The other day I was cleaning out a drawer and found a couple of
those string net shopping bags
– you know, the kind we envision over the arm of a French
homemaker as she shops in an open-air market, negotiating for the
perfect melon, the right-size fish and fresh herbs for her family’s
daily meal.
The other day I was cleaning out a drawer and found a couple of those string net shopping bags – you know, the kind we envision over the arm of a French homemaker as she shops in an open-air market, negotiating for the perfect melon, the right-size fish and fresh herbs for her family’s daily meal.
Of course, modern times have come to France as well as California, and the daily shopping trip is probably a rarity there, too. But the markets have persisted, and like people from distant parts of the world, we have opportunities right here to shop to our hearts’ content.
Morgan Hill has a year-round farmers market, and the Hollister Farmers Market opens May 3. It is held from 3-7pm on Wednesdays on the corner of San Benito and Fourth streets until sometime in October. So far, 22 participants are involved.
Both Morgan Hill and Hollister’s farmers markets are certified by the California Federation of Certified Farmers Markets. One requirement for selling at a Certified Farmers Market is that the produce of whatever kind must be locally grown and grown according to organic principles. These two factors sometimes make the prices higher than supermarket prices. What are we getting for the extra expense?
One thing is freedom from chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and, in the case of meat products, hormones or antibiotics.
This practice has several important implications. One is that of personal health. While non-organic producers will argue that the chemicals they use are either safe or removed from the products before they reach us, there is evidence on both sides of the issue. I am not an organic purist; I like to be able to eat anything and everything, figuring that moderation and variety will help me out.
But a stronger argument is that of sustainability. It seems obvious that using pesticides and other chemicals on our land will eventually poison it, and the poison will enter our streams and other water sources through run-off. Organic methods, including crop rotation and composting, return nutrients to the soil rather than leaching them out or damaging them. Sustainability also means that the producer will be able to continue his or her methods indefinitely, which, in the case of expensive (and often petroleum-based) chemicals, may not be the case.
I learned a lot of this information from the Web site of Certified California Organic Farmers, or CCOF, and its fact sheet, “Top 10 Reasons to Buy Organic.”
Even though safety and sustainability are important, my favorite reason from the list is to help small farmers. According to CCOF, “Although more and more large-scale farms are making the conversion to organic practices, most organic farms are small, independently owned family farms of fewer than 100 acres.
“It’s estimated that the United States has lost more that 650,000 family farms in the past decade. Organic farming is one of the few survival tactics left for family farms.”
That really resonates with me because in south Santa Clara County and San Benito County, the farmers in question may well be our friends and neighbors.
Finally, there’s the irresistible argument of taste! Since these crops don’t have to be transported long distances, they can be more fully ripened and brought to us at the peak of flavor. Many chefs are turning to organic, locally grown foods for this fundamental reason.
At Wednesday’s market, we will be able to shop for seasonal goodies such as asparagus, strawberries, sugar snap peas, lettuce and broccoli. We will also be tempted by dried apricots and other confections, preserves, baked goods, sauces and barbecued and smoked meats.
The variety will only grow each week as more and more crops reach their peak. We will also be able to pick up vegetable plants to get a head start on growing our own.
I found a couple of recipes that use some of the goodies available now. The first is from market participant Swank Farms’ Web site.
Elizabeth Gage is a writer who lives in Hollister. She can be reached at ee******@***oo.com.
