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To Market, to Market Farmers' Markets Offer Fresh Food Finds and More!
Summer is here, with the promise of sweet corn and tantalizing tomatoes. For anyone who cares about fresh produce, it's time to head to the area's farmers' markets.
What's Old is New Again . . . Sort of The farmers' market, with its open-air stalls and rustic facilities, seems like an old-timey sort of establishment. With our ingrained familiarity with shrink-wrap and bar codes, the idea of patronizing a farmer directly rather than hitting the produce aisle of the supermarket seems quaint and old-fashioned. But really, farmers' markets haven't been around very long. Bobi Crispens, coordinator of the Anne Arundel County farmers' market on Riva Road and Harry Truman Parkway in Annapolis , has been with the market all but one of its 26 years of operation. As she proudly proclaims, “We're the oldest continuously operating market in the state of Maryland .” All of the farmers' markets throughout the state are independently run and determine for themselves what can and cannot be sold at the market. At the Annapolis market, that means everything must be produced in Anne Arundel County . Now that's local. Thinking in Food MilesThe term food miles made it onto the New York Times 's list of buzz words for 2006. It refers to the distance food has traveled to make it to your plate. What's the big deal about local produce? Insisting on local food can seem like a bit of food snobbery, like exclusive upscale restaurant menus touting vegetables and meats by the name of their local producers. But choosing local produce can have a great number of repercussions that should interest more than just gourmands. The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University has calculated some thought-provoking numbers for produce grown in the continental United States that then arrived by truck at the Chicago Terminal Market, an international wholesale produce market. Here's a quick list of items and the miles they traveled to Chicago , long before they'd reach your plate in Maryland : Apples 1,555 Blueberries 675 Broccoli 2,095 Cabbage 754 Cucumbers 731 Peaches 1,674 Peppers (bell) 1,261 Squash 781 Tomatoes 1369 All of the foods listed above are available, in season, from Maryland farms. So what's the advantage of having your broccoli travel only 20 miles versus 2000? Well, the easiest answer is freshness. As Crispens puts it, “Produce at the market is just hours from the field, picked when it's ready to be picked, not when it's ready to be shipped with the hope that it will ripen along the way. It's at its height nutritionally and for flavor.” But other arguments for buying locally arise when we think about how our food is transported to us: Buying from local farms uses less energy. All that transportation (and refrigeration while shipping) requires fossil fuels. Local farms limit the stresses of suburban sprawl. Farmland can act as a buffer against all that concrete pouring out around us. Local farms are Bay friendly. While certified organic farms are still the minority in these parts, small farms use less synthetic fertilizer and pesticide than industrial farms because those are expenses that can cut deeply into narrow profit margins. Local produce is more secure and cleaner. Large food distribution centers could be easy targets for bioterrorists. Pathogens like E. coli OH157:H7 have more time to grow on lengthy voyages. Local produce keeps your food dollars in the local economy. The money you're spending on that lettuce from California ? Most of it won't stay here. Local produce promotes biodiversity. Ever seen heirloom winesap apples at the supermarket? How about ramps, also known as wild leeks? Local farmers grow a much wider variety of plants than grocery stores normally provide. Local produce relies on local, fairly paid labor. To get downright political, one could even argue that if Americans depended more on local produce than on industrial farms thousands of miles from their homes, then illegal immigration would be much less of an issue. Confessions of a Local Food Lover While it might prove difficult for the average Maryland family to eat only local food all year long, local farmers' markets provide plenty of choices for fantastic produce three seasons of the year. Last year, after reading about a couple in Vancouver who decided to live for a year on food and drink grown within a 100-mile radius of their home (a book by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon on their experience is due out this spring, see http://100milediet.org), I challenged myself to buy local produce as much as possible. So, in addition to buying a share in a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, I hit the Annapolis farmers' market religiously. If I could buy a fruit or veggie there, I wouldn't buy it in the grocery store. Besides consistently having the highest quality produce my family has ever had, we also learned a valuable lesson. Because we were eating almost entirely foods that were in season, they became precious. We couldn't bear to waste those gorgeous purple heirloom tomatoes in the summer or the tender stalks of asparagus in the spring. And by fall, we were bona fide fans of leafy greens. Come winter, we were back in the grocery store, and a bit disappointed at the selection. I also found myself wanting to pluck asparagus out of my fellow shoppers' carts and say, “It's January! Do you really think this asparagus from Argentina is going to taste like anything?” I managed to keep my mouth shut. I did have Costa Rican bananas in my cart, after all. This year, I hope to reach the level of putting foods away for winter by canning or freezing, an excellent way to preserve peak flavors. As one farmer told me as he sold me a can of his peaches this fall, “In February, you can come in from a morning of shoveling snow, open up a can of peaches, and you'll swear it's July.” To Market, to MarketA few grocery stores in the area do sell some local produce. The Maryland Department of Agriculture even has programs to help farmers get their produce into supermarkets. But really, the farmers' market is a must-have experience for all of us. Go to your local market. Get to know your farmers. Learn the stories they have to tell, like how one farmer is growing grapes from vines his grandmother planted 80 years ago, and another farmer works his land to raise money for his church while providing work experience for the youths in the congregation. Bring your kids so they'll learn that food doesn't sprout from Styrofoam trays. Visit with friends and neighbors. Go to the market and find your community. Health editor Bridget Avila is an enthusiastic chef who loves fresh vegetables. Where to Find Your Local MarketCheck the Maryland Department of Agriculture's Web site for more information on farmers' markets: www.mda.state.md.us . The Department of Agriculture also distributes brochures with information on markets statewide. You can find these brochures in public libraries. Market contacts listed below can also provide information on dates of operation. ( Linda two versions of listing- for Eastern Shore please put the Anne Arundel county listings in this section last) Anne Arundel CountyAnne Arundel County Farmers' Market Deale Farmers' Market Glen Burnie Town Center Farmers' Market Piney Orchard Farmers' Market Severna Park Farmers' Market South River Colony Farmers” Market (new market) Caroline CountyDenton 's Farmers' Market Kent CountyChestertown Farmers' Market Queen Anne's CountyCentreville Farmers' Market Talbot CountyEaston Farmers' Market St. Michaels "FRESHFARM" Market
Direct Buys from the Farm CSA farms connect farmers and consumers through a process in which consumers become subscribing members who financially support the farms in advance for crops expected each season. Then, each week of the season, members collect their “boxes” of produce at a pickup site. Clagett Farm, Upper Marlboro, MD Raises vegetables in an environmentally sensitive manner on 14 acres of Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland . Every week for 6 months, we distribute at least half of our produce to low-income neighborhoods in Washington , D.C. , and the other half to our 125 members through a marketing system called Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA). Additionally, From the Ground Up uses volunteers in the vegetable production and educates them about the connections between agriculture and social justice. Future Harvest-CASA is a network of farmers, agricultural professionals, landowners, and consumers living and working in the Chesapeake region. Future Harvest-CASA promotes profitable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable food and farming systems that work to sustain communities. Address: 106 Market Court Farm grows organically because they can't imagine doing it any other way. Items available includeorganic vegetables, fresh free-range eggs, and organic chickens . . . Address: 115 Corsica Street Jug Bay Market Garden, Upper Marlboro, MD Jug Bay Market Garden is a small certified organic farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland . They offer a CSA that delivers weekly to the Capitol Hill area and the Bowie farmers' market and offers pickup at the farm. Members receive 22 weeks of seasonal vegetables, berries, and herbs beginning the first week in June. Each share is large enough for two adults. For additional information, or to receive a brochure, call (301) 627-6211. Address: 10508 Croom Road
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