I have a confession to make: I am not a regular farmer’s market shopper. I am not even a CSA (community supported agriculture) (PDF file) subscriber. And I won’t be going on a 100-mile diet any time soon.
Though I always choose locally grown produce over goods shipped in from other states and countries, I haven’t built my local market into my weekly routine just yet.
But this past weekend, hoping to walk the walk of actually eating local, I visited my local farmers market. I bought tomatoes, giant zucchinis, carrots, broccoli, raspberries, blackberries and grass-fed beef.
I must say: It felt great, walking the lively market with my little satchel, filling it with my favorite things, snaking my way through the stalls of colorful food — all slightly different from typical grocery store fare. It was utterly romantic. Though most of the items were more expensive than those at the supermarket, it felt good pouring money into the most local of economies, handing my cash to the farmers who planted, raised and harvested my food.
Though it wasn’t cheap, it was exceptionally beautiful produce, a fact that gave my husband and me a new incentive to plan our meals not around meat or what we had in the freezer, but around fresh fruits and vegetables instead. We had fresh salads with greens from our yard topped with tomatoes from the market with dinner Saturday night; we had incredibly good BLTs for lunch on Sunday; and, Monday night, had crock-pot beef stew for supper. Tuesday night, after briefly considering ordering out, we checked the fridge for veggies and opted for giant zucchini fritters as a side dish to a home-cooked meal.
Sure, we all need to rely on supermarkets now and then, but I highly recommend taking advantage of the summer bounty now. Come winter, it won’t be the same. You might just change your mind — and your buying habits — in the process.
If you want an extra boost of farmers-market motivation, be sure to check out The Herald’s yearlong series on local food and farmers called Get Fresh. This month’s feature is a spotlight on Flying Tomato Farm of Snohomish, selling their tomatoes now at three farmers markets in Snohomish County.
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