Tennessee State Park Gift Shops Carry Items Made Close to Home
In partnership with: Tennessee Department of Agriculture
You already know you can get your steps in while surrounding yourself with the natural beauty of Tennessee State Parks, but did you know you can also shop for unique, locally produced products in the park gift shops? Thanks to a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, many state park gift shops across the Volunteer State will feature Pick Tennessee Products in 2021. Pick Tennessee Products, TDA’s consumer-facing promotion, has been connecting consumers to products from Tennessee farms and food businesses for more than 30 years.
“Products range from honey and snacks to artisan products like goat milk soap,” says Debbie Ball, business consultant for TDA. “There are different products in each gift shop. Many Tennesseans visit several parks each year, so the variety of products offered is another reason to visit multiple parks.”
Many state parks are working with Pick Tennessee Products producers that are local to their part of the state. For example, Sycamore Shoals State Park in Carter County carries Free Reign Farm’s Goat Milk Soap, made in nearby Elizabethton. Other parks feature products made in different parts of Tennessee, including TruBee Honey, Good Stuff Cacao, The Apple Valley Creamery baked goods, The Lynchburg Cake and Candy Co., Merritt-Pop Popcorn, Grab the Gold snack bars, Out of the Blue Granola, Mountain Jim’s Tennessee Teacakes, and Blackberry Hills Bakery Trail Bites and Granola.
“This partnership is a natural fit,” Ball says. “The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is always seeking new marketing avenues for our Pick Tennessee Products members, and the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation was looking for ways to offer local products in their parks. Both departments promote local, whether it’s enjoying local natural resources or products made in Tennessee.”
See more: Shop Small With This Tennessee Gift Guide of Local Products
Next time you visit a Tennessee State Park, stop in the gift shop to pick up a few locally made items to take home. Cummins Falls, Dunbar Cave, Norris Dam, Pickwick Landing, Sycamore Shoals, Standing Stone, Bicentennial Capitol Mall, Edgar Evins, Fall Creek Falls and Montgomery Bell are just a sampling of the state parks that carry Pick Tennessee Products so far. Look for the Pick Tennessee Products logo and follow the program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get notifications when new products are being featured.
“This partnership is a win for both state departments and provides an economic boost to park gift shops and Pick Tennessee Products businesses,” Ball says. “Visitors to state parks are encouraged to stop by the visitor centers and gift shops after they have enjoyed the natural resources offered by the park and be exposed to new products from small and unique businesses.”