Local Food – Editorial

A sense of belonging, sounds prosaic, doesn’t it ?

Growing up in an inner city apartment or in a suburb you possibly weren’t exposed to a lot of the agricultural land around you. If you have been lucky, your parents or relatives showed you around the neighborhood and taught you a little bit about the fruits, vegetables and wild herbs growing there. Very likely though, nobody showed you, which means you never got a taste of where you live.

Local food and farmers markets change this. If you live in Miami, you will have access to 250 fruits and vegetables which never make it to a market, but belong there, grow there and wait to be tasted. This farmers markets will bring  this local food into town for you to sample and maybe recognize that tree or bush that you walked by a thousand times before without knowing.

This is the reason local food is vital to a city, a community, a person. Among a feel for the seasons and knowledge about plants it gives you a sense of belonging.