My partner isn't always excited to go to the farmers market with me on Sundays for two reasons:
1) I run into everyone I know there and spend a precious amount of time gabbing. I used to manage Mill City Farmers Market, and many of the vendors I worked with there also sell at Kingfield Farmers Market, which is the market I shop at most frequently (Sorry, MCFM, I work Saturdays when you are open!).
and, 2) I want to buy everything in sight, so usually blow my whole weekly food allowance in one fell swoop.
Which is fine with me, because I love local food!
What makes local food better than any other food, you ask? Have a seat and let me tell you...
Locally grown food is fresher.
The produce that you find in your local grocery store travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to table. They are kept in cold-storage for days or weeks before stocking grocery shelves, during which time they loose nutrients and flavor. When you shop at a farmers market or grocery co-op that stocks locally grown produce, you have access to produce that was harvested within 24-48 hours of your purchase. That's a big difference.
Locally grown food tastes better.
Have you ever eaten fresh red butter lettuce (image above)? Or a tomato off the vine? Freshly picked strawberries? Well, then you know what I'm talking about. Yum, yum!
Locally grown food is more nutritious.
To survive the long journey from farm to table, fruits and vegetables are harvested before they are ripe. Nutrients, like antioxidants, that are beneficial to our health are also beneficial to the plants health. In fact, these same antioxidants that boost our immune systems and promote detoxification have a similar role in the health of a plant. When fruits and vegetables are allowed to fully mature, they have higher antioxidant levels, in addition to higher vitamin and mineral content.
Locally grown food is fodder for building community and relationships.
When you shop at a farmers market, you not only see stands overflowing with fresh produce, artisan cheeses, ethically-raised meats and eggs, but a thriving community of local food lovers chatting it up with their farmers and each other. For some - like me - a visit to the farmers market is like going to church. Does this mean you need to jump on the locavore bandwagon before heading over to your neighborhood farmers market? Absolutely not! But, you'll want to be a card carrying member once you get a taste for local foods!
Find a farmers market in your (Minneapolis) neighborhood here!
Shopping at the farmers market isn't the only way to get your hands on some mouthwatering local food and feel part of something awesome. Many local farms use the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business model in which members pre-purchase shares of farmed goods (vegetables, meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) that are then delivered to them weekly or monthly throughout the growing season (in the Midwest: June through October). CSAs are a terrific opportunity to eat more vegetables, explore new foods, and challenge your cooking skills. Many CSA farms also send out newsletter with farm news and recipes, and host on-farm events for members. It is also an AMAZING way to build relationships with the cherished people who grow your food.
Find a CSA farm that delivers near you here!
Here are some of my favorite local food businesses and where you can find their delicious products:
Oh man, my mouth is watering again...
1) I run into everyone I know there and spend a precious amount of time gabbing. I used to manage Mill City Farmers Market, and many of the vendors I worked with there also sell at Kingfield Farmers Market, which is the market I shop at most frequently (Sorry, MCFM, I work Saturdays when you are open!).
and, 2) I want to buy everything in sight, so usually blow my whole weekly food allowance in one fell swoop.
Which is fine with me, because I love local food!
What makes local food better than any other food, you ask? Have a seat and let me tell you...
Locally grown food is fresher.
The produce that you find in your local grocery store travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to table. They are kept in cold-storage for days or weeks before stocking grocery shelves, during which time they loose nutrients and flavor. When you shop at a farmers market or grocery co-op that stocks locally grown produce, you have access to produce that was harvested within 24-48 hours of your purchase. That's a big difference.
Locally grown food tastes better.
Have you ever eaten fresh red butter lettuce (image above)? Or a tomato off the vine? Freshly picked strawberries? Well, then you know what I'm talking about. Yum, yum!
Locally grown food is more nutritious.
To survive the long journey from farm to table, fruits and vegetables are harvested before they are ripe. Nutrients, like antioxidants, that are beneficial to our health are also beneficial to the plants health. In fact, these same antioxidants that boost our immune systems and promote detoxification have a similar role in the health of a plant. When fruits and vegetables are allowed to fully mature, they have higher antioxidant levels, in addition to higher vitamin and mineral content.
Locally grown food is fodder for building community and relationships.
When you shop at a farmers market, you not only see stands overflowing with fresh produce, artisan cheeses, ethically-raised meats and eggs, but a thriving community of local food lovers chatting it up with their farmers and each other. For some - like me - a visit to the farmers market is like going to church. Does this mean you need to jump on the locavore bandwagon before heading over to your neighborhood farmers market? Absolutely not! But, you'll want to be a card carrying member once you get a taste for local foods!
Find a farmers market in your (Minneapolis) neighborhood here!
Shopping at the farmers market isn't the only way to get your hands on some mouthwatering local food and feel part of something awesome. Many local farms use the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business model in which members pre-purchase shares of farmed goods (vegetables, meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) that are then delivered to them weekly or monthly throughout the growing season (in the Midwest: June through October). CSAs are a terrific opportunity to eat more vegetables, explore new foods, and challenge your cooking skills. Many CSA farms also send out newsletter with farm news and recipes, and host on-farm events for members. It is also an AMAZING way to build relationships with the cherished people who grow your food.
Find a CSA farm that delivers near you here!
Here are some of my favorite local food businesses and where you can find their delicious products:
- Braucher's Sunshine Harvest Farm raises beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and eggs in Webster. Find their goods on Saturdays at Mill City Farmers Market and Sundays at Kingfield Farmers Market. They also have a meat CSA that's the bomb.com! Try their tarragon lamb sausages.
- Loon Organics Farm raises a huge variety of organic and heirloom vegetables in Hutchinson (I'm doing a workshare out there this year - that place is amazing! Follow me on Instagram to see pics.). In addition to selling their good on Saturdays at Mill City Farmers Market they have a CSA...which sells out in January every year. If they have deer tongue lettuce available, snatch it up quick! Also try their hakurei turnips to eat raw...my mouth is watering!
- The salad mix from Stone's Throw Urban Farm is out of this world. You have seriously never had a better salad - find them at Mill City Farmers Market on Saturdays.
- Swede Lake Farm out in Watertown raises more varieties of garlic than I knew existed. Start looking for their garlic scapes early July (late this year due to the long, cool spring) at Mill City Farmers Market and Kingfield Farmers Market.
- Buy everything from Singing Hills Goat Dairy: feta, herbed cheve, dill cheese curds. You'll find them at Mill City and Fulton Farmers Markets on Saturdays.
Oh man, my mouth is watering again...