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The city dweller may feel uncertain when it comes to supporting sustainable agriculture. The organic produce in the natural foods store costs more, making it an optional "politically correct" purchase available only to the well-heeled. And those same stores carry imported produce in the winter, reinforcing the sense that it's natural to buy fresh tomatoes in January.
While it's often true that "natural foods" marketing includes some contradictory messages, upscale markets are often the only source for locally produced food. Going to the country, whether to shop the roadside stands or pick it yourself, isn't an option for everyone. Farmers markets fill the gap.
Getting up in the wee hours, hauling the produce into town, and setting up shop is an old tradition for farmers around the world. Nearly every American city once had a thriving farmers' market, typically a warren of noisy stalls offering everything from fresh-picked vegetables to live chickens. The industrialization of agriculture began with the dust bowl. After WWII, interstate highways, supermarkets, and the quest for "convenience" doomed the farmers' market as hopelessly quaint and in the way of progress.
My favorite is the Portland Farmers Market. You'll find it Saturdays in the downtown Park Blocks near PSU (just behind 1800 SW Broadway, at Montgomery) and on Wednesdays a few blocks north (behind the Center for the Performing Arts, corner of SW Salmon and Park). There are other markets in Portland and around the state. Here's more information about Oregon farmers markets.
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