Buying Local

I absolutely love buying local. Ever since the Sandhills Farm 2 Table was created I have been a huge fan (and member) and it has really had an impact on me buying locally. I really used to not ever think about where I was buying produce and other things from. It was too much trouble for me to go to the Farmer's Market - I can never remember the days and times and all that stuff, plus dragging my two kids along - not usually a fun venture when it's so hot outside. So the food co-op was the perfect thing for me. Yes, it is a little costly. But I am eating all the fruits and veggies I should have been eating anyway. I still supplement our produce with clearance items and things I need for recipes, as well as produce that's out of season. But I love knowing that 98% of my produce is coming from local farmers.

I also bought a watermelon from a roadside guy today. He sits on the corner of US1 in Pinebluff and a road that goes to Addor that I don't even know the name of. I decided to stop because Brianna loves watermelon and I thought it would be a good snack food for us, also like I said I am trying to buy everything from local farmers and individual people to help them out. This watermelon weighs almost 17 pounds! Actually I can't remember the last time I bought a watermelon so I have no idea if that's big or not but believe me it's big for us! It was $5 which means it was about $0.31/lb. The best I've seen in the store lately has been about $0.79/lb. I'm sure it dips down lower than that in the store but I consider this to be a great deal I have gotten!

I started getting eggs from a guy at church, which helps him out with a little money on the side and I'd rather spend the money on him than at the grocery store. He also supplies me with beeswax from his hive, so even better!

So how do you buy local? Farmers markets, produce stands, your own garden? (Our garden is at a dead halt thanks to the heat in the past few weeks so I'm not getting anything from it right now.)