Here in LA every Sunday is the most fabulous thing ever: The Hollywood Farmers' Market! I love going on Sundays and supporting my local farmers as well as helping out my pocket book. It's great for your health (and family's health) too! Not only are you eating seasonal produce (which helps your body function the way it's supposed to within any given season), you are eating local (and lots of times organic) produce. Local is good because it helps boost your immune system as it applies to what's going on in your community-allergens, colds/flus, etc. Plus you are helping to support your local economy and your local farmers who can a lot of times get lost in the shuffle of we want things now that don't normally grow now [i.e. papaya in December, pumpkin in May].
It's also great for your little ol' pocketbook (which is always good news to me!). You usually save a ton of money because you're getting from the farm to your plate without a middleman (the store). I just bought fresh dill, fresh cilantro, and a fresh bunch of radishes for $4, beat that-I dare you to try. It was fresh, delicious, and I have been eating them up a storm. I also got sundried tomatoes, garlic spread, jalapeno hummus, 6 bars of vegan homemade soap, a vegan breakfast sandwich and a mini coconut sno-cone (fresh not sugary fakeness) with my herbs/radishes for all under $60! It was great to spend so little and get so much. All of it was organic, all of it was homemade, and all of it was delicious (except the soap which SMELLS delicious: coconut, papaya, pumpkin spice, lavender-mint, mint, & vanilla-oatmeal).
It's good for you, your wallet, your health, your local farmers, your local economy, and the planet! You are saving the planet from all the fuel that is used to ship food across the country/world. Buying local means that little to no shipping fuel is used. Especially not from a plane which I always feel is so much worse because it is so much further up into the atmosphere doing damage. It makes me smile knowing that my food came from less than a 45 minute drive to my front door-plus I can walk there and save fuel that way too! See how good for the planet you're being. Hit the 'net and check out where your local market is and hit it up this week. I promise it'll be fun and good for the world! :D
