The Farm Beat: Local Food Makes Good

Shoppers at a Safeway store in Sacramento are getting a taste this morning of the late-spring bounty of Northern California. The store is taking part in an event aimed at getting people to try local food via free samples. That includes apricots from Blossom Hill near Patterson and vegetables from Ratto Bros. west of Modesto. The event includes representatives of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Grocers Association.

The idea is to provide fresh food while reducing the environmental impact of long-distance shipping. Safeway officials say they already get about 45 percent of their produce for their California stores from within the state. A great idea — and even greater during the time of year when produce is at its best, including cherries from a Stockton-area grower at the event.

But whenever I hear about local food, I also wonder what it means in places that can’t grow a diversity of crops. People in South Dakota and Japan and other places would benefit from eating a lot of fruits, nuts and vegetables, but this requires long-distance shipments. Also, our region’s ag-driven economy would shrink without the export markets.

An interesting dilemma. I’ll ponder it while munching the cherries my wife is picking up this morning at the Modesto farmers market.