I Think I'm Being Bullshitted
So, remember I signed up for that organic produce program? And remember that the web site says that some items may come from out of the region? To be exact, "The Market Boxes contain seasonal, organic fruits and vegetables grown on mainly local and regional farms with some items from organic farms outside of our region for variety."
When they said "outside of our region," I figured they were talking about Florida or Alabama. Well, last week I noticed that the kiwis were labeled California, and the bananas were labeled Venezuela. Now, I know it's winter. Obviously not much will be in season here and now. But Venezuela?? Better to leave the bananas out altogether. The other fruit had company name labels, so I checked a few of those. The apples and pears came from Columbia Gorge, which seems to be in Oregon. The citrus is from Viva Tierra, which appears to be a distributor for organic farms in many places: "the US, Canada, Argentina and Chile."
On other words, NOTHING in that box is local, or even regional (assuming the "region" is the southeast). I did some poking around on the internet, and found that pears should be in season in GA, and apples should be available from winter storage. And if we must have non-local citrus, couldn't it at least come from Florida? (I suppose it might, but Viva Tierra doesn't give details about what come from where when.)
So I wrote the Pure Provisions people a semi nasty-gram, telling them I was disappointed in the misrepresentation of their program as local and regional. If I want organic produce from Venezuela, I can get it at Kroger, and it would probably be cheaper as well. I said it would be better to spell out exactly where their produce is coming from, or just say they can't offer fruit in the winter.
Dear Joyce,
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the Market Box not
meeting your expectations. I can understand your frustration as there is
no clear definition of ‘local’ and ‘regional’. We have adopted the
definition of ‘locally grown’ is ‘grown in Georgia’ and ‘regional’ is
considered ‘the southeast’.
The goal is to provide local whenever possible. However, the seasons and
weather patterns can limit the number of fruit available in Georgia.
Regional items and those from outside the region will be added to the box
to provide variety and consistency. Items and sources vary week to week;
season to season.
I call bullshit. This is not answering the question. They haven't "added" items from outside the region--*everything* was from outside the region, including the items that could have been available locally.
Or am I just an idiot for trying to buy fruit in the middle of winter?
FB comments
When they said "outside of our region," I figured they were talking about Florida or Alabama. Well, last week I noticed that the kiwis were labeled California, and the bananas were labeled Venezuela. Now, I know it's winter. Obviously not much will be in season here and now. But Venezuela?? Better to leave the bananas out altogether. The other fruit had company name labels, so I checked a few of those. The apples and pears came from Columbia Gorge, which seems to be in Oregon. The citrus is from Viva Tierra, which appears to be a distributor for organic farms in many places: "the US, Canada, Argentina and Chile."
On other words, NOTHING in that box is local, or even regional (assuming the "region" is the southeast). I did some poking around on the internet, and found that pears should be in season in GA, and apples should be available from winter storage. And if we must have non-local citrus, couldn't it at least come from Florida? (I suppose it might, but Viva Tierra doesn't give details about what come from where when.)
So I wrote the Pure Provisions people a semi nasty-gram, telling them I was disappointed in the misrepresentation of their program as local and regional. If I want organic produce from Venezuela, I can get it at Kroger, and it would probably be cheaper as well. I said it would be better to spell out exactly where their produce is coming from, or just say they can't offer fruit in the winter.
Dear Joyce,
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the Market Box not
meeting your expectations. I can understand your frustration as there is
no clear definition of ‘local’ and ‘regional’. We have adopted the
definition of ‘locally grown’ is ‘grown in Georgia’ and ‘regional’ is
considered ‘the southeast’.
The goal is to provide local whenever possible. However, the seasons and
weather patterns can limit the number of fruit available in Georgia.
Regional items and those from outside the region will be added to the box
to provide variety and consistency. Items and sources vary week to week;
season to season.
I call bullshit. This is not answering the question. They haven't "added" items from outside the region--*everything* was from outside the region, including the items that could have been available locally.
Or am I just an idiot for trying to buy fruit in the middle of winter?
FB comments