Better Choices for the Table: What the Obama’s, the Windsor’s and Millions of Consumers have in Common

This week the White House made an effort to set the pace for the rest of the nation by announcing the property’s first organic garden - foodie blogs to national media ran the story with zeal. Since the beginning of the Administration, Michelle Obama has taken on the challenge of setting an example for the rest of us when it comes to healthy eating and local options for our tables. There also a subliminal message that this can help cut costs during a slow economy and generally boost spirits. However, the trend doesn’t stop at the White House gates - it is also popular overseas. The trend for local and sustainable gardening is being revived by our British friends who also inspired Eleanor Roosevelt to call American gardeners to their yards during WWII.

On the other side of the pond, London’s largest landowner, the Queen, has developed a Victory Garden in St. James Park “to bring back the flavour of those times (WWII) and encourage people to embrace the idea of growing your own.” During WWII, “Dig for Victory” was a government-led wartime campaign that turned gardening into a patriotic duty. More than 15.5 million people in Britain are already estimated to grow some of their own food and the recession has increased demand for allotments and seeds, as families turn to the soil to cut bills.

Even those of us without a community garden option are just as enthusiastic about the trend and want to take advantage of options for eating local produce. We support this healthy trend by stocking up at our local farmers markets that provide good healthy options with a lower carbon footprint. In my backyard, Alexandria, VA , a bedroom community of Washington, DC, we have over one thousand visitors to our neighborhood every Sunday from May through October - all looking for local produce and handcrafted products at the neighborhood market. I recently sat down with one of the market’s organizers to hear more about how the venture has grown. Three years ago when it started, there were a half dozen vendors and today it has expanded to almost twenty-five. According to the organizer, if it grows to thirty vendors, then it’s considered a small mid-size market. On a larger scale, DC’s Freshfarm Markets “operates 8 farmers' markets in the Chesapeake Bay region” and can demand crowds of up to 100,000 customers with recognition in national media outlets including the Wall Street Journal.

So whether you have a slice of land as small as a suburban yard, a few acres or an urban bungalow, there are options for everyone to make better choices and support the growth of healthier and local food options.

To find markets nationally go to Local Harvest

To find one of the over 200 Washington DC markets go to the Washington Post guide.