Auburn's digital magazine Tailgate Times now free, spotlights South Carolina's cockabooses

Auburn University's Food Systems Institute digital magazine, Tailgate Times, is now free thanks to the support of sponsors. The app for iPhones and iPads brings together a wide range of information about the tradition of tailgating, with the focus on food and fun.

A new issue is available for each game, adding new information to what is already available. Each issue explains tailgating traditions associated with opposing schools and offers fun insight on some of the foods we eat every day.

The current issue tells a little about tailgating at the University of South Carolina, including a look at the luxury "cockabooses" that set USC tailgating apart. The cockabooses are a line of 22 train cabooses sitting on a nonfunctioning train track right next to the stadium. Each cockaboose is privately owned and decorated in high style, with hardwood floors, chandeliers and other amenities.

The issue also highlights peaches, pecans and pumpkins, providing recipes but also giving some insight into the business behind bringing these products to market.

"Did you know that 90 percent of pumpkins in the U.S. are grown within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, Illinois? And that the Chinese are buying up a lot of our pecans?" asked Pat Curtis, Auburn University Food Systems director.

Peaches and pecans are important to the economies of both Alabama and South Carolina, and pumpkins couldn’t be ignored since game day falls so close to Halloween.

Tailgate Times also includes standing sections on the history of tailgating, the Auburn Alumni Association alumni tent and information on fire, weather and alcohol safety. There are also sections on food poisoning and food safety.

To get the latest issue, download the free app from the iTunes store or go to the Food Systems Institute website at www.aufsi.auburn.edu/tailgate. Past issues are 99 cents each.

The Food Systems Institute also published a Thanksgiving iBook last November and will update the book for the upcoming holiday. Curtis says the institute expects to follow the two interactive, multimedia publications with several other publications that will help educate the public about the food they eat and the business of food.