Support Your Local Farmer's Market!
By Ashlee

My mom was in town for Mother's Day weekend and we wanted to try and hit all of our favorite spots in just two days. It was rough but we managed to do it. We woke up really early on Saturday and went to the City Market downtown. There were so many vendors with tons of fresh produce. I went absolutely nuts when I saw that avocados were $1 each when they have been about $1.80 or more at the grocery store. I was beginning to think that I wouldn't be making any fresh guacamole this summer. There are many reasons why you should buy local produce. First of all, it just flat out tastes better. According to a website called Local Harvest , "Most produce in the US is picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves, and is shipped for an average of 1500 miles before being sold. And this is when taking into account only US grown products!" A lot of fruit is shipped from Mexico, Asia, South America and Canada so that will most definitely increase the time gap between harvest and store shelf. Another option is Community Supported Agriculture or a CSA. CSA's are a way for the public to create a relationship with a local farm and receive a weekly basket of produce. You become a member by paying a weekly or monthly fee and there are some CSA's that also require members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season. Hen House offers an easy CSA program. After the annual $25 membership fee (which comes with a t-shirt, two tote bags and a cookbook) you pay $25 a week to pick up your basket of fresh, locally grown produce. The program runs from May 17th through September 17th.
Oh! I almost forgot! Be on the look out for these big, black recycling bins. There are already quite a few in the City Market area and they are supposed to be in The Power and Light District and the Westport area as well. So hang on to your plastic bottles & aluminum cans just a few minutes longer so you can deposit them in one of these bins. The word is that they will be installed in parts of town with high foot traffic.
Helpful Links!
The City Market - Kansas City, MO
The Brookside Farmer's Community Market - 63rd and Wornall
List of area Farmer's Markets - from the Pitch

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend everyone!!
~Ashlee