Nassau County Farmer's Markets 2011

Want Long Island corn on a Tuesday? Looking for local tomatoes on a Thursday afternoon? Well, it's my pleasure to present to you a calendar of all the farmer's markets for the 2011 growing season in Nassau County, for your week-long local food shopping needs:

You can download the PDF here.

Believe it or not, that took a lot of work - phew! If I missed a market you know of, please leave me a comment or send an email at locallyli@gmail.com.

You can use the links to the right of this page for more details about each town's market; the links are arranged alphabetically by town. You'll find health food stores in the list, too (like Lynbrook's Yogi & Tea cafe', now serving bubble tea - a hard-to-find treat in Nassau!).

[ EDIT: If you're looking for winter farmers market in Nassau County for 2011 & 2012, check out this post ]

Grown on Long Island Day is August 5th!

Copied from the Long Island Farm Bureau:

CELEBRATE GROWN ON LONG ISLAND DAY 
Farmers Market, Activities for Kids, Roasted Corn

Date: Friday, August 5, 2011  

Location: Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank   

Time: 12pm to 5pm.  

• Large Farmers Market
• Meet Local Farmers
• Activities for Kids
• Educational Animal Yard
• Roasted Corn & Wine and Food Tastings

Admission to the event is FREE.  

The First 500 visitors to donate $10 of produce to Island Harvest, a food rescue organization, will receive a FREE Grown on LI T-shirt.  

For more information about the event, please call 631.727.3777 or visitwww.GrownOnLongIsland.com    

Book: Short Nature Walks on Long Island

Short Nature Walks on Long Island

Wandering through the Barnes & Nobel on Old Country Road in Carle Place, I was thrilled to find an entire section dedicated to Long Island books! There was Long Island Rail Road, a history of the LIRR, Crazy Stuff Long Island: Little Known Facts About the Longest Island in America, and the most exciting to me, Short Nature Walks on Long Island. 

Now, I've been known to push myself through a challenging hike (willingly or otherwise...), but I'd been looking for a guide to easy trails on LI. This book includes maps, park hours, facilities & suggestions for what to bring, and the low-impact nature of these spots makes them accessible to any age. There are so many ecosystems here on LI - the marshlands of Jamaica Bay, the rocky beaches of the North Shore, the woodlands of central LI, and historic former estates - that I can't wait to explore with the help of this guide.

Top Ten Reasons to Buy Food Locally

The list below is copied from With an Ear to the Ground, a collection of essays about sustainable agriculture by Vern Grubinger (available at UVM bookstore):

Ten Reasons to Buy Local Food

1. Local food tastes better. The crops are picked at their peak, and farmstead products like cheese are hand crafted for the best flavor. Food imported from far away is older, has traveled on trucks or planes, and has sat in warehouses before it finally gets to you.
2. Local produce is better for you. The shorter the time between the farm and your table, the less likely it is that nutrients will be lost from fresh food.
3. Local food preserves genetic diversity. In the modern agricultural system, plant varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen uniformly, withstand harvesting, survive packing and last on the shelf, so there is limited genetic diversity in large-scale production. Smaller local farms, in constrast, often grow many different varieties to provide a long harvest season, in an array of colors and flavors.
4. Local food is safe. There's a unique kind of assurance that comes from looking a farmer in the eye at farmers market or driving by the fields where your food comes from. Local farmers aren`t anonymous and they take their responsibility to the consumer seriously.
5. Local food supports local families. Wholesale prices that farmers get for their products are low, often near the cost of production. Local farmers who sell directly to consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail price for their food, which helps farm families stay on the land.
6. Local food builds community. When you buy direct from a farmer, you are engaging in a time-honored connection between eater and grower. Knowing the farmer gives you insight into the seasons, the land, and your food. It gives you access to a place where your children and grandchildren can go to learn about nature and agriculture.
7. Local food preserves open space. When farmers get paid more for their products by marketing locally, they are less likely to sell their farmland for development. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive to preserve our agricultural landscape.
8. Local food keeps taxes down. According to several studies, farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas most other kinds of development contribute less in taxes than the cost of the services they require.
9. Local food benefits the environment and wildlife. Well-managed farms conserve fertile soil and clean water in our communities. The farm environment is a patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds, and buildings that provide habitat for wildlife.
10. Local food is an investment in the future. By supporting local farmers today, you are helping ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow.

as found here.

And I'd add that...

11. Local food inspires new recipes & seasonal eating. Farm stands can introduce you to a variety of fruits & vegetables beyond the standard potatoes & carrots you can find in the store. Ever cook with a garlic scape or use celeriac instead of celery? Local farms can introduce you to new crops as they come up, and many farmers are even willing to let you sample unfamiliar items.

12. Local food gives a sense of place. I know that "fertility" and "abundance" aren't the first things that come to mind when I imagine my suburb's landscape, but seeing a productive farm emerge in my community makes me proud of where I come from & happy to be a part of this place.  Reconnecting to the towns we grow up in can restore those feelings of community & home.

