Grants Available to Improve Consumer Access to Fresh, Locally Grown Foods through Farm Stands, Farmers’ Markets

I am liking the whole "little guy" business idea. The whole MASS stores and MASS produced world we live in has me bored. I've been reading the J. Peterman catalogs for years now and there is a little saying on the back of the front cover that I repeat several times per day to myself..."Clearly, people want things that make their lives the way they wish they were." I believe this whole heartedly because I'm not the same as all others. So yes, I do like the Farmers' Markets.

How funny, my sweetie and I were just making plans to get to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market tomorrow. See you there!

I hope this will be the beginning of a trend. I'd like to see more states offer similar grant programs.  Its good for the small business farmer but its probably even bette for the consumer.  

An interesting comment by Tom Friedman (on the Charlie Rose Show) to the effect that our system privatizes profits, but 'socializes externalities' (the costs of generating many of those profits) seems apropos.  I used to be very libertarian until I woke up to the fact that our system is a lot less capitalistic (free enterprise) and a lot more feudal (large private conglomerates in bed with big government) than I'd imagined.... What does this have to do with 'farmer's markets'?  Well, think about the Dead Spot in the Gulf of Mexico, generated by fertilizer runoff and animal waste runoff.... The private agricultural oligopolies capture the profits of raising their crops.  But once their wastes leave their properties, the rest of the public is stuck with all the cr#p (and a lot of the fertilizer is just that -- from feed lots).  

Doc Nolan:  Good point.  Now for the dumb question: What can we do about this?  What national organizations or non-prifits can we go to in an effort to stop this problem?

As far as the Cheseapeke Bay is concerned there is and has been a big run off program.
 
In some towns even the sewers are labled.
 
People miles away don't realize that what goes down that drain goes right into the bay by way of creeks, streams and rivers.
 
Farmers have been changing their fertilizers too.
 
I try to buy local farm produce at my local grocer when they have it.
 
Even the BIG grocers in my area have a selection of local produce.
 
We also have a lot of farm stands in town and the local area.
 
It tastes so much better when it's that fresh.
 
Picked at the peak of ripness, not green to ripen in transit.

 
Maybe all we can hope for is that: "The Dead Spot in the Gulf of Mexico," will ironically be the birthplace of a miracle bacterium that cures cancer, PMS, male-pattern baldness and more importantly; that urge by persons, in numbers greater than one, to speak at the same time on cable TV. 

Robert:   Once  again  you  have  shown  that  you  are  wise  beyond  your  years.   Peterman's  products  are   very  healthy,  in  the  sense  that  they  let  he  consumer  protest  against  the  cookie  cutter  media-dictated  trends  and  lifestyles,  and  metaphorically  return  to  simpler  times  &  places.  It  works  with  foodstuffs  as  well.  Perhaps  we  need  to  "just  say  no"   to  big  box  grocery  chains,  and  reacquaint  ourselves  with  "new"  older  ways  of  doing  business.    Kermit  Frog  said  "It's  not  easy,  being  green."   Wow,  that  is  true  on  at  least  3  levels  of  meaning....   But  "different"  isn't  a  radical  chic  idea,  merely  a  return  to  a  time  when  we  knew  our  grocer,  and  trusted  the  content  of  his  products.....   Heck,  maybe  we  will  some  day  return  to  the  times  when  our  country  more  readily  recognizes  who  our  friends  &  enemies  actually  ARE.....the  answers  might  be  enlightening.

Obviously, we city dwellers may through the nose for fresh food.  Green markets are few and far between.  Some of them remind me of the discount stores that sell day old bread and cakes.  You know that whatever you buy at the green market is not as fresh as it was when it was put on the truck in PA the day before.
 
Bert: You're right that Mr. Peterman's clothes are not cookie cutter styles.  They are good for the environment because you're not throwing  them out after 2 years or 2 trips to the dry cleaners.    

