Rich and I got home last night after being away from Whidbey for nearly a week. First order of business: restock our refrigerator and pantry.
We may live on an Island, away from the maddening crowds, but we do not live away from wonderful local foods. At last count (according to my calculations), we have at least seven farmer’s markets featuring fresh, organic (most of the time) produce, local baked goods, other locally made food items (jams, granolas…to name a few). We can buy beef from local grass-fed cows. Happy local chickens produce lovely eggs (and I believe they are happy until the last moment when they pass into chicken heaven). We have coffee made from four local roasters and wines from nine local wineries.
I’m sure I am omitting lots more that we are able to buy locally….forgive me if I have left out something.
Of course, we also have excellent grocery stores on the island that offer lots of the local-grown items, plus anything else we need for that pantry.
Next time you’re thinking about heading across the water to do some shopping, remind yourself, almost everything you need can be purchased on Whidbey, and your local purchases help your neighbors to keep doing what they’re doing.