Rain or Shine or... Heat Wave!

Please don't let the ugly weather forecasts deter you from coming to Saturday's Cheverly Community Market -- we'll be there rain or shine ... or heat wave! Eating locally -- and supporting our local farmers and tradespeople -- is especially valuable in the face of global warming and a weak economy: from www.environment.about.com Eat Locally Grown Food to Reduce Global Warming Eating locally grown food even helps in the fight against global warming. Rich Pirog of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture reports that the average fresh food item on our dinner table travels 1,500 miles to get there. Buying locally produced food eliminates the need for all that fuel-guzzling transportation. Eat Locally Grown Food to Help the Economy Another benefit of eating locally is helping the local economy. Farmers on average receive only 20 cents of each food dollar spent, says Ikerd, the rest going for transportation, processing, packaging, refrigeration and marketing. Farmers who sell food to local customers “receive the full retail value, a dollar for each food dollar spent,” he says. Additionally, eating locally encourages the use of local farmland for farming, thus keeping development in check while preserving open space. So dress appropriately and come early. Many of the vendors will be under tents and there will be water and lemonade available.