“local” at Harris Teeter
Originally uploaded by tiffany bridge
We’ve been incorporating as much locally-produced food into our diet as possible at Hacienda Bridge. Between our trips to the farmer’s market and our CSA share, we find that we’ve only occasionally been buying produce at the grocery store. There are lots of reasons for this, some of them are debatable political/economic points that I am constantly reevaluating in light of new information, but the fundamental reason that never seems to change is what I like to call the “Delicious Ideology:”
Local food is fresher, because it doesn’t have to travel as far. Fresh food tastes better. When fruits and vegetables taste better, we eat more of them. Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for us. Therefore, local is better for us.
So these “locally grown” signs at the Harris Teeter in our neighborhood caught my eye. As much as I enjoy chatting with the farmers at the market, I also enjoy convenience. But I’m also conscious of the fact that “locavores” are increasing in number, and so “locally grown” is also a good marketing point, so I checked the labels on these vegetables.
The closest farm any of them came from was in New Jersey! To be fair, that’s still a lot more local than usual for a supermarket- most garlic in your supermarket comes from China, the tomatoes and grapes often come from Chile, the apples often come from New Zealand. By that standard, New Jersey and Florida ARE local.
But I’d still rather buy my produce from farms within a 100 mile radius from my house, so I’ll be back at the farmer’s market this weekend.
Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.
Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.
Perhaps “domestically grown” but then it would all be from California. Or “regionally grown” but then who qualifies what that means? We’ve witnessed the latitude that has been given to the term “organic”—so much so that it is now almost meaningless. Organic Motor Oil? Sure. it’s from plant matter!
I also like the idea of being able to meet the person that grows my food. There’s something about farming that reminds me of the creative process. People take pride in their work, and in the farmer’s case, that is produce. To hear the owner of the CSA I belong to talk about Tomatoes or ways to use Garlic scape is the same way I see people I work with talk about usability and design.
Impassioned.
As a (South) Jersey girl myself, I feel compelled to mention that parts of South Jersey ARE within the 100 mile radius of DC! South Jersey is also the part of NJ that actually grows most of the yummy produce you see at the end of the summer — tomatoes, Silver Queen corn, peaches, etc.
All they had from New Jersey was some radishes and some blueberries. Everything else on the shelf seems to have come from Florida.