Fredericksburg Food Co-op Gains Local Support

Fresh from local farm fields to local tables

The calendar says spring began almost two months ago but, with all the rain and cool temperatures we’re still having, spring is still struggling to kick in.

 

Word is that the area’s strawberry crop — the annual harbinger of all the fresh fruits and vegetables to come — has suffered this year due to all the moisture, with berries getting moldy in the field.

Even though many crops will be running at least a week to 10 days behind because of the weather, this year promises to bring ever greater attention to the importance of our region’s farms, farmers markets, community-supported agriculture (CSAs) and the continuing good fortunes of the budding Fredericksburg Food Co-op.

The co-op, it was recently announced, received one of a dozen appropriately named $10,000 “seed” grants for 2016 from the national Food Co-op Initiative. The grant represents a vote of confidence in the progress the local co-op is making. It was incorporated last fall and is on its way to generating the 1,000 members it seeks before opening a local store. Membership is gained through a one-time $200 fee and brings some perks, but you won’t need to be a member to shop there.

A co-op aims to provide a steady supply of seasonal food. It will only strengthen the bonds being developed between local farms and local dinner tables thanks to the area’s farmers markets and CSAs.

The downtown Fredericksburg farmers market has been closing the block of Prince Edward Street between William and George streets on most Saturdays in recent years, creating a fair-like atmosphere. By welcoming food vendors in addition to farmers, holding special events such as next month’s Kids’ Market and operating in conjunction with Art in the Park on the first and third Saturdays, the market it makes itself a true destination, helping people get in the habit of looking to the farmers market for their produce before the local supermarket.

Saturday markets also are open at the Gordon Road commuter lot off State Route 3 in Spotsylvania and at King George Elementary School on State Route 205 just off Kings Highway. On Thursday afternoons, markets are open in the city’s Mayfield neighborhood and in Colonial Beach at St. Mary Episcopal Church. Other markets are operating in lots at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center on Wednesdays and at Stafford Hospital on Sundays. There are plans in the works for a market at Mary Washington Hospital as well this season.

The concept here is pretty simple and makes a bushel of sense. Since humans started farming about 10,000 years ago, they have understood the value and convenience having food close to home. A sustainable food supply meant they wouldn’t have to pack up and go when the natural pickings became thin.

Fast forward 9,900 years, and supermarkets became the be-all, end-all for supplying food. Vegetables trucked in “fresh” from elsewhere year-round became the norm. Access to local produce meant finding the occasional roadside stand.

Now, we’re rediscovering the importance of “Buy Fresh, Buy Local.” Less trucking means less pollution and less wasted energy. Fewer chemical preservatives are needed to prevent perishable food from spoiling. Supporting local farmers not only helps keep them in business but makes keeping land in agriculture more viable for this and future generations.

More and more people are growing some of the food they need in their own backyards. It’s all good.

Fredericksburg-area residents are especially fortunate to still have farms nearby and farmers committed to making farmers markets, CSAs and a co-op work. Living here, we’d be foolish not to take advantage of the bounty.

Editorial in the Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg VA. May 18, 2016