Coming up this weekend, dear readers, is one of the highlights of the locavore’s annual calendar: the Meet Yer Eats farm tour. I asked Kathy Kildea, the energetic secretary of sponsoring organization Market Central, to lend me her thoughts on why you should spend Labor Day driving around to visit local farms, and here’s what she wrote:
"The groundswell of support for local foods sometimes brings about more questions than answers for the average consumer. We’re bombarded with messages that convince us that buying from local, responsible growers is one way to be more certain of the food on our tables. So we begin a selection process, and a sort of dating ritual–testing out these new-found agricultural relationships before we decide to make a commitment.
"Many of us are accustomed to seeing our favorite vendors at the City Market on Saturday mornings, but why should our relationship end when we leave the parking lot? That’d be like confining your dating life to a coffee shop: not a very realistic view. When you’re dating someone, sooner or later, it’s time to see where they live. It’s time to meet the folks."
I couldn’t have put it better myself–and I like the image of romantically-inclined food buyers sizing up potential suitor-farms! (Note my restraint as I avoid inserting a vegetable innuendo, of which there are dozens!)
The farm tour happens September 5, and you can get maps, tickets, and reams of info at the website.