The Flavor of Local Food

Dear Fearless Homeowner,

Are you a canvas bag toting connoisseur of locally grown food? If so, you’re in the right place! The Oklahoma City area is lucky enough to offer a variety of excellent farmer’s markets, and now is the season to start exploring them. The Edmond Farmers Market started up again last Saturday. I was there, were you?

I’ll admit I haven’t always been into farmers markets. There was a time I considered people who enjoyed sustainable shopping practices to be fringe hippies. For Chris and me our ‘Aha moment’ came after watching the academy award nominated movie, “Food, Inc.”. Suddenly we had a new perspective on the impact of our diet and shopping habits, both on our own bodies and on the world around us. I’ll admit it, I buy Michael Pollan’s books as quickly as he publishes them now.

I guess I’d say we began buying local and organic food because I was tired of feeding my family food full of preservatives and pesticides, I wanted to support small local growers, and I believed in humane treatment of the animals that nourish us. I’ve stayed with it because I LOVE how much better real food tastes! Our neighbors raise chickens, and the eggs their daughters sell us taste like an entirely different food than anything I’ve ever bought at a grocery store. And yes, owning chickens is completely against our HOA rules. I love the fresh eggs, though, so please don’t mention it to anyone on the board.

All of that said, I’m not going to pretend we don’t run to Wal-Mart at 11 PM when I realize I’m supposed to bring snacks to the meeting tomorrow. I do have a friend who only uses cash when she shops at Wal-Mart because she says that way no can ever prove she really shopped there. I admit it; I shop at Wal-Mart. There may not be much that is local or sustainable about the retailer, but sometimes the convenience and thriftiness of shopping at Wal-Mart wins out. And I still buy a lot of things at Crest because much like everything in life, it’s all about balance. We have to balance our limited time, money, and resources. And at least Crest is locally owned, so maybe that’s worth something.

I know the sort of consumer I’d like to be. While I may not always be that person, I am always striving to find ways to fit a trip to the farmers market into our hectic schedule. And maybe I’ll even get around to joining the Oklahoma Food Co-op this spring! I remember my parents used to belong to a food co-op back in the 70’s. I guess it’s true that trends are cyclical and we do all eventually turn into our parents.

~Kristin

For more resources on local food sources, check out our tip sheet here.