Farmers Markets/help Yourself, help your community.

All around the area Farmer's markets have been growing. It is a wonderful thing to be able to look in the face of the person who produces your food. An article in a recent Dakota Farmer magazine talked about how clueless many consumers are about where their food comes from. Then, she went on and said that many farmers are equally clueless about who is consuming their food.
Until recently unless you kept your own garden, consumed livestock that you raised or were a hunter, nearly all your food came from far away. Some people describe this situation as a 'food desert'.
Things are changing, even large corporations are touting the 'local angle' of their food or the people who provide their food to them to sell. Parents are showing an interest in real food being served at their kid's schools.
I have said before that the biggest mistake of those involved in big ag or economic development is to believe that small producers, organic producers and natural producers practice agriculture based on principles of neglect and nostalgia. Not true at all. Best of all, when I buy milk and eggs from a local producer, I know that he or she is feeding their product to their own family, and has an interest in keeping it clean and safe.
You can purchase milk, eggs, meat and produce from local people. Some take things a step farther and sell goods that they have processed for you. Wouldn't it be great to have access to a commercial kitchen so that produce will not go to waste?
Support your Farmer's Markets. If a vendor has stuff you like, ask if you can order some for next week. Question them about their growing practices.
Pay a visit to a few markets this year. You will get hooked on the freshness and variety.
Then please post here what you do with your purchases. Help people see how easy it is to eat what they have bought fresh and local.