Food activist shared passion for healthy eating

What's makes someone a food activist?

My friend, Carol Tracy, was one. She showed you don't have to be Oprah Winfrey or a powerful legislator to be effective.

Carol died in June after a brief illness. She lived in Fancy Gap, Va., moving there about five years ago from Charlotte with her husband, Dr. John Tracy, a physician with whom she shared a passion for good food, organic gardening and a simpler way of life.

She'll be remembered by many of us, though, for what she did in the Charlotte area to bring healthful food to the community.

Her leadership took many forms:

• She sought out and gave support. Carol looked up Ray Henderson of Mint Hill after reading his letter to the editor in The Charlotte Observer in 1989. "It was a rant about fast food, diet and health," Henderson said.

Carol invited Ray and his wife, Martha, to dinner, where Henderson, a committed vegetarian, said he'd been thinking about starting a local vegetarian group.

"Carol thought that was a fantastic idea and that there was no way I wasn't going to do it," Henderson said. With urging by Carol, the Mecklenburg Vegetarian Association formed that year. Carol, the author of a vegetarian cookbook, contributed to the MVA newsletter with a regular cooking feature.

• She was an assertive advocate. Her newsletter column included tips for healthful and convenient ingredients. She'd ask local businesses to carry the foods then urge everyone she met to buy them.
• She was a tireless teacher. "Carol was never afraid to interact with a customer in a store," said Carl Carlberg, who came to know Carol at Selwyn Natural Foods, a store he ran for 22 years before selling it in 2002. "She knew if they were in my store, they were somewhat interested in their health.

"She would find out exactly where a person was on the knowledge scale and help them move toward more organic foods," Carlberg said. "She would tell them what it was, how to prepare it and why they should eat it."

Carol also compiled an annual MVA dining guide. In 1990, there were entries for 35 Charlotte area restaurants.

"Carol put so much time into it, calling restaurants and grilling them about ingredients," Martha Henderson said. "She'd find out: What could a vegetarian come in and have?"

• She modeled a healthier way. Carol's biggest influence may have been the example she set in her home.

"I did not grow up as a vegetarian, and Carol had this whole approach," said Martha Henderson. "All the Southern classics - chocolate cake, fried chicken, tuna casserole - she made these available.

"She was never intimidated by any recipe. She could make anything vegetarian. She'd say, 'I can make these substitutions, and I can have these, too.' "

Nobody ever left the Tracy home empty-handed.

"Even if your arms were full, Carol was going to give you something - leftovers, a new product to try, or something from her garden," said Ray Henderson.

The Tracys maintained an organic vegetable and herb garden, eventually starting a local organic gardening club.

"We occasionally had meals that came entirely from our yard," said Carol's son, Bill Tracy. He and his wife, Heather, who now live in Raleigh, continue the kitchen garden tradition he learned as a child.

"We save money on groceries, and the food tastes better," he said. The couple grows blueberries, beans, okra, cantaloupe and tomatoes in their backyard.

This year, they're starting an herb garden, too. "I'm trying to get up to nine different varieties so I can make Mom's herb tea," Bill said.

Carol's influence lives on and is a great example of the difference one person can make in helping others live healthier lives.