Farmgirl Fare

I'm a small-town girl and so I have enough knowledge that I do not romanticize the farm life, but this woman apparently did not have the benefit of my informal education. It's hard work that can take over your life. But obviously foodie farmgirl, aka Susan has found something to keep her engaged in the world.

From her profile bio "I went from attending restaurant openings & gallery receptions to working the rural fire dept's BBQ booth at the crafts fair & munching fried pies at country auctions."

Yep, that sounds like the rural life to me. Being from the rural to almost-rural midwest I marvel at how urban-dwellers can have these get back to nature fantasies about living in the country and farming and don't realize it's a business, and it's a business that has been eroding the small family farm since the Reagan era. Farm aid wasn't just a lark.

However, interestingly enough, there is a whole movement back away from corporate large-chain food stores and towards buying more goods from local producers. Which is interesting as there are fewer small grocers out there as the mega-department stores drive even the family run corporate grocery chains towards ruin.

I love the small-producer movement. It supports family farms. The food you get probably isn't certified organic, that takes a lot of money to get, but the food you buy from a farmer at your local farmer's market probably was grown organically, or close to it. Though not all small growers do organic so you should ask if that matters to you. Once you taste really fresh produce you'll wonder if the bargain at your grocer is really a bargain after all.