I have a confession to make. I've been getting my groceries from the grocery store. I haven't even been looking at labels. I even bought non-organic chicken because, well, it was on sale for $.79/lb. I feel like I've let you down. This local eating thing is a lot tougher than I expected.
I kind of thought that if I looked around for places that carried local things, found the time to go to them despite my three cute little distractions, forked out the extra money, and made a few minor dietary concessions then I'd be able to buy almost everything we eat locally. Yeah, that was silly. Do you know what they actually grow here in the fine state of Massachusetts? (I'm going to Google it right now, I'll let you know.)
Fish/Shellfish
Pumpkins
Goats
Sheep
Pigs
Cows
Duck
Chicken
Turkey
Grapes/Wine
Blueberries
Strawberries
Potatoes
Cheese (okay, technically they don't grow cheese here)
Honey
Maple Syrup
Cranberries
Apples
Peaches
Plums
Turnips
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Corn
Squash
Cucumbers
Peppers
Mesclun (What the heck is Mesclun? Hold on... Ah, it's a salad mix. Why don't they just say salad mix?)
Eggs
Raspberries
Milk
Quince
Pears
Carrots
Onions
Tomatoes
Cherries
Bison (seriously, I'm not kidding, check it out)
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Okay, I'm sure there's more. All of this food sounds really good but let's narrow the list down a bit more. What is grown in the state of Massachusetts that's available to, say, me and you, in the winter months?
Dairy Products
Squash, Potatoes
Apples
Maple Syrup, Honey
Wine
Turkey, Chicken, Duck, Beef, Pork, Sheep, Bison, Fish/Shellfish
Do I give up now? Nah. At least I can try to buy this stuff all locally.
Tune in next time for more adventures in eating locally when we make our triumphant return to Balance Rock Farm!
1 comment:
Don't despair just yet. Local goods in Michigan are extremely easy to come by, without putting in too much effort. Comparing the size of MI to that of MA, it is clear that MI can eat MA and all of its surrounding states with ease. My point is, that buying products from Maine and New York are still local for you. You just need to expand your definition of local, and you won't feel like your experiment is failing. After all, if you get in your car and drive for 3 hours in any direction, you can pass through 3 states easy. For me to leave MI, I have to drive about 4 hours!
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