Top 5 Sources of Local Foods
Posted by Sandy Smith on Growers & Grocers
Want to eat more locally grown and produced foods but aren’t sure where to get the goods? Here’s a list featuring the top 5 places to find the local foods you’re looking for:
1. Down on the Farm: Pick-your-own (PYO) farms, farmers markets, farmstands, and roadside garden stands are all excellent places to go to for fresh local produce. You may find other foods here too - eggs, jams and preserves, honey, breads and other baked goods, fudge, and the like.
2. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), or Farm Share: For an upfront sum, subscribers get a weekly or monthly portion of produce - fruits and veggies, eggs, milk, and whatever else is offered in the particular package they sign up for. Some CSA arrangements require a little dirty work during the height of the growing season, but others are strictly pay and pick up.
3. Food Co-ops: These are not your mother’s co-ops! The food co-ops of today have come a long way in terms of both what they offer and who they offer it to. Count on plenty of organic dried bulk items, as well as an abundance of fresh local produce in season. Again, you may be asked to help out on a rotating schedule, but you may not. Some co-ops are members-only; others are open to the public.
4. Grow Your Own: Discover your inner green thumb! Indoors or outdoors, on patios, windowsills, balconies, or back-forties, gardens are fast becoming one of the most popular way to “eat green.” Many favorite varieties of fruits and veggies have been developed specifically for growing in small spaces. There’s no question that growing your own costs less, and there’s no way to get fresher seasonal produce.
5. Back to Nature: If you hear the call of the wild, answer it! Hunting, fishing, and foraging are time-honored ways of bringing food to the table. Make sure you have the proper permits as required by your state, and invest some time in learning the basics of safe hunting and foraging. Proceed with caution. Ideally, the best source of information is an experienced guide, someone who has been foraging for wild foods for years - and lived to tell the tale. Under no circumstances should you eat - or even taste - something the origins of which you can only guess at. Better safe than sorry. Way better.
