Farmers markets offer local freshness
Do you know where your banana's been?
Strange question, but do you know the answer? Many of the fruits and vegetables we eat year-round come from far away, exotic locations around the world. A banana from Ecuador, a papaya from Brazil, an avocado from Mexico; your lunch likely has more Air Miles than you do!
While these foods certainly add a rich, cultural “dazzle” to your summer salads, the costs involved in getting these items from jungle to jambalaya might be steeper than you realize.
When a typical North American family sits down for dinner, each ingredient on their plate has traveled an average of 1,500 miles to get there. The carbon emissions from this type of travel, whether by plane, train or automobile, are not only harmful and expensive, but also unnecessary. We live in Ontario folks! We're surrounded by local farmers who are harvesting an abundance of fresh produce and raising healthy livestock within 100 miles of our back yards!
Londoner Kelly Hunt, an adorable, spunky gastronome, is committed to getting people jazzed about local food. She runs a blog called ‘Eat Local London' that is bursting with food research, local market reviews, maps and recipes to make buying locally both easy and fun! Partially inspired by the book “Food, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver, Hunt's passionate about educating people on the joy of eating food grown close to home, “Food is life and life is food” she says, “You should know where that life comes from”
Hunt's enthusiasm as a “Locavore”, someone who prefers to eat locally grown and produced food, is contagious! She promotes eating locally for many reasons; it's environmental benefit, improved taste, and the positive impact on our local economy and community. Though she admits to being frustrated by her local grocery store at times: “I do get mighty angry when in June they are still selling imported strawberries when local, Ontario berries are available and taste superior”.
Hunt suggests looking for the “Foodland Ontario” symbols when shopping for local items, then “once you have the knowledge of what is in season, you can shop smartly.” There's a fantastic seasonal section on her blog that lists which foods are ripe and available each month. This month local strawberries and cherries are in season, as are Hunt's favourite “little green soldiers” the mighty asparagus!
Understanding where your food comes from is important when making choices for yourself and your family; food that's picked in it's prime is not only better tasting, it's likely been treated with less chemicals as it's not grown to sustain weeks on the back of a cargo ship or days rumbling down the highway in a transport truck.
Food sold at a local farmer's market was likely picked within 24 hours and the vendor is likely the farmer! You can ask questions about transportation and pesticides right from the source. Market vendors are passionate about their food; their product is their life's work and their farm is their livelihood; they are proud and enthusiastic about the quality of the food they are selling.
Hunt advises shoppers to simply be aware and pay attention when visiting corner markets claiming to sell “local” produce. Often vendors will put out some local produce mixed in with items that are posing as local or items that are not even grown in Ontario; like bananas!
“People think they are buying local when in fact they are not, that is where I have a problem,” says Hunt, “It creates confusion, where the path should be clear”
Basically, if you spot bananas or pineapples at your local farmers market, you may want to ask a few questions.
Hunt is happy that her blog is able to provide an up to date, reliable resource for her community “People live such busy lives, I wanted to make it easier to find the things that I have found already.”
Local Farmer's Markets in the London area:
Covent Garden Farmers Market
130 King St.
Thursdays & Saturdays 8am to 1pm (May to November)
Trail's End Farmers Market
4370 Dundas St.
Mondays 9am to 6pm, Tuesdays to Fridays 9am to 9pm, Saturdays 7am to 5pm, CLOSED Sundays
London's Farmers Market
Confederation Building, Western Fairgrounds
Saturdays 7am to 3pm
St. Mary's Farmers Market
Water St. Parking Lot (behind the GOCO station), 20 minutes Northeast of London.
Saturdays 8am to noon (May to October)
Kelly Hunt's ‘Eat Local London' blog:
www.eatlocallondon.blogspot.com
Strange question, but do you know the answer? Many of the fruits and vegetables we eat year-round come from far away, exotic locations around the world. A banana from Ecuador, a papaya from Brazil, an avocado from Mexico; your lunch likely has more Air Miles than you do!
While these foods certainly add a rich, cultural “dazzle” to your summer salads, the costs involved in getting these items from jungle to jambalaya might be steeper than you realize.
When a typical North American family sits down for dinner, each ingredient on their plate has traveled an average of 1,500 miles to get there. The carbon emissions from this type of travel, whether by plane, train or automobile, are not only harmful and expensive, but also unnecessary. We live in Ontario folks! We're surrounded by local farmers who are harvesting an abundance of fresh produce and raising healthy livestock within 100 miles of our back yards!
Londoner Kelly Hunt, an adorable, spunky gastronome, is committed to getting people jazzed about local food. She runs a blog called ‘Eat Local London' that is bursting with food research, local market reviews, maps and recipes to make buying locally both easy and fun! Partially inspired by the book “Food, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver, Hunt's passionate about educating people on the joy of eating food grown close to home, “Food is life and life is food” she says, “You should know where that life comes from”
Hunt's enthusiasm as a “Locavore”, someone who prefers to eat locally grown and produced food, is contagious! She promotes eating locally for many reasons; it's environmental benefit, improved taste, and the positive impact on our local economy and community. Though she admits to being frustrated by her local grocery store at times: “I do get mighty angry when in June they are still selling imported strawberries when local, Ontario berries are available and taste superior”.
Hunt suggests looking for the “Foodland Ontario” symbols when shopping for local items, then “once you have the knowledge of what is in season, you can shop smartly.” There's a fantastic seasonal section on her blog that lists which foods are ripe and available each month. This month local strawberries and cherries are in season, as are Hunt's favourite “little green soldiers” the mighty asparagus!
Understanding where your food comes from is important when making choices for yourself and your family; food that's picked in it's prime is not only better tasting, it's likely been treated with less chemicals as it's not grown to sustain weeks on the back of a cargo ship or days rumbling down the highway in a transport truck.
Food sold at a local farmer's market was likely picked within 24 hours and the vendor is likely the farmer! You can ask questions about transportation and pesticides right from the source. Market vendors are passionate about their food; their product is their life's work and their farm is their livelihood; they are proud and enthusiastic about the quality of the food they are selling.
Hunt advises shoppers to simply be aware and pay attention when visiting corner markets claiming to sell “local” produce. Often vendors will put out some local produce mixed in with items that are posing as local or items that are not even grown in Ontario; like bananas!
“People think they are buying local when in fact they are not, that is where I have a problem,” says Hunt, “It creates confusion, where the path should be clear”
Basically, if you spot bananas or pineapples at your local farmers market, you may want to ask a few questions.
Hunt is happy that her blog is able to provide an up to date, reliable resource for her community “People live such busy lives, I wanted to make it easier to find the things that I have found already.”
Local Farmer's Markets in the London area:
Covent Garden Farmers Market
130 King St.
Thursdays & Saturdays 8am to 1pm (May to November)
Trail's End Farmers Market
4370 Dundas St.
Mondays 9am to 6pm, Tuesdays to Fridays 9am to 9pm, Saturdays 7am to 5pm, CLOSED Sundays
London's Farmers Market
Confederation Building, Western Fairgrounds
Saturdays 7am to 3pm
St. Mary's Farmers Market
Water St. Parking Lot (behind the GOCO station), 20 minutes Northeast of London.
Saturdays 8am to noon (May to October)
Kelly Hunt's ‘Eat Local London' blog:
www.eatlocallondon.blogspot.com
