Farm Fresh

Whatever happened to walking to market? In my hometown of York, PA, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the Central Markethouse, Eastern Market, and other local markets where local farmers sell fresh produce, meat, and delicious Pennsylvania Dutch food. I was used to walking across the street at work to get my lunch. I was used to knowing where it came from. In fact, my mother buys from a stand where the produce was picked by my cousin. It is never hard to find fresh, local food in York.

It shocked me that while living in Cork, Ireland, many of the people I studied with were delighted and amazed by the English Market, where a 10 minute walk down the street revealed a centuries-old markethouse that sold meat, cheeses, vegetables, pastries, and anything else in between. Besides being local, the food sold there was usually a fraction of the price of grocery store goods. It made sense – there were no transportation costs or distribution and packaging fees. Straight from farm to market to me. That’s the way I like my food.

Where is the downside of locally grown food? Availability. Many urban or sprawl areas just don’t have access to farmers’ markets, either because of transportation or simply because there isn’t one. Even in York I watch as more and more farmland transforms into suburbia and new condos. When my friends visit I always show them the old farmhouses surrounded by the sprawl. That land’s crop-growing days are over.

But, in Chestertown, we are fortunate enough to have a Saturday morning farmer’s market in Fountain Park, where I pick up fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers. I also work for a share of produce at Colchester Farm, a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) farm where, if I help harvest the crop weekly, I can take some of my own. I will also soon acquire some broiler chickens from the farm, and I hope to buy more local meat (very rarely do I eat any meat that I haven’t seen first or know exactly where it came from anymore).

So, why buy local? By buying locally, you help keep business in the local area, supporting local farms and fellow neighbors. It’s what helps keep small-scale farms operating; otherwise, like some farms on the Eastern Shore, they could be bought out by developers, and the same thing that’s happening in my home county can happen here. Buying at market shows that you support your community and want to preserve the integrity of smaller farms.

Next time you’re at the grocery store, picking up some California strawberries and Perdue chicken, think to yourself, “I can get some local strawberries and chicken Saturday morning. I’ll wait on these.” And, if you don’t have access to a market, look around for signs at the store that say “Locally grown!”. Every time you buy something local, you help strengthen community support for farmers, and keep that farm from disappearing. What would we do without farms? Do we really want to drive down the street to see suburb after suburb, especially here on the Eastern Shore? I think not.