One of my New Year’s resolutions was to do more to support local businesses. It’s become a real habit that I shop locally first before looking for an item on-line or driving to Seattle to find it. If a local business doesn’t have something I want, I see if they can special order it for me. It may cost a little more to shop this way, but then at least I know some of my money is staying local, paying local sales tax to support the services I need and depend on, and supporting the local businesses which are so desperately needed to keep the smaller towns not just surviving, but thriving.

This afternoon, I went for a short walk as part of my rehab from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and when I returned, this was on my porch:

TerraOrganics is a local business (based in Orting, WA) that delivers fresh produce to your home on a weekly or biweekly basis. We signed up last Saturday. Inside the box was a package containing all of this:

That’s apples, tomatoes, asparagus, blueberries, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, nectarines, green beans and peppers. With what our garden is putting out this year (currently lettuce, peas and radishes), we’re going to be drowning in vegetables and fruit for the foreseeable future. I think that’s a good thing.

Besides the fact that I want to support local businesses of all kinds, supporting local farms is important to me. I grew up on a family farm, and I know how much hard work goes into growing the food many of us take for granted every day. Unfortunately, I didn’t grow up during the change to organic methods (though I have pulled more than my share of weeds in my life). I remember how many chemicals were used in the production of food back then, in the form of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, and genetically modified crops that couldn’t be used as seed the next year without violating some ridiculous monopoly. None of those things turned out to be good for the consumer, the farmer or, most importantly, the land.

My hope is that by doing this little bit to turn to locally grown, organic food wherever possible, I help to push the world into a more sustainable pattern of health and prosperity for everyone, while at the same time teaching my kids how important it is to value the food they eat.

If you live in the Puget Sound Area, want to give Terra-Organics a try, please go to their website, and mention that I sent you. (No, really, please mention me.)

And for dinner tonight? Pasta with sautéed spinach. Or maybe sautéed asparagus? Would a salad on the side be too much?