Residents will be able to experience locally grown and healthy “real food” in person at several upcoming events, starting on Food Day, Oct. 24.

Food Day is a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable and sustainable food. Locally, it is part of the Get Healthy West Georgia program. It is intended to bring consumers closer to a food system with “real food” that is produced locally and with care for the environment, animals and those who grow, harvest and serve it.

Several free Food Day events are planned between Oct. 24 and Oct. 30. Registration is not required.

The Food Day Lunch and Farmers’ Market will be held Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Tanner Cafe at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton. The farmers market will feature independent local farmers/vendors. Tanner chef Tony Schmidt will demonstrate and prepare locally grown menu items to sample or purchase at the Tanner Café expo station.

Two local farm tours, sponsored by Farmers Fresh CSA, will be held Sunday, Oct. 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The first farm tour features Full Life Community Farm at 381 Harrison Road, and Freaky Farm at 715 Harrison Road in Carrollton. Both farms will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This cooperative raises chickens, bees and a wide variety of vegetables, as well as handmade crafts, jewelry and soaps. All of their products are naturally grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. The farm also features examples of structures built with recycled and natural materials.

The second farm tour features Capra Gia Cheese Co., 3325 Shady Grove Road in Carrollton. Open from 1 to 4 p.m., Capra Gia Cheese will host a fall festival with live music, products from 15 local farms, including Farmers Fresh CSA, Crager Hager Farm, Beech Creek Farms, Sweet Georgia Grains, Pine Street Market, Heritage Farm and Wally Bees Honey, and opportunities to meet the goats and learn about cheese making.

On Tuesday, Oct. 30, Bryan Hager, a life-long gardener, certified naturally grown farmer and instructor of Master Gardener classes on organic vegetable growing and soil management, will give a free 30-minute presentation on “Winter Gardening: Bringing the Outside In” in the Health Education and Wellness Learning Center on the first floor of Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton. The event is open to the public. Seating is limited; however, Hager will make his presentation three times — at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. — in Classroom 3.

Learn more about Food Day at www.foodday.org.

For more information on these Food Day events, call Gina Brandenburg at 770-836-9282. To learn more about Get Healthy West Georgia or to join the free initiative, visit www.GetHealthyWestGeorgia.org.