This past Saturday, the 14^th, I was able to go to the Charleston Farmer Market, and buy locally grown vegetables and other local goods. It was a great experience, and I try to go to it every Saturday when the city has the market. This weekend I was able to buy organic span peas, tomatoes, and potatoes. They are amazingly delicious, and I am so happy that I went because I am supporting the local community and being healthier at the same time.

It is very important to buy local foods because they require much less of a carbon footprint, you are directly supporting the farmer and not some giant corporation, and because the food tastes fresher in a way. It is great being able to meet one of the people who made the food you are about to eat, and there is an opportunity to learn more about how your food was grown and what makes it so special. I bought some organic snap peas, Roma tomatoes, and some potatoes from one of the organic farmers at the market, and the man I spoke with was one of the farmers working the field. It was really nice to meet the person who grew the food I am going to be eating this week because it gives a sense of personalization to buying food that you do not get in a grocery store. I also bought some amazing honey that is made from Tupelo trees and tastes amazing. The woman I bought the honey from was the apiarist who runs the beehive and lives just off the peninsula. She was able to explain to me how the flavors of her honey are made. She sold tupelo or blueberry honey, and the flavor was there because the bees harvest pollen from either the tupelo tree or from blueberry bushes, allowing some of that flavor into the honey. It was fun tasting her honey and being able to detect the differences in flavors.

There were so many tents set up at the market and it was really fun to see all of the handmade products, like soap and perfumes, being sold there. Going to the Farmers Market allows people to purchase goods that are a lot healthier, made without harsh chemicals, and locally sourced. The Farmers Market also is a great way for people to get together to enjoy the outdoors and help reduce their carbon footprints. Our carbon footprint is caused by many factors that include exhaust from vehicles used to transport us or products that we want. By walking down the street to the farmers market I am not directly polluting, and when the products I want are only coming from the Charleston area, the amount of pollution being made for the products to get to downtown are reduced. Rather than have food come from places like California or the Mid-West, locally grown food comes from much closer, and that closeness reduces the amount of pollution it takes for me to make a strawberry smoothie in the morning.