‘Localvores’ appreciate community farmers’ markets

    It is very clear from reading the news, speaking to merchants, or perhaps listening to conversations in the local grocery store that people are starting to pay much more attention to where their food comes from and what is in it. How could a shopper not be concerned when the self-same newspapers are informing us that “they” put nicotine and formalin in cigarettes to make them more addictive, melamine in baby formula and pet foods to artificially skew the nutritional analyses, and antibiotics and hormones in livestock feed to keep the animals alive, if not well, on factory farms?!
    Consumers are beginning to express real interest in having the opportunity to discover under what conditions their vegetables were grown and harvested. They want to know if the meat on their dinner table came from livestock raised in a humane and sane manner. They want to look a seller right in the eye and ask careful questions about best practices that conserve soil, water, and other natural resources before making a purchase. They want to know that the food they purchase is fresh and wholesome and contains no artificial anything!
    These folks are all potential “localvores,” a word recently coined to refer to mindful consumers who choose to make food purchases that are locally grown and harvested. Their purchases support the availability of locally grown produce and meat from farms in their community. The term includes purchasers who need to make sense of the labels they see attached to the food they eat — “pasture raised … free range … organic … all natural … no GMOs … source of antioxidants and beta-carotene … source of omega 3 fatty acids …” (among others). They actively seek to speak with the growers in their community who can respond to their questions.
    Localvores include adventurous gardeners who turn the rich, dark Aroostook soil themselves and who experience the satisfaction of the first truly vine-ripened tomato, sun-warm, juicy, and flavorful beyond any experience prior. It also means those who feed their souls with started plants for their porches, window boxes, or flower gardens as well as those whose homes are graced with fresh-cut flowers in vases.
    Through this column, Presque Isle localvores can learn about the local growers who grace the community’s Farmers Market, operate Pick-Your-Own enterprises, or operate local nurseries. They can investigate the farmers’ operations, philosophies, and business plans. Readers can pursue discussions about selection of varieties that meet a particular need or that survive and thrive in our local climate. Gardeners can glean information about soil amendments to encourage a bonanza crop or ideas regarding how to safely discourage pests. Shoppers can learn what fruits and vegetables are available locally at any point in the growing season.
    The Presque Isle Farmers Market, open every Saturday in the parking lot at the Aroostook Centre Mall, is filled with bedding plants, cut flowers, organic beef, baked goods, eggs, early greens, endless choices. As crops take root and animals head out on fresh pastures, the Market offers weekly a plethora of new sights, smells and tastes to tempt you. At the same time you assuage your impatience for Real Food, visit with growers, share stories, ask questions, make informed selections to suit your palate. Make a purchase, hurry home, cook it up on the stove, pop it in your mouth. Capture the flavor of spring on your tongue.
    Editor’s note: This weekly column is written by members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market. For more information or to join, contact their secretary/treasurer Steve Miller of Westmanland at 896-5860 or via e-mail at beetree@xpressamerica.net.