Techniques for storing and preserving food, such as canning. (Canning green beans, fermenting kraut, curing meats, and other practices that sustain families year-round.)

    • Marketing: The buying and selling of food products. (Bartering and farmers’ markets that keep food systems local and community-centered.)

    • Cultural Significance: The role of food in ceremonies, rituals, storytelling, and community gatherings. (Food at the heart of storytelling, gospel sings, harvest festivals, and gatherings on the front porch.)

    • Social & Economic Factors: How foodways are shaped by economic conditions, social structures, and political contexts. (A tradition shaped by mountain economies, kinship networks, and access to the land.)

    • Cultural Identity: Foodways are a powerful way to express and preserve cultural identity, connecting people to their ethnic, religious, and family heritage. Appalachian foodways preserve a sense of mountain heritage and honor ancestors who built lives from the land.

    • Historical Understanding: They offer a window into the past, revealing how people lived, their relationship with the environment, and their social structures. Appalachian reveal how Appalachian people adapted to scarcity, geography, and changing times.

    • Community Connection: Shared meals and food traditions foster a sense of community and belonging. Appalachian food traditions strengthen bonds between neighbors, families, and generations.

    • Interdisciplinary Study: The study of foodways intersects with various fields, including anthropology, history, sociology, and cultural studies. Appalachian foodways intertwine with history, music, agriculture, ecology, and cultural resilience.

Shop our (almost)
10-Year Anniversary
Frederick Farmers’ Market Poster Collection.

Support local farmers and brighten your kitchen with seasonal art. Originally launched in 2016, this collection celebrates Frederick’s vibrant local food scene and honors the farmers’ markets that make it thrive.

Flyer promoting local farmers markets in Frederick featuring a large beet with green leafy top and yellow and black background with text about market locations and times.
Flyer advertising local farmers' markets in Frederick, featuring a sunflower with the words "Eat Local" and "Frederick" in large letters. Details for markets on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays are listed, along with support for local economies and shopping at farmers' markets.
A promotional flyer for local Frederick farmers' markets featuring an illustration of an ear of corn with green husk. The flyer encourages supporting local economies and provides schedule details for markets on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Poster promoting local food markets and supporting local economies in Frederick. Features a large leafy green vegetable and a radish. Lists market days and locations.
A colorful poster with a large strawberry and green leaves, promoting local markets and shopping for fresh produce in Frederic County. The poster encourages supporting local economies and provides market schedules for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
A poster promoting local farmers' markets in Frederick, Maryland, featuring an illustrated root vegetable with green leaves and roots. The poster encourages supporting local economies and provides weekly market schedules at different locations on various days.
Fresh strawberries in a plastic container.
Green cabbage plant with large leafy outer leaves and a tightly packed core.
A close-up of fresh, glossy red cherries with green stems scattered together.
A pair of adult hands holding a bunch of fresh blueberries against a green grassy background.
Two glass jars filled with peach jam on a gray surface, with fresh peaches and green leaves nearby.
A bunch of fresh garlic bulbs with purple streaks and dried roots, piled together.
Fresh green beans in a basket with a cucumber in the background.
Close-up of fresh white corn on the cob with green husks and silk threads.
A colorful assortment of radishes in various colors such as red, white, pink, and purple, with green leaves and roots visible.
Multiple jars of preserved food with orange contents, sealed with silver lids, placed on a checkered tablecloth.
Close-up of a brown hen with a red comb on a dirt floor, surrounded by other hens in the background.
Raw whole chicken on a wooden cutting board with a lemon half, a small glass jar, and fresh herbs.
A jar of pale yellow butter with a spoon inside, surrounded by pink, white, and green flowers on a gray surface.
Hands holding a freshly baked loaf of bread on a wooden cutting board, with a cloth underneath, against a plain background.
Slices of rustic artisan bread on a wooden plate, with a jar of blueberry jam and a loaf of bread in the background.
Two hands kneading dough over a large glass mixing bowl, with a bowl of chopped ingredients and a spoon on the table.
Vegetables and herbs submerged in a pot of simmering broth, including carrots, onions, and sage leaves.