Bringing Tomatoes to Subway

         The local food movement has been an important issue to me my whole life, but more so in recent years when I came to realize the meaning.  Living in a small town in the “middle of nowhere,” as some people say, there is large opportunity to participate in this type of food system.  My dad is all about sustainability and environmentalism; he keeps our house at about 60 degrees every night and currently installed twenty solar panels to our roof (the largest private array in the county).  His passion for the local food movement is no different, and I get constant grief about my Lean Cuisine habit.  Aside from the annoyance of his “processed food” grumblings, I know that my dad is right about the importance and benefits of eating the goods of and supporting local farmers.

            A lot of people own gardens within the city limits of Oberlin, and my family is no exception.  We grow beans, rhubarb, tomatoes, peppers, squash and sometimes pumpkins.  We also have apple and pear trees, strawberry plants and blackberry bushes.  One of my favorite embarrassing stories about my dad, of which there are many, is the time when he picked one of our homegrown tomatoes, sliced it, and took it to Subway with him.  There, he got a sandwich and then put the tomatoes on it.  As weird and hilarious as this story is, it also makes me think.  It isn’t hard to substitute just a little bit of locally grown food into your diet, but maybe not in such an awkward way.

            I have also grown accustomed to local food through my neighbor, whose father owns a beef farm just a mile outside of town.  When I read in Omnivore’s Dilemma that there were only a little over 3,000 farmer’s markets in America, I was shocked.  My neighbor’s dad sells his beef at the town’s farmer’s market that crops up every Saturday morning next to city hall.  Also sold at the farmer’s market are a variety of vegetables that are organically grown at a small, privately owned farm that my best friend’s mom works for.  A few summers ago, my parents entered into one of the CSA (community supported agriculture) partnerships and we received a basket of fresh vegetables and a dozen eggs from the farm every week.  It was a delicious decision.

            A few miles outside of town, a larger family owned farm produces excellent sweet corn, tomatoes, apples (so Ohio), pumpkins, and other produce.  There are dozens more like it surrounding Oberlin and the other small towns around it. 

Looking from this point of view I guess I see what people mean when they say that Oberlin College is in the middle of a giant cornfield, but I’m happy it is.  It is so much easier to be a part of the local food movement when you have an emotional and social connection with the farmers.  I guess for me, it is hard to see why someone wouldn’t participate in the local, sustainable food market, especially after reading how happy Joel’s animals are.  However, I now see that I am biased.  I was lucky enough to be raised in a town where these movements are accepted and encouraged, a place where it’s okay to bring your own tomato to Subway.