13. Local food introduces new friends. With regular local shopping, you're bound to start seeing familiar faces, and chances are that many of those faces have something in common with you. They may be neighbors, members of local organizations, or fellow locovore/vegetarian/gluten-free/all organic -eaters like yourself. Many people shop locally simply because they prefer the friendlier environment of farm stands.

14. Local food helps sync bodies with the seasons. As reported in this Grist article, our bodies have been eating seasonally for hundreds of years, until the recent phenomenon of industrialized agriculture in the last few decades. Although these adaptations may not be necessary anymore (ex: stocking up on fats before a cold winter in the forest), it can still have effects on our hormones. 

What if it's a hoax?

We're Back!

Alright, Internet, I'm back! After some inspiring & rejuvenating locovore experiences, I'm revisiting this blog to post Nassau County resources for green living on Long Island. More posts to come ASAP, but in the meantime, check out the Local Links to the right for this season's farmers markets.

Incredible, Edible, Humane Eggs

I know a post is long overdue!  I plan to continue posting, but Locally Long Island is no longer my senior thesis project.  Instead, I'm researching urban environmental education and the resources available in New York City.  If you have any information, please let me know!  I'll be posting some environmental education programs for children on Long Island ASAP.


So back to the topic: humane eggs!  I was thrilled to find out that the Nest Fresh eggs I bought from Walbaums today were as cruelty-free as they advertised.  Because there are no regulations or labeling standards for terms like "cage-free," "free-range," and "humanely raised" for meat and animal products, many manufactures use the terms very loosely.  For example, "free-range" chickens have access to outdoors, but the frequency, quality, and availability of their outdoor time is not standardized.  Therefore, a small window or doorway could qualify a facility as "free-range," even if the majority of the chickens never go outside in their lifetimes.  There are also many cruel practices manufactures use to increase chicken growth and output, like starvation to induce egg production and beak-clipping to prevent chicken interaction and behavior.  Be sure to pay attention to labeling so you can avoid supporting these practices!

It's also important to note that the terms "organic," "all-natural," and "fair wage" are frequently misused, too.  Carefully check out the label's certification system (if there is any) on the web to ensure that the product supports its claims.  Usually there is a section that outlines the standards that must be met for a manufacturer to use their label.

Greening Your Cleaning - Reusable Wipes

My heart always breaks a little when I finish cleaning and look at all the things I've thrown away: Swiffer cloths, antibacterial wipes, paper towels... But finally, my prayers have been answered!  I was shopping around uncommongoods.com and found these reusable, biodegradable cleaning cloths:

http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=17702
EDIT: While UncommonGoods has stopped selling Skoy Cloths, you can still buy them here.

The quick-drying towels can be microwaved to kill bacteria at high temperatures, like you might send a sponge through the dishwasher to reuse it.  Check out all the raving reviews on the website, too:

"I bought these based on all of the positive reviews. The reviewers are right! I have had them for a few weeks and absolutely love them. They are very durable and easy to clean. I have used them for everything from dusting, wiping the kitchen counter and wiping down the stove. They are great!"

" Great cloths! I have loved using these for all the little cleaning jobs around the house. Great for mopping up big spills or just cleaning off the kitchen table. I have one in each bathroom for quick cleanups when unexpected guests arrive. They are in great shape and have already been used a bunch. Seems like they will be very long-lasting. Great value!!"


If these particular towels aren't your thing, I would still strongly suggest using cleaning cloths and spray cleaners instead of disposable wipes.  You'll cut down on all the paper waste, have better control of how much cleaner you use, and expose your absorbent skin to less-concentrated chemicals.  Any mismatched sock or dishtowel will do as a cleaning cloth, and they can be sent through your laundry along with any other towels or heavily-used fabrics you might have.  To make sure they're disinfected and clean, wash cleaning cloths with hot water.  You could even clean them the ol' fashion way in a pot of boiling-hot water (with or without soap).

"Green cleaning" is easy to do and good for your body, home, and planet.  I'll definitely be posting more "green cleaning" tips in Locally Long Island for you.

How to Find Health Food Stores in Your Area

[ updated Nov. 20, 2011 ]

Although I'll try my best, it's impossible for me to visit every health food store on Long Island -- but the good news is that this is because there's so many!  I want to post a few tricks for how you can find health food and natural food stores near you.

A moment on shopping...  while chain stores can be easy to find and shop in, smaller family-owned businesses often have much better customer service.  You can feel more comfortable asking questions about products and get more experience-based answers.  You also know that the money you spend on groceries is going directly toward the owners, their employees, and their business, rather than the CEO's of huge conglomerates.

So, how to find health food stores...

[EDIT: Since revamping this blog in the summer of 2011, I've decided to focus exclusively on Nassau County resources. You'll find a listing of Nassau health food stores on the right of this page, under the heading "Local Links".]

