Tuesday, April 20, 2010

New local cartoon


A farmers market opened in Macclenny last week to rave reviews. This made me wonder if the shift to local farm products might actually be real and happening across America. "Grown locally" is a phrase I've heard used recently by chefs, restaurants, & consumers alike. Along with do-it-yourself above ground gardens and spice buckets, people are beginning to see the benefits of fresh, home-grown products & vegetables that haven't been out of the ground too long. Heck, we've got cilantro, basil & scallions growing ourselves, and my neighbor's back yard looks like a tomato farm. My brother is doing the "upside-down tomato bucket thing," another recent trend with the price of tomatoes sky-rocketing.
More stuff to post later.
Cheers,
Ed

3 comments:

The Urban Core said...

Good one!

The Urban Core said...

The last number I heard was less than 3% of families get their produce from farmers markets. I made sure before I pitched winn dixie as a sponsor. Though it seems like grocers are sponsors for many markets. They must know this and probably want to be associated with the fresh and local. Isn't that cool?

Ed Hall said...

I hope that sponsorships are really happening - but I doubt it. I can't see any of the big box grocers wanting any form of competition. Higher prices, lack of variety & mark-ups drive people to grow their own food, and visit farmers markets for fresher produce.