The search for local foods extended from our love of sustainability of both environment and entrepreneurs in the area that we love, Johnstown. This is not a naïve love, as we believe that some may have because they are in the perfect profession, have a perfect house, and are in the beautiful mountains. Personally, we love the topography, cost of living, and close knit community that Johnstown holds. I also very much enjoy living day to day looking at the face of failed factories, knowing that the people who live here know that this city has rebuilt from three floods, and from economic hardships. From those challenges, the concept of helping your neighbor is never too far out of reach. The city is big enough to not see your worst enemy every day, but small enough that you can give a job recommendation for someone just by sitting in a coffee shop.
Certainly, this list is not all-inclusive. As a community grows and individuals learn about new places to shop, there will be more places to find local foods and goods. However, we do believe that this is a good start for anyone who wants to take on eating local and reap the rewards of knowing that your individual decisions can make an impact locally; by keeping your money local, getting to know your neighbors, and the people who grow your food. This social capital in itself is enough reward to keep it up, once you begin the journey. It can be exciting and fascinating once you begin looking at your dinner plate, and realizing that the only thing that is not local is the salt on your locally grown broccoli, and yet that was purchased from a locally owned business!
Inevitably, some of you will wonder how to eat locally during the winter. The internet is a wonderful resource, which will give you tips on how to can, dry, and freeze your veggies and fruits for winter storage. You live in an apartment? So do we. Put away as many things as you can (especially when it’s in surplus) and it will help to make a dent in the grocery bill in the winter. If you plan correctly and buy selectively, you will not see much of a difference in your grocery bill over the year. If you have the ability to grow a garden, or grow things in containers, it will help significantly with the cost, and you know exactly what you did to make those foods grow! There may be patches of more spending at times, but it evens out. At least, it did in our experience, and we encourage you to consider doing it little by little until you figure out what works best for you.
Make sure you contact a farm before you go to visit. Make sure they have what you want, and ask what their policies are about visitors. A lot of these places are also the farmer’s home. If you find a farm online, there is usually a contact button, or a time frame that visitors are allowed. Be respectful! Also, may we suggest when you go to a Farmer’s Market or farm to purchase goods (in fact, any store!) you can cut down your usage of plastic bags by bringing your own. If you do this at the Farmer’s Markets and Farms especially, you help the farmer out by not needing to buy as many bags that will just be thrown away again. And when you’re done with a carton from blueberries, etc, take it back when you return! They appreciate it!
We hope you enjoy the search as much as we do.
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