local delights

yesterday we headed over to butte to pyrahs u-pick farm to pick some locally grown produce.
in total, we spent $24, had an hour of fantastic family time and came home with:
radishes, beets, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, artichokes (yes, alaskan grown chokes!) zucchini and potatoes.

last year i read the omnivores dilemma and jeff has been plodding through it recently.
it may seem rather obvious to some, but a reminder to you that our food here in ak travels thousands of miles, arriving by barge, by truck and by airfreight.
we are akin to hawaii when it comes to feeding our state. we rely on the lower 48 for that.
this is reflected in both the price we pay for produce and its general condition when it arrives.

it was absolutely amazing to see the abundance of fresh vegetables available to us for a limited time.
our growing season here is remarkably short, even with near 24 hour daylight in june, our season is barely 3 months.

i heard on alaska news recently that our local farmers markets have expanded from 11 (combined folks, im sayin' statewide!) to over 30 since 2006. and i think this is fantastic progress.

so, for the next few weeks, i can feel like we are making a slightly lighter foot print on the planet by eating locally.