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When visiting states for a possible retirement relocation, I went to a Farmers Market on the town square..........It was highly touted in the Chamber of Commerce brochure as " locally grown fruits and vegetables"
As I meandered around I struck up a conversation with a guy who had the largest stand and was doing the most business.
I found out most of his produce was from about 700 miles away.
Hardly a thing he was selling was from even that state.
He was what is known as a "jockey"..........( someone who buys and then re-sells )
A kick in the face to the actual local growers who were manning their small stands.
Some say that if it's bought within 100 miles it's still viewed as being local, I can't buy into that myself.
I don't do it often enough! Olympia has a farmers market which is open all year. From April to October, it's only open Thursdays through Sundays. We don't go to Olympia that often though. They sell some locally grown fruits & veggies there.
I've also gotten very pretty and aromatic dried lavender from a nice older gentleman there.
Some friend and myself had this conversation this morning because of where we live, people here to tend say they buy local but in all reality they are not. Most of no concept of what that even means. It's more of a trend around here to say that you support local
What does that mean exactly? Does it mean buying from your local store? Farmers market?We live about 30 mins from Asheville, NC which people here tend to buy local and support local business.
These days nothing really seems to be local, I'm not sure you can count your store down the street as local anymore. Nothing you buy is local it's all from some where else these days. We are in the process of having our own garden for veggies and some fruits.
We have a local farm down the road that we buy our meats from as well. Buying REAL local foods/goods can be more expensive in the end but for us we feel that it's worth it. I will admit there are some things you can't buy that are not local, and it can't be helped.
I find it all a bit silly, the local stuff I've seen was crappy, onions covered in muck, stunted peppers, not worth buying.
I suspect this started to emulate the Isle de France system, Paris is an Island in a sea of surrounding farms.
Cute idea and I hope it helps the farmers. But it strikes me as a mkting strategy.
You know what I wish is that all the externalities associated with moving things across long distances would be baked into the price of a good so I wouldn't have to consider environmental impact along with the price, I'd just have to consider the price of something.
When it comes to local produce, I believe a lot of the benefits of freshness wear off in a matter of hours from when the produce is picked from the vine, so even though local produce is indeed fresher, it's not fresh enough to get the full benefit of going into your own garden, picking produce off the plant, and eating it.
I find it all a bit silly, the local stuff I've seen was crappy, onions covered in muck, stunted peppers, not worth buying.
Onions covered in muck? That would be the dirt in which they grew... Many don't wash the produce before selling it at a vegetable stand or farmer's market. Why? Because they last longer when still protected by that dirt. It's one reason why gardeners can leave onions in the ground in cold weather.
Buy the ones that feel very firm. Wash them when you get home, and store away from potatoes and apples (each emit gasses that hasten the others' spoilage).
"Pretty" fruits and vegetables are not necessarily the best tasting or most nutritious. And dirt is just dirt. It washes off.
I stopped at a local farmstand and found all the melons had those stickers with numbers on them like at the grocery store. That made me unsure if they really grew them.
I stopped at a local farmstand and found all the melons had those stickers with numbers on them like at the grocery store. That made me unsure if they really grew them.
At one of the farmers' markets near us, we watched a couple unload produce that had literally just been purchased at the local grocery (folks recognized the stickers). When confronted, they got all defensive and uppity, then finally admitted they hadn't grown a thing. Got banned from the market.
Out at a farmstand, it might be more difficult to ascertain the produce source, but ask anyway. They just might surprise you by pulling out a sticker roll. Or not. But then you can decide if you think the produce is worth the price charged.
Your money, your control, your choice.
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