The Neighborhood Diner
The cover package of today's Buffalo News Viewpoints section is entitled "The Neighborhood Diner." [I wanted to call it "Eating Buffalo," but was wisely overruled.] It's all about the thriving local food scene in Western New York -- farmers markets, community supported agriculture and the fact that, despite its urban image, New York is, and ought to remain, very much a farm state.
The main articles are supplemented by a piece about the contrast between the thriving Lexington
Cooperative Market and the moribund Broadway Market, and an editorial encouraging public policy that allows small-scale farming to prosper and provide us with healthy food, grown in ways that are easy on the planet.
We've also posted two videos, one from a visit to the Downtown Country Market, one about the Lexington/Broadway divide.
Have a look, and please let us know what you think. Or what I've missed.
More information about area farmers markets and community supported agriculture is available on the Internet.
* The Farmers Market Federation of New York has directories of markets, farmers and vendors around the state.
* The state's Pride of New York program has an extensive list of products, farms, restaurants, etc.
Erie County local food outlets with their own Web sites include:
Farmers markets
* Alden Farmers Market
* Bidwell-Elmwood Farmers Market
* Buffalo Place Downtown Country Market
* Clarence Farmers Market
* Hamburg Farmers Market
* Holland Farmers Market
* Kenmore Farmers Market
* University Community Farmers Market
* Williamsville Farmers Market
Community Markets
* Broadway Market
* Lexington Cooperative Market
Community Supported Agriculture
* Porter Farms - Elba
* Native Offerings - Little Valley
* Promised Land - Alden
Other sites of interest include:
* Slow Food Buffalo
* Buffalo Rising
* Feed Your Soul Buffalo
The New York State Constitution, Article XIV, Section 4, says: The policy of the state shall be to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty and encourage the development and
improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other agricultural products.
-- George Pyle/Editorial Writer
