Local Eating

I've always been a huge advocate for eating locally, but the current global situation has really solidified it for me! Living in RI, there are so many options available to us, so I thought I'd tell you about some of my favorites.

First, and my most absolute favorite way to eat local, is my garden. I tend to mix it up a little every year, since most herbs are annuals (though I have a few perennials in there), so my herb garden this year has lemon balm, lemon verbena, basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, rosemary, lavender, sage, chives, peppermint, and pineapple mint. 

I stepped up my vegetable garden this year, doubling the amount of vegetables I'm growing. My zucchini plant is producing more than we could possibly hope to eat on our own, and the rest are either just starting to bear fruit, or are later season vegetables. I'm excited to feast on our home grown green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, onions, cucumber, butternut squash, and spaghetti squash! I planted peppers, too, but that seemed to be the plant the wildlife was most attracted to; it kept getting dug up, and eventually I just stopped re-planting it. 

This picture is from June - it's currently producing zucchini the size of my husband's forearm!

My second favorite way to get local food is through a farm CSA program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it's such a great way to support your local farm! Our CSA at  Casey Farm in Saunderstown is really fantastic. Every farm runs their CSA a little differently, but at Casey, we go to the farm once a week to pick up our share. They post a board with what is included in the share that week, some of which they've harvested and have you weigh out, and some of which you go out into the field and harvest yourself. 

This is what I picked up this week. It changes week to week depending on what is ready to be harvested!

There are, of course, other great ways to support local farms. I've been strawberry picking three times this summer!

This is Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown. They also have blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, pumpkins, and Christmas trees!

And then there's the farmer's market! Rhode Island is full of them, but I go to the Saturday morning Coastal Growers Market, also at Casey Farm (not only is Casey Farm the closest farm to me, but my day job is with Historic New England, the non-profit that owns Casey Farm, so I'm biased). Farmer's markets are an amazing resource for all sorts of things! On any given week, you can get local meat, seafood, eggs, cheese, veggies, and some things you wouldn't think about. I've started buying cold brew concentrate coffee from a local coffee company, CBD oil from a local cannabis farm, and even locally made pickles!

This was my farmer's market haul from a few weeks ago

And if you can't get to the farmer's market yourself, there's an app you can use instead! It's called What's Good. You choose your area, with options for either pick up or delivery, and then just start shopping your market! When our world first shut down in March, the What's Good app was an unbelievable resource for us! We were so glad to be able to still get our food locally.

We have a cooler just permanently out on our front steps now

Local farms are essential. There are so many ways to support them, and we all reap the benefits.