THERE WAS A TIME in Emporia — in most of the United States, for that matter — when buying food was a more personal transaction than it now. Vans from local bakeries delivered bread and rolls to the door. Dairies left milk and cream on the doorstep. Truck gardeners drove their wagons (and, later, their battered trucks) through residential neighborhoods, selling fresh produce. Meat came from meat markets that often raised and slaughtered their own stock and cured their own bacon and ham.
The consensus of most folks who are old enough to remember those days is that food tasted better then.
But this is not going to be a diatribe against supermarkets, transcontinental tomatoes and transoceanic berries.
There is a lot to be said for produce aisles that are stocked year-round with a variety of fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables. What may have been lost in taste has been gained in choice and four-season availability. Instead of two or three kinds of bread, there are dozens. Green peppers now sit cheek by jowl with sweet red, yellow and orange peppers. Foods that were once available only in specialty shops in big cities are now part of the common abundance that is the local supermarket.
Emporian Bill Hanlon is asking a simple question: In all that abundance, isn’t there room for the old foods?
He is organizing a group in Lyon and surrounding counties to encourage increased local production of vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs, meat and baked goods and to make them available to consumers through farmers markets, restaurants and, yes, even supermarkets.
Of course, Emporia has a farmers market now, but it is limited to a few hours one or two days a week from May to October. It is a good place to shop, but not a place for everyday shooping.
Hanlon says increased lyear-round production of a greater variety of food would benefit both producers would get a new source of income and consumers would get farm-fresh food on the table.
The idea makes sense. After all, it is common knowledge that an ear of corn is sweeter a few hours after it is picked than several days later. Tomatoes that are grown only 15 or 20 miles of paved roads from the market can have thinner skins and be allowed to ripen longer than mass-market tomatoes grown a thousand miles away.
Hanlon’s plan certainly seems worth pursuing and its promised bounty of good, ripe local produce is enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
Mass-produced food has been a boon to humankind, providing unprecedented variety to millions of people around the world.
But not all food needs to be mass-produced and not all agribusiness needs to be global.
Sometimes, it is best to enjoy the bounty of a neighbor’s garden.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
bdprotheroe (anonymous) says...
Another great editorial, Patrick! Locally-grown, organic food is now the standard, rather than just a passing fad, here in the Bay Area. Here are some online resources that may be of interest to your readers.
The public may not realize it but they can buy directly from local farmers. Even more will benefit when a group forms and individuals take turns (rotating schedule) dividing and delivering the produce to group members:
http://www.localharvest.org/organic-f...
Restaurants and food markets can get “into the game,” too. These businesses benefit when they promote themselves as supporters of local farms, and vice versa. Of course, don’t expect large, national retailers to participate:
http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/index.p...
Best of luck. Go local and go organic whenever possible.
Brian Protheroe
San Francisco, CA
January 6, 2009 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Your editorial remind me of my days in New Orleans many years ago when local producers sold door to door. A man in a mule-drawn cart drove through our neighborhood every few days and would call out his wares in a thick cajun accent. Peaches, sweet Jawja beauties!!! Onyuns, gotta have 'em onyuns!!
Yes, support local producers and the taste is so much better. Those high-dollar multi-colored peppers that line produce counters are about as tasty as those round red bricks that pass for tomatoes. Even meat doesn't taste as good anymore.
I'm guessing that canning will be popular again this year. Just last night I opened a quart of peaches I'd canned this past August. I could taste the summer.
January 7, 2009 at 7:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )