If Berrien County produced everything its residents eat, there would be an extra billion dollars circulating in the county's economy, Benton Harbor Fruit Market master Lee LaVanway recently told the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club.
LaVanway's trying to light a fire under what he says is a local food revolution, reports the Herald-Palladium.
Excerpt:
"I believe we're in the midst of a locally grown food revolution," LaVanway told the Rotarians, who ate a meal of locally produced pork and locally grown sugar peas and potatoes. For dessert, shortcake was topped with locally grown berries.
LaVanway said shoppers should not be deceived by "sell by" dates on packaged produce in stores and the word "fresh" in advertisements.
"The only date that matters is the date it was picked," he said. "Two-thirds of the asparagus we eat is being imported and has spent 30 days in transport. I wouldn't call that 'fresh.'"
For statistics on the increase in the number of farms in Berrien County, read the
rest of the story.
Source: Herald-Palladium
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