My colleagues and I look forward to Wednesday’s
farmers market near my work place. Local farmers deliver fresh, local food to a
growing number of shoppers demanding food that is not only healthy, but
environmentally friendly. But farmers markets take sustainability a step
further. They also ensure farmers can make a living off sustainably grown food,
while providing an outlet where communities can find and purchase their
products. Sustainability is the overarching theme in this system. Farmers
engage in sustainable farming practices to produce healthy food to sustain the
local community, who in turn provide the money necessary to sustain the
farmers. Each share in the success of the other in a mutually beneficial
relationship that has become a model for sustainability. Farmers who choose to
use sustainable practices face a challenging economic climate dominated by
large, corporate farms. Many find they cannot compete with the massive volume,
low market prices, and government subsidies enjoyed by large operations. Farmers
markets offer small and mid-sized farmers a low-barrier entry point to develop
and establish a thriving business free from the overhead necessary to sell in
large retail outlets. But just as important, farmers markets create a space
where the focus of food is on quality and farming practices rather than price
alone.
There is a store in the Colma/Daly City area near PetSmart called Sprouts which seems to be a fairly successful business; offering healthful foods without the sticker shock at Whole (Paycheck) Foods. We have a market on Alemany every Saturday I believe. Greengrocers are plentiful on Mission in the Excelsior.
ReplyDeleteHi Chika,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. I too would like to completely shop at farmers markets and at the local dairy and meat stores to maintain the idea of sustainability. The local markets may or may not use pesticides but this is clearly labeled in their products that they sell. Like David mentions, Sprouts sells mostly organic local products from the valley and surrounding regions, and it is reasonable to shop there. I have one close to my neighborhood, I just wished I had time time to drive over to shop. Now that I am stewarding this topic of sustainability and reduction of unnecessary antibiotic use in our animals, I should take the effort to drive another 10 m minutes to shop local.