Wiki Wednesday: Farmers’ Markets

by Brad Aaron on December 10, 2008

2757558897_f3b24e994c.jpgSouth Bronx Greenmarket. Photo: Susan Donovan
Streetsblogger rex commented earlier today that we may be headed for what he termed a "Grapes of Wrath kind of economy" -- one in which businesses prosper by paring down inventories to bare essentials while doing what they can to make themselves more accessible to the car-free masses.

Another key element to such an economy could be locally-grown food, available at farmers' markets -- the subject of this week's featured StreetsWiki article. In this entry, Streetsblog regular Susan Donovan writes:

By reducing the distance that food travels, fewer fossil fuels are used and fewer greenhouse gases are released. On average, an American meal travels 1,500 miles to reach the dinner table. Farmers' markets also avoid some of the costly packaging found in some stores. Many farmers' markets are accessible by foot or bicycle, providing another way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Ironically, as demonstrated in Upper Manhattan earlier this year, easy access can be a double-edged sword in neighborhoods where some consider parking more precious than fresh food. After all, Tom Joad didn't walk to California, now did he?