Sustainability in Our Food and Restaurant Choices

By Dee | January 13, 2012

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Enjoy this guest post by Mary Ann Rosenthal and visit the author’s site to let her know you saw her on Frugal Fancy!

Recently I joined the Slow Food movement in our area of Florida. Not so much out of any particular passion except that it seemed to make good sense to purchase local produce. I have been a long time fan of Farmer’s Markets and in fact, often seek them out when traveling or on vacations. One of my dreams is to research agriturism in Italy, and stay on a ranch or a farm. A place where “slow food,” wine and comfort prevail. My travel goal: a Tuscan farm during a harvest season some year.

A Bushel A Day

My love affair with outdoor markets started with my childhood in Pennsylvania. My father was a teacher and later an administrator in schools in Bucks County. Before I turned thirteen, my mom was a stay-at-home mother. To economize, she used to barter with a local vegetable and fruit stand owner. Joe had his own apple trees and every fall he’d give a bushel or two of apples to mom and she would bake him a pie. She loved delivering his pie and he always raved about her crust. Her relationship with Joe was based on mutual admiration. What could be better?

I enjoyed going to Joe’s market. Mostly for the Coke dispenser where my brother and sister and I could slide in a nickel and slide out a cold Nehi beverage. But, I also liked the smell of apples and the color of squash. I think Joe would be amazed at our local Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market here in St. Augustine, Florida. He’d wonder at the variety of handcrafted works, the breads, cheeses, olives, the free-range beef and fresh caught shrimp and other local foods. More than a farmer’s market — our Saturday Market is a way to patronize micro businesses. Retirees, artists, families and farmers work their stands side-by-side with bakers, greenery producers, sandwich and cheese makers, authors, musicians and coffee aficionados. What could be better?

Although the big box chain grocers offer tremendous bargains in imported fruits and vegetables (for example, Chilean Granny Smiths), it’s the local farmers who need your patronage. It will cost them less to bring the crops to market if they can sell directly to you, and it will cost the environment less in shipping costs (gas and oil). Remember that your big box chain may get the produce for pennies on the dollar — but at what cost to clean air and to the local economy?

What I’ve learned recently from my new friends at Slow Food is that in addition to visiting the local Farmer’s Market, we should be more aware of the restaurants we choose to frequent. It takes a commitment on the part of a chef, or restaurant owner, or manager to buy local. If you stumble on a restaurant website while researching a new place to go — see if they talk about their farm partners. Check out their local awards. Is there a “snail” of approval? Snail is the symbol of the slow food movement in the USA. If so, then pay them a visit. Support your local community!

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Mary Ann Rosenthal is a grandmother to four beautiful children under the age of five. She is dedicated to helping her friends and family save money and works with her son Aaron at CyberMondayDeals.com. She is also an artist, writer and aspiring photographer living in Saint Augustine, Florida.