How Do I Love Locally Grown? Let Me Count The Ways.

29 July 2009 ~ 0 Comments

How Do I Love Locally Grown? Let Me Count The Ways.

There are over 60 farmer’s markets in New York City, so I’m always amazed when someone asks why I can’t (and don’t) just go to the FoodTown, Key Food, or even Whole Foods Market, for that matter.

I’m not above shopping at these places, and sometimes I have to.

I just don’t buy certain kinds of produce from them (read: if it grows here, I buy it from here).

There are many reasons to buy locally grown produce.

Here are mine:

For the Quality. It doesn’t matter if it’s from a Korean green grocer or Whole Foods, it ain’t fresh if it ain’t local. Fresh to me is picked ripe and delivered within 24-36 hours of harvesting. That stuff that’s been sitting in cold storage, trucked a thousand miles to sit in more cold storage to then get to my fridge and spoil in 2 days? I’ll pass.
For the Selection. I’m not knocking them, but why should I buy apples from Washington or New Zealand when there are over 20 varieties of apples growing right here in my “backyard”? On top of that, where else am I going to find just picked heirloom tomatoes, squash blossoms, lemon cucumbers, purple cauliflower, blue potatoes, REAL sweet corn, yellow dolls and sugar babies?
For the Community. Anytime I’m at the farmer’s market, I see a friend and/or neighbor or meeting new ones. We eavesdrop on each others’ conversations about produce selection and meal planning, freely sharing our recipes and tips. When’s the last time you did that in the produce section of the supermarket.
For the Economy. Most NYCers have never been outside of their borough, let alone to parts North. If they knew how much open space New York has, if they knew how many generational family farms go bankrupt and lose their land because of industrial agriculture, if they knew that NYC supports the larger NYS economy in so many ways, they’d understand why buying locally grown is so important.
For the Small Family Farm. How many hands does a product go through before it reaches yours? There’s the producer (farmer), distributor, and the retailer, in the smallest sense. Take a look at your neighborhood supermarket (if you have one). Do you know who is profiting from your purchase? Do the employees look happy? When I buy my produce, I’m putting the money directly in the farmer’s hand, knowing that s/he is getting the full cost of my purchase.
For my Health. Food recalls are a problem of industrial factory farming methods. Small family farms with a comprehensive direct to consumer distribution network are the solution.
For the Environment. When farmers lose their land, the land loses the right to be open and protected. Often, farmland is sold to developers. We don’t need another strip mall.
For the Accountability. I’ve had very few problems with anything I’ve purchased at a farmer’s market, but it’s a comforting feeling to know that I can talk to the farmer about their growing practices and get tips on proper storage and care of my vegetables. Can you do that at your supermarket?