Locavores Are No Longer Weirdos?

It's harvest season here in Wine Country so the air smells like squished grapes.  Local garden tomatoes and squash, local bread and trees full of oranges are everywhere. But how about the rest of the year? How big of a deal is local food, really?
Turns out it is a really big deal, even after your favorite farmers markets have shut down for the winter. Fresh local food has gone mainstream year round. Yep, we locavores are no longer weirdos. (foodies can still be kinda ridiculous, what with the one-asparagus-on-a-plate for $10 thing)  Here's a bunch of stats proving how local has grown.

Like you perhaps, I fall in love with a local produce market in every town I visit--beautiful food and good prices. But the granddaddy has to be  Wegmans Markets in the East, partly because it is in places where the alternative is Walmart. Plus it snows there a lot, so forget winter gardens. Lately I learned that Wegmans even has its own research farm, now open to the public.This is a chain that is trying to teach customers raised on pizza, buffalo wings and donuts how to grill veggies and try whole gains. I've got to give them credit. Curious? Here's the deal on Wegmans.

Now, go make yourself a Harvest snack:
A slab of sourdough brushed with herb- flavored olive oil. Add a slice of newly picked tomato and basil leaves. Finish your computer work and go sit on the porch. Add wine.

Smile, sip and enjoy.