Local is Best, and Delicious

Variety is nice. I enjoy a mango now and then. And, to me, a perfect avocado is one of the great joys in life. But in this expanse of produce something is missing. Maybe it's the lack of dirt. Maybe it's that these fruits and vegetables don't appear to have been grown by anyone - just loaded off the truck.

I like knowing where my food came from and much of the year I do. I belong to the Intervale Community Farm, a Community Supported Agriculture farm a few hundred yards down the road from the Gardener's Supply headquarters. Each Monday after work from June until November, I go down to "the farm" to pick up my share of vegetables. I load up on whatever is in season. This week it was onions, carrots, beans, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, spinach, herbs and flowers.

The farm membership provides me all of the basic in-season produce I need. That allows me to experiment in my own garden with heirloom varieties of hot peppers and tomatoes, eggplant and peas. Plus, I grow a lot of potatoes to store over the winter.

Each week at the farm I also pick up a chicken from another farmer who raises free-range chicken on the farm's fallow field. And sometimes I buy eggs or pasture-raised beef from other farmers who bring their products to the pickup.

As a result, I rarely go to the grocery store, and for half the year virtually all of the money I spend for food goes directly to the producers. I know the farmers, I know how the food is produced and I know that it is as fresh as it could possibly be without me harvesting the produce or slaughtering the animals myself.

I find that I eat much more in tune with the seasons: salads and peas in the spring; tomatoes, summer squash and cucumbers in the summer and root vegetables and leeks in the fall. And this seasonal produce is what my body craves. In the fall, stews and soups made of roots, tubers and kale help warm me up; greens in the spring act almost like a tonic; and juicy vegetables in the summer help cool me down.

When we buy produce that was produced locally—either from a store or directly from the farmer— we are supporting our community's health. More of the money that we spend returns to the network of farmers and food processors who are also our neighbors. And farmers deserve our support. They don't just grow food; they take care of the land.

Not to mention the vegetables taste better. They are hours old, not days or weeks like produce from across the country or world. And local foods generate less pollution since they don't have far to travel.

So consider buying more of the food you eat from local producers. Not only will it taste better—it will also benefit your community.

For more information Learn more about the Intervale Foundation

To learn more about CSAs, visit the Community Supported Agriculture of North America's web site. The organization is part of the University of Massachusetts Extension program. Click on the Robyn Van En Center for a list of CSAs in your state.

Slow Food is an international group dedicated to preserving regional cuisine.

Food First is a think tank and educational center committed to finding solutions to poverty and hunger.

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail: info@gardeners.com

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