SEGMENT: GROCERIES, FARMER'S MARKET & FOOD & MEALS

Dr. Deanna Glosser>ISM Interviews A-L>ISM Interviews A-L, Segment 10

SEGMENT: GROCERIES, FARMER'S MARKET & FOOD & MEALS,

duration 12:52
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GROCERIES
City of Chicago, as part of its overall economic development program, got Dominick's to enter the south side of the City. Los Angeles passed an ordnance to require convenience stores to sell produce. Other Cities are putting together packages to bring in such stores.
FARMER'S MARKET
Farmers' markets or city gardens are becoming more prevalent. Urban farming is being incorporated into subdivision settings. Prairie Crossing in Grays Lake is a development with a 120 acre organic garden operated as a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) operation, for Prairie Crossing as a first priority. Residents of Prairie Crossing buy into the operation and get produce right from the garden. More will be happening in the next 2 to 3 years.
FOOD & MEALS
In Illinois, can't use locally grown produce all year. Canning, and storing in root cellars is becoming more popular. Daughter is canning peaches, applesauce, apple butter, etc. Shouldn't eat strawberries in the winter anyway due to the soil damage created from raising them in CA (erosion, runoff, etc.).
GROCERIES
As Local as Possible is her line. "Locally grown" label may be misleading. However, Schnuck's Supermarket did provide produce from local Illinois farms. Produce was labeled with farm notation. People now want not only organic food, but also locally grown organic food. Would recommend that people look for locally produced food. Also go to farmers' market and get to know a farmer. Local producers are becoming celebrities. They welcome people to come and visit their farms. At farmer's markets, she looks for farmers and farms that she knows and has visited. Otherwise, look for freshness. Familiarity is important. Local producers also know their customers, making it easy to track the consumers that purchased a product. The source of locally grown food is thus more easily identified than food grown elsewhere and transported here. Thus, if something goes wrong, it can be corrected more quickly.