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Where do you get the best tasting produce, meats and cheeses, the best nutrition, support your local economy, encourage local businesses, use less fossil fuel and surround yourself with a variety of Peoria area entrepreneurs.... At both the Saturday Morning Peoria Riverfront Farmer's Market and the Wednesday Evening Peoria Heights Market at Heritage Square!! When you buy local, in addition to doing yourself and your family a favor, you are helping reduce our air pollution, recycling your money into our community and supporting our area small family farmers.
The economics of eating is at the heart of everyone's food choices...but it won't take long before the rising costs of fuels will be reflected in our food prices. This is an excellent reason to help local farming be sustainable, thus providing a local source of reasonably priced food.
Maybe it's really about the ambiance...slower paced, meet old friends, talk with talented artists about their endeavors, and be outside on a Saturday morning! Whatever the reason, this new interest in farmers markets is not just a local trend; they are growing all over the country. The USDA reports that farmers markets have grown nation wide over 100% between 1994 and 2004, and they continue this growth trend, becoming an integral part of the urban/farm linkage, due to the growing consumer interest in obtaining fresh products directly from the farm. According to the 2004 National Farmers Market Directory, there are over 3700 farmers markets operating in the US. The Peoria Riverfront Market has the best selection of local produce and meets, dairy and cheese in this area.
The American public is learning more about the importance fresh wholesome produce and chemically untreated produce. In today's lifestyle of highly processed and chemically treated foods, it is a welcome respite to taste a fresh crispy apple that has not traveled in a refrigerated train car for thousands of miles. Buying fresh local food is the best way to avoid eating processed food, with added sugar, fat and preservatives. Many of us are not aware that the majority of our food travels on average 1500 to 2000 miles, and much has additional chemical treatments to preserve color and retard spoilage. That means that by the time your produce is picked, bagged shipped, shelved purchased and arrives on your dinner plate...it can hardly be called "fresh".
Locally grown foods, often organic or treated with minimal chemicals offers a great opportunity for better taste and nutrition. Research studies show that produce grown under the organic guidelines tend to have higher cancer fighting antioxidants, and possibly higher vitamin and mineral content. These foods are produced without the use of irradiation, synthetic chemicals, pesticides and sewage sludge, which conventional produce growers may use. Sandra Steingraber, environmentalist and author of Living Downstream notes that those most vulnerable to the insults of toxins and chemicals in their food supply are pregnant woman and children. The growing baby in-utero and young children can have neurological and auto-immune reponses to certain herbicides and pesticides, as well as certain food additives.
The farmers market offers you the opportunity to know where your food comes from...to know your farmer! It is one of the best reasons to buy your food locally whenever possible. This relationship of community between growers and customers is one of the real benefits of the farmers market. This opportunity to know your customer is one of the reasons that the Corso Family took the leap into market growing business. Angela, Kristina and Kathy have formed Crow Creek Farm to grow organically and share the produce and products with local consumers. They have been selling their produce, salsa, pestos and baked goods at the Peoria Riverfront Market and to some local restaurants. When communities support small-scale farmers, they are supporting a lot more than seeds and irrigation systems....they are supporting a way of life that promotes the health and well being of the community. This is really about your relationship to the food that nourishes you and your family...it's about knowing where you food comes from and how it has been grown!
Many of us interested in local foods and supporting the local economy are also interested in broadening our taste buds, learning new ways of cooking and just learning to eat better. When the two Corso sisters, Angela and Kristina found themselves working on a few organic family farms in northern Italy, they began to see the meaning of "eating local" when the cheese, wine and vegetables they were eating came from neighboring farms. They helped bake bread for the local market and ate what the helped harvest.
"Where we live is where we are nourished and helps sustain us to face each day. When we understand the connection between the food on our table and the fields where it grows, our everyday meals can anchor us to nature and the place where we live," Alice Waters, from the forward "Slow Food, the Case for Taste," by Carlo Petrini.