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GREENSBORO — Their journey together began with a simple meal.

Tender, slow-cooked beef brisket. Fresh ears of bi-colored white and yellow corn. Oven-roasted potatoes and green beans strung that morning. Soft rolls and rich, creamy butter. A fresh salad, with tomatoes from a neighbor's garden. Most of the food was locally raised or produced. It's the first meal shared by three families embarking on a yearlong journey to eating less fast food and preparing more meals at home with fresh, local or organic ingredients.

It's part of the Locavore Makeover Project, led by Anne-Marie Scott, a dietician and UNCG foods and nutrition professor. Her goal: to document a year in which two Greensboro families discard their fast-food lifestyles for one that is seasonal, local, organic and unprocessed. The families -- including Scott's family -- will visit local organic farms, ranches, farmers' markets and co-ops. Scott will also teach them how to prepare a variety of meals. They will all blog about their experiences.

Scott, an enthusiastic locavore -- someone who prefers to eat food raised or produced locally -- believes that local food prepared at home tastes better and is a healthier way to eat. And she wants to prove that the average busy family can adopt such a lifestyle. She believes it so much, she's offering consultations and guidance to both families for the entire year -- for free. By next Labor Day, she hopes they will be so transformed that they will share what they learned with others.

Meet the families Scott will help.

The Richeys

• Kim Richey, 35, English as a Second Language teacher; nurse and childbirth educator.
• Mike Richey, 41, lieutenant, Greensboro Police Department.
• Daughter, Lily, 4.

The Richeys regularly visit the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market, where they buy cucumbers and some premade items from vendors. They also support local businesses. They buy their muffins and lattes at Cheesecakes by Alex or Simple Kneads. For lunch or dinner, they often eat at Natty Greene's, a downtown restaurant. But that's just it. The Richeys say they eat out too much. About 40 percent of their food expenditures goes toward dining out.

They know it's not a healthful lifestyle, especially for their daughter, Lily.

"When you have a child, and they're so young and pure, you want to do better about feeding them food that doesn't have preservatives," Kim Richey says.

She wants Scott's help with learning how to prepare more meals at home. Kim Richey notices the seasonal fruits and vegetables at the farmers' market but doesn't know if -- or how -- she would use them. Mike Richey especially wants to learn about winter vegetables, as well as how to prepare them. He also wants to learn more about locally raised beef, pork and poultry. The vendors at the farmers' market are often too busy to talk on Saturday, he says. Scott plans to arrange visits to local ranches and farms, which should shed light on how animals are raised.

Mike Richey enjoys cooking elaborate meals that take more time to prepare. But the Richeys often work opposite days. If it's after 6 p.m. when they arrive home, they are often unsure what to prepare.

"Neither one of us are very good about pulling together a quick meal," he says.

They often eat the same things, he says. Quesadillas. Pita pockets, filled with veggies. Or processed turkey dogs or bratwursts.

Kim Richey wants to expand her menu beyond tomato sandwiches, roasted vegetables and quesadillas. And she wants to be more adventurous and confident in the kitchen. She says her biggest challenges will be to stay organized and motivated.

"If the kitchen is too cluttered and requires too much (work), then I'd rather just go out to eat," she says.

But she wants to do it, especially for Lily.

"Children develop their food habits from their parents, and this is an important thing for me to model," Kim Richey says.

The Tilleys

• Tammy Lee Tilley, 46, dentist.
• Mike Tilley, 50, insurance salesman.
• Twins: son, Cameron, and daughter, Emma, 9.

Like the Richeys, the Tilleys know they need to change their eating habits. Too often, they order pizza instead of preparing a meal at home. It's quick, and the twins will eat it. Their cupboards contain sugary cereals and Pop Tarts. On weekends, the twins like pancakes at McDonald's and chicken biscuits at Chick-fil-A.

"My biggest concern was the health of my children, and I know that we're not feeding them like we should," Tammy Tilley says.

Mike Tilley, who recently resumed running and lost about 40 pounds, says he's trying to be more conscious about his own diet. Tammy Tilley participates in boot camps at her gym and tries to be healthy. But her diet could be better, she says. She used to eat more home-cooked meals. She grew up on a farm and ate vegetables raised by her family.

"I've gotten so far away from that, that I hope to get some of it back for my own family," she says.

Tammy Tilley says her biggest challenge will be time.

"It's hard for me to take the time or find the time to sit down and do a meal like I should," she says.

Mike Tilley wants to learn more about why certain foods aren't as good for them. On a recent visit to their kitchen, Scott informed them the frozen shrimp they had likely came from a country that uses child labor and contains an antibiotic banned in the U.S.

Mike Tilley had worried that eating organic or healthier food might mean sacrificing taste.

"How healthy can we be and still have good food? ... It's scary about losing the things we like," he says.

But Scott is starting to persuade him otherwise, and the twins are adjusting to the shift in their family's habits. Recently, Cameron asked his dad for a healthful snack. His options: baked soy beans, an apple or a rice cake.

"He wasn't very excited about it," Mike Tilley says.

The Tilleys know it will be a slow process. Scott assured them they would approach this new lifestyle with baby steps. It helps that another family will share the journey with them, Tammy Tilley says.

* * * * *

The kick-off dinner set the tone for the project.

This would be a collaboration between the families. The Richeys brought a chocolate Guiness cake, baked by Mike with help from Lily. The Tilleys brought salad. They all helped with each other's children. Kim Richey fixed a plate for Scott's 5-year-old daughter, Charlotte. She noted that Charlotte knew exactly how she wanted to eat her corn: with butter and a little salt.

"Now, here's a girl who can tell you the vegetable she likes, along with how to fix it," Richey later wrote for the blog.

While the adults gathered in the Scotts' living room, their children ate mini pasture-raised beef burgers and organic french fries in the den. Between occasional cries for "Mom," the grown-ups discussed field trips to local farms and markets. They shared goals and challenges: hectic schedules, limited culinary experience and a strong desire to learn more about local foods and how to prepare them.

They were enthusiastic and eager to get started. We will track their progress with occasional stories in our Wednesday Savor section throughout the year. Follow them on Scott's blog: locavoremakeoverproject.blogspot.com/

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com