Produce
recommended by Camille Mayle
I remember the first time I made a truly local meal. It was a salad of mixed baby greens, topped with goat cheese and cherry tomatoes, and a slice of crusty sourdough bread made with flour from a regional mill rounding. As I sat there munching the delicate leaves bursting with pops of flavor each time I found a goat cheese crumble or juicy cherry tomato half, I contemplated all that went into making this meal. I knew the faces of each farmer or producer who had created its elements. I volunteered in the fields where the greens and tomatoes were cultivated. I toured the dairy where the herd of goats were milked twice each day; their milk transformed into delicious salty and tangy blocks and crumbles sold at the local farmers market. At that same market, I had enjoyed conversations with the baker who regularly turned out pristine hearth-baked loaves and pastries. Instead of running to the grocery store full of industrial shelves and fluorescent lights, and products from around the world handled by an untold number of faceless and nameless individuals, I had intentionally chosen to support real people in my local community with my food dollars.
Food found in grocery stores has traveled an average of 1,500 miles to get there and usually involves a lot of “middle men” through which both food and money are transferred. While this makes it possible for a whole host of non-local foods to be conveniently available year-round, it has not been without detriment to the farmers and the local communities in which they make their living. A 2018 study found that farmers receive just 14.6 cents of each dollar spent on food. That means that 85.4 cents of every food dollar goes to someone (or something) other than the one who actually produced it. Wholesale buyers, drivers, pilots, receivers, store managers, and produce department employees all get a little (or a lot) of that dollar, not to mention the marketing groups and business owners who each get their cut. It’s mind blowing to think about where our money is really going when we purchase food.
It was Kentucky author and farmer, Wendell Berry who said, “eating is an agricultural act,” meaning we all participate in agriculture and the “food economy” because food’s final stop is on our plates. How beautiful it is when we can shorten its journey to the point where we find meaning behind at least some of the meals we eat. When I support local farmers and producers by buying my food locally, I have an actual relationship through the food on my plate to my local community and its members. I recognize their faces and names, and I know I’m supporting those individuals and families with the full amount of my food dollars. Those individuals and families turn around and spend at least some of those dollars locally themselves. To keep money circulating locally is what builds a strong and resilient local economy, which in turn can strengthen the culture of a place and its residents. Every person eats, therefore agriculture is really the foundation of culture. Having such an impact by supporting my local community has never been so tasty or so sweet.
Camille Mayle hails from Asheville, NC, where she grew up on a solid diet of bologna sandwiches and Velveeta shells and cheese. Her passion for local/organic food and agriculture came about over 10 years ago in her early twenties when she first volunteered on a family-owned mixed vegetable farm and the rest is history. She has traveled the US working on different farms, studied sustainable agriculture, and even worked with farmers abroad as part of a sustainable development internship. She has managed three different farms across the state of Tennessee and offered farm business consultations to others who are new in the field. She currently resides in Nashville, TN, where she runs a small business dabbling in herbalism and floristry work, in addition to her 9-5 job.