The Voice - Student Newspaper

Local locavores dine with PBS

It was a treat to watch West Valley farmers being featured on national TV and the next Saturday finding their produce at Glendale's Farmers Market. McClendon Farm in Peoria and Maya's Farm at South Mountain were two of the farms presented on the broadcast.

Every Saturday Glendale's Farmers Market is held in downtown Glendale. The lot is usually full with a dozen or so vendors; they offer wide selection of tasty specialty foods, local growers presenting their seasonal crops and local artisans. One of the tables that day at the market was bountiful with baby greens, and golden beets from Maya's Farm at South Mountain, the really ripe tomatoes and citrus were from McClendon Select Farm.

The Mcclendons Farm in Peoria is certified organic and produces 20 varieties of citrus, honey, basil, dates and arugula. Maya's Farms on South Mountain provides high quality consciously grown specialty vegetables, herbs and flowers

The farms were featured on "The Endless Feast" on PBS. The show travels about the country to find people who like to buy their foods locally and the farms and ranches that provide this food. The show concludes with a gourmet meal cooked by local chefs using local products and served to people from the community.

Buying the food one eats locally is becoming a movement, the participants are called locavores. Locavores are people who pay attention to where their food comes from and commits to eating local food as much as possible.

Some of the reason one should buy locally grown produce is the fresher the product the better it tastes and the more nutrition has been maintained.

In addition, one should buy from the Glendale Farmers Market because it supports local small business which helps the local economy,

The Glendale's Farmers Market is held in the Mad Hatters parking lot, 5734 W. Glendale Avenue Glendale. The market will probably be open through the first week of April. For information on the farmers markets go to www.arizonafarmersmarkets.com.

Please send comments to mcallan@gccvoice.com