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Search: Find a farmers market near you
Related: 'Locavores' finding plenty of nourishment from local sources
Comment: What do you like about farmers markets?
Monday, June 30, 2008
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Krysta Relyea picks flowers on her certified organic farm (Little Creek Gardens) near Centerville.CENTERVILLE — Michael Malone wants you to ask yourself: How old is the bag of salad mix on your grocery store's shelf? When was the lettuce actually picked, and where?
Not that Malone has the precise answers. But he can tell you about the salad mix he sells from a vendor's booth outside the National City 2nd Street Market every Saturday morning — because he grows it.
"We pick the night before and refrigerate it, so when a customer buys it, it's 12 hours old," said Malone, who along with Krysta Relyea grows organic vegetables, fruits and flowers at Little Creek Gardens off Clyo Road in Centerville. "I've had customers come back the next week and tell me how amazed they were that my salad mix was still fresh in their refrigerator a week later. Well, I know the reason why."
Malone and other Dayton-area farmers are riding an "eat local" trend that is gaining momentum nationally and is making its presence felt across the region, thanks in part to a coordinated effort entitled "Miami Valley Grown" that seeks to bring local growers and consumers together.
The movement has some powerful backers, including Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley, whose phone call one year ago to Brian Raison of the Ohio State University Extension's Dayton office sowed the seeds for Miami Valley Grown.
Raison is quick to point out the advantages of being a "locavore" that go beyond a tasty salad: your money "stays local," the food will likely be more nutritious, fruits and vegetables ripen naturally rather than on a truck or assisted by gas, and the food's "environmental footprint" — in particular the amount of fuel used to transport the food from field to table — will be small and earth-friendly.
"Besides, when everybody else was worrying about the big E. coli outbreak (earlier this month), we didn't have to worry at all," Raison said of the tainted tomato scare that left homegrown tomatoes unaffected. "That's huge."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Comments
By John870
March 28, 2009 8:53 PM | Link to this
Very nice site!
By kathie
September 24, 2008 2:34 PM | Link to this
we are on the Happy Box program from Fulton Farms as well. the value is good and the service is excellent. we enjoy the “surprise” produce each week and always look forward to reading Milan’s news letter.
By Beverly
June 30, 2008 2:09 PM | Link to this
Check out Treadway’s Farm Market on rt 48 in Centerville. They have all the fruits, veggies and flowers you could imagine. They stay open all summer and past Halloween. They even have u-pick green beans for us old fashioned home canning folks.
By LTM3
June 30, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this
I aggree Fulton Farms just East of Troy is a great place to shop for and “u-pick” produce. My family has been going there for over 30 years now. Tipp City also has a farmers market downtown on Sat. I myself have planted my first garden with my wife and kids. We’re still waiting for some plants to grow but we’ve already had lettuce and peppers. I think this has been a good learning tool for my kids. They go out to check the garden every day and are learning about plants and how things grow.
By Andy Wheeler
June 30, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
My wife and I have been part of a program called the “Happy Box” from Fulton Farms for the last month or so. For $24 a week you get fresh picked (that morning) organic fruits and vegetables delivered to your font door once a week. We have so much incredible tasting food that we hardly know what to do with it. Give it a try! The cost that we would spend at a grocery on the same items would be much more expensive. fultonfarms.com
By Roger
June 30, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
I plan on starting my own small vegetable and herb garden to save money and eat fresh. I don’t plan on selling anything though. But I like the idea of the money staying locally for those who do buy/sell local produce.
By Wordell
June 30, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
Seems like we’re heading back to the days of trusting your neighbor…who is a farmer. Good. Complain about lack of food quality to a corporate store manager (Kroger/Meijers) and get the run around. As you’re “hurling” in the toilet/”driving the American Standard bus” from poor/tainted food from corporations, remember that you can trust your local food producer.
By ginger
June 30, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this
Over the years my family has shopped at several farm markets: D & G produce off State route 725 west of Miamisburg, Hidden Valley Fruit Farm, Lebanon off State Route 48. Iron’s Fruit farm Stubb’s Mill Road, Lebanon, and the farmer’s market on Wednesday afternoons in the Moose Lodge parking lot in Miamisburg. Many times the prices are lower and the quality unbeatable.
By Carolyn Barber
June 30, 2008 6:59 AM | Link to this
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DaytonLocovore
Locavores try to eat as much as possible from local farmers and producers. If you’ve found a great source for locally-grown and locally produced foods, post it here! If you’re looking for a local source, here’s the place to ask.
We share information about local foods – sources, methods of food preservation, community supported agriculture (CSA), co-ops, u-picks, farmers’ markets, herdshares, sustainable agriculture, winter markets, family farms, farmstands, roadside markets, local vineyards and wineries, foraging, and more.
We’re for anyone who wants to get more local foods into local diets. Chefs, growers, producers, consumers, food writers, educators and students are all welcome. Farmers and producers, please join us. Our members want to hear about your local food products and how to get them, winter or summer.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DaytonLocovore
By Donna Bauer
June 30, 2008 6:51 AM | Link to this
Don’t forget the Yankee Street Market, near Lyons Road. I have been there for the tomatoes, which they declare on their outside board as “safe tomatoes.” Other vegetables are showing up now as well.