| If you have not yet patronized a farmers' market this year, you are cheating yourself. Not only is everything fresh, you will find varieties of produce that you will never see in a store. What is for sale was likely picked that day or the day before, so it will last quite a while once you bring it home. One of the reasons that you see so many varieties at a farmers' market is because none of what they sell has to travel very far to get to market maybe 100 miles although around here it is likely to be much less. What is grown locally doesn't have to be bred to withstand thousands of miles of travel. And, it is picked ripe. When you patronize a farmers' market, you most likely will have the opportunity to ask the people who grew or raised what is there how to cook it, or what kind of fertilizer was used in the field, or how long it will be in season. Then, in addition to enjoying terrific food, you will also be helping to keep open space open. If you think that where we live will be enhanced by more housing developments, then don't bother buying local farm products. There are all kinds of excuses why people don't go to farmers' markets. What I say to them is, the farmers do all of the hard work. All we have to do is show up and buy what they have to sell whether it is hot, cold, raining, or slightly inconvenient. There are several farmers' markets in the Pioneer Valley: three in Springfield, one in Holyoke, one in Chicopee, one in Northampton, and one in Amherst, some on weekdays and some on Saturday. We are also blessed with many roadside stands at farms. The person who will most benefit from buying local farm products is you. Enjoy! Belle Rita Novak Springfield |
