Primary Source Set

North Carolina Foodways

North Carolina is known for its unique Southern cuisine, including beloved staples like barbecue, sweet potatoes, and apples. Over time, North Carolina food has been subject to development and change, and has both influenced and been influenced by the state’s economy, politics, and culture. This primary source set uses photographs, newspaper articles, a booklet, poster, cookbook, oral history, and a video to display the unique practices relating to North Carolina food, and to demonstrate how food connects to the state on an economic, political, and cultural level.

Proceed with caution and care through these materials as the content may be difficult or disturbing to review. Some sources and context statements discuss slavery and describe discrimination and violence enacted upon African Americans. One source contains explicit descriptions of hog killing practices. Please read DigitalNC’s Harmful Content statement for further guidance.

Time Period

1903-2005

Grade Level

Undergraduate

North Carolina Foodways

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Background

North Carolina food reflects the rich history and culture of the Tar Heel state. Whether it is barbecue, okra, or biscuits, food represents North Carolina and its people. Over time, food has both influenced and been influenced by the state’s economic conditions, government and politics, and cultural practices. The cuisine, food traditions, and food history of North Carolina reveal the role food plays in shaping state identity, community, and social change. 

Pork is a staple of North Carolina cuisine. Barbecue is one of the state’s most popular and celebrated foods, although the two main types—Lexington style and eastern style—are often a topic of debate among those who enjoy the dish. While barbecue styles may be divisive, pork traditionally brought communities together through the practice of hog killing, particularly before the mid-20th century. Families and neighbors in rural areas would often work together to kill, prepare, and cook fattened hogs in the autumn and winter seasons. In addition to pork-related traditions and dishes, North Carolina is known for its variety of produce. North Carolina is the country’s top producer of sweet potatoes, and also grows collard greens, okra, scuppernong grapes, and apples. Several of these products have been officially recognized as state symbols, including the sweet potato as North Carolina’s state vegetable.

Some foods are so popular in and significant to North Carolina that festivals and events are held annually to celebrate them. Multiple apple-themed festivals are held in the state between August and September, including Hendersonville’s famous North Carolina Apple Festival. In Lexington, the popular Barbecue Festival is held every October and serves thousands of pounds of barbecue to hungry visitors. While many types of food are honored in festivals across the state, each event shares the purpose of celebrating a food, bringing the community together, and providing income to farmers, restaurants, and other food sellers. Apart from festivals, food can create meaningful connections through the passing down of recipes from family member to family member, or through the creation of community cookbooks.

Food is intertwined with North Carolina culture, but it is also deeply connected to the state’s politics and history. In state government, the legislature has introduced surprisingly controversial bills to make certain foods and food festivals official state symbols of North Carolina. Food events may be attended by politicians and presidential candidates as a space for publicity and speech-making. Additionally, food is connected to inequality and social change. In the 1950s and 1960s, segregation laws allowed restaurants and lunch counters to refuse to provide food and service to Black Americans. While these spaces reinforced racial discrimination, they were also key in challenging segregation and inequality. In North Carolina, Black activists like the Greensboro Four sat at these “whites only” lunch counters to protest segregation in the state and throughout the country.

Discussion Questions

  1. The article from The Perquimans Weekly discusses a bill introduced to make the Lexington Barbecue Festival the official barbecue festival of North Carolina. Ultimately, this bill did not pass into law. Why do you think the bill was unsuccessful? Consider how issues of regional identity and representation played a role in determining the bill’s outcome.

  2. Consider the article from The Carolina Times on the Woolworth lunch counter protest in Greensboro. In what ways does food–and places where food is served and eaten–connect with social movements in North Carolina and the United States? How can food symbolize inclusion and/or exclusion?

  3. Two of the resources in this guide include information about North Carolina’s official state fruit and state vegetable respectively. Why do you think North Carolina lawmakers chose these foods to represent the state? What kind of story do these foods tell about North Carolina?

  4. Take a look at this oral history video interview and this community cookbook. How can recipe-sharing shape and contribute to family and community identity? In what ways can recipes play a role in preserving memory and making connections across time?

  5. How does North Carolina food relate to the state’s society, culture, and traditions? In what ways do they mutually influence one another?

This primary source set was compiled by Isabella Walker.

Updated January 2025