According to Forager, a company on a mission to expand access to local food, “local food is one of the hottest trends in grocery” and “93% of consumers want grocers to take the lead in supporting the local food economy.” (www.goforager.com) Eighty-five percent of respondents in Forager’s “State of Local” survey said they would “switch grocers or buy more from a grocer that offered more local, fresh healthy food.” The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships recently produced a “Farm to Grocery Toolkit” and offered training for grocers and farmers interested in working together. (https://www.misa.umn.edu/publications/farm-grocery-toolkit)
More locally, the Virginia Farmers Market Hub has been initiated as part of a statewide effort to support farm-to-consumer and farm-to-retail sales. The Hub is connected to Virginia Market Square farmers market and will open this summer, offering online purchasing from local farmers for consumers and retailers. The purchasing platform at openfoodnetwork.net/virginiafarmersmarkethub/shop will open mid-June. Last year, an earlier version of this online buying opportunity had a pilot run. F&D Meats Grocery Store in Virginia participated and purchased fresh produce from Early Frost Farms in Embarrass. F&D has begun to source more and more products locally since Joe Walls and his business partners purchased the store in 2021 when the previous owners retired.
F&D Meats has been in operation for over forty years at its current location on 8th Street South in Virginia. The store specializes in fresh meats, frozen seafood, produce, dairy and groceries including locally-sourced items. Currently, the store carries the following local and regional foods: Ellsworth Coop Creamery cheeses from Ellsworth, Wisconsin, Wild Country maple syrup from Lutsen, Miel Honey from Duluth, Gene Hicks coffee from Hibbing, Homstead Mills flour and pancake mixes from Cook, Johnston’s Riverview Farm milk from Floodwood, Pep’s Bakery bread from Virginia, eggs from Dircks Farm in Zim, Fraboni’s sausage, Grass Meadows Farm grass-fed beef and pork from Iron, Solid Rock microgreens from Grand Rapids, and produce from local farmers Geary Shaw in Embarrass, Sherry Erickson in Orr, Phil Lambart in Iron and Jack LaMar in Embarrass. F&D also stocks craft soda from Northern Soda Company in Arden Hills, Earl’s popcorn and cheese puffs from Savage, Minnesota, Black Dog BBQ sauce from Bemidji, Lift Bridge root beer, Nett Lake Wild Rice, Barbel Bee Ranch honey, Hilltop Pickling pickled eggs, asparagus, and mushrooms (Wisconsin), Kettle River Pizza from Esko, Sven’s BBQ sauce from North Branch and Minnesota’s own Bridgemans ice cream.
They also specialize in non-food items sourced locally such as Miel soap, lotions, beeswax candles and wood finish (Duluth), crocheted dish cloths from T Bird Crafts (family lives here), flowers from Owl Forest Farm in Iron, bamboo cutting boards etched by Range Office Supply, and a variety of F&D tee shirts, sweats and hats all USA-made and printed by Barber Graphics of Virginia. Since purchasing the business in January 2021, the owners have replaced the exterior roof, interior ceiling and all lighting, as well as shoring up the exterior wall of the south portion of the building. They have significantly increased their purchases of local and regional products and added exterior signage to highlight their local sources.
Consumer interest in buying local food has increased over the past few years in part due to the awareness that Covid supply-chain issues brought. The concept of “food miles,” how far your food travels to get to your plate, has gained more attention. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the typical American meal has ingredients from five foreign countries. And a study done by Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Foo Systems concluded that conventionally-grown food traveled an average of 1,494 miles to get to market. That travel represents a lot of fuel at today’s prices!
Eating from your local foodshed cuts way down on that fuel use and supports local farmers and growers. The thirty-or-so farmers and growers who sell at area farmers markets in Virginia, Cook, Tower, and Hibbing depend on local sales for their livelihood. And many of us, as consumers, want to know who produced our food and how. For example, I am a meat eater. I want to know how the animals were treated, what they were fed, whether they were grazed outdoors on open pasture, and whether they were administered antibiotics. I am a gardener, too, and grow much of my own produce, but, for the produce I buy, I want to know what kind of soil the produce was grown in, how the soil was fed and cared for, what kinds of herbicides or pesticides were used, and how It was handled after harvest. Most of the food I eat comes from within 50 miles of my home in Virginia. Items like cheese come from farther away as we have no really local cheese (yet). And the tea I drink, well, that is sourced internationally—this deliberate sourcing is a mix for each of us, depending on where we live. But we can choose to reduce the food miles and support our locally economy with our eating habits. F&D Meats Grocery Store is one of the options we have to help us on that path.
