Food for Thought

It began with a New Year's resolution:

The goal: Start buying produce at the copious farmers markets speckled throughout New York City, one of which conveniently pops up three times a week along my daily commute, and another a few short blocks from my apartment in Brooklyn every Saturday. I crafted this plan with little more than the belief that it was, simply, a good (and intriguing) thing to do.

Almost three years later, my curiosity about food, whether in cooking a new recipe or following food policies across the country, is vaster than ever. The distinction between browsing the grocery store and the farmers market is distinct: the former is a chore; the latter, an event. I’ve learned how to distinguish herbs in their fresh form (did you know mint comes in more than a dozen varieties?), I discovered kale (now my favorite vegetable, hands down), and I was forced to try recipes that used only the current season’s bounty, resulting in some delicious new entrées for dinner. Food became this living thing with which I interacted and learned from, and I wanted to know more.

The only issue:

I can’t afford to stock my kitchen with only farmers-market foods year-round. While in-season produce is comparable to (if not cheaper than) its imported counterparts, prices can be steep when it comes to meat and eggs, and this refrain is a major obstacle for the food movement. Accessibility—in terms of location as much as price—is a clear challenge for many who want to choose what’s better, for themselves, their communities and the environment. It’s not as simple as announcing that apple a is better than apple b; the system is complex, and many factors lie outside of the individual shopper’s control.

So we learn:

We learn about the food system and what it means to buy certain foods over others, for our health, in support of small businesses, or for the environment and communities beyond our own. We learn what’s being done, what must be done, and how we can participate in the bigger discussion about our food and its role in our lives. Growth begins with knowledge. Food for Thought is my exploration of the complex world of food as I try to make sense of it all and see what I can do within my means to accelerate progress. While continuing to pursue my ever-evolving New Year’s resolution.—Eva Meszaros

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