Appalachia gristmills fuel US clean-food push

Traditional gristmills in Appalachia are drawing renewed interest from millers, chefs and food advocates who say stone-ground grains can help support healthier, smaller-scale food production in the United States.

In Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, 68-year-old Chuck Childers operates the water-powered Old Mill, which began grinding cornmeal in 1830 along the Little Pigeon River and still uses heavy stones to grind Tennessee-grown corn.

Childers said there has been a resurgence of interest in “clean food.” He said the mill’s corn is not genetically modified and that harsh chemicals or additives are not added to its cornmeal and grits.

Traditional millers and food advocates say stone-ground products retain more nutrients than industrial roller-milled products. Danielle Nierenberg, president of the not-for-profit Food Tank, said industrial milling removes much of the fibre and that revitalising traditional gristmills is important to a cleaner food system.

The economics remain difficult. Retired miller John Lovett estimates that fewer than 100 traditional gristmills in the United States still operate at commercial viability, while local mills compete with industrial facilities that produce much larger volumes.

The challenge is especially sharp in Appalachia, a region associated in the account with nutrition problems, health disparities, limited access to fresh food and poverty. Lovett said a vocal minority supports changing food habits, but most people are less concerned.

Clive Valentine, who built a traditional gristmill in Dandridge, Tennessee, said interest has grown since the Covid pandemic. He said weekend visits to his mill and general store have risen from about 10 couples a few years ago to roughly 10 times that number.

In Sevierville, chef Derek Green said the farm-to-table movement and healthier grains have “a real-life feel” now, while acknowledging that organic foods and stone-ground grains are too costly for many Americans.