Locally Grown Texas

Supermarkets may be ramping up their selection of local food, but for some people the only way to go is straight to the source. For years, farmers markets and CSA’s have helped link these local-minded consumers with area growers, and now the connection is happening online with sites like eatgreendfw.com, which launched earlier this week.

“DFW” in this case stands for Dallas-Fort Worth. A growing number of consumers there apparently (shockingly!) don’t think that everything needs to be bigger in Texas, and thus have set out to find fresh food that comes with a smaller carbon footprint. Started by a local member of the Slow Food movement, eatgreendfw.com currently features 24 area growers and ranchers from whom consumers can buy directly.

More and more organizations are establishing a similar web presence. Last year, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture launched “Kentucky Proud”, a database of affiliated in-state farmers. This summer, the Alabama Farmers Market Authority debuted Farmer Connect, a service that links produce growers with restaurants, retailers and consumers.

What’s cool about eatgreendfw is that the site also offers an overnight delivery option. Order steaks from Sloans Creek Farms in Dodd City, or JZJ Natural Beef in Troy. If you’ve got a hankering for honey, ask for some from the Roundrock Honey Company from Dallas. Some items are still prone to Texas-sized thinking, however. The site offers Fred’s Alaska Seafood, for instance. Last I checked, Kenai salmon were not native to north Texas.