Access Atlanta > The Newcomer > Archives > 2008 > September > 09 > Entry
How to find truly Southern food.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday customers shop at the DeKalb Farmers Market in Decatur in 2003.
I saw the DeKalb Farmers Market for the first time on Monday, while “working” on an assignment. (Rough life, I know.) The place is name-dropped constantly — oh, the giant boxes of tofu, the cheap ‘n’ tasty wine, the fresh, endless aisles of produce! — so I shouldn’t have been surprised to see 140,000 square feet of pure yum brought by distribution methods far different from my local Kroger’s.
I appreciate, too, that the market bills itself as “A World Market,” because it’s not the same as buying from a farmer sitting behind a booth at a parking lot in town. Which isn’t to say it’s not cool…it’s just not what I expected.
So what if you do want to buy locally grown food, maybe directly from the person that grew it? AJC reporter Katie Leslie wrote about one Georgia organic farmer, “the Ty Pennington of organic gardening,” who’s making it into big business.
He’s far from the only one making it possible, though.
Gwendolyn Washington of Phoenix Farms in Lawrenceville picks out some herbs for customer Sheryl Holmes of Lawrenceville at the first day of the summer season for the Lawrenceville Farmers Market in June.
Here are a few options for local shopping and eating. This, newcomers, is real local cuisine.
Community-supported Agriculture: There are many ways to organize these, but the general idea is that people can pitch in on a farm with cash or sometimes labor, and reap the rewards. The food might be delivered, or you might have to pick it up. The programs are often seasonal, and it means you partake only in the successful crops when they’re in season. (If a crop fails, nobody gets any.) Want to find one, or learn more? Check out Local Harvest for of the particulars.
Traditional farmers markets: Show up and shop. The spirit of the market is that farmers are selling their products directly to you. I have been to some markets with produce conspicuously labeled “Product of California,” or that type of things. If local is your goal, just move along. You’ll find something. Here’s an AJC-built map of local farmers markets. PickYourOwn.org has a pretty good list of local markets, too, in addition to lists of places to, well, pick your own.
Food co-ops: In town, I’m familiar with Sevananda, a consumer-owned spot to buy groceries, vitamins and such. It’s in Little Five Points and says it focuses on fresh, local, organic produce and natural foods. Local Harvest pointed out even more food co-ops in the state, too, including two in Marietta.
Look for local food, ask for local food: Nothing is more convincing to a restaurant or grocer than a customer seeking out a certain product, whether it’s a hard-to-find specialty item or foodstuffs grown a certain way somewhere nearby. (Wal-Mart is doing it. So is Whole Foods. ) Georgia Organics has a handy directory of farms, businesses and markets promoting local, sustainable food.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Yum!
Comments
By Sugar
September 9, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
No, I do not BUY produce locally, I go get it out of my back yard. I have a HUGE garden. I’m thinking of “puttin up” some tomato’s, etc., and making spaghetti sauce and jams and jarring it up to sell at my neighborhood Farmer’s Market……
I ususally end up giving most of the produce to my neighbors, as there was an abundance this year……..
By Jamie Gumbrecht
September 9, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this
That’s awesome, and a good point I hadn’t thought of as a porchless apartment-dweller: grow your own! I was just reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” and literally just finished the chapter about her exhaustive tomato supply…
By FreshSqueezed
September 9, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this
I will buy locally at the little downtown Decatur parking lot market if they have what I want and I have the time to go there on Wednesday. Otherwise, I will go to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market - they have signs on all their produce telling you where it came from. For a lot of things, I try to choose Georgia grown or southern grown, but face it - there are some things the south does not grow well. Certain apples from New York state are the best of their kind and blueberries from New Jersey can’t be beat. I try to avoid California grown because it’s generally from a huge corporate farm using a lot of fertilizer and pesticides. And, I avoid South America and Central America as much as I can - they still use pesticides we banned in this country 30 years ago.
By Russell Jurney
September 9, 2008 11:15 AM | Link to this
If you want good Southern eats, check out the restaurant at the Georgia Farmers Market - some of the finest soul food around. http://www.pickyourown.org/gafpfm.php