Imagine all of the fresh food you can buy at your local farmers' market!

Green Life Project is a weekly series of posts highlighting one change for readers to make in their life in order to gradually green their lives.

Your farmer’s market may not yet be chock full of produce, as it is early in the growing season for most markets.  For example, two weekends ago, we found purple asparagus, but not much else.  However, I picked up some potted herbs, scoped out and even sampled some different items.  Farmers’ markets have the added benefit of delicious food that you can eat on the spot and opportunities abound for seeing friends or meeting new people.

How is this a greener action than shopping at your supermarket?  The vast majority of items at a farmers’ market is bound to be fresher and grown closer to home than those at your run-of-the-mill grocer.  You often can talk to the farmer who grew the crops, ask them about their growing methods and learn about the food you’re eating.

You’re supporting the more sustainable practice of eating foods from closer to home which are not moved as far by truck for your benefit.  Also, ask if your food was sprayed with pesticides or whether or not chemical fertilizers were used.  This does two things: 1) allows you to be informed about the food, and 2) tells that farmer that this matters to you and is an encouragement toward better practices, whether they already use them or not.

Locally grown, fair, clean, whole foods are better for our health, which saves us money long-term.  Supporting such farmers gives a big signal to other farmers to consider the benefits of joining the food movement, which is the big story we will be covering more and more here on Earthascope!

Related posts:

1. Green Life Project Week Ten: Begin Your Own Garden!   Green Life Project is a weekly series of posts highlighting...
2. Green Life Project Week Fourteen: Buy at Thrift Stores Green Life Project is a weekly series of posts highlighting one...
3. Green Life Project Week Thirteen: Get (and Use!) a Library Card Green Life Project is a weekly series of posts highlighting one...