  
Speaking of Mr. Peterman's garments, I wore the green travel/freight jacket to a function yesterday and while I don't recall anyone commenting about how stylish I looked, they could hardly have failed to have been impressed when I extracted from its generous pockets: a Flip vid.cam, Canon Power Shot, three cherrywood pipes, two packets of smoking tobacco, a farrier's rasp,  Anthony Dymoke Powell's twelve volume hardcover "A Dance To The Music Of Time," a dozing Parson Russel terrier, a femur chip from the Apostle Paul and a pack of Sen-Sen.

Okay, I lied: no Sen-Sen and the dog was a little fidgety.

One guy called it haberdashery's answer to the clown car.

As to organic foods, the apples that we have paid dearly to try at the Union Square Farmer's Market in the autumn, have been gnarly, blotchy, impossible to peel, lacking in both juice and flavor and would have constituted an insult to pastry to bake into a pie.

The heirloom tomatoes resemble nothing so much as malignant tumors but, if you can overlook that, taste marvelous.

Pockets are truly underrated.  I put their prominence in the evolution of mankind right next to the invention of fire.  If it wasn't for pockets, pool/billiards would not have been invented. Sorry folks, that's as good as it gets today. Peace out

STONEY- I haven't had or thought about sen-sen forever until your reference jolted me into rememberance. My grandfather always had a tin of them & a pack of Juicyfruit gum in his pocket.
 
For my recent birthday my husband got me the sunglasses & the wool pashmina wrap. I adore them. I would rather have a few really quality things than an abundance of junk. My total fantasy ( & probably one of everyone who posts here!) - a J. Peterman shopping spree. Whee..........
 
Our friends own a Farmer's Market & I love that they stock as much local food as possible- the local honey is so dark & delicious, the eggs from their chickens, local tamales & baked goods, amish soap (the patchouli reminding of the patchouli wearing young men of my youth...sigh...)
Good stuff all the way around.

SLIGHTLY  OFF   TOPIC:     The  REAL  Orient  Express  makes  it's  last  run  on  Monday.  The  story  is  at  NPR.com.     I am  truly  saddened,   I  LOVE  that  old  girl....    Perhaps  I  was  born  in  the wrong  time  &  place,   my  wardrobe  &  automobiles  &  destinations  when  I  vacation  all  say  "London.  Or  Paris.  Or  Prague.   1940."   Taking  my  kid  to  someplace  other  than  mass  this  morning,  perhaps  the  restaurant  in  Maysville,  Kentucky....right  next  to  the  100+  year  old  depot.   I  will  wait  for  a  table  facing  the  tracks  &   the  Ohio  River......     Back  this  evening, hopefully  my  mood  will  be enhanced...

Bert: Take some pictures PLEASE!  There is nothing like Kentucky train depot in my neck of the woods.  I always wanted to ride on the Orient Express.  Its sounded so magical.      

And back to vegetables.  I'm off to chop my weight in onions at the soup kitchen.  Then its off to Chinatown for congee if the rain doesn't flood Canal Street. 

 
Julia Masi,

I don't know what Canal Street is like now but on a Saturday about ten years ago, winding among the sidewalk vendors, I was grateful to remember a recent tetanus shot. Very Mumbai for a small towner.

Back on topic: as the world's population will reach NINE BILLION,possibly in our lifetime,the land used for growing will need the water we use for drinking,etc.  .  .Remember the vertical farming entries from a few days back? well,citizen farmers could make a contribution,and locally grown could have a profound meaning  .  .  of course,growing livestock vertically poses an interesting dilemma...

  

"One guy called it haberdashery's answer to the clown car."

I forgot to add that we had to borrow a netbook so he could see where it came from.

Stoney:  Its just as you remember it. 
 
Road Yacht:  If you ride a NYC subway you'll sear its at 10 Billion and counting. 

Let me play a bit of a devil's advocate here.  Some of us live in states where the weather does not allow "local" fresh produce year-round.  Nor can certain fruits and vegetables (like avocados or oranges, for example) be grown at any time of year.  I shop at farmer's markets when it is convenient, but as far as I"m concerned, the large supermarkets are a blessing.

