Farm Aid to feature Tanka bar

By Carson Walker, The Associated Press | Friday, September 19, 2008

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Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and other regular Farm Aid performers will have something new to munch on at Saturday's sold-out concert in Boston: buffalo energy bars and some other natural foods.

The all-natural buffalo-and-cranberry Tanka Bar, made by a Native American-owned company on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, launched in October and is one of the approved snack foods for this year's benefit concert at the Comcast Center.

"It's a great thing for us to bring the Tanka Bar to a whole new market and show people on the East Coast what a great product buffalo is in general and from South Dakota and what a great product the Tanka Bar is for a ready-to-go food," said Mark Tilsen, who owns Native American Natural Foods with Karlene Hunter.

"There's the notoriety of Farm Aid, which is great. But there's an opportunity to present it as a healthy alternative that's unlike anything else they'll be able to buy at this event."

This is the second year event organizers negotiated with the concession provider to offer only healthy foods from family farms and cooperatives, said Glenda Yoder, associate director of Farm Aid. The burgers, hot dogs, tomatoes, onions and even dough for the pizza all will be organic, as will the unusual concert food of corn on the cob, she said.

"We call those concessions 'home grown.' We'll have signage so patrons will know what they're eating," Yoder said.

"For me it's been a fascinating adventure to track down where is this coming from and how can we provide local farmers with an opportunity through the concert and how can we help these brands."

The Tanka Bar, a modern version of the traditional Lakota food called "wasna," fit well with that mission as one of the snack foods, Yoder said.

Bison meat is high in protein and low in cholesterol. The cranberries add antioxidants and a sweet, natural flavor. The bars look like jerky but have a lot more water in them than the dried meat. And each package is sealed with a unique card that keeps the bars fresh.

"I know Mark Tilsen from way back and he has had a lot of association with Farm Aid. So when he told me about this company they were starting on the reservation and the opportunity for indigenous people to have a company that sold a product that is so deep in their cultural roots, I was happy we could offer that to concertgoers to give it a try," she said.

Yoder and Tilsen said the move toward more healthy foods will prompt more venues to offer alternatives to the usual offerings.

"It's the kind of thing the industry is going to go toward as everyone fights this epidemic of obesity in America. You're going to be eating great-tasting healthy food in movie theaters before long," Tilsen said.