10/12 From Farm To Fork
I just learned about the most useful and unbelievable website I have ever seen called: www.RealTimeFarms.com
Serving 7 states listed on their site, including Michigan, California, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington, it is an excellent resource guide that shows farms and farmers markets in a local area. It will also show restaurants that are utilizing locally sourced produce for their edibles. The site features lush photos from recent markets and the Farm section lists hundreds of local farms and vendors . When you click on a name it will show you their story, what they sell and where you can find them. Many of the vendors I was curious about could be found at more than one farmers market throughout the week.
The restaurant section blew my mind. When you click on a restaurant it not only describes the items from the menu that are created using local ingredients, it lists the farm where the products came from, and shows you where the farm is located on a map. Extraordinary!
I have to be honest, I was not aware that any of these restaurants were working so hard to infuse our own economies and to use truly local, fresh ingredients. I think this is so inspired. These are the types of eateries that deserve our dollars because they are working so darn hard to earn it.
The information on the site is accessible by zipcode. Type in your zipcode to get the info for your area. We hope they expand to other states soon.
I went to the About section on the site to find out more about the genius behind Real Time and read this line from the founder Karl Rosaen,
“I believe that when people know more about where their food comes from, they are led naturally towards choices that are healthiest for themselves and the environment.”
I completely agree and think that is such a a beautiful way to share that sentiment.
If you know of other sites like this one serving an area near you, please share it so we can pass it along too. The creators of Real Time Farms are changing the world one meal at a time and we are the benefactors of their genius.
Have a delicious day.
Tags: buying local, compassionate eating, farm locater, farmers markets, finding farms, finding local produce, going veg, local farms, Real Time Farms, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan, vegan challenge, vegan experience, vegan wannabe