Just finished my breakfast, eggs and hot house tomatoes,with rosemary grown on my windowsill. Hard to imagine a place where some enterprizing person couldn't grow something to add to their meals. Farmer's markets at the base of the vertical hot house for year round fresh veggies? YUM

Bert, I'd like to Thank You for your kind words. I am truly saddned to hear of The Orient Express going out. That is a real depressing thought in that there aren't more people interested in it to keep the wheels rolling. That's why memories are so importent and valuable! It's things like The Orient Express leaving us that makes the "good ole' days" seem so far in the past. But again, I must say "Carpe Diem" to everyone...including myself.

Talk about local bounty, oysters are $15.00 a pint here in OC.
 
I bought some and am frying them up for dinner as a special treat.
 
Even the local seafood, crab meat and oysters, is out of sight.
 
 

I suppose it's not a nice thought at this time of year, but this topic makes me think of the movie 'Soylent Green' (1973).... 

soylent green is people!!!!   .   .   .and that other great SciFI, from twilight zone, where the decoded book said  TO SERVE MAN,   ,   was a COOK BOOK

The Orient Express doesn't need to be gone. It was owned and run by some hotelier who fancied it a nice way to get people to stay at his hotels (the Cipriani comes to mind). Somebody else just needs to buy it and it will live again. Now, if we could just bring back the White Star Line...

 

Orient Expresses come and go but thesepia train its magnificence  limited only by the scope of your imagination, will pull up at the front gate whenever you need it. 

mmmmmmmm....fried oysters...

Ersters?

There's a little place in Texas that has the best BBQ'd oysters, I am told. Right at the gulf.

mmmmmmmmmm......bbq'd oysters...

Let's call the whole thing off....
 
eli?
 
Do you say tO-may-tO or tO-mah-tO?
 
 
 
we could call thing calling off, off...

Ta may ta, pa tay ta, and cacklefruit (eggs)    <|:-)

Korthal: I'm jealous.  I don't even want to think about how much oyseters cost here.  I'm sure the price will spike next week with Christmas Eve.  I can't believe how expensive fish has become.  
 
Cyndy:  I understand what you mean.  Avacado trees don't grow in Brooklyn.  I hate buying frozen or canned vegetables and the ones in the bag aren't really fresh but what else is there?  V-8?

PARK- Is Masterpiece Theater on tonight or is it begging night?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2oEmPP5dTM&feature=PlayList&p=DF74A029D90A7BE7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12

RoadYacht: The place you're talking about for BBQ'd oysters is called Gilhooley's in Dickinson, Texas. It is pretty amazing. It's a dive of a place but if that doesn't bother you then you will be more than pleased. I love it!

JULIA MASI:
 
I love V-8.
 
The oysters were great.
 
A real treat since I haven't seen them around lately.
 
Jumbo lump crab is also at a premium, $25.00 a lb.
 
And it's supposed to be a local product.
 
I won't buy anything south of North Carolina or north of Maryland.
 
My cream of crab soup will cost a fortune to make.
 
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dskTypuEXoM&feature=PlayList&p=BDCBFF08CF92E839&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=46
 
 
Forget the lyrics, we've got roller skates...shall we dance?
 
I triple dog dare you.

I just like this one, bing and francis albert in High Society...
I mean, have you evah...

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liSrzc_OdDw&feature=PlayList&p=F383EF009CC6D786&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=25

Tonight on the TV Guide channel will be the Susan Boyle "I dreamed a dream" story at 8 pm est. Right now they are showing Dirty Dancing, one of my favorites.
Gotta go.
Patrick is calling!!!!
I'll skat with you all later if someone has a pair for me.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p02DgHeGdyI&feature=fvw

Grace Kelly was so blondly beautiful in "High Society." When I was young I wanted to be Princess Caroline-before her storytale life blew up.

Hi bebe:
Well.
If it's Masterpiece Theater you're wanting, I'd go to the coat closet grab your woolies and find your tin cup. Settle in at your favorite corner, because it is indeed beggin' night.  It's all holly-day stuff, Great Performances (tenors, I think, I forgot already)...
 
However, tonight on AMC, at 7:00 Central, there's

White Christmas (1954)

7:00pm - 9:45pm, AMC

Timeless holiday classic stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as a pair of merry veterans who become famous song-and-dance men after World War II. Soon, the duo joins forces with singing sisters Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen to help save their former army general's Vermont inn. Beloved Irving Berlin score includes "Blue Skies," "Sisters," "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," the title track, and more. 120 min.

Irving Berlin s music, and the singing-dancing talents of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney in top-notch family entertainment. ...

....which is followed (also on AMC) by 

9:45pm - 11:00pm, (Central time)  AMC

Irving Berlin's musical trip through the calendar features the Oscar-winning film debut of "White Christmas." Retired crooner Bing Crosby can't shake the show biz bug and turns his New England farm into a resort, but soon finds himself competing with hoofer Fred Astaire for a girl. Marjorie Reynolds, Louise Beavers co-star.

A country roadhouse is turned into a nightclub 15 times a year in this stylish and snappy Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire musical that introduced the song, "White Chistmas."

So...the night's not a real loss.  I haven't seen White Christmas except for the very end, this year -- and I like Holiday Inn better, so I'm happy it's on, I haven't seen it at all this year.

So...that's the best I can do for you bebe.  Not so bad, but no Masterpiece Theater...probably have to wait till after the holidays? 

Korthal: Thanks,  I love Cole Porter and of course the Chairman of the Board, Francis Albert Sinatra.  Wasn't it his birthday yesterday? 
 
 I saved that clip to my favorites list. I want to have my sofa re-done to look the one in High Society.  Then  all I'll need is a guy who dresses like Sinatra. (Maybe Mr. Peterman knows someone.)
 
Sadly, most  of my generation only knows that song in the surreal Iggy Pop/Debbie Harry version from the   1990's. 
 
And Fred and Ginger, they just don't make them like that anymore.
 
Park4:  Thanks for the heads up about White Christmas.  I love that movie. The clothes were gorgeous.  The play is on Broadway now but I've been too busy to get tickets. 
 
  I'm also a big fan of Holiday Inn.  Isn't Mitzi Gaynor in that one?  

Hi Julia:  Holiday Inn has Marjorie Reynolds in it; she's the girl that both Bing and Fred like...
 
I bet you're thinking of White Christmas, which is on now.  The actress who isn't Rosemary Clooney is Vera Ellen, and she's a dancer with the thinnest legs, LOL, but anyhow she's a dead ringer for Mitzi Gaynor, but she's not, she's Vera Ellen.   White Christmas...that's what these two are in.  With Bing and Danny Kaye.
 
In Holiday Inn, Bing and Fred Astaire fall for one girl, who's the actress Marjorie Reynolds, she plays "Linda Mason" and Fred wants her for his dance partner and Bing is in love with her and wants her to stay and marry and run the Holiday Inn.  THIS is the one that's on at 9:45 tonight, and it's the one I like best.  Fred is excellent.
 
Gotta run...enjoy both of them, Julia.  It took me most of my life to get these movies straight.
 
g'night villagers!
 

I have a glass of wine & "White Christmas" on the tube. What a perfect Sunday night. Danny Kaye - would like to know his back story.
 
While I was taking the dogs to lake for their walk the "Peanuts" Christmas song came on the radio- it's the most melancholy, beautiful song- I just love it...

Forgot to say- thanks for the movie heads up Miss Park! You are the reigning movie queen on this site.

Thanks Park4!
 
I'm watching White Christmas too.  I'll stay up to watch Holiday Inn. I have jury duty tomorrow so my day doesn't  have start at the crack of dawn. 
 
No wine, just organic decaffinated green tea from Chinatown.  

Night all!
 
I'm off to bed.

Julia  Masi:    We  BOTH  have  jury  duty  tomorrow.....sort  of,   but  I'm  at  the  defense  table,  I  promise  to  make  your  day  interesting......     Will  you  be  the  lady  with  the  red  flower  pinned  to  your  dress?
 
My  kid  AGAIN  left  my  camera  at  her  mom's  house.   Tomorrow's  leaders? 

JULIA & PARK- Vera Allen has some great legs!
 
JULIA- Have fun at jury duty- I have always enjoyed it. You get to sleep late- I'm soooooooooo jealous. I don't know if I can make it thru all of "White Christmas". I'm going to try.

Bert~that's so they can share your views...shareipticiously  (pun?)