Buying locally doesn’t mean spending a little more time, and a little more money, for nothing in return.
On the contrary, you can get a lot out of it nutritionally and spiritually.
Eating locally means eating fewer processed foods, and that is good for anyone’s health.
Spiritually, there is a lot to gain. You get to know your neighbors. You get to make new friends. You learn new things about where you live. And, you know that you’re doing something good for your local economy and planet.
By buying more directly from the farmer, less money is put towards marketing, and more money is given to the farmers for the hard work they do.
There’s also the opportunity to learn about new foods. My new food this week, which I’ve had once before, is the pipinola (a.k.a. chayote, mirliton, etc.). I found them at the price of five for $1.00 at the roadside stand I recently discovered. This same squash is also available at the mainstream grocery store, but at the price of $3.99 per pound. Each pipinola weighed about a pound. So, I saved $19 buying the squashes at the stand.
The same stand also has a sign offering free range, organic eggs. The yard of the home is filled with family pets, including but not limited to sheep, chickens, and goats. Some of the chickens are show chickens, and others are layers. The big sheep is named Bob, and boy does he have a deep voice. The homeowner is named Mary, and she’s informative and nice. She told me about a place to get great compost. Unfortunately there’s a waiting list, and I didn’t get a name or phone number. So, I’ll have to try to find him through other resources.
We ate the pipinola last week, raw in a salad. This week I’ll be stuffing it.
One of the women who works at Kula Country Farms is also named Mary. The other woman is named Tina. When I was there on Thursday I saw they were offering their own reusable bags. I attempted to purchase one, but received one as a gift. Perhaps it’s all the business I give them. Whatever the reason, it was a very sweet gift.
Last week Mary gave me a large Okinawan Sweet Potato. She’d never grown them until recently, and so she offered me one for free to take home and cook. I’ll cook it this week in some of my Vegan Indian Curry. I’ll deliver the report on Thursday.
Fresh vegetables, and fruit are bountiful, and Maui is always a great place to grow food. The seasons don’t have as much change as they do elsewhere, so the growing seasons are different too. So, with a nearly year round growing season, why is it that Maui imports 80-90% of its food? We have cows, chickens, fruits and vegetables. We are lacking in the grain department, but if we relied on fewer other imports, then grain imports wouldn’t be such a big deal.
I look forward to watching Maui move toward more home grown dining.
