A Farmers Market Frenzy

Farmers Markets: who doesn't love them? Sure they can be more expensive, although this is not always the case. And even when they are, most people find that it's worth the extra change. You enjoy fresh produce, consume less pesticides and other harmful chemicals while simultaneously supporting your local farmers, and therefore stimulating your local economy. As an added bonus, you're doing something good for the environment.

You see, your typical apple or squash or tomato travels an average of 1,494 miles from its point of origin to the produce section of your local grocery store. Compare that to an average distance of 56 miles that your fruits and veggies at the nearest farmers market have traveled. That's a lot of unnecessary CO2 that's being released into the atmosphere. 27 times as much, to be exact.

And is it just me, or is the corn from that local farmer sweeter? The apples crunchier? It's probably my mind playing tricks on me, but I'm inclined to believe that things really do taste better when they are grown only a few zip codes away.

Lucky for me, there is an abundance of farmers markets in New York. It's no wonder the city was named after a (large) piece of fruit! I was shocked to find how many more farms and farmers markets that there are on the East Coast in comparison to the West Coast.

Lucky for you, you can go to http://www.localharvest.org/ and find the nearest farms, farmers markets, and other locations selling locally grown, organic food.

And perhaps you'll stumble upon some not-so-common items like I did this morning when I found a man selling ostrich eggs.

Go. Browse. Buy. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.

And don't forget to bring along your reusable grocery bag :)