By Nikki Greco

5/4/11

I love Ohio and I love Cleveland. Oh, sure, I indulge in the occasional self- deprecating humor about the weather here...or the sports...or the potholes, but in general I think Cleveland, Ohio is a great place to live. I recently learned that Ohio has just under 14 million acres of farmland. Wow! That is something to be proud of. Yet, when I buy my groceries, most of my food makes quite the journey before ending up in my cart.

While previously I had been only moderately interested in the “buying local” movement that’s been gaining strength over the past few years, I am now feeding a family and am truly beginning to understand the importance of knowing where my food comes from and how it was raised. I can’t help but to believe there would be a difference in the freshness and quality of my food if I converted my buying habits to focus more on what is raised close to where I live—and raised using healthier methods.

Although there are several ways to buy goods from local farms, most are aren’t as convenient as a quick trip to the grocery store, and, as a new mom, convenience is key to me. I was very excited to learn about Fresh Fork Market, a business that works with local famers to get food straight from the farm to the consumer.

Fresh Fork Market picks up goods from surrounding farms and puts together a box of groceries for its customers to pick up each week from one of its multiple drop locations around Northeast Ohio, May through October.

All I have to do is pick up my box of groceries on the designated day. And I don’t have to spend time going up and down the isles of a grocery store while trying to entertain my one-year-old. Not only is all of Fresh Fork’s food organic and raised in a sustainable manner, the staff personally visits with each farmer to make sure the methods and the products are of highest quality, which means I can feel good about what my family is eating.

I immediately signed up for Fresh Fork’s 2011 season and I will be sharing my local grocery-buying and cooking experience every week.

To learn more about Fresh Fork Market, visit www.freshforkmarket.com, or simply call 800-861-8582, ext 1.