When I moved to Phoenix some 30 years ago, small farms surrounded our West Phoenix neighborhood. We used to buy fruits and vegetables from a farmer-owned produce stand a few blocks from our house. I appreciated buying directly from the person who had grown the food. There was a certain charm to knowing that the farmer from whom I was buying had personally picked the corn I was serving for dinner that night. Unfortunately, those small farms are long gone, replaced by strip malls and houses.

You’ve probably heard that buying local is good for the economy because it supports local business, that it’s good for the environment because the food is usually produced in a more ecologically friendly manner and that it’s good for you because the food is fresher and contains more nutrients. Although the concept of offering locally grown foods has caught the attention of some of the big-box stores, the produce sold there is much like the stores themselves – grown on a large, commercial (and somewhat impersonal) farm. If you want fresh food at reasonable prices sold in a friendly atmosphere, then you’re going to love shopping at one of the many farmers markets around the Valley. (Read the full story)