I want a banana!
Hi all! Sorry if this is a little ramble on-ish but it’s what’s been on my mind this morning, particularly after seeing all of the pictures on social media of so many valley farmers losing tunnels & greenhouses in the recent wind storm.
We’ve all seen the hashtags; #buylocal #supportlocal #knowyourfarmer but what do they actually mean to YOU? While probably stemming from a similar place for most people, I think it’s important to recognize that this movement based on supporting local, eating local & in season, probably manifests itself in many different ways for each individual or family. For me personally, it means that every meal that I cook is created with a very high percentage of locally sourced ingredients, which in turn, obviously means that my fridge and pantry are stocked with a high percentage of products grown or produced or made locally.
But I really like bananas. And mangos. I use mountains of freshly ground pepper, am liberal with fresh squeezed lemons, fish sauce, and curry paste. I understand that many people may see that as a weird juxtaposition to my support of eating local & in season, but I respectfully disagree. I don’t think that any of those things take away from my support. Having said that, I wouldn’t dream of buying an apple or cherries from Washington, no matter what time of year it is, but I’ll certainly buy oranges from Florida or papaya from Mexico. I don’t expect to be able to eat asparagus in Nova Scotia in January, even though I could (though after you’ve tasted it in season, fresh picked & brought to market that very same day, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to) and I’m not interested in strawberries from California, despite our relatively short season here. I just figure that I have to eat my body weight in them daily while they’re at the height of locally grown perfection. Same goes for fresh corn….. I’m eating it almost daily in season, freezing bunches for winter, and then I wave goodbye to it for another year.
This is just how I feel, and while I don’t believe that anyone can do everything, I do believe that everyone can do something. Even if that something seems as small as one person not buying grape tomatoes or peaches from away, because we grow them so beautifully here.
Farming is hard work, and, as this recent damaging wind has shown us, it’s fraught with challenges. So, do your thing to support local, no matter how big or small, because every single dollar, locally spent, helps.
Every. Single. One.
If we want local we need to support it, or it will vanish as quickly as all of those greenhouse covers did.
Love up on some local goodies, and I’ll see you next week.
K