Are you a Locavore?

Farmer's Market

I am a Locavore and it doesn't mean I am crazy (don't ask my husband for comment)!

Locavore is a term to describe consumers who buy local produce that supports the local farmers.  It's a movement, and the USDA predicts it is slowly replacing the Organic industry.

Hometown Harvest is leading Frederick County in this Locavore movement by bringing the farmer's market delivered straight to your front door.  

Why is buying local surpassing buying organic?

To find out why, Kris spent some time with Abby, one of the owners from Hometown Harvest a few weeks ago, and these are some of the things we learned:

Hometown Harvest offers all types of fruits and vegetables.  Not all their produce is organic, but mostly local.  Abby talked about how you may go to the grocery store and buy organic strawberries from California.  Those California growers can call their crops organic because they use more natural pesticides, but they don't rotate their crops as often as some of the local farmers might. Local farmers will rotate their crops so that by the time the bugs find the strawberry plants, the farmers are moving them to a new location; pesticides are not needed.  

Abby also talked about the products being very seasonal.  You can get a wide variety of options that you may not normally eat or cook with. You get what is fresh and natural to the time and season. There are downsides to trying to eat peaches in January in Maryland; they are probably not as fresh, free of preservatives, and certainly not local.

Buying local offers several health benefits including becoming acclimated with the local and regional pollen and flowers.  Ask any bee keeper how beneficial that is.  Eating local honey has shown to help reduce allergies in patients and offer some immunity.

Hometown Harvest is a locally owned delivery service that allows you to get the farmer's market delivered to your door.  That was their intention from the beginning.  They have expanded the products and services they offer, but the produce is the heart of their business.  You can choose how often your deliveries occur.  For example, I choose to have a small produce bag delivered once a week.  That bag is customized by me with 7 items.  My delivery comes on Tuesdays, so I need to log in and choose my options by Sunday night.  I also get local chicken and beef delivered from local farms.  The delivery fee is the same every week no matter how much I order.  I love it because I plan my meals each week and order exactly what I need.

I don't order huge quantities that I don't use and end up being thrown away, and I support the local farmers and businesses.  The produce tastes amazing, and I love that I get orange, purple, and yellow carrots; it makes my vegetable soup look like Barefoot Contessa cooked it!

Check out this video and see what we are talking about!!

In our upcoming blogs, Amy is looking forward to discussing even more additional health benefits of buying local and even providing great healthy recipes using all your local fruits and vegetables.

In Good Health,

Kris