Ups and Downs

When I vowed to a friend that I was going to do everything I could to try to eat locally, he warned me to be prepared for disappointment. "Boy," I thought. "What a downer he's being!" Well, I just got my first order since joining the local bakery's produce club, and yes, I have to admit to feeling a bit let down.

There was a kiwi from New Zealand, and lemons, bananas, and a pineapple from the southern U.S. There were purple radishes, and some spinach, cauliflower, avacado, green onions, mushrooms and bok choy that didn't all have place of origin marked, but I'm sure much if not all of it came from the U.S. Out of the entire bag, only the apples and the english cucumber (and possibly the pears) came from British Columbia.

Undaunted, I wrote a note to the owner of the bakery, asking him to explain to me how produce choices were made, and if it was possible for me to stipulate that I only wanted food that was grown within a particular geographic location. We'll see what he says.

On the up side, at the very same bakery on Saturday, I found Yukon-made goat cheese and milk. So with every disappointment comes a small victory and another small step forward.