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| Be a ‘locavore’ |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
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Posted: Sunday, April 19, 2009 6:13 am
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It seems like over the past few years reports of threats to the national food supply surface every few months.
Bacteria have invaded the spinach supply, tomatoes, peanuts and now pistachios, leaving the public to wonder: How safe is our food really?
“Nothing is of more basic importance to all of us than the food we put into our bodies every day and it’s impact on our health, the environment and the well being of our families,” said Carlene Hurst, Read to Succeed’s One Book chairwoman.
The importance of healthy and safe food is why Read to Succeed chose Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” as this year’s One Book.
Kingsolver’s nonfiction work deals with current concerns regarding energy, the environment and America's food safety. |
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Where to find farm fresh produce
Erdmann Farm, 2250 Rock Springs Midland Road, Christiana
Lucky Ladd Farms, 4374 Rocky Glade Road, Eagleville
P and P Farms, 2841 East Jefferson Pike, Lascassas
Rocky Glade Farm, 2397 Rocky Glade Road, Eagleville
Shuck -n- Shack Farm, 7721 VallyView Road, Lascassas
Stones River Market, 2250 Rock Springs Midland Road
The Blueberry Patch, 5942 West Gum Road, Murfreesboro
Walden Pumpkin Farm, 8653 Rocky Fork Road, Smyrna, TN
More Info …
http://www.picktnproducts.org
Doe Run Farms - www.doerunfarmtn.com
Agricultural Extension - 898-7710
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It chronicles a calendar year during which Kingsolver and her family moved to an Appalachian farm and attempted to become "locavores" – people who eat only locally grown food.
“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is much more than an entertaining and engaging read,” Hurst said. “This is one of those wonderful books that has the potential to change our lives and the life of our county for the better.”
Why be a ‘locavore’
Rutherford County Agricultural Extension Director Dewayne Trail said eating locally grown food isn’t just better for the environment; it’s also better for your family.
“By supporting local agriculture, you are also buying produce that is more nutritious, and less costly than at most retail outlets,” he said.
Locally grown produce, like from the Rutherford County Farmer’s Market, is also fresher, he said.
According to Kingsolver, food travels an average of 1,500 miles before it reaches the dinner table.
Transportation of food accounts for 400 gallons of oil per person per year. Eating one meal a week made from locally produced meats, vegetables and fruits would reduce the country's oil consumption by more than 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.
“You know when (Farmer’s Market) vendors bring produce in, the day before they picked it from the field,” Trail said, adding the vegetables have a longer shelf life than those bought in a grocery store.
Trail said locally grown food also tastes better.
Kingsolver said in her book storage and transportation not only decrease the nutritional value of vegetables but also their taste.
All you have to do is compare the taste of a homegrown tomato with one bought in the store. The difference is unbelievable, Trail said.
How to be a ‘locavore’
Trail said the easiest way eat locally – short of planting a garden and building a chicken coop – is to visit the Rutherford County Farmer’s Market, which opens in its new home at Lane Agri-Park in mid-June.
He also endorsed the Community Supported Agriculture Farm to Table program, which recruits local farms to sell boxes of produce to the public.
Doe Run Farms, located in Lincoln County, is certified organic and will begin delivering boxes, in three different sizes, on Wednesdays to a location near MTSU in mid-May.
The boxes will be filled with seasonal vegetables, berries and other produce, farmer owner Judy McGary said.
“Community Supported Agriculture is the focus of our farm, we only grow for our CSA members,” McGary said.
McGarys have been farming at Doe Run for 10 years and started with six CSA members four years ago and the program has exploded since, she said.
“This summer we have close to 200 families registered. We started out a few years ago doing Farmer's Markets, but now just grow for our CSA families,” she said.
CSA members are basically paying for their share of the farm’s harvest in advance, she explained, which helps the farm get crops in the ground and out to the public.
“We also offer our CSA members the opportunity to purchase bulk berries, tomatoes, green beans, and cucumbers when we have extra,” McGary said. “On a first come first serve basis on delivery days, we have free range eggs (non medicated-no hormones)---from contented hens available.”
Trail said Delvin Farms in Rutherford County near the Williamson border serves about 300 families through the Farm to Table program.
But if you don’t want to pay up front, Murfreesboro, Nashville and Franklin all have Farmer’s Markets throughout the summer. Murfreesboro’s takes place Tuesdays and Fridays from June through October. Nashville’s is daily at the Bicentennial Mall and Franklin’s is held every weekend at the Factory.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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Member Opinions:
By: judytn41 on 4/19/09
Thank you Michelle for a wonderful article in support of small farms and farmers! I would like to let your readers know also that Doe Run Farm does grow "year round" and if you register early on for either the Summer or Fall-Winter CSA --- we do offer a payment plan so you don't have to pay all at once or upfront. Your article raises consumer awareness to the fact that shoppers do have an alternative to the supermarkets that haul in their food by the truckload cross country, or in a lot of cases, shipped in from other countries.
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