You pride yourself on buying household staples at mom-and-pop neighborhood stores instead of big-box chains. You seek out vintage garb instead of clothing made in sweatshops and sold at the mall. You even buy aspirin at one of the few independent pharmacies in town.

But you still buy apples grown in China and blueberries grown in Chile from a grocery chain.

There are alternatives. You can check out farmer's markets, which offer Poteet strawberries, Fredericksburg peaches and apples from Medina.

Or you can try community-supported agriculture farms, co-ops in which members of the community invest money in a local farm at the beginning of the season; in return, they receive a portion of the crop when it's harvested.

Why go to the trouble of buying local produce instead of picking up whatever's being sold at the supermarket?
For one thing, there's no way to get fresher fruits and vegetables unless you grow them yourself. You can bite into a strawberry a few hours or a few days after it has been picked at the peak of its freshness.

Produce at the grocery store might have been picked long before it hits the shelves; often, it's picked before it's fully ripened, then treated with ethylene gas to speed up the maturation process.

That's why you'll find redder tomatoes and greener bell peppers at farmer's markets, instead of the anemic-looking ones you often see at the grocery store. Freshly picked produce might also contain more vitamins and nutrients.

Buying locally is also better for the environment because shipping fruits and vegetables from foreign countries requires a lot of packing materials and gasoline. Independent farmers also tend to use organic farming methods.
 
Of course, you're also helping to support local farmers and putting money back into the local economy.

And when you buy locally grown produce, you tend to buy it directly from the farmer. There's just something cool about meeting the person who grew your food.

Visit picktexas.com to find nearby farmer's markets.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA