One source of organic food is the farmer’s market! But is all the food in every farmers market truly local?
You can follow certain checks to ensure the authenticity of the organic food:
We have seen fruits such as apples, bananas, peaches, etc. carrying some kind of label. We usually tend to believe that the labeled food is truly local. But this is far from the truth. Organic food does not carry any kind of label.
If you look closely at the vegetables/fruits that you are buying and find muddy roots/leaves, it is locally produced. Locally grown food is not uniform in size and shape.
When you purchase your fruits and vegetables, you will be inclined to buy those that appear to be fresh and healthy. However, many a time these products are waxed and conditioned in different ways to give that appearance. If the products have cellophane or any other kind of wrapping, or sold in cardboard boxes, etc. it indicates that it is not local.
Local farmers can apply for certification and can become certified farmers. The certificate is a reliable evidence that the food is sold by a local farmer.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is a popular way to buy genuine local, seasonal food from local farmers.
Local farmers are given a license for the vehicles used for carrying their products. This is a good way to ascertain reliability of the farmer.
Although certification is a good way to check the reliability of the farmer, not many farmers can afford the certification because getting certified is an expensive process. If a farmer does not have a certificate, you can identify if he is a local farmer by asking relevant questions. Only a local farmer will be able to provide answers to all questions related to his crop.
Ontario has several farmer’s markets but not all have local products. Genuine farmer’s markets usually have a process for ascertaining the reliability of the farmer. The farmer can sell his products in such markets only after he satisfies all the criteria specified by the market. For instance, certain markets ask the farmers to answer comprehensive questionnaires to ensure that the farmer is genuine.
Hence, you can check online for certified farmer’s markets and visit those. You can also discuss with the market manager to find out details of the market.
You can even ask the farmer the location of the farm and visit it to put your concerns to rest.
One of the ways to ensure that the products are genuine is to check if they are those that grow in that specific season.
If do not have the time to visit a farmer’s market and verify the authenticity, you can find genuine locally grown food online on I do local. I do local is a platform that connects local farmers directly with consumers. You can choose the food you need from our website and you can buy it from local producers. I do local conducts thorough checks to ensure reliability of the farmers. So, you can be sure that you will get genuine organic food from reliable sources.
All Articles