All Aboard the Fresh Express

Posted @ May. 22 2009 10:19AM by Ray - home-garden

By Robin Fosdick

The last time you bit into an apple, did you wonder where it came from or how it was grown?

Unfortunately, genetically modified and irradiated food is becoming commonplace in chain grocery store produce. In addition, the average number of miles food travels to your plate is 1,500, using 400 gallons of fuel in transit. When your store-bought bag of apples accumulates more frequent flier miles than you do, it's no wonder much of the produce purchased in grocery stores seems tasteless.
The more products we buy that are grown and produced in the greater-Atlanta area, the better. Voting with our dollars by purchasing local, organic food when possible is also extremely important to the stability of our environment; fewer pesticides enter our food chain and less pollution invades our air.
Farmer’s Market Coming in June!
Thankfully, there are increasing opportunities to obtain seasonal, farm-grown, organic produce. Debuting in early June is the Historic Norcross Whistle Stop Farmer's Market. The market, which will run June through October on Tuesdays from 4 to 8 pm, will feature a wide variety of local vendors, demonstrations, children's activities and live music. Area restaurants will also feature farm-to-table specials, so come out for the evening, do your shopping and enjoy dinner at a local eatery!
The market will include locally-grown vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs. You’ll also find homemade baked goods, preserves, soaps, lotions, pet treats, cheese, honey, sauces, chocolate and farm-raised eggs and meat.
Opening day is Tuesday, June 2, and will feature live music, a professional puppet show on healthy eating, and a “Taste of Norcross” – samples of local restaurant fare with fresh veggies and fruits provided by market farmers.
Organizers Tixie Fowler, Julie Foster and Will Shipley, along with a team of residents from Norcross and Peachtree Corners have worked tirelessly over the past year to bring the market to fruition in 2009. Be sure to visit the Whistle Stop Farmer's Market: Where Getting Fresh is Fun! website for additional information: www.whistlestopfarmersmarket.com. In addition to the Whistle Stop Farmer's Market, season two of the Peachtree Corner's CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) will kick off in late May. For more details, visit www.sustainablepeachtreecorners.com.
Plant Your Own Garden
Another easy way to obtain local, organic produce is to plant your own garden. You don't necessarily need a large, flat backyard. Vegetables can be planted in window boxes, planters and even indoors. My kids love to go outside to check on our daily harvest possibilities. We can't get any more local than picking lettuce from our raised bed (which, by the way, is in the sunny front yard).

I would recommend visiting the new Farmer D's Organics (www.farmerd.com) store, located at Avril's Carwash at Holcomb Bridge and Spalding in Peachtree Corners for all of your gardening needs (including raised beds, soil, seeds, seedlings, fertilizers, tools, composting systems and even chicken coops).
Even the first family has "dug-in" by planting an organic vegetable garden on the South Lawn, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, Mrs. Obama announced its most important role will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.
Join a Community Garden
Community gardens are also making a big comeback. They create positive environmental, economic, and social impacts in the communities they surround.

• The Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources is sponsoring a community garden in Buford as part of the County's Environmental Sustainability Plan. This new community garden is offered to Gwinnett County residents for free; space is limited. Gardeners are asked to participate in the Plant a Row for the Hungry program for local food banks. Contact dwrcommunitygarden@gwinnettcounty.com for additional information.
• There is also a small community garden in the City of Berkeley Lake and the first Peachtree Corners community garden is forming this spring at the Jones Bridge Swim and Racquet club (www.jonesbridge.org).
You can even purchase locally made organic baby food from Jack's Harvest (www.jacksharvest.com). Gwinnett County residents Connie Pope and Heather Schoenrock sell their frozen delights at several local markets, including Whole Foods. Other web sites worth checking out to explore local food options include:
• www.pickyourown.org (farms to handpick strawberries, blueberries, apples and more)
• Local Food Guide section of www.georgiaorganics.org or www.localharvest.org for complete listings for other farmer's markets in the Atlanta area
• www.ga.naturesgardendelivered.com, located in Norcross, for a year-round CSA variation

Call me a local produce junkie, but personally, I'll be spending Tuesdays at the Whistle Stop Farmer's Market, Wednesdays at the Peachtree Corners CSA and every day in between at either the Jones Bridge community garden or in my daughters' 6x6 raised bed, appropriately named Sunshine Farm.