Fresh, Local Food – Come and Get It!

"We cannot be free if our food and its sources are controlled by someone else. The condition of the passive consumer of food is not a democratic condition. One reason to eat responsibly is to live free."
--Wendell Berry, Farmer & Essayist

The new pea shoots and dandelions making a resurgence in my yard officially signal the start of Oregon’s spring growing season. If you love eating the freshest possible food grown by local farmers, the long winter drought is over. Of course, if you’re a die hard locavore, you’ve been eating local root vegetables, greens, cheese, and meat all winter. However, if you are a fair weather farmers market or CSA customer, the season is just beginning. Hoorah! 

Why buy food grown locally?  The many reasons include:

• Strengthening the local economy by keeping dollars circulating in the community
• Protecting endangered farms – buying local food also helps make farming more profitable and selling farmland for development less attractive.
• Buying directly from farmers can make it easier to know how it is grown or raised and whether chemicals, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified seed are used in food operations.
• Reducing “food miles traveled” – since local food doesn't have to travel far, this reduces carbon dioxide emissions and packing materials.

Farmer’s Markets

Most local farmers markets begin their season in April or May. The Portland Saturday Farmers Market at Portland State University rolled up its doors the first weekend in April.  The Hillsdale Farmers Market has been open every other Sunday all winter, but will begin meeting every Sunday in May. To find your local farmer’s markets, go to www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org.

Community Supported Agriculture

Now is also the time to sign up for a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. By investing in a CSA share, you, the shareholder, assume with the farmer both the risks and rewards of growing the food you eat. Not only is this a great way to get to know a local farmer, and support their continuing economic viability, but you become intimately attuned to what is in season. Each week at a predetermined pick-up spot from about May to September you receive a box of produce (and sometimes eggs, meat, and flowers) that were just harvested. For some, this is an adventure in eating.  What’s this crazy looking vegetable called a cardoon, and how the heck do I cook it? For some, the pressure to eat everything in your box can be a bit overwhelming. In that case, sharing with friends, or buying a ½ or ¾ share is a good route.

Why buy a CSA share?  CSA farmers keep 100 percent of every consumer food dollar, while on average conventional farmers receive only $0.21 of every consumer food dollar. If you want to support local, sustainable agriculture and the protection of farmland, this is a great way to do it. And, how many people can say they have a local farmer?

Visit OEC's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture or click here to find your local CSA farm or visit Local Harvest for more resources.