We are writing this newsletter because we are personally excited about local food, have gathered a lot of information about it, and want to share what we know! After we challenged ourselves (and our families) to eat solely local food for one month in August 2005, lots of friends and neighbors asked us where to get the best local food and what we did with it. This newseletter is our way of getting back to you and spreading the word about great producers and information. Thanks for your questions and your suggestions!
Local Pastured Meat Comes to UP!
Springfield Farm in Sparks, Maryland
David Smith of Springfield Farm in Sparks, Maryland, has agreed to expore the idea of a buying club for those of us who enjoy eating meat that we know has been raised right. David and several generations of his family run a cozy farm that supplies eggs, chickens, ducks, pork, lamb, and beef to many of Baltimore's top restaurants. Renee has been driving to Springfield Farm for meat every few months for the past two years. Now that David has started deliveries to some Washington-area restaurants, he can also consider delivering to us lucky consumers in the Hyattsville/University Park area.
If you are interested in meeting with David to learn more about his farm, his products and how a buying club might work, send an email to Renee at reneecatacalos@verizon.net and she will let you know when the informational meeting is scheduled.
There’s no denying that some people can be intimidated or overwhelmed by the level of interaction a farmers market makes possible. We’re not used to asking about our food in the grocery store, and we think farmers might not want to hear a bunch of stupid questions from a farmers market neophyte. But the whole point of a farmers market is to get you closer to your food, so if you don’t know more about what you bring home from the market than what you buy in the grocery store, you may need these “do’s” and just one don’t to help you feel more comfortable actually talking to the people who grow your food.
DO ask the name of the fruit or veggie you are about to buy, and what type of cooking or eating it’s best for. Ask how long it will stay fresh or whether it still needs to ripen a bit. Ask where the pigs for the bacon were raised or where the goats whose milk makes the cheese are pastured.
DO ask what kind of pesticides and fertilizers a farmer uses, if the food is not identified as organic. Most farmers will tell you when the crops were sprayed. Lots of times you’ll learn that, due to specific weather or other conditions, they have not been sprayed at all.
DO comparison shop and make your choices after you’ve perused all the stalls selling the same type of products. Farmers may price their wares differently based on their economies of scale, transportation costs, abundance or shortage of supply, or their perception of the quality of their product.
DON’T treat the farmers market like a flea market. The farmers are generally not going to bargain with you on a posted price. What you can do to cut costs is ask if there is a discount for buying in bulk or for buying seconds (fruit or veggies that may have bruises or imperfections which can easily be cut out).
Local Food in Global Context
Check out Grist magazine's new column by organic farmer Tom Philpott, which will "explore the politics of food and agriculture." The first one discusses "why, even with Wal-Mart and Whole Foods jumping on the buy-local bandwagon, small farms are doomed without big-time intervention." Read it at and be proud of your effort to support local farms!
Renee Brooks Catacalos and Kristi Bahrenburg Janzen
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All content of the Real People Eat Local website and the Local Mix email newsletter is original and the property of Renee Brooks Catacalos and Kristi Bahrenburg Janzen. We welcome your comments at feedback@realpeopleeatlocal.com.
