We hope everyone will come down to this Thursday’s Pathfinder
Produce market, from 1 to 5 p.m. at The Village Commons. We have some
great items for you to try, and we are heading into the “freshest” time of the
year for eating.
Our market this week falls on April 21, which is splitting the
difference from March 21, World Down Syndrome Day, and the Splash Path 5K and
Fun Walk, which takes place on Saturday, May 21. If you haven’t signed up
yet, you may wish to do so as the registration fees increase on May 2. To
sign up, go to splashpath.racewire.com and follow the easy process to register.
This
week’s blog is by Martha Spiegel, Pathfinder’s Development Assistant.
***
I
get very excited every spring when local produce starts to become available.
The first one I see is always a small rhubarb stand in someone’s driveway that
I pass on the way home, (If you missed it, check out the April 7 veggie blog, Rhubarb
Ruminations), and soon stands of all sizes will start popping up. I am also
excited to see fresh herbs, grown in Pathfinder’s own Button Greenhouse, being
sold at Pathfinder Produce, and I’m looking forward to all of the wonderful
items which will be coming from our hoop houses over the next few months.
After
I bring home my purchases from Pathfinder Produce, or a farmers’ market, or our
family’s farm share box, however, I have to be careful to store everything
properly. I learned the hard way that you can’t just toss everything into the
refrigerator crisper drawer—“The Rotter” as it came to be known in our
house. While I knew how to store certain things, I did not want to be a
contributor to the tremendous amount of food waste that takes place in the
US. According to Feeding
America:
- An estimated 25 – 40% of food grown, processed and transported in the US will never be consumed.
- When food is disposed in a landfill, it rots and becomes a significant source of methane - a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
- More food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in municipal solid waste.
Therefore,
I needed to know how to keep my produce as fresh as possible for as long as
possible. I recently came across two helpful items. The first is this
infographic, from the Save-A-Lot Grocery Store Facebook page:
It
gives a nice overview of the basics. For more detailed information, there are
these helpful tips from the American
Heart Association and Real
Simple Magazine.
Knowing
how to keep your produce fresh is a great way to stop waste, save money, eat
healthier, and have more variety in your diet. So load up on lots of wonderful
fruits and veggies this Thursday at Pathfinder Produce, then learn how to store
them so that you have some to eat all week!
Until
next time, be well and eat well!
Martha
(and Lori)
