Getting Fresh - That's How We Roll

Here’s a fact (or if it’s not a fact it’s as close to one as I can probably get). We all eat. And, as someone very special to me pointed out recently, despite all the distractions with which we fill our lives, despite the many ways we’ve sort of unplugged ourselves from the world around us, food is one way we’re still connected to the land and to nature. One of the best ways, not only to stay in touch with the natural world, but to find some of the freshest, tastiest food is to visit local farms and farmers' markets.

“Eating local” is one of the many catch phrases being bounced around, but there seems to be an argument that it’s one catch phrase that’s not all smoke and mirrors as there might be several benefits to buying locally produced foods (benefits to the local economy and also, perhaps, to one’s health).

Eleven slivered bodies of water are the Finger Lakes. The region around them is comprised of fourteen diverse counties and is vast. Steuben County, alone, is larger than the state of Rhode Island and much of that area is farmland. With everything from herb farms to dairy farms, from potato farms to cider mills to you-pick berry farms, from cheese companies to those specializing in maple products, eating fresh, local, delicious food in Corning & the Finger Lakes is more than a potentially healthy option for the future. It’s here and it’s real and it’s now.

There are several convenient roadside stands located on some of the scenic country roads that connect many of the smaller communities. From spring through the fall, you’ll find a variety of venders selling locally grown produce in the parks of Addison, Hornell, Bath, Hammondsport, and Corning. And there are wonderful markets, not to mention a rather large grocery chain, that carry delicious locally grown and also organic fare. There are restaurants that offer locally grown or raised foods, B&B’s that belong to a CSA and offer workshops in how to select locally grown, organic foods at market and then cook with them. There’s even a festival in a couple weeks that focuses on herbs and how to bake and cook with them.

Here is some additional information about the farms and farmers' markets in Corning & the Finger Lakes as well as other "eat local" links:

Steuben County Farmers Markets
10 Reasons Why to Eat Locally
Eat Local Cookbooks
Macrobiotics
Going RAW