Sustainable Living in Arlington, MA
Eating locally-grown food, even in the Boston MA area, has become a new trend within the green, sustainable living movement, taking it's queue from the organic food initiative. With sustainable agriculture, locally-produced food integrates production, processing, distribution, and consumption on a small scale, creating sustainable local economies and a stronger connection between farm and table. In other words, you DO know where your food comes from!
Arlington MA has a great Farmer's Market on Wednesday afternoons, from June through October. Belmont MA has another good one on Thursday afternoons, also from June through October, while Cambridge MA has multiple markets on various days from June through November. You can easily find a local farmer's market in the Greater Boston area online.
In addition to attending farmer's markets and purchasing local produce, you can also help grow your own - saving you even more money and travel time. Arlington MA has a program called the CSA Farm Share (community-supported agriculture), wherein you partner with a local farmer to, in effect, grow your own produce. You select the farmer you want to work with, the amount of land you want to share, the dollar amount you're willing to pay, and then reap the fruits of their labor during the growing season! To promote the concept, there is an upcoming CSA Farm Share Fair in Arlington MA on February 25, 2010. The venue is the Park Avenue Congregational Church in Arlington Heights, 50 Paul Revere Road, and it begins at 6pm. There will be at least 15 different farms represented, along with a local honey bee farmer, and a local fishery. For more information on the Fair, visit the Arlington MA CSA Share Fair web site.
This is a great way to share in the bounties of the local farming economies. Since the food doesn't travel far and fewer resources are devoted to transportation and middleman expenses, you can save money, eat local, and be green all at the same time!
Bon appetit!
-TMC