| AUGUST 15, 2011 -- Joe Roden and his son Matt rise each morning and trek down Route 8 from Bethlehem to Bridgeport. They bring with them a treasure trove of their family farm’s products. On Monday, it was sweet corn, blueberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and summer squash. The two then spend the hot summer days selling the wares at their small farm stand along the Fairfield-Bridgeport border.
“[My father’s] been farming his whole life,” Roden says. “It’s all he’s ever known.” The Roden family started making trips to Park Avenue to sell their goods 17 years ago. The roadside stand Roden runs with Matt just north of the Discovery Museum is now perhaps the earliest sign of a push in Fairfield toward finding food grown in the state of Connecticut.
The Rodens set up shop each day from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. But larger groups of farmers now come into Fairfield each Saturday, when the town’s two farmers' markets create dozens more stands in town. The Fairfield Summer Farmers' Market opens each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Greenfield Hill Grange, 1873 Hillside Road. And the 2-year-old Brick Walk market runs from 9 a.m. to noon each Saturday at the shopping center of the same name on the Post Road.
Even for those who can’t go straight to the farmers, Fairfield is getting more and more options for those who want their food to come from within driving distance. Ed Hartz’s Milkman Co. delivers groceries straight from local farms to his customers’ doorsteps. New arrival Whole Foods Market specially marks Connecticut-grown products so its shoppers can choose the local option. Even Fairfield’s Stop & Shop supermarkets have started setting up displays promoting locally made food.
Buying in state cuts down on greenhouse gases by saving cross-country trips for a family’s food. It also supports the state economy by keeping family businesses such as the Rodens afloat. But looking at the Rodens' spread shows the clearest reason why many Fairfielders are turning to Connecticut-grown options — except for a home garden, there’s no way to find fresher veggies.
“A lot of customers return every day,” Roden says. “They want to get [produce] as fresh as possible.” |