1.  Word of Mouth
          Probably the best way to find stores near you is by asking around.  This way, you can get a review of the store from someone you trust.  Ask someone whose diet you admire, or maybe a personal trainer at your gym. 

2.  Yellowpages.com

          An old-school method brought into the modern day, the Yellow Pages' website can list some stores in your local area.  However, not all stores have chosen to be listed in the guide and may not be included.  It can still be a good resource if you don't know where to look.  Googling your city and "health food stores"/"natural food stores" may also work.

3.  Local Publications
          Skim the advertisements in your local newspaper, magazines, Pennysaver, or religious bulletins.  Small businesses sometimes chose to use these local services instead of a larger-scale advertising.

4.  Downtown Areas
          Does your town have a downtown area with lots of shopping and stores?  You may want to browse through those streets one day to see if there's a natural food store. 


Keep your ears and eyes open, and continue reading Locally Long Island!  I'll be posting about my visits to natural food stores on the online throughout the blog.

How to R-e-c-y-c-l-e on Long Island

 
Whenever I talk about recycling, this song comes to mind.  Readers my age might remember this educational clip from Nickelodeon's "Rocko's Modern Life"...

...but even those readers who haven't seen it before have surely heard of the importance of recycling.


Although it might seem like we have an endless supply of materials, most resources on the planet are finite. Recycling reduces the amount of potentially reusable materials that wind up in dumps. This, in turn, reduces the need to extract and use new raw materials to make products. In this way, recycling not only saves material, it saves money. Fellow blogger Molly Man commented how, according to Adrienne Esposito's article in Newsday, it costs $80 to dispose of garbage, while it only costs $40 to dispose of recyclables. Also, it can take up to 17 times more energy to produce an aluminum can from scratch than from recycled materials. I've heard on many occasions that recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours! Seeing thousands of cans wind up in landfills every day when they have that kind of potential is a shame for our world and our wallets.

So how do I recycle?

Each town on Long Island has its own recycling policies regarding what can and cannot be recycled, what days of the week are pick-up days, etc. The first step, then, is to find out what town you're in so you can follow their recycling protocol.  You can use Citidex Long Island to find out what town (called a "township" on their website) you reside in.  

Information on each town's recycling policies can be found on their web pages.  Thanks to LongIsland.com's thorough list of townships and their official websites, I've made this list with links to each town's recycling homepage:

Nassau County

• Town of Hempstead 
• Town of North Hempstead (print-out reference table)
• Town of Oyster Bay 
• City of Glen Cove
• City of Long Beach 

Suffolk County 

• Town of Bablyon (this FAQ gives relevant answers toward the middle of the page)
• Town of Brookhaven (the most helpful section is toward the bottom, called "Recycling".)
• Town of East Hampton
• Town of Islip (uses a drop-off collection system instead of a pick-up system)
• Town of Riverhead
• Town of Smithtown 
• Town of Southampton (uses a drop-off collection system)
• Town of Southold
• Three Village (follows Brookhaven's recycling guidelines)

Generally, towns will pick up your recyclables as they would your trash.  In these cases, you'll need to either request a recycling pail or a decal to leave curbside for sanitation.  A few towns in Suffolk, however, ask that you bring your recyclables to a recycling center.  In this case, you can designate a pail or bag in your house for recyclable materials.

Oftentimes, establishments like apartment complexes and dorms have a privately owned recycling provider instead of the town’s facilities.  You’ll want to check for extra guidelines in places like these, too.

It's very important to follow protocol for your town to avoid contaminating the collected recyclables.  It's helpful to print out guidelines and keep them on your fridge or near the recycling container.

Recycling Basics

• Check every plastic you're about to throw away for a recycling symbol!  You'd be surprised at how much can be recycled: fast food cups, Chinese food containers, packaging, shampoo bottles, yogurt cups...
• Make sure that you thoroughly clean your recyclables with soap and hot water.  Otherwise, any residue will smell and may cause mold to grow.  It also helps to remove and throw away bottle tops or leave containers uncovered so that leftover water can evaporate.
• Plastics' "recycability" is based on the type of plastic they're made of.  Each plastic is given a number code, 1 - 7, which can be found on the bottom of any recyclable plastic item in a triangle.  This website gives you more information on what each symbol means, some examples of plastics, and images of the symbols. 
• Some towns allow recycling of scrap paper (usually black and white printed computer paper).  Check your town's specific guidelines.  If it can't be recycled, you can reuse it by using the backside for taking notes.
• Newspapers, magazines, and cardboards can also be recycled.  Usually, they must be flattened, tied in a bundle, and left outside.  Again, check your town's specific guidelines.

It may take some time for recycling to become a habit, but once it is, you will see how second nature sorting your trash can be. Each container you recycle will end up being used again instead of wasting its potential away in a landfill.