So you’ve read about Big Food and its hold on the larger part of the food industry. What do you do now? We’ve talked briefly about buying locally but what does that really look like? How do you find good options?
Farmers’ Markets
One great way to buy food locally is to find out if your town or city holds a regular farmers’ market. During the summer and spring this would be a great way to find veggies and fruits native to your area in their freshest state! If you are in the D.C. area, Agora Farms is a great location for seasonal, fresh produce. Agora Farms is actually open year round and hosts farms from Maryland and Pennsylvania as well.
Co-ops
You could also join a co-op. A food co-op is basically a grocery store that is owned by the members of the co-op. They decide what is carried and how much to charge and compensation for those working in the co-op, etc. They often carry local produce and more. You may even be able to connect with local butchers and dairies through a co-op and regularly carry the best quality goods in the area! There’s much to be gained from a local co-op and even if you don’t become a member, you can still find some quality goods by asking which products were locally sourced. This is also a great city option if you don’t have the space to set up your own garden.
Person or Shared Garden
If you have the space, one of the best ways to work around Big Food is to grow your food yourself! Start a little garden or even a group of planters for your favorite herbs. Get together with a few like minded friends and trade your surplus! Additionally, canning what you don’t use for the winter months supports having clean, fresh food all year long.
Direct Connections
Sometimes, local farmers, dairies, wineries and beekeepers will sell directly to the consumer. If you know what you want, it doesn’t hurt to do a little research and go directly to the source yourself. They may be open to working with you as an individual or a one person involved in a bigger program like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where consumers pay for a season’s worth of food upfront and pick up their share of delicious produce each week!
Locally-sourced Grocery Stores
Lastly, it’s not unheard of that a smaller, local grocery store might buy some of its produce locally. Ask the store’s manager if they buy some of the things you normally get from a local farmer. Some items might be more difficult to find locally as an individual so supporting a grocery store that supports local farmers is very important.
In the end, all of these options help to ensure that you are getting your food from as close to the source as possible and you are making what’s important to you known. Larger, Big Food companies keep track of what people as a whole want so the more people interested in cleanly sourced foods, the more we raise the standards of what we will find acceptable within the food industry.
Here is a link to Agora Farms
Here’s another for CSA information and how to find one.
Find a co-op here.