'Local' Produce

We went to the Harris Teeter supermarket in Reston today and in the foyer they had a 'Farmers Market' display of local and regional fruit and vegetables. Each item was marked with its place of origin and the number of miles from the store.

There were local zucchini and squash - from some 100 miles away - not quite as local as one might imagine.

This part of Virginia is not agricultural and so the produce on sale in this Farmers Market had travelled south from Maryland and Delaware or North from the southern part of Virginia or from North Carolina.

The blueberries, from almost 300 miles away, were labelled as 'regional produce'.

I think that the grape tomatoes should probably have had a regional rather than local label too - almost 300 miles.

Not quite the same as buying cauliflower or potatoes in Cornwall just down the road from the field, but a step in the right direction.

(When I got home I realised that the apples I had purchased inside the store were Braeburns from New Zealand so I probably shouldn't be critical!).