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.

Bon Buffalo apetit.

-- George Pyle/Editorial Writer

Comments

[market consumer]

It's too bad that more sidebars weren't done profiling some of the very high-quality producers in the area. Additionally, your list of area CSA's falls short by about ten or twelve. The editorial about state farming policy tried to cover all of the bases- sustainable vs. organic, family farm vs. factory farm, CSA's, etc. but it was diluted and very, very, very dry.

That being said, I'm glad that The News is finally paying more attention to locally raised food- it's about time.

[jay burney]

I have been trying to find contact information regarding being listed in your Farmers Markets Directory. This is an excellent series of stories and other pieces. The Holland Farmers Market operates every Sunday starting at 8:30am and is conveniently located on Route 16, in the heart of Holland NY, in Erie County. the market is in its second year of operation

How does the Holland Farmers Market get listed?

Jay Burney
lscampaign@aol.com

[BobbyCat]

I'm 3 weeks late to this party. I just finished reading George Pyle's excellent piece.
I have a modest marketing suggestion for fruit and vegetable retailers, large and small.

It's hard to buy the very sweetest fruits and vegetables that can be grown. I know because I used to grow them in a big organic garden and orchard. Many if not most farmers grow the fruits and vegetable that are the most resistant to disease and blight, or the ones that ship well (tough skins,or almost ripe, or barely ripe) rather than grow the sweetest varities available.

For example, its hard to find 'Silver Queen' corn anywhere. It's a late variety so its a little harder to grow, but it's much sweeter than most others and well worth waiting for. But Silver Queen and the other super-sweet corns are disappearing from the markets. Farmers are not growing the absolute sweetest varieties. If Wegmans or Tops asked them to grow the super-sweets, I'm sure they would glad to oblige.

These retailers should contract with local growers and specialize in the absolute sweetest variety of every fruit and vegetable and market them according.

Go to any market and try to find a 'Big Girl' or 'Sweet 100' tomato, for example. You might find cherry tomatoes but not the sweetest tomatoes. I'm still waiting to find a garden-sweet tomato, dead ripe and bursting with flavor, sweetness and juice at ANY Tops or Wegmans market.

Retailers are not giving consumers the very best produce that can be grown.
And many consumers don't know what they are missing. But gardeners know. After tasting the difference between the best and the rest, your palate will never go back to so-so foods. So c'mon guys, give us the very best there is.