Tom’s is the proving ground for a new marketing strategy featuring brightly colored “shelf talker” labels, designed to help shoppers identify the local food throughout the stores. The shelf talkers also show how far each product was grown or made from that particular store, helping consumers determine for themselves what “local” means to them.
They’ve arrived! You have 2-3 weeks to go to the farmer’s market and pick up your own quart of these sweet, beautiful berries. I bought mine from Bardenhagen Berries and I can guarantee they are absolutely delicious. (Editor’s note: She’s not lying. Holy cow!)
Buying local is a personal choice. But what our research appears to be saying is: Don’t judge local products by their price alone. Take a minute to understand the impact the production of cheap food, made thousands of miles away, has on the community where you live.
So far this summer, one of my favorite things to do is leave the office on a Wednesday morning to run down to the farmers market.
Since I arrived in Traverse City, I have not stopped hearing about the asparagus. So I wasn’t too surprised when I went to the farmers market last week and asparagus was everywhere.
If you are a northwest Michigan farmer who grows fruits or vegetables and you like the idea of local school children eating the food you grow-or you just want more sales-now is the time to explore those new markets. The Michigan Land Use Institute and Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District are launching an expanded two-year pilot project that could mean up to $200,000 in sales of local agricultural products to schools in eight districts in four counties.