Green Guide

Eat Local: How Long Island produce is good for the economy, environment and you
By Amy Hagedorn and Sarah Lansdale

Eating local. It’s a trend that is gaining ground. And that’s no surprise, given recent headlines about E-coli breakouts, tainted food from abroad, and the push to reduce carbon emissions released when food is transported. Increasingly, people want to pinpoint the origins of their food. So, when consumers associate local farmers with, say, fresh spinach or cheese, they know they’re doing right for themselves, farmers and the planet.

Besides, nothing tastes as good as fresh, locally grown food, which can move “from farm to fork in 24 hours,” notes Joseph Gergela III, executive director of Long Island Farm Bureau.

This trend can pay huge dividends for Long Island, especially in fostering the region’s economic development, environmental health and social equity. The reasons are simple. Buy locally produced food, and you support the region’s farmers and economy, conserve energy, improve your diet and help raise awareness for the need to consume the healthiest ingredients possible, regardless of socio-economic status.

Sound utopian? Perhaps. But here on Long Island, where the farm crop has proven especially bountiful this year, eating local has never been easier.

You can find local produce at roadside farm stands. And, it is also showcased in neighborhood groceries. King Kullen, for instance, has made a multi-million dollar commitment to local farmers who supply fresh tomatoes, corn, cauliflower, potatoes, pumpkins and more. And Whole Foods Markets developed a distribution system so that Long Island produce is featured in their Long Island stores.

That kind of commitment provides access to food that is “fresh, safe and grown here,” Gergela points out, noting that post 9/11, some consumers, fearing possible bioterrorism, feel more secure about eating local food.

“The King Kullen initiative dates back to 1999 when the supermarket chain partnered with local farmers, becoming a dependable, reliable customer while providing fair market value for produce,” says Richard Conger, King Kullen’s produce director. Today, King Kullen purchases 30 varieties of vegetables from East End farmers, who grow Red Boston, Romaine and many other kinds of lettuce; super-sweet corn; celery; carrots and much more. The relationship enables farmers to farm more of their land.

In addition, King Kullen handles many of the details behind food system planning, including the transportation, distribution and retailing of the produce. During the growing season, the supermarket’s distributor, Bozzuto’s, picks up produce five to six days a week, transporting it in refrigerated trucks to its Cheshire, Connecticut facility, where it is then redistributed to King Kullen stores, sometimes within the same day.

Those wanting to help the environment by reducing their carbon footprint are cutting the number of miles a product travels before it reaches the final consumer. Keep in mind that produce grown in California can travel for a week or longer before it finally reaches Long Island consumers. In fact, buying local produce versus organic grown elsewhere is actually better for the environment because it takes fewer miles and therefore fewer emissions to reach us.

“The less a product travels, the fresher it is, and therefore the more nutritious,” points out Suzanne J. Zoubeck. Zoubeck is the founder and organizer of Green Thumb CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Huntington, which, from April to December, provides weekly deliveries of fresh organic produce from local farms to consumers who buy shares of a farm’s harvest prior to the beginning of the season.

Here are some ways to enjoy local produce and also gain the satisfaction of helping the region and its farmers.

•Join a CSA and frequent farmers’ markets. Find them by visiting www.localharvest.org/search.jsp.

•Visit farm stands. They are listed online at Long Island Farm Bureau Web site, www.lifb.com.

•Join the “Slow Food” movement, a philosophy that runs counter to fast food. It embraces food that tastes good; is produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and strives to ensure that food producers receive fair compensation for their work. Learn more at www.slowfood.com.

•Try the 100-mile diet. That’s a diet where you consume only food and drink that has been produced with a 100-mile radius of your residence. Learn more at www.100milediet.org/category/about. Fair warning: Following this diet to the letter means forgoing certain goods including coffee, citrus fruits and bananas.

•Dine where the menu includes locally grown fare, from seafood to duck to wines to salads, and more. Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue, for example, feature events that include a slow food pig roast as well as an afternoon of eating local oysters that are shucked and sold by the grower. Of course the vineyard’s own wines are readily available. And at Jedediah’s in Jamesport, Chef Tom Schaudel serves local, seasonal cuisine from ingredients provided by local producers or grown in the establishment’s own garden.

•Host an event at venues that showcase local foods. Todd Jacobs, the chef and owner at Atlantica in Westhampton Beach, for instance, proudly showcases local ingredients.

•Look for other locally produced goods besides fruits and vegetables. Whole Foods, King Kullen, and even local delis and florists offer many regional products, including Blue Point Beer, Hampton Honey, Jericho Cider Mill, North Fork Potato Chips, Paumanok Preserves and Hampton Chutney.

•Build a link between farms and schools. The Ross School in East Hampton, for instance, contracts food for its Café menu from local farmers. The Café stores root vegetables in December for use through the spring, and processes and freezes early summer and fall fruits and vegetables during their peak growing seasons, using them in winter. These foods are also incorporated into the school’s curriculum to teach students about health and wellness as well as cultural customs and history. Learn more at http://farmtoschool.cce.cornell.edu/existing.htm.

•Advocate for low-income Long Islanders so that they too have access to the benefits of locally grown food. The Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, for instance, provides vouchers that are accepted by CSAs, roadside stands and farmers’ markets; however, those coupons range in cost from $20 to $50 a year. The program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) costs from between $10 and $30 per recipient. As Zoubeck points out, these programs need more funding. “The good news,” Zoubeck says, “is that residents in Hempstead and Huntington Station do have access to CSAs.”

•Keep an open mind about pricing. Locally grown may cost more, but the value is evident in its higher nutrition, the preservation of our farmland and more.

With the region’s high cost of land and energy, only about 15,000 acres are farmed for crops – not nearly enough to supply all of our groceries. Yet, by knowing where to buy, you can enjoy the freshest, safest and most nutritious food while also supporting our economy and environment.

Amy Hagedorn, president of the board, and Sarah Lansdale, executive director, head up the team at Sustainable LI (www.sustainableli.org), a non-profit organization that focuses on facilitating real change in our region by promoting the concepts and practices of sustainable development. Sustainable specializes in a community-based planning process in which residents, municipal leaders, businesspeople and all interested stakeholders come together to plan and implement sustainable development initiatives in their communities.

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