Maryland: 2026 Governor's Buy Local Cookout Returns to Government House for a Delicious Evening of Local Foods

ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 07, 2026) ~ Maryland's Governor's Annual Buy Local Cookout returned to Government House on Oct. 5, featuring food and drinks from local farms, seafood businesses, restaurants, creameries, distilleries, wineries and a beer vendor.

The event, usually held during Buy Local Week, was postponed this year because of hazardous air quality from Canadian wildfires in July, according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

The cookout included 24 producers and 11 restaurants, along with five creameries, three distilleries, two wineries and one beer vendor. Dishes included Chesapeake cream of crab soup, smoked blue catfish tartelette, turkey with apple slaw and a double smashburger made with ingredients from several Maryland farms and food businesses.

Recipes were required to use at least 50% locally sourced ingredients. The department said selections were based on simplicity, creativity, ingredient availability, geographic representation and use of local products. Special consideration was given to recipes connected to the United States' 250th anniversary.

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Modern Stone Age Kitchen received the People's Choice Award. Recipes from the event are available on the Maryland's Best website, the department said.

Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks said the event highlighted the work of farmers, watermen and restaurateurs and encouraged residents to support local businesses by buying and eating locally produced food.

The department cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2022 Census of Agriculture, which counted 12,550 farms in Maryland on just under 2 million acres. It also cited a 2023 analysis by Salisbury University's Business Economic and Community Outreach Network and the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industries Development Corporation, which found that the state's seafood sector contributed more than $317.4 million to the economy and supported more than 3,000 jobs.

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