If you missed it, be sure to pull Tuesday's Dallas Morning News from the trash or the birdcage or where ever you put it and read Kim Pierce's excellent overview of the growing number of places to buy locally grown, raised or handmade food. If you don't subscribe, you can find it online here.
At EatGreenDFW.com we've tried to keep up with the explosion in local food outlets--like Local Yocal, Patina Green and Urban Acres--but we're still missing a few that Kim pointed out. (We'll try to do better.)
Two sources Kim didn't mention are Artizone and Greenling, both of which provide home delivery for mostly locally made products. Artizone focuses more on artisinal foods like pastries, gourmet cheeses and pastas, while Greenling--the most recent entry to the local food scene--focuses on locally grown organic produce in addition to some more common grocery products.
Both are worth checking out, especially if you can't make a trip to one of the outlets mentioned in Kim's story.
I don't think I need to go into all the great reasons to buy locally, but here are three. (If you need more read this excellent article at Sustainable Table.)
- It helps the local economy. A farmer gets about 90 percent of your food dollar when you buy direct (and almost that much when you buy in a farm store), while on the average they only get about 20 percent of what you spend in the major grocery stores.
- The food doesn't travel as far. The average grocery store's produce travels nearly 1,500 miles between the farm where it was grown and your refrigerator.
- And it tastes better. Why do you think all the new restaurants (and a lot of the old ones) are touting their local farm connection.
So paste Kim's article on your refrigerator, right next to your grocery